A Rich Man for Dry Creek / a Hero for Dry Creek (23 page)

“Well, fortunately, we're not getting married,” Garrett said as he started to make his move for the door. Of course, he couldn't go without taking Nicki with him and she was looking shell-shocked.

“We just met,” Nicki added for emphasis. “We're just both hungry. We're not even dating.”

Garrett stopped. He was forgetting something. “You say those magazines tell you how to do a wedding? With all the trimmings?”

Elmer nodded. “Step by step.”

“Save them for me, will you?” Just in case Chrissy didn't stop her wedding, maybe she'd at least do it right and invite Aunt Rose.

Jacob beamed. “You can pick them up when you get back from your breakfast date.”

“Date?” Nicki asked.

Elmer nodded. “
Woman's World
would say it was. Eight out of ten readers said a meal alone together counts as a date.”

“Then it's not a date,” Nicki stated firmly. “My mother's going to be there.”

Nicki regretted mentioning her mother the minute she saw the shocked look on the faces of the two older men.

“Lillian's back?” Jacob whispered. His face had turned white.

Nicki nodded miserably as she turned to go. “But she isn't staying.”

“She's back?” Jacob said again to no one in particular.

“Yes,” Nicki said softly as she started walking toward the door. How could she have forgotten? Jacob used to be her father's best friend just as Betty had been her mother's best friend. Jacob and Betty had been as upset with Lillian as her father had been.

Nicki remembered how withdrawn her father had been after Lillian left. For months, Nicki's father didn't want to see anyone, not even Jacob. Jacob would drive out to the ranch and Nicki's father would send him away. Finally, Jacob stopped coming. The only time the two men had seen each other since then was for Betty's funeral.

Jacob must blame Lillian for the loss of his best friend. He might even blame her for the sadness that Betty had until the day she died.

It seemed that Nicki wasn't the only one who would be upset by seeing Lillian Redfern again.

 

Nicki and Garrett stopped at the limousine before they walked back to the café, but Lillian waved them on. She had more to worry about than breakfast.

Lillian sat in the back of her limo with the envelope in front of her. No matter how many times she read the papers inside, the diagnosis remained the same. Cancer.

Oh, how she wished Charles were still here so she could talk to him. He'd always been the brave one when it came to facing problems. Her style was to run away. Even coming back to Dry Creek she needed to be sure no one pitied her. The limo was to prove she was somebody now.

Of course the cancer didn't care who she was.

And, before she went in for treatment, she had wanted to make things right with Charles.

Since Charles wasn't here, she'd just have to make things right with the whole town of Dry Creek instead.

Lillian just wished she didn't have to tell Nicki. She couldn't bear to hurt her little girl any more than she'd already been hurt by life. That's why she wouldn't have come back if she had known Nicki was here.

N
icki swore she was going to walk home and sit in her kitchen where there was no prince, no limo and no mother. This day was so mixed-up, she was beginning to think she needed to start it over. After hearing Elmer and Jacob talk about reading
Woman's World,
nothing should have surprised her.

Nicki only had to open the door to the café to know the day had one more surprise for her. Everything was turned upside down inside the café too. Someone had strewn shiny red paper hearts all over the tables and floors. It looked as if there was something tacked to the walls, but she couldn't see what it was because the lights had been turned off and the window shades drawn down.

Without the morning light, the café was dim. It would be deep dark except for the individual candles burning at each of the tables and on the high shelves that lined the room. The yellow light coming from the candles made the black-and-white floor of the café gleam.

Nicki sniffed. Gone was the smell of baking biscuits. In its place was the scent of raspberries and vanilla from the candles.

“Linda?” Nicki called out.

There was a love song coming from the radio in the kitchen that was so upbeat it would make a man on crutches want to start dancing.

Nicki looked up at Garrett. The candlelight touched his face and made him look like someone in a Renaissance painting. “I'm sorry, people aren't usually this—” Nicki looked around again “—strange.”

Garrett smiled. “I have a feeling they're just campaigning for you to date someone other than this Lester fellow.” Garrett decided he rather liked the people of Dry Creek. He'd always heard that people in small towns minded each other's business, and it looked as if Dry Creek was no exception. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have a whole town filled with dozens of Aunt Roses. Of course, they had
Woman's World
in addition to Aunt Rose. “I'll bet they have something all planned out from one of those magazines. Besides, they're having fun.”

Garrett pulled out a chair for Nicki and she sank down into it as though she would really prefer to slide all of the way under the table. “The people in this town need to get a hobby.”

