“It’s not STFs,” Cricket whispered. “It’s STDs.”
“Close enough,” Lettie said out the side of her mouth.
Bryce nearly choked on a sip of tea, but Cricket wasn’t a bit shocked at what they were saying. She’d heard them place two-dollar bets on all kinds of things. “That’s why they sit with us rather than with the preacher,” Cricket told him.
“You got that right,” Lettie said, “but we do try to be nice on Sunday. Which reminds me, you two want to have Sunday dinner with us after church?”
“We’ve already got plans,” Bryce said. “I’m taking Cricket to church and then out to lunch.”
“Is it a real date, then?” Nadine asked. “If it is, that’s the best birthday present you could give this old woman.”
“Old, my stars!” Cricket felt the blush before it started burning her face. “You will never be old, no matter what the numbers say.”
“Thank you, darlin’, but I just love it that you are going out on a date.” Nadine grinned.
Thank God Bryce didn’t ask why that was such a great thing, Cricket thought. Then the preacher came over, with a huge square of cake on a Happy Birthday plate, and sat down beside Nadine.
“Lettie, you outdid yourself on this cake. It’s amazing,” Frank said.
She put on her sweet little angel expression and cocked her head to one side. “You let me know when your birthday rolls around, and I’ll make you one just like it, but one without ninety-five holes poked in it.”
“I’ll only need sixty-five, and my birthday is at the end of August,” Frank said. “I plan on retiring in September. The committee will be looking for a new preacher at the end of this month. You ladies going to be up for interviews?”
“You bet we are,” Lettie assured him.
Bryce leaned over and whispered, “I guess it’s all right then if we go get cake now?”
The sensation of his warm breath on her neck sent even more of those delicious little shivers down her spine. She pushed back her chair and stood up. “We’re going for cake. Can I get y’all anything while we’re in there?”
“No, we’re good for now,” Nadine answered for both sisters.
“I’m just fine,” Frank said.
Cricket could hear them talking about new preachers as she and Bryce started into the house. “They’ve been on the hiring committee for probably fifty years or more. What kind of scares me is that Lettie might fight to hire a widower who has hair, his teeth, and walks without a cane just so she can collect on that bet.”
Bryce chuckled, but the second they were in the house, he couldn’t hold the laughter in anymore, and he guffawed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“They take their bets very serious, and a ten-dollar one is big. They usually only deal in a dollar or two at the most.” Cricket headed for the cake. She handed the knife to Bryce and said, “Don’t be shy. I sure don’t intend to be. I love Lettie’s chocolate cake.”
“Blackberry cobbler is my favorite dessert, and chocolate cake comes in right behind that.” He cut off a big square, then handed the knife to Cricket.
When she finished putting her piece on her plate, she turned around to find him grinning down at her. “What?” she asked.
His eyes glittered when he ran a finger through the chocolate on the top of his cake and then wiped it on her lips. Before she could blink, he leaned down and kissed her. “That’s the way to taste chocolate icing,” he said when the kiss ended.
Her knees felt weak, and her heart thumped in her ears, but not to be outdone, she set her cake on the table, swiped a finger down the side, and smeared it on his lips. Then she rolled up on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and brought his lips to hers for an even longer, more passionate kiss.
When that kiss ended, she leaned into the hug for another moment, mainly because her knees still felt like they were filled with jelly. “You are so right,” she said between breaths.
Bryce wrapped his arms around her and drew her even closer. “I’d rather have your kisses as chocolate cake. I’m not real good at the romance stuff, but I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since I saw you in the garden.”
“Really?” Cricket couldn’t keep the amazement out of her voice.
The back door opened and they both hurriedly picked up their cake and started back outside. “Hope y’all left me some cake,” Amos said.
“There’s plenty.” Cricket’s voice sounded a bit high and squeaky in her own ears. “But I happen to know that Lettie made cupcakes in case the cake runs out.”
Amos passed on by them and headed to the dining room. “That’s good to know. I might beg a couple of those cupcakes to take home for my breakfast tomorrow morning.”
“I’m sure you won’t have to beg,” Cricket said as she hurried out the door that Bryce was holding open for her. “Me too,” she said as they crossed the yard.
“If you’re going to take cupcakes home, then I might be brazen enough to ask for some too,” Bryce said.
“I wasn’t talking about cupcakes,” Cricket told him. “I like kissing you better than chocolate.”
“That is romantic.” Bryce beamed.
Chapter Six
Cricket felt as if her car were floating on air all the way from the party out to the farm. The idea that Anna Grace might be at her house was completely gone from her mind, but it came flooding back when she saw the older-model pickup truck parked in front of her house.
“She really did it,” Cricket muttered.
She sat in her car for a few minutes before she finally got the plastic container out of the back seat. Lettie and Nadine had sent home cupcakes and little bits of the leftovers, including the rest of the stuffed mushrooms that she liked so well.
The door flew open before she even cleared the porch steps, and a tall guy with dark hair said, “Can I help you in any way? I’m Tommy Bluestone, and I want to thank you so much for helping Anna Grace.”
“I’ve got it all,” Cricket said. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Cricket Lawson. Y’all want a cupcake or some of the party leftovers?”
Tommy sure didn’t look anything like she had imagined. He might be as tall as Anna Grace, but not if she was wearing her signature Prada shoes. He had golden skin, jet-black hair, a round face, and a tattoo of a dreamcatcher on his arm. He wore black-rimmed glasses, a faded T-shirt, and well-worn jeans.
“I’d love a snack,” Tommy said. “When Anna Grace called me to say that she was really moving out, I didn’t even take time to get a bite of supper. It’s a wonder I didn’t wind up with a speeding ticket.”
“It seemed like hours instead of thirty minutes until he arrived,” Anna Grace said as the two of them entered the house. “I hope it’s all right if I already put my things away.”
Cricket carried the container of leftovers to the kitchen and took a half-gallon jar of sweet tea from the refrigerator. “Y’all help yourselves, and Tommy, you are welcome here anytime, but be forewarned, if you arrive right after six any day of the week, I might make you help harvest vegetables from our garden.”