Rust Creek Falls Cinderella. Melissa Senate

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СКАЧАТЬ after a hard morning’s work.

      “French dip au jus on crusty French bread and a side of hand-cut steak fries” was one of tomorrow’s lunch specials. He’d just eaten and his mouth was already watering for that meal. Yeah, maybe he’d go to the Manor for lunch and even pop into the kitchen to say hi to Lily.

      That was what friends did, right? Popped in? Visited? Said a quick hello? He’d do that and leave. That would make things good between them, get rid of all that awkwardness from tonight. They could truly be friends. Everyone could always use another friend.

      But damn if he wasn’t sitting there, staring at the list of the Maverick Manor’s decadent desserts and thinking about feeding Lily succulent strawberries, watching her mouth take the juicy red fruit.

      What the hell? The woman wasn’t his type! They were just going to be buddies.

      He clicked over to the cattle sale site, forcing his mind onto steers and heifers and far from strawberries and twenty-three-year-old Lily Hunt.

      * * *

      “Ooh, Lily, that hot Crawford cowboy was just seated at table three,” whispered AnnaBeth Bellows, a waitress at the Maverick Manor and Lily’s good friend. Lily had told AnnaBeth about her date with Xander so Lily knew the hot cowboy had to be him.

      She almost gasped yet kept her focus on her broiled shrimp, caramelizing just so in garlic, olive oil and sea salt. She added a hint of cayenne in the last few seconds, and plated it the moment she knew it was done. Sixth sense.

      According to Mark, table eight’s waiter, the group was from New Orleans originally even though they lived in Kalispell now. Lily always had the waiters find out where her diners were from so she could add a tiny taste of home to their dishes. It was just a little thing Lily did that her diners seemed to appreciate, even if they didn’t know why they reacted so strongly, so emotionally to their food. The other cooks thought it was a lot to deal with, but Lily enjoyed the whole process. Food was special. Food was your family. Food was home in a good way, the best way, and could remind people of wonderful memories. Sometimes sad memories, too. But evoking those feelings seemed to have a good impact on her diners and on her. So she continued the tradition.

      She placed the gorgeous shrimp, a deep, rich bronze, with its side of seasoned vegetables on the waiter’s station and raced to the Out door to the dining room. She peered through the little round window on the door, looking for the sexy cowboy.

      Yes, there he was. Sitting by himself, thank God, and not with a date set up by Viv Dalton, which was her immediate fear when AnnaBeth had whispered that he was here.

      Of course, he could be waiting on a date.

      “Dining alone,” AnnaBeth said with a smile.

      Lily couldn’t help grinning back, her heart flip-flopping. “Could a man be more gorgeous?”

      “Yes—my boyfriend,” AnnaBeth said, “even if Petey-pie has a receding hairline and a bit of a belly. He’s hot to me.”

      Lily laughed. “And Pete’s the greatest guy ever, too.” Yes, indeed, Lily should aspire to a wonderful guy like AnnaBeth’s “Petey-pie.” Kind. Loyal. Full of integrity. Brought her little gifts for no reason. Called her AnnaBeauty all the time. Making Lily wistful.

      Lily bit her lip. “Okay, why is Xander here after that awkward moment from hell last night on our not-a-date?”

      “The almost kiss,” AnnaBeth suggested, watching for the other two cooks plating, which meant she’d have to rush off to pick up. “I’m telling you, Xander was just caught off guard. He wasn’t even expecting to have a date last night, right? But then he did, a wings picnic, and he fell madly in love with you but didn’t expect to and now he’s here to ask you out again.”

      Lily laughed. “I love you, AnnaBeth. Seriously. Everyone needs one of you. But life is not a Christmas movie. Even though I wish it were.”

      “Listen, my friend. You have to make your own magic. Just like you do with your food.”

      Lily watched Xander close the menu. She wondered what he’d decided on.

      “Ah, time to take the cowboy’s order,” AnnaBeth said. “Back in a flash.”

      Lily watched them until she noticed her boss, Gwendolyn, eyeing her and then staring at her empty cooking station. She darted to her stove, working on another batch of au jus for today’s French dip special.

      In a minute, AnnaBeth was back with Xander’s order. The special.

      She smiled and began working on it and four more for other tables. But to table three’s sauce she added just a hint of sweet, smoky barbecue sauce, a flavor that would take Xander Crawford back to Texas where he’d lived his whole life until a month ago.

      Could he be here to see her? If he wasn’t interested in her—and he sure hadn’t seemed to be last night with that not-kiss thing—wouldn’t he avoid where she worked?

      But then she thought of him and the reaction he must get from women, and she was flooded with doubts. There was no way Lily of the hoodie and sneakers would be Xander Crawford’s type. When she was young and girls at school would make fun of her for being a tomboy, her mother would always say, You’re exactly as you should be—yourself. That had always made Lily feel better. And maybe Xander liked a down-to-earth woman with flour on her cheek and smelling of onions and caramelized shrimp and peppercorns.

      Anything was possible. That was the name of the game.

      She smiled at the thought, adding a pinch of garam masala to table twelve’s sauce since they were honeymooners who’d just returned from India. For table fourteen, visitors from Maine, she added a dash of Bell’s Seasoning, a famed New England blend of rosemary, sage, oregano and other spices.

      Lily worked on five more entrées, her apron splattered, her mind moving so fast she could barely think about Xander in the dining room, eating her food right now. Was he enjoying it? Did it hit the spot? Did it bring a little bit of Texas to Montana today?

      “Five-minute break if you need it,” Gwendolyn called out to her. “Your tables are all freshly served so you’re clear.”

      “Ah, great,” she said, grabbing her water bottle and taking a big swig, staring out the long, narrow window at the Montana wilderness at the back of the Manor.

      “I just had the best French dip sandwich of my life,” a deep voice said from behind her, and she almost jumped.

      Xander! Standing right there.

      “Craziest thing,” he said. “I took two bites and started thinking about the ranch I grew up on in Dallas, my dad teaching me and Hunter how to ride a two-wheeler. I was a little mad at my dad earlier, and now I’m full of good memories, so he’s back out of the doghouse.”

      “You can’t be in here,” she whispered, trying to hide her grin. She shooed him out the back door, the breezy August air so refreshing on her face. “So you loved the French dip?”

      “Beyond loved it. It tasted like...home. I know this is home now, but that sandwich reminded me of Texas in a good way. And I left behind some things I’d like to forget.”

      Huh. СКАЧАТЬ