Page 24 of The Wrangler Takes a Wife

Rolynda took their orders, and Amara directed her to cash out Vera’s cousin, who was standing at the cash register with both her purse and Vera’s.

Amara stared at Chase until he asked her, “What?”

“That was cold.”

“I thought I was downright polite.” Reaching over, he captured her hands in his. “Listen, that is as much restraint as I’m going to show when someone disrespects you.”

“Vera is going to spread your interaction.”

“Good.” The expression he wore brokered no room for argument. “I hope the hell she does.”

Amara appreciated his action. If she was being honest, the way he checked Vera was sexy as hell. Well, at least them havinglunch was good for business. A few ladies made their way into the diner, after spying the couple in the picture window. The rumour mill would be buzzing. She tried not to think about it too much.

“I’m curious. Sometimes it says Amara’s special and other times it says Chef’s special?” Chase asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

“When I hired Van as a chef, he wanted some creative input. So, we split the days.”

“I thought you did all the cooking yourself.”

“In the beginning I did, but eventually the diner became way too much for me to do it all by myself. Now we have a chef and a cook as well.”

“You’ve accomplished a lot. You should be proud.”

Amara was accustomed to people complementing her on her success with the restaurant. However, it felt extra special coming from him. Her heart swelled with pride at his words.

Like the night before, it was easy to engage in conversation with Chase. Amara even ignored the not-so-subtle onlookers. The only hiccup was when he asked for the bill. Amara supposed she really couldn’t be mad he was following her rule. Rolynda was confused though and asked for clarification from her.

“It’s okay. Bring me the bill. I wouldn’t invite a lady out and not pay for the meal,” Chase explained.

“Oh, alright.” Rolynda’s face was so expressive as she stared at Amara before walking away.

“Thanks for that.” Amara shot Chase a deadly glance.

“You’re welcome, Sweet Darling.” He had the nerve to wink at her.

It had been unexpected when they reached the sidewalk, and he joined their hands, but Amara went with it. As he drove off the main road and headed towards Sagebrush Hills, another woman in town glared at her. They’d grown up together. She and the woman had never been friends, but they had always been friendly. Now she was shooting daggers at Amara.

Of course, Amara had heard the singles and their mommas gush around town about him, but it seemed these ladies were taking things more seriously than she thought. Vera certainly knew better than to be so rude to Amara. When they were fifteen, Amara had smacked the attitude out of Vera when she spread rumours about her cheating on a test. Ever since then, Vera minded her P’s & Q’s. Now the divorcée had forgotten her lesson. Maybe Vera’s cousin could remind her. Amara wouldn’t sit back and take that disrespect again.

“So, these ladies really have been in hot pursuit, huh?”

“Willowridge women have been… aggressive. They are constantly leaving me shit and stopping by the house, even though I’ve asked them not to. I’ve tried to be nice about it all, but it’s wearing thin.”

“Hey, I’m a Willowridge woman.”

“Present company excluded.”

“Well, most of them will back off soon.”

“I hadn’t thought about them treating you differently. Are they going to be a problem for you?”

“Not if they know what’s good for them.” Amara snorted.

Chapter Ten

Chase

Most of Chase’s admirers backed off once word spread of his budding relationship with Amara. A few stragglers continued to drop food off at Sagebrush Hill. It took Vera having a run-in with Amara for everyone to get the picture and back off altogether. He was having lunch with her at the ranch when Vera stopped by. They heard her truck approaching, and Amara went out to meet her.

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