Cricket explained everything to Anna Grace as she cooked. When the ham was browned, she put it on a platter and divided it into four pieces. She dipped two slices of thick homemade bread in an egg, milk, sugar and cinnamon mixture and browned them two at a time. When she had done eight, she made four sandwiches, put them into individual containers, and slid them down into her tote bag.
“We’re ready to go,” she said. “Bryce, you can get your fishing gear and the beer, and I’ll carry this and my fishing stuff.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Are we driving to the creek?”
“We’ll take the old work truck,” she said. “We can get within fifty yards of one of the best fishing holes in this part of Texas.”
“Will you show me where that is sometime?” Anna Grace started whipping up an egg mixture. “Tommy loves to fish. I’ve never been, but after today, I’m ready to try new things.”
“Sure thing,” Cricket told her.
“Maybe y’all could go tomorrow evening. If Cricket is willing, I thought she and I would drive down to Sweetwater and get a snow cone,” Bryce said.
“I’m willing.” Cricket nodded. “I’ll show you where to go tomorrow morning before we go to the store, Anna Grace. Are you sure you can do this cooking tonight? I can stay until Tommy gets here if you want me to.”
“Get on out of here.” Anna Grace waved toward the door. “Tommy will be here in a few minutes, and I wrote down what you did step by step. I’m feeling pretty empowered right now.”
“All right then.” Cricket picked up her tote bag and headed out the back door.
“Where’s your fishing pole?” Bryce asked.
“In the back of the truck,” Cricket answered. “It’s parked beside your SUV.”
She was behind the wheel by the time he got his gear and beer all situated in the bed of the truck. He climbed into the passenger’s seat and started to roll up the window, but she shook her head.
“The air-conditioner hasn’t worked in years. Neither has the heater, but it took us to the farmer’s market on Saturdays before I started selling our produce out of the store, and it makes a great truck to drive back and forth to Rick and Jennie’s house. Keeps the old rutted pathway from rattling my car all to pieces,” she said.
“Grandpa has a truck that might even be older than this one.” Bryce propped his arm on the edge of the window. “I got to admit, I never expected to get this lucky when I moved to Bloom. I knew it was a small town, but I figured, for the first year, I’d be sitting in my apartment every night either watching television or reading.”
“Why’s that?” Cricket drove toward a wooded area.
“Because folks in small towns tend to be a little standoffish until they get to know a newcomer,” he answered.
“So is Bloom,” she told him. “At least for some folks. Us commoners are a little more sociable.”
“Well, thank goodness for y’all. I feel like I fell into a gold mine,” he told her.
“Me too,” Cricket said. “I was dreading the two weeks that Jennie Sue and Rick were gone, but now I’ve got company and lots of help.”
Bryce would have liked to hear her say that she had buried her old feelings about Anna Grace and that he was her boyfriend, but that would have been expecting a miracle since they’d known each other less than a week.
* * *
Cricket parked the truck under a whole grove of pecan trees, slung open the door, and grabbed her tote bag. “This is it. We’ll make camp at the edge of the water, toss in our lines, and have supper while we wait on the fish to bite.”
“I’ll bring all the rest of the stuff,” he offered.
“Thank you. I’ll get the blanket and the food,” she told him.
Is this a date? Or is it just fishing? she wondered as she spread out the blanket on the grassy edge of the creek and set out the plastic containers of food.
“This is the best date ever.” Bryce dropped all the fishing gear and his tackle box, then set the small cooler with a six-pack of beer inside it on the edge of the blanket.
“Is this a date?” Cricket asked.
Bryce sat down beside her and kissed her on the cheek. “I hope it’s a date and that we have lots more in the future.”
Cricket turned to face him. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she wanted to forget fishing and make out with him until the stars popped out, or maybe until the sun came up the next morning. But before the electricity that she felt went on another minute, she had to know the truth. “Are you serious? I don’t want to start something that will just end up breaking my heart and making me feel horrible.”
“You really are straightforward, aren’t you?” Bryce said as he cupped her cheeks in his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “I know this is fast, but you’re so special, Cricket. I feel like I’ve known you forever, and that I’m one lucky son of a gun to have found you. Do you believe in Fate?”
Cricket felt like Bryce could see straight into her soul. “I didn’t until Jennie Sue came into my brother’s life. That had to be Fate, so I guess in some circumstances I do believe in it.”
“Well, Fate brought me to Bloom. I was looking at two small drugstores and had decided on the other one. The deal for it fell through at the last minute when the guy’s son and daughter-in-law decided to move back home and run the drugstore, and now I’m glad it did.” His eyes fluttered shut.
She barely had time to moisten her lips before his mouth closed over hers. She’d been kissed a few times in her life, but mostly she had just wished the experience would be over. This time, when the kiss ended, it seemed as if her whole life had changed. The water in the stream was brighter. The sky was bluer, and she could swear that the clouds had formed into a heart just for her.
Chapter Seven
Anna Grace was already in the kitchen and had the table set for two when Cricket came out of the bedroom the next morning. She took one look at Cricket and a broad smile covered her face.
“You and Bryce had sex last night, didn’t you?” she asked.
“No, but we had kissing and we’re having ice cream tonight, and I hope more kissing,” Cricket answered. “What do you want to learn to make today?”
“Quiche,” Anna Grace said, “but we’ll have to do that another day. From the recipe I read, it will take a while.”
“Not really.” Cricket pulled a readymade piecrust from the freezer and unwrapped it. “I keep these on hand for times when I’m too lazy to make the crust. Get bacon, half-and-half, cheese and eggs from the fridge.”
“Are you serious?” Anna Grace asked. “I was just teasing. Quiche is something that the Belles always serve when they have a brunch meeting, and I love it, but it has to bake, and we need to get to work.”
“We can get ready for work while it cooks and take about half of it with us. Tommy can have the rest when he wakes up,” Cricket said. “Put four pieces of bacon on the bottom of the crust while I beat up the eggs. Then we’ll add the half-and-half, cheese, and other ingredients, and pop it in the oven.”