“Sounds to me like they have one.” Garrett decided the cold air had finally numbed his brain. He didn't even mind that half of the town's population was trying to set him up with the woman in front of him. If he couldn't outromance Lester, he'd have to retire from dating.

Garrett had to stop and remind himself he had stopped dating, at least for a while. He hoped that wasn't a bad omen.

“So what do people do around here for fun?” Garrett asked Nicki as he sat down in a chair opposite her. He wasn't going to give this one up without a fight.

“Besides torturing me?”

Garrett looked over at Nicki. Her cheekbones were high and there wasn't a trace of blush on them. But she sparkled in the candlelight from the melting snowflakes that had fallen on her as she'd walked back to the café.

“Well, there really is only one way to stop them,” Garrett said. He waited until Nicki looked at him hopefully. She had the most amazing green eyes. Even in the candlelight, they changed color constantly. A man could get lost just looking into them.

“Yes?” Nicki finally prodded.

“Oh.” Garrett cleared his throat. “We have to go on a date, that's all.”

“A date?” Nicki squeaked.

Garrett nodded. “And not just any date. A date that would be better than anything
Woman's World
could offer.”

Nicki was speechless. “You think they got this from the magazine?”

Garrett nodded and then suddenly remembered something. “And before you ask, your brother can't come.”

“I wasn't—”

“And neither can this Lester fellow. Actually, especially not this Lester fellow. Let him get his own date.”

Nicki was speechless, which was just as well because she heard Linda walking out from the kitchen.

“All set to order?” Linda held a small pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other. Linda had changed her clothes so that she was wearing a chef's hat with a red ribbon tied around it and a long white formal dress with shiny red heart pockets. “The special of the day is heart pancakes with strawberries on top. It comes with scrambled eggs, bacon and hazelnut coffee.”

“I've had breakfast here before—” Nicki said bewildered. “You never—” She waved her hand to indicate everything. “Even the dress.”

“Left over from Halloween,” Linda explained cheerfully. “I was the Queen of Hearts and Jazz was the Joker. We were reading one of Glory's
Woman's World
magazines, and it said people were more likely to eat out if it was a fun experience. So we thought costumes are fun. I wanted something that said good health—you know with the heart and all.”

“So it's for health,” Nicki said. “And
Woman's World
.”

She looked over at Garrett. He winked at her.

Linda continued. “Well, eight out of ten women rank dining out as their favorite date. Jazz and I have maxed out the lunch crowd. If we want to expand, we need to have another angle. So we thought we'd turn to romance eating—you know, people eat more when they are in love.”

“We heard.”

“I'd eat here,” Garrett offered. “It's a good idea to expand your menu.”

“But they used to have regular pancakes.” Nicki mourned. The whole world was going crazy around her.

“Nothing wrong with making them into hearts.” Garrett defended the café.

Linda looked at Garrett and smiled. “I'm glad you feel that way. I talked to Jazz, and we decided you're the one we are looking for. I didn't think so at first, but you're a good choice. You could teach the men of Dry Creek a thing or two about romance. You've got the tuxedo and the look.”

“Me? This isn't a tuxedo. It's a chauffeur's uniform. And it's not even mine. I'm a trucker. I don't have a look. I'm not a romantic kind of guy. I hate poetry. Can't stand the opera.”

Linda walked over to a shelf and pulled down a magazine, flipping it open. “Would you buy a woman roses in the middle of winter?”

“Well, yes.”

Linda eyed him as she looked over the magazine. “Not just something planted in a pot, but the real thing—those long-stemmed ones.”

“Yeah.”

Nicki remembered the orchid blossom that Lester had gotten for her. “Roses don't last long in winter.” She almost sighed, but she felt she owed it to Lester to defend him. “They're not a practical choice.”

Linda waved Nicki's objection aside and kept questioning Garrett. “Question number five. If you were out on a date and a robber threatened to shoot your date unless she gave him her purse, what would you do?”

“Tell her to give it to him.”

Linda kept reading in the magazine. “What if she refused and the man held up his gun?”

“Can I knock the gun out of his hand?”

Linda looked up from the magazine. “No.”

“Well, where are the police?”

“Not close by. And the robber is counting to three. He's already said two. What do you do?”

“I step in front of her—”

“Excellent choice.”

“—and rip the purse out of her hands and give it to the man.”

“Oh.” Linda looked down the column. “You would be a hero for stepping in front of her, but it doesn't say anything about taking her purse away from her. I think you lose points for that.”

