Page 39 of Combust
As Cade pulled into a parking space and turned off his engine, he saw Maggie standing near the front door. To his relief, she didn’t look annoyed.
“I apologize for keepin’ you waiting,” he said, as he strode up to her.
He bent and kissed her. Just a quick one, since they were standing in front of a tall plate-glass window in clear view of the folks inside the restaurant.
“I’ve only been here for couple of minutes,” she told him when he drew back.
That was good. He opened the door for her, then followed her in.
The mouthwatering fragrances of mesquite smoke, barbecued meat, spices, tangy sauce, and a hundred other delicious food smells enveloped him in a warm embrace. Lunch suddenly seemed like a long time ago. On cue, his stomach gurgled.
The interior of Justin Long’s restaurant had wooden tables and chairs, and floors made from wide, weathered boards. A collection of framed photos and Texas-themed memorabilia covered the exposed brick walls.
Cade spotted a well-worn leather saddle mounted on one wall, along with a row of Stetson hats in white, cream, tan, brown, and black, and a taxidermized armadillo placed next to a coil of barbed wire.
Justin himself stood behind the takeout counter at the front, wearing a dark green server’s apron printed with the name of his business.
“Maggie, Cade, nice to see y’all!” His weathered face creased with a smile, and his blue-green eyes lit up with welcome.
“Hi Justin!” Maggie said as he came around the counter. She gave him a hug.
“Evenin’, Mr. Long,” Cade said, extending his hand.
Justin gave him a mock-frown. “Didn’t I tell you to call me Justin, young man?”
His grip was firm, but he wasn’t the type to turn a handshake into a boa constrictor contest, seeing who could squeeze the hardest.
“Yes, sir,” Cade responded, and grinned at the lanky sabertooth shifter.
He’d liked what he’d seen so far of Elle Swanson’s mate, and recalled that he had a good sense of humor.
Justin only shook his head ruefully. “Table for two?”
“Yes, sir,” Cade said again, out of sheer cussedness.
Justin grabbed a couple of menus from the hostess stand, then led them to a booth at the back of the restaurant, away from the other guests.
The place was half-full, which was surprising for a Monday night in the middle of November. Most of the diners were male, and wearing hunting camo.
“It’s elk season,” Maggie said, responding to Cade’s unasked question. “We get a lot of hunters in town this time of year.”
They seated themselves. On Maggie’s recommendation, he ordered a beer from the local microbrewery. She got herself lemonade, citing the fact that she was on call tonight for the fire department.
“Rob will be by in a couple of minutes to deliver your drinks and take your food orders,” Justin told them, and moved away.
Cade couldn’t interpret the expression on Maggie’s face. “Somethin’ wrong?”
She sighed. “Not really. It’s just…well, Rob is a friend of mine. And this is a really small town.”
He blinked at her, trying to puzzle out her cryptic statement. Then he got it. “And you’re embarrassed to be seen in my company?”
“No!” she protested. “That’s not it. But by lunchtime tomorrow, everyone in town—and I meaneveryone—is going to know that we went out on a date. And they’ll be talking about it.”
Wherever he’d lived, he’d always tried to lay low, but he knew how things worked in a tight-knit place like this. Everyone poked their noses into their neighbor’s doings, and news traveled at ten words a second, with gusts up to fifty.
He gave her a slow smile. “Well, I hope that they’re gonna be jealous that I’m courting the prettiest lady in Bearpaw Ridge.”
“Sheisthe prettiest girl in town,” a male voice said. “I’ve been trying to convince her of that for years.”
