“Well, then. I happen to know a lot of people will be very happy to know that you’re not going anywhere.”
Michaela returned Jake’s smile. For the first time in—hell, it felt like forever—she felt good about the future. “Do you know what, Jake? I’m pretty damn happy about that, too.”
Chapter Two
July 2019
Michaela had her back to the dining room and was in the process of brewing a fresh pot of coffee. The lunch rush was nearly done, but there were still several diners wanting their java before going back to their busy lives.
Her shoulders ached, and her right hand was developing a blister, thanks to using a hammer. She’d noticed something today as she’d served her customers their lunch. It’s a clue I should have picked up on before now. A lot of the men—especially the regulars—who worked farms or ranches, all had gloves stuffed into their back pockets.
Clue received, Michaela decided she’d head to Darryl’s Duds in Lusty first thing tomorrow and pick up a pair or two of work gloves. Bet they could stop a hand from forming a blister by hammering. Of course, developing that blister had encouraged her to get a nail gun, complete with a small compressor and a few quick lessons from the salesman at Lowe’s on how to operate it. So there was that.
Michaela stopped at a table holding two people, one of them her newest girlfriend. Tammy Wright had arrived in Lusty at the end of April, one half of the newly hired pair of paramedics employed by the town. Today she was having lunch with her partner, Charlie Archer. They’d come back from a farm call and decided to take their lunch at the roadhouse. This was one of the few days in the week when they and the Jessops were both on duty.
Tammy and Charlie got along so well it was almost hard to believe they’d only met when they’d been hired by the town. Tammy had come from California. She’d wanted to get away from a relationship gone bad, and a firefighter she’d met while training—Trace Langley—had reached out to her. So she’d come and applied for the job, Tammy had told her, and then had fallen in love with the town of Lusty.
“How’s the food?” Michaela asked. She filled Charlie’s coffee cup for him.
“Always great. Between here and Lusty Appetites, I’m in food heaven,” Charlie said. Then he nodded to Tammy. “Tell Michaela what you found out today.”
Tammy grinned. “Apparently, I’m not the first female EMT hired by the Town Trust. About the time that Warren and Edward were getting up the gumption to court their Carol, the town hired another pair of paramedics. And also apparently, the woman on the team was more interested in snagging herself a pair of men than she was in doing the job. She’d set her sights on Warren and Ed, and that, as they say, was her fatal mistake.” Tammy shook her head, chuckling. “With that as a part of their history, it’s a wonder the fire department hired me.”
“Naw, you were always safe,” Michaela said. “That’s one thing I’ve learned about Lusty. No one cares if you were wrapped in a pink blanket or a blue one. If you can do the work, you’re hired. So, the other female EMT obviously left. What about her partner? Was it a guy? What happened to him?”
“He went home to Abilene and made up with an old girlfriend and decided to stay there,” Charlie said. Then he shrugged and looked down at what little was left of his tacos. “Lucky for me.”
Tammy was attending the party that Jenny Collins Benedict was hosting on Friday, and the two of them made plans to get together earlier on that day.
Michaela headed to another table to clear it. Then she dropped off the dishes and started another pot of coffee.
A strange shiver went down her spine, but that had nothing to do with the hard hours she’d been putting in fixing up her ranch. No, that was a shiver that she’d been feeling off and on for almost a month, now.
Ever since Lewis and Randy Benedict arrived in Lusty from Montana and made their first appearance here. Those two cowboys had just come into the roadhouse. Using her peripheral vision, she checked. Sure enough, there they went, two way too sexy and mouth-watering for her own good cowboys, accompanied by Dale and Parker and Trace and Logan. Benedicts all, originally from the great state of Montana, the six men made themselves comfy in the area in the back that everyone at the roadhouse referred to as Benedict Central.
This bright and hot July afternoon, BC was in her assigned area.
The coffee was finished brewing, so she scooped the pot, grabbed a stack of menus, and then poured her way from the front of her area—down the left side to the back—until she arrived at the newly occupied table for six.
“Hey, guys.”
“Michaela.” Parker Benedict nodded to her. “How’re you doing? How’s the work coming on the homestead?”
She certainly appreciated everyone’s interest in her rehab of the farmhouse and property she’d inherited the month before. “Slowly, but that’s okay. I’ve got nothing but time. It is a learning experience. I’ve replaced a few boards on the front porch, and I can say I now understand why all y’all have gloves in your pockets. I’ve switched to using a nail gun, which is a bit easier. Took a while to get the hang of it, but the guy at Lowe’s said it was perfect for the work I was doing.”
“Gloves are a must in ranch, farming, and construction work,” Trace said. “Even using power tools, like your nail gun. They help your grip when it’s hot