“I'm not going to die for some woman's lipstick.”

“Not all women want some man to be their hero, either,” Nicki said firmly. Where did Linda get this nonsense? “It's better to let the authorities deal with things.”

“I asked about the police,” Garrett protested.

“That's good. That's the right thing to do.” Nicki was getting a headache. “It doesn't matter what the magazine says, people need to use common sense.”

“Common sense never made anyone fall in love,” Linda said softly as she pulled her order pad out of her hand again. “So, what will it be, folks?”

Nicki hadn't meant to hurt Linda's feelings. A woman Linda's age was supposed to be giddy about love. Nicki gave up. “I believe I'll have the heart special.”

“Really?” Linda brightened. “With the strawberries?”

“With extra strawberries if you have them.”

“Make that two specials,” Garrett added with a grin. “And I swear I'll take a bullet if someone tries to steal it away from me.”

“You're only supposed to take the bullet if they try to steal Nicki's,” Linda said softly. “It doesn't count if you're protecting your own breakfast.”

“In that case, I'll have a side of bacon with that.” Nicki smiled. “Now that I know it's safe.”

Nicki should give a man some warning when she was going to smile like that, Garrett thought. His mouth went dry from the beauty of seeing it. Her green eyes lit up like jewels and sparkled with fun.

“You're beautiful.” Garrett wasn't aware that he had spoken aloud until he saw the surprised look on Nicki's face. “I mean, it's beautiful—the café and all.”

“Oh, yes.” Nicki seemed relieved.

“We need some publicity on this one though,” Linda said as she tapped her pen to her order pad. “You know, something that will get the romantic idea across—we can't just advertise heart-shaped pancakes. It needs to be more to make the married folks come out on a cold winter morning and have breakfast together. We've thought of making a poster.”

“You don't need a poster. Just take a picture of your breakfast and tack it up on the bulletin board over at the hardware store. All of the men around here go into the hardware store at least once a week. They'd see it.”

“Great idea—Jazz has a camera in back, we could take some pictures right now if it's all right with the two of you.”

Why did Garrett have the feeling he and Nicki had been led down this path a little too smoothly? Oh, well, let the kids have their fun.

Garrett looked at Nicki. “I don't mind if they snap a picture or two of our plates before they bring them out of the kitchen, do you?”

“Oh, the plates won't be enough,” Linda reached over and moved the candle on the table so that it reflected off Garrett's face even more. “To sell romance. We need romance. We need you two in the pictures.”

“Us?” Nicki said, then she blurted out what she really meant. “Garrett's great. He's dressed for it. Can't you just use his picture?”

“One man sitting alone and eating heart-shaped pancakes? That's not romantic. In fact, it's kind of creepy.” Linda looked more closely at what Nicki was wearing. “Oh.”

“I should have worn a dress.”

“Don't worry. I have just the thing.” Linda started walking toward the back of the kitchen. “The Queen of Hearts costume came with a whole bunch of other costumes. They're made out of paper, but that won't show in the picture. One or two will even go with the tuxedo.”

“Uniform,” Garrett corrected automatically.

Nicki looked over at Garrett. She had to give the man credit. He seemed to be enjoying himself. She couldn't help but think that Lester would have stormed out of the café by now. Maybe that's why he never talked about anything but the weather. Maybe he didn't allow himself to do enough things in life.

“I've never been in a commercial before—” Garrett wondered how he could get the conversation back to where they'd left off. A photo of romance was fine, but he wanted a date with Nicki before people forgot about
Woman's World
and he lost his excuse. “I wonder what else people do around here to date.”

“People in Dry Creek don't date.” Nicki frowned slightly. “I know it sounds like they do because of the way everyone's been trying to get you to take me out on a date. But don't worry. There's no place to go on a date anyway. You're safe.”

Garrett was beginning to suspect Nicki didn't want to go out on a date with him. “There must be someplace people go.”

“Well, there is the café, but we're already here.” Nicki wondered if she should suggest that Garrett frown while the picture was being taken. In his tuxedo, the frown made him look fierce. Which was pretty much how most of the men in town would feel about taking their wives out to a romantic breakfast. He might pull in some viewer empathy that way. “The kids go over to the mountains in the summer evenings and party some.”

Garrett caught his breath in his throat. “You'd go there with me?”

“It's winter. Nobody goes there in the winter. It's cold.”

“Well, where do people go in the evenings around here?”