“Aren’t those the best kind?” He guided her to a booth with his hand on her lower back.
When she slid into one side, she could still feel the warmth of his hand. No, that wasn’t right. His handprint felt like it was permanently branded into her back, and yes, there was chemistry and lots of it. Sparks danced across the tabletop like drops of water on a hot griddle.
“It’s been months since I’ve been in here,” he said.
“Why?” She peeked over the top of her menu and tried to calm the flutters in her stomach. “The food is great.”
He leaned over slightly. “The waitress, Tilly, keeps hitting on me. She seems like a nice enough person, but I don’t want to start something with a woman . . .” He stopped talking when Tilly started toward them.
“What can I get y’all tonight?” she asked. “Hey, you’re one of the O’Riley cousins. I remember you from a couple of weeks ago. Why hasn’t Flynn called me? Did he lose my number?”
Nessa shrugged. “I really don’t know, but we’ve been very busy.” She made a mental note to tease Flynn about it when she got home.
That’s not nice, her mother’s voice in her head scolded.
No, but he teases me about Jackson, and turnabout is fair play, like you always say, Nessa argued.
“Well, I’ll give my number to you to give to him before you leave.” Tilly pulled out her pad and pen. “You”—she poked Jackson in the arm with the tip of her pen—“have lost a good chance. I’ve given you forever to call me, but I see you’re more into red-haired ladies. Now it’s Flynn’s turn. Don’t pout or cry. If he doesn’t work out, I might still break you two up and make you the happiest man in the state of Texas.”
“Do you always tease customers like this?” Nessa asked.
“Who says I’m teasing?” Tilly gave her a broad wink. “Now, what can I get y’all to drink, and are you ready to order?”
“Sweet tea for me, and I’m ready if Nessa is,” Jackson said.
“The same to drink for me, and I want a double bacon cheeseburger and fries,” Nessa said.
“Just double that, and afterwards we’ll share one of your brownie sundaes,” he said.
“Got it, and here’s my number for Flynn.” She tore a page from her notepad, wrote her number and a double heart at the end, and then handed it to Nessa.
“Is she always this forward? I thought it was just because she knew Flynn from way back when,” Nessa whispered when the woman was out of hearing distance.
“That’s why I steer clear of here.” Jackson nodded. “Thanks for being my date tonight, but you do know you’ll have to come in here with me anytime I want one of their big, juicy burgers, now don’t you? I got to admit, though, I feel kinda sorry for Flynn. Being around that woman would be sort of like dealing with alcoholism and having someone hand him the keys to a fully stocked bar, wouldn’t it?”
“Flynn isn’t an alcoholic. He’s . . .” Nessa slapped her hand over her mouth. “Has he talked to you?”
“A little bit, but I got a lot of his story from Miz Lucy. She said that he was like his grandfather and his father in that he liked to chase women. I got the feeling she didn’t care if she saw either Matthew or Flynn very often in recent years,” Jackson answered.
Tilly brought their drinks and tapped the paper that Nessa had laid on the table. “Put that in your pocket, woman. I don’t want you to forget it.” Then she rushed away to wait on another customer.
“He seems to be like his father, but I know I’m not like my dad.” Nessa picked up the paper and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans. “I strive hard not to be like him, but I don’t mind being like Nanny Lucy.”
“Why? Don’t answer if that’s too personal,” he said.
“I had to separate what was religion and what was Daddy. It wasn’t easy, but I finally figured out that religion isn’t the reason my dad is the way he is. That’s just his personality. He’s controlling, and if he doesn’t get his way, he gets angry.” Nessa was amazed at how just talking to Jackson took some of the heaviness out of her heart. “But enough about the past. Let’s talk about the future. Tell me more about these craft fairs. I can’t wait for the first one.”
Jackson took a long drink of his tea. “Are you going to have some quilts ready?”
“I found three tops already done in the closet. I have one finished, and I’m working on a second one. As soon as we finish with the one in the shed, I’ll start quilting what I’ve got. I might not get five finished, but is three or four enough for a start?” she asked.
“That’s a pretty good start, but you’ll sell as many kits as you do quilts. Miz Lucy always had a picture of a finished quilt on the top of the kit. I’ve often wondered how many folks really got one of those intricate ones sewn up,” he said.
Tilly brought out their food, smiled at Nessa when she saw the number was gone, and set down their burger baskets. “Y’all enjoy, and tell Flynn if he doesn’t call me soon, I might just bring my kids out to the waterfall to swim.”
“You can’t do that,” Jackson said. “The waterfall is on the Devereaux property, and we’ve got ‘No Trespassing’ signs posted everywhere. If we let one person come out there to swim, then we’d be constantly overrun with partying kids.”
“Party pooper!” Tilly gave him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder before she left.
“See what I’m talking about?” Jackson squirted ketchup on his fries and handed the bottle to Nessa.
“Oh, yeah.” She nodded as she covered her fries with ketchup and picked up a fork. “Does she flirt like that with every guy?”
“I have no idea,” Jackson answered. “But I’m sure glad Flynn is taking some of the pressure off me.”
Jackson had always liked tall blondes with brown eyes and delicate features. Nessa had curly red hair and steely blue eyes that looked like they could see right into his soul, and she barely came up to his shoulder. But he’d thought all week about that kiss they’d shared, and he kept sneaking peeks at her full lips as they ate their burgers. He had told himself that the sparks between them when they had kissed had only been the result of his not having dated or been with a woman in months, but now he was ready to admit that he was attracted to her.
Nessa’s knee bumped against his as she slid forward in the seat to reach for the salt, and there was the same electricity between them that he’d felt every time he was in her presence. He couldn’t blame the chemistry on abstinence when just the touch of her knee caused a stirring in his body and soul alike.
The lawyer in him weighed the pros and cons of having a relationship with a neighbor who might not even stay in Blossom. The pros were that she was close by, he could see her often, and she was so easy to talk to. The cons were that if things got serious and she moved back to the Panhandle, his heart might be broken, and if there was a bad breakup, things could get really awkward between them as neighbors.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Nessa said.
“Do you live in the moment or think about the future?” he asked.