Page 107 of Bad Seed

“She’s sticking,” Brendan said.

Harley leaned against him. “He’s right. I am so stuck on this man. I’ll also be going to work for the new owner of the Serenity Inn as the global financial advisor.”

“So, Ray did sell the inn? Who to?”

“Wolfgang Outen. He’s moving here to be close to Sean and Amalie. He wants to be a hands-on grandfather,” Harley said, and then shivered with relief. “God, I’m glad this nightmare is over.”

“I’m happy for you, for the both of you,” Rusty said. “Don’t get up. I’ll see myself out.” She grabbed her coat off the hook and was putting it on as she went out the door.

“It’s finally over,” Harley said.

“And we’re just beginning,” Brendan added. “Best day ever. And now that we’re no longer under wraps, how about going to lunch somewhere? You’ve seen next to nothing of Jubilee.”

Thinking of the wound she’d just uncovered, Harley reached for her forehead, but Brendan caught her hand, then turned it palm up and kissed it.

“You’re fine, Sunshine. Nobody can see that for all the curls, but if they do, just remind them that the other guy looks worse.”

She burst out laughing. “You are so good for my soul.”

“And other things,” he drawled.

“Lord, yes, those other things,” Harley said.

“Put on some shoes and get your coat. I can’t wait to show off my pretty lady.”

A few minutes later, they were in the car and backing out of the garage. “Brendan, what’s your favorite place to eat at?” she asked.

“Mom’s house, but here in Jubilee, probably Cajun Katie’s, or the Back Porch. Back Porch is just down-home southern cooking. Cajun Katie’s speaks for itself. The shrimp and grits are killer, and so is the gumbo, or the blackened fish. Which sounds best to you?”

“Gumbo sounds really good in this cold weather,” Harley said.

“Then Cajun Katie’s it is,” he said, and headed uptown. He found a place to park and then hurried her inside out of the cold.

“Brendan! How did you escape the hotel kitchens?” the hostess asked.

“Took a few days off,” he said. “Paula, this is my girl, Harley Banks. Harley, this is my cousin Paula Cauley. One of Aunt Annie’s granddaughters.”

“Aunt Annie who makes the cinnamon rolls?” Harley said.

“The one and only,” Paula said. “Table or booth?”

“Better make it a table,” Brendan said. “My legs don’t fit under your booths.”

She led them to a table by the window and left their menus. “Enjoy your meal,” she said, and hurried backto the front, but Harley kept looking out the windows and at the diners, getting her first glimpse of the tourist section of the town, and was impressed.

“This place is charming, and unique, and amazing, but there isn’t much of a residential area. Where do all the people who own and run these shops live?”

“Over half of them live on Pope Mountain, and almost all of them are, in some way or another, people who’ve grown up in this area. Usually, the only strangers in town are the tourists or people connected to the music venues.”

“A unique approach to small-town living,” Harley said, then picked up her menu and started reading.

“You’ll have a big adjustment to make living here,” he said.

She looked up from the menu, then reached across the table and took his hand. “No, love, I won’t. I haven’t had roots since I left home for college. My home will always be where you are.”

Wishing for privacy, all he could do was give her hand a quick squeeze. “I don’t know how I got so lucky, but you fill up every crack in my heart.”

She sighed. “You are as pretty as you talk. What am I going to do with you?”

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