Finding His Lone Star Love. Amy Woods

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      Lucy narrowed her eyes, staring him up and down. Skepticism—and he didn’t blame her for it—was written all over her face, but she accepted his hand. Warmth rushed through his skin at her touch as though he’d jumped into a sunbaked river. Sam saw a flash of something in her eyes, and he knew she’d felt it too, but it passed just as quickly.

      “I don’t think I’ve said yet, but I’m Lucy. Lucy Monroe.”

      Sam gently took back his hand and crossed his fingers that she’d buy in to his offer. He knew he could prove himself in the kitchen, and doing so was a start to proving himself to the town, where he hoped to find his daughter.

      “All right. You fix this mess and we’ll talk,” she said, glancing nervously toward the door as she pushed her glasses farther onto her nose.

      The motion was endearing, and, even though he’d never dated a girl like her, Lucy was undeniably adorable in her giant, grape-colored glasses. Still, he couldn’t keep himself from wondering what she would look like if he took them off.

      “Great,” Sam said, a sigh of relief escaping his lungs as he pushed away the scene he’d begun to imagine against his will. He was surprised at how good her mild approval felt, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that now. He had a lot of work ahead of him if he was going to convince her to let him stay.

      “Don’t get carried away yet, Sam,” Lucy said, holding up her palm. “I make no promises. Just...cook the lunch,” she said, waving him away, “and we’ll go from there.”

      Sam nodded and took off his suit jacket to begin rolling up his sleeves. Lucy showed him where the aprons were, observing him suspiciously the whole time as if already regretting her decision. He could tell she wouldn’t be easy to win over. Something about her indicated it would take a lot of hard work and dedication to get her to trust him. And, though Lucy’s last name was the same as Jennifer’s, he still didn’t know Lucy’s exact relationship to his daughter. He still had a lot to figure out. But he’d been given a lucky shot, and he planned on taking it.

      * * *

      Tessa and Lucy watched in amazement as Sam prepared turkey and provolone sandwiches, faster than either of them could believe. But they weren’t just any turkey and cheese stacks. He scoured the pantry as if he belonged in that kitchen, pulling out items as if he’d worked there his entire life, and chucked pine nuts, olive oil and basil into the food processor to whip up a pesto sauce to spread on the bread. It looked and smelled amazing. Lucy ate in the café often since it was convenient and inexpensive, and Axel’s dishes had been delightful in a comforting sort of way, but Sam’s style was more adventurous and a little more daring than anyone the Lonestar had ever hired before.

      Lucy wondered if maybe he would prove to be a good change.

      Ticket and tour sales were suffering lately. It seemed families and schools weren’t spending as much on educational vacations and field trips, at least not to the observatory. Despite some steady funding from the university, which had seen some scary cutbacks in the past few years, they needed the revenue from tourists to cover employee salaries and up-to-date equipment. Lucy and Dr. Blake had already spent agonizing hours, scaling down as much as they could without actually letting anyone go, which was something Lucy all but outright refused to do. If she didn’t have Shiloh to provide for, she would give up her job before making anyone redundant. She feared that would become necessary at some point, but she kept hoping she could push that day further and further into the future until things got better and she could just forget about it altogether. Maybe hiring someone like Sam was a good idea. At least they could give him a try and see how visitors responded. Maybe they could keep some of the old favorites on the menu and add some new dishes to test things out.

      “Do you think he’s legit?” Lucy asked Tessa, who had cleaned up several pie pans while Sam worked, and had come to stand at Lucy’s side, blatantly enjoying the sight of their new company.

      “What?” Tessa asked, forcing her eyes away from the new guy with concentrated effort.

      Lucy rolled her eyes.

      “I said, do you think he’s legit? Do you think he’s really a chef?”

      “I just think he’s pretty,” Tessa said, resting her elbows on the table with her chin in her hands.

      Lucy jabbed her friend in the side, but stopped short of disagreeing. She wasn’t blind, after all.

      “Come on. I just let a total stranger take over the kitchen, which I’m indirectly responsible for thanks to Axel the ass, and all you can think about is how he looks in that suit.” Even as she spoke, Lucy knew she was just voicing her own thoughts. Apparently Tess caught on.

      “Hey, sister. I said nothing about that suit. I’m just appreciating the scenery. It’s nice to see a man dressed up, rather than the rest of the scientists in their twenty-year-old khakis and plaid.” Her eyes gleamed. Tessa teased them, but Lucy knew her best friend loved the geniuses just as much as she did. “Besides, you should have seen the way he was ogling you earlier. That man couldn’t pull his eyes away, and, you know I love you and all, but you’re a mess today, so he must have some real interest.”

      Lucy shook her head, used to her friend’s playfulness, and it was Tessa’s turn to roll her eyes before pointing a thumb in Sam’s direction.

      “Anyway, what’s the worst that could happen? We’ve been watching him the whole time. The dude washed his hands. And maybe he’ll be able to calm the starving masses outside the door. As far as I can see, he looks like he’s got everything under control.”

      “What do you reckon he’s doing here, though? He’s a little too timely, don’t you think?”

      “Maybe applying for Axel’s job, like he said. He’s a handsome stranger in Peach Leaf, Luce. We could use a little mystery around here, so don’t be so quick to kill it.”

      “But I didn’t post the position yet. I haven’t had time,” Lucy said.

      Tessa raised her palms in exasperation.

      “I don’t know what you want me to tell you, sweetheart. Maybe he’s an angel dropped right out of the dadgum sky,” Tessa said, her face filled with more conviction than Lucy was comfortable with, considering the woman’s ridiculous suggestion.

      Lucy didn’t believe in angels, or miracles, or chance, or luck. She believed in what she knew, in what she could see and touch and quantify. She believed in hard data and facts. Although something inside her told her that Sam Haynes was okay. He didn’t seem like an ax murderer, and he dressed decently and had showered at least. Not that Lucy was an expert on appearances, but he seemed all right. And there were those sandwiches and cookies. So far, she had no valid reason not to give him a shot.

      She would consider this an experiment, and, if it didn’t work out, she’d start with a posting in the Peach Leaf Gazette. Jobs were in short supply in their small town, and there were a lot of folks looking for work. If she couldn’t find a trained chef to take over full-time, she was sure someone could be taught to manage breakfast, at least.

      But then, who would teach that person?

      Lucy hung her head.

      She really didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. Sam looked better and better for the job as she weighed her limited alternatives and came up with a whole load of nothing.

      Tessa СКАЧАТЬ