Hotter than Texas (Pecan Creek) - By Tina Leonard Page 0,24
guess is you’re determined to rope Maggie in to annoy Vivian. If Vivian’s festering about my mother, she’s less likely to focus on you. Which makes you not a nice guy, in my book.”
He sat down next to her, letting his legs dangle over the pier as she was. Paris made it to the bank, got out, shook herself off, then dove off the pier again. “Look, I dig Maggie. It’s that simple. There is no other motive. Although doing it to atone for any guilt I might be feeling about kissing you was a colorful guess. I never feel guilty about kissing a woman.”
Sugar looked at him. “Where is Mrs. Jake Bentley?”
“Out there looking for me, probably.” He smiled at the prospect. “She’ll find me one day.”
“No girlfriend?”
“I had one. You’ll meet her soon enough. Averie Pipkin. With an ie instead of a y. A very nice girl.” He leaned back on the dock, staring up at the cloudless sky.
“Go on. You started the story, don’t leave off the ending.”
“There’s nothing to tell. She wanted to get married.” He sighed. “She’s such a nice girl.”
Sugar lay back on the dock beside him, a foot apart, looking up at the sky he saw. “So? Nice girls finish last?”
“Probably.” He yawned. “I think I’m too lazy to get married. It’s too much commitment.”
“You own a restaurant. That’s a huge commitment.”
“Not really. I have three buddies who really keep things going. I show up infrequently to count the money, check the stock, tell everyone I’m just helping out. I don’t do much.”
“But you lie to your mother, and that’s a commitment.”
“Not true. I avoid telling Vivian about my business, because Vivian is a fixer. Vivian would snoop into my records, she’d change everything from the menu to the soap in the soap dispensers in the bathrooms, and she’d force everyone to eat every meal at Bait and Burgers.”
“There’s no bait in your restaurant. Why do you call it Bait and Burgers?”
“Kel thought of the name. I didn’t care. The other guys voted it in. We run a hamburger democracy.”
“So,” Sugar said, “getting back to Averie, ie instead of y.”
“Yeah. You’ll know her when you see her. She’s gorgeous.”
“Really.”
“Absolutely.” He smiled, wondering if he’d heard a slight edge in Sugar’s voice. “She’s about five-two, with long blonde hair to her waist. It’s straight and golden like a waterfall. Her face is enough to make a goddess weep with envy, and she’s smart.”
“You have a goddess-worthy woman at your feet and you callously turn away her offer of marriage?” She turned to look at him. “Is this wise?”
“If I hadn’t rejected her marriage proposal, I couldn’t have kissed you,” Jake pointed out.
“It was barely a kiss,” Sugar said. “More of a peck.”
“Still, no pecking allowed when a man’s wearing a wedding band.”
“True,” Sugar said, “that’s exactly why I’m divorced. My husband pecked around a lot.”
“Ouch.” Jake looked at her. “Just so you know, Vivian’s never going to allow you to advertise in the Christmas parade.”
“I figured. We’re not her vision of Pecan Creek, are we?”
“Hotterthanhellnuts.com is a bit too exotic for the quiet Pecan Creek parade.”
“And the billboard?”
“Probably not happening,” Jake said honestly. “I just don’t want to do anything that gets you ladies on the cut list in Pecan Creek. It doesn’t seem fair to your mother and sister. Maggie’s a social being; inclusion matters to her. Lucy could give a rat about people liking her, but I’m hoping in time she’ll come around.” He looked at her. “And I’m kind of hoping you like it in Pecan Creek. I think you’ll like it better here if people don’t judge you before they know you. So, scratch the billboard.”
“In your unofficial position as not-mayor. All this because the word hell is in our name? Is everybody here that cloistered?”
He smiled. “Let’s just say ladies run this town, and I don’t get in their way.”
“You hide from your mother,” Sugar said. “Is there a reason you don’t just tell her to butt out of your life?”
“Yeah. I like her in my life,” Jake said simply. “Vivian is all I’ve ever had. It was just the two of us since I was little, though she never gave up hoping Dad would come back. He never did. Mom was a single mother when it wasn’t fashionable. I keep the restaurant to myself because it’s my baby. Vivian thinks I’m either fishing or shirking life, and I’m okay with that. I take care of her because she