Page 71 of Tumbleweed Temptation
“And you were there for me when I needed you, and I was there for you,” Ginny said. “Can we think about that instead about the diner? And money? And work? I was thinking, you know.” Ginny crossed to the counter and pressed her hands down on it. “I was thinking how good you were to me and Patrick when he was sick. How much we counted on you, and how you took care of us.”
“All I did was feed you.”
“And you made sure we had our bills paid, our gas to travel back and forth to San Angelo, and you lifted us up when we thought we couldn’t go on another day. So many days he wanted to just give up, and I wondered if I was strong enough to fight him and you made sure I was. You made sure both of us were. And I love you for that. And for a long time, I thought I owed you, both for that and for being the one who didn’t get on the bus when Bridget did. I don’t want our relationship to be about who owes who what. I want to let you know I love you like a mother, and I hate that we’re not getting along, and I want our relationship to be separate from the diner. I want you to be happy that I’m moving on. I want you to be happy I found something to challenge me. I know it’s hard when we both had different idea of what makes us happy. But I want us to try to find that. Do you think we could?”
Janine looked at her a long minute. Man, the woman was stubborn. Why couldn’t she just say yes?
“I’ve got to get back to work,” was all she said, and turned into her office and closed the door.
Stubborn, stubborn woman.
*****
AUSTIN TAPPED HIS NOTECARDSagainst his knee as he listened to the sermon about St. Paul on Sunday morning. The last time he’d worn a suit had been for an interview for one of his scholarships, and the last time he’d been in this church had been for his mother’s funeral.
He pushed that thought out of his mind and resisted consulting his notecards for the billionth time.
He wished he and Ginny had arranged to speak to the churches together, instead of splitting up. This way was more efficient, of course, and Ginny liked efficiency, but he wanted her here for moral support. Instead, she was talking to the Baptist church down the road at their service.
“And now, our young Dr. Driscoll has a few words he’d like to say,” Minister Moreno announced, stretching a hand in Austin’s direction.
Austin stood, forcing a smile, and tried not to stumble against the edge of the pew as he made his way to the lectern.
“Good morning, fine folks of Broken Wheel.” His cheer sounded forced, too. “I’ve come to speak to you about a fun little idea we’ve cooked up.”
He winced at the bad pun that Ginny had come up with and insisted everyone would like. She’d even put it on the flyers.
“I’d like to start a healthy eating initiative in Broken Wheel.”
He saw the shoulders slump, heard the groans. Maybe he should have brought the idea to the people before insisting Mrs. Lopez order those groceries.
“But in order to make it kind of fun, we thought we’d do some friendly competitions, cooking competitions, like those shows on TV.”
Okay, there was some interest. He saw it in the lifting of heads, the leans, heard it in the whispers.
“We’re planning three different competitions, one at each of the restaurants in town. We will provide the ingredients, and up to five cooks can compete in each contest. We’ll give you the list of the ingredients ahead of time, and Mrs. Lopez agreed to have them on hand so you can work something out before the competition. The first one will be in two weeks at the diner, and it will be entrees. The second will be the week after that, at The Wheel House, and it will be quick meals. And the third will be the week after that, at Delgado’s, and it will be breakfasts. So that should give you plenty of time to sign up, come up with a dish, and prepare it at the competition.”
“What’s the winner get?” came a voice from the congregation.
“Their dish will be served at the restaurant for the week, and we’ll order some trophies. All of the recipes will be compiled and put in a cookbook that, I don’t know, maybe we’ll sell for a couple of dollars.” He watched, hoping that would be enough incentive, and saw a few exchanged glances, some nods. “I have the flyers in the back of the church, with the ingredients you’ll be allowed to use, along with the sign-up sheets. You can turn them in at the restaurants, or to me. And like I said, Mrs. Lopez will have all the ingredients needed starting this week. Any other questions?”
Thankfully, no one had any, so he nodded to Minister Moreno, and returned to his seat for the conclusion of the service. He wanted nothing more than to contact Ginny and see how her presentation went, but he needed to be polite, and available in case anyone came up with questions in the meantime.
After the service, he stood outside in case anyone wanted to ask him anything, but he kept his gaze in the direction of the Baptist church to see if Ginny was on her way. He answered a few questions, took a little bit of ribbing for wanting the townspeople to be healthier, but he didn't look away from the road for long.
The congregation here didn't linger, so he headed down to see what Ginny’s reception was.
He slipped in the back in time to see her up at the lectern. She wore a cranberry colored dress in a soft fabric that molded to her slim figure, and kind of made her skin glow, and her hair was down. And wow. She was just beautiful. He realized she didn't usually wear makeup at the diner, so her eyes stood out even more than usual.
She was speaking in a voice he hadn’t heard, either, smooth and low. Not that she was ever really loud but she usually had more command in her tone than she did now. He presumed she’d already stated the purpose, because now she was going over the procedures, and even though her voice was calm, he could see the excitement growing in the crowd.
This had been a good idea.
Unlike him, Ginny saw nothing wrong with leaving the church after she gave her speech, and she headed down the side aisle toward him. He hadn’t even known she’d seen him. The preacher took his spot back at the podium, and Ginny and Austin slipped out the back, Ginny dropping a stack of flyers on the shelf in the vestibule.
“We might have to add another day of competition,” he said. “I had a lot of interest. Almost all the flyers got picked up.”
She nodded solemnly. “I don't see any of the restaurants, except Hailey’s, giving up another day for this.”
