“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know how to work in the garden, or when I wasn’t happiest there,” Bryce said.
“Whatever put you in pharmacy school then?” Cricket got up and headed inside the house.
He stood up and followed her. “I thought about being a doctor, but I’m not real fond of the sight of blood. Then I figured I could work in research, which I did when I got into pharmacy school, but for some reason, pharmacy kept calling out to me. Maybe it was Fate.”
She opened the back door and went on in ahead of him. “If it was Fate, then maybe you should go out with Anna Grace. After all, you were brought here for a reason.”
“I don’t think it’s got anything to do with that woman,” he said. “I’ll set the table for us if you’ll point me toward the cabinet where the dishes are.”
She flung up a hand and it brushed against his biceps. Yep, there were definitely sparks, and Bryce didn’t even believe in love at first sight. In his previous two relationships, he and the women had been friends for months, and there hadn’t ever been electricity with either of them like he felt with Cricket.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “I’ll get the food dished up and on the table. Plates are up there. Utensils are in the first drawer to the right of the sink. Paper napkins are on the table. Glasses for tea to the right of the sink.”
“Just like Mama has her kitchen set up.” Bryce took down two plates and put them on the table. “Everything for efficiency.”
“It’s the only way to run a farm kitchen,” she said as she scooped up chicken and dumplings from the slow cooker.
When everything was on the table, he asked, “Where should I sit?”
“At the head of the table. I always sit right here.” She started to pull out her chair, but he beat her to it.
“Allow me,” he said and then took his place when she was seated. “Do you say grace?”
“Usually silently,” she answered, “but since there’s two of us, maybe you could do the honors.”
“Gladly.” He bowed his head and said a short prayer, and then picked up the crock bowl full of dumplings and started to pass it to her.
“Help yourself first,” she told him.
He took out a healthy portion and then sent them over to her. “I got a confession. I’ve never sat at the head of the table before. That’s always been Granddad’s place on one end and Dad’s on the other.”
“Have you got brothers and sisters?” she asked.
“Nope, there’s just me, and I come from a long line of only children. My dad and mama both are only kids, and so were my granny and grandpa,” he answered as he took his first bite. “These are amazing dumplings. They taste just like what my granny makes.”
“That’s some high praise.” Cricket passed the salad and then the bowl of buttered corn to him.
“Just statin’ facts, Miz Cricket,” he drawled. “You reckon Anna Grace can make dumplings like these?”
“The cook at their place might be able to,” she answered. “You should tell her that you really like dumplings and see if she invites you to Sunday dinner after church.”
“Does she go to the same church as you do?” Bryce took a sip of tea.
“Oh, yes, she does.” Cricket nodded. “She and her friends, the Belles’ daughters, sit together on the back pew so they can hurry out as soon as the benediction is over. I guess she wouldn’t invite you to Sunday dinner. They all gather up and go to some place in Sweetwater for dinner every Sunday. I hear they have a standing reservation.”
“Does that mean she goes with her friends, and I’m safe for that day?” he asked.
Cricket shook her head. “Not really. The Belles that don’t have anything else on their calendars and their spouses and kids all go, so she might rope you into going with them. Mary Lou, that’s her mother, would be happy to have her daughter settled. I’ve heard that Anna Grace has had a long-time affair with a teacher in Sweetwater when she’s not trying to find a husband that would make Mary Lou happy.”
“That’s crazy!” Bryce had heard of small-town rumors and gossip, but he had no idea what he was getting into when he bought the drugstore. “Why doesn’t she just take that teacher to Sunday dinner.”
“You might be super smart when it comes to books,” Cricket said, “but you need to be educated in the ways of small towns. Anna Grace can sleep with the teacher. She can fall in love with him, and even have an affair with him the rest of her life. But she will marry someone Mary Lou approves of. Anna Grace wouldn’t dare disgrace herself in front of the club members by marrying a plain old teacher. Mary Lou would be mortified, and her father would fire her from the high-paying, window-dressing job she has at the oil company.”
“Why would he do that?” Bryce asked.
“Because if Mary Lou ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, and her husband doesn’t cross her when it comes to Anna Grace,” Cricket answered.
“Holy sh…smoke,” Bryce muttered. “What else do I need to know about?”
“That’s enough of a social lesson for tonight, but if you’ve got doubts about anything, just call me or else ask Lettie and Nadine. They know everything about everything in Bloom, going all the way back to when they were young, and Nadine will be ninety-five tomorrow,” Cricket told him. “Lettie is a couple of years younger than she is, but neither of them act that old. You do know that Lettie believes in aliens, don’t you?”
If Bryce hadn’t swallowed fast, he would have spewed tea all over the table. “You’re kiddin’, right?”
“Nope, not one bit, and if you don’t want to have to find another place to live, don’t ever try to convince her otherwise,” Cricket said.
Bryce was so glad that he’d come out to the farm to get some produce the day before. Cricket was a fountain of information. Her cooking was fabulous. He got to play in the dirt and could look forward to going fishing. And she was so damned cute that it took his breath away.
Chapter Four
Cricket had just flipped the lights on at the shop and set down her tote bag on Thursday morning when her phone rang. She fished it out of her purse and smiled when she saw Jennie Sue’s name pop up.
“Good mornin’,” she answered. “How’s the vacation going?”
“Absolutely wonderful,” Jennie Sue replied. “We had planned to go to a waterpark and the zoo today, but Aubrey and Dina both cried. They wanted to build another sandcastle on the beach and play in the sand. Rick is getting them into their bathing suits. I’ve gathered up the sunblock and snacks. Now, tell me all about this new pharmacist and how you are being the damsel in shining armor who is rescuing him from a life of misery with Anna Grace.”
Cricket giggled. “I don’t know about all that, but he has to be saved, and I’m doing my part to help with that. He helped me pick peas and gather the tomatoes last night. Then he ate supper with me.”
“Lettie thinks there might be a little attraction there,” Jennie Sue said. “She said that when she and Nadine came to the bookstore yesterday, your eyes were sparkling.”