Once he got to Austin, all bets were off, he promised himself. But for now, he had to find a way to deal with Abby.
After spending a couple of minutes in the bathroom trying to make sure she didn’t look like a woman who had performed numerous sexual services for two different men, Abby walked back into the kitchen with her head held high. She was a professional. She had spent years working in one of the toughest ERs in the state, and she could stare down just about anyone. Working as a nurse in the emergency room had prepared her to handle just about anything. If someone gave her that righteous look she’d come to expect, she would just treat them like a drunk on full moon at Peter Smith Hospital.
“You done with your break, hon?” Len Sawyer gave her a knowing smile as she walked into the kitchen. He settled a massive stack of bacon on a single plate. He had been Christa’s short-order cook for ten years. Abby had only met him a month ago, but he seemed to have taken a shine to her. He was an older man who was happily married to a beautician. Karen Sawyer had told Abby to come into her shop any time she liked and she would take care of those troublesome grays. Abby had very much appreciated the thought, but instead used a box at home because she didn’t want to put anyone out of business. It was a pain in the butt, but she was also driving to Tyler when she needed anything. Abby couldn’t stand the thought that she would be turned away the way she had been when she was seventeen. She could still remember the humiliation of trying to buy milk at the grocery store and being told she wasn’t welcome. That was when she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she had to leave. Ruby’s threat to get her mother fired was just the cherry on top of the cake.
“Yes,” Abby said with a crisp nod. “I am quite refreshed and ready to go back to work.”
Sherry bounced into the kitchen, her ponytail bobbing up and down. She called out an order and then turned to Abby. There was a broad smile on her face. “You have got to tell me how you did that. I have been trying to be the meat in that sandwich for ten years.”
“Don’t you go being nasty, girl,” Len warned.
Sherry looked up, completely guileless. She was twenty-five and had no ambitions beyond making her hair appointment next Monday. “I am not being nasty. Well, maybe I am, but this is girl talk. You just don’t listen in.” Sherry sighed. “Ten years. I understood in the beginning. I was jail bait, but even after I was all legal and stuff, I couldn’t get them to date me.”
“Them?” Abby was shocked that Sherry knew. It was supposed to be a closely guarded secret.
“Hon, everyone knows those boys are perverts.” Len waved his hand. “I suppose the old church ladies might have cared at one point, but Jack and Sam rebuilt First Presbyterian after that fire a few years back, so they decided to close their mouths. To each their own, I say.”
“It’s not like they haven’t dated.” Sherry wrinkled her cute little nose. “Those boys haven’t been celibate, but they tend to be real picky. Well, Sam’s not, but Jack is. They might try to keep it quiet, but this is a small town. Everyone is up in everyone else’s business. Those boys just made a public declaration of intent regarding you. It’ll be all over town by the time the Cowboys game is on.”
Abby’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. How was she going to go back out there when everyone knew what she had been doing?
“I’d watch out for Melissa Paul, though,” Sherry warned. “She’s works at the Wal-Mart a town over. She has wanted to get her hooks into Sam Fleetwood for a long time. Sam went out with her about a year ago, but Jack couldn’t stand her, which tells me he has good taste. Sam broke it off, and she’s been acting like a scalded cat ever since.”
“Sam dated someone without Jack?”
Len nodded as he cracked eggs into a bowl. “Sam is the one who dates. Jack just joins them later, if you know what I mean. I just about fell on the floor when he told Kyle Morgan he was serious about you and you were his girlfriend.”
Abby’s jaw dropped. “He said what?”
Sherry’s face just lit up. She loved juicy gossip. “Kyle Morgan’s boys asked if you were Jack’s girl, and he said yes. He even smiled when he did it. I didn’t know his face worked that way. Usually Jack is grrrr, and dark and broody. He likes to have a badass reputation.”
“Then the man shouldn’t rescue every stray dog he finds.” Len laughed. He flipped a pancake. “It was hard to stay terrified when I saw the man stop that big truck of his to move a turtle out of the road. Let me tell you, Abby, it didn’t take long before the women of this town figured out Jack Barnes was a sucker for a hard luck story. That man has fixed more leaks, roofs, and cars than any one man should have. He doesn’t date the way Sam does because he doesn’t have the time.”
“But he does it all with a frown on his face,” Sherry observed. “I suppose he thinks that keeps his image up.” She stared out the window to the dining room. “Gotta go. The natives are restless.” She walked off, a fresh pot of coffee in her hand.
“He’s a good man, Abby.” Len pushed the tray toward her. It was full of pancakes and greasy bacon and runny eggs. It was a heart attack waiting to happen. The nurse in Abby wanted to lecture someone. “So is Sam. A woman could do a lot worse.”
Abby noted the table number and stopped in her tracks. “Len, we’re going to have to change this order.”
The cook looked back curiously as Abby told him what she was going to need. He shook his head like he wasn’t so sure this was a good idea, but Abby had a plan. If Jack Barnes was going to announce she was his girlfriend, he was going to have to learn to deal with what that really meant.
Five minutes later, she reloaded the tray herself and got back to work.
Jack stared down at the plate Abby placed in front of him. There were eggs, Canadian bacon, and a bowl of fruit. There was only one problem with it.
“This is not what we ordered.” Jack had been looking forward to a huge breakfast of his usual pancakes, bacon, and fried eggs. He had worked up an appetite, but it seemed Abby wanted a little revenge. His mood took a deep dive. He really hadn’t expected that.
“It’s all you’re getting,” Abby said saucily.
Sam poked at the fruit like it was some foreign thing he’d never seen before rather than chunks of pineapple and melon. He looked at Abby with a desperate expression on his face. “Where are our pancakes? We ordered pancakes. Come on, Abby. I was nice to you. Jack was the mean one who stole your panties. Punish him.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed on Abby as she rested her hand on her hip and appeared ready for a fight, which he was willing to give her. “Take this back, Abby. Bring us what we ordered.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. There are no more pancakes for you here.”
Jack slid out of the booth and stood over her. Now everyone in the café was watching. “Are you telling me we are no longer welcome in this establishment?”
Sam stood behind Abby and put his hands on her shoulders, almost as if he was ready to pull her out of Jack’s line of fire if he had to. “I’m sure that’s not what she meant, Jack.”
Abby rolled her pretty hazel eyes. “I’m not kicking you out, Jack. Why would I do that? I am telling you that if I’m your girlfriend, I have certain rights. You have taken certain rights and privileges concerning me, and I think I should have the same chance with you.”
“What privilege is it you’re looking for, Abby?”