“That’s pretty adorable,” Alice said, looking at the menu.
“We’re going to come up with some more items named after locals. Alice, how about Doc Martin’s Heart-Healthy Breakfast? I’m thinking a bowl of oatmeal, fruit, and those little chia seeds I keep special just for him.”
“Oh, Dad would love it!” Alice said.
“Order up!” Rusty shouted from the kitchen. “Two chicken-fried steaks.”
Rusty must have started it as soon as they walked through the door.
They all stared at each other while Sally got their plates and Alice chattered about chia seeds. Then they awkwardly ate, but not in silence, because Alice took that opportunity to fill them in on the origin of the chicken-fried steak, which it turned out was some guy in Lamesa, Texas. He’d misunderstood an order for fried chicken and a separate order for steak as “fried steak.” And the chicken-fried steak was born.
It was kind of funny. And definitely more interesting than noise ordinances or chia seeds.
“Well,” Alice said. “I’d better be getting back to the library.”
Carmen’s head snapped around, and she gave Alice some kind of look. Beau thought he detected activity beneath the table, too. As if maybe Carmen was kicking Alice. It was hard to tell, especially since Bryce was kicking him.
He narrowed his eyes at his brother. Stop it, dumb shit.
Bryce shrugged. I will when you ask her.
“I have some news,” Bryce suddenly announced.
“What is it?” Carmen asked.
“I’m going to be managing a herd at the Rockin’ H Ranch. And I might be moving there permanently.”
“Wow!” Alice said. “That’s close to Austin, isn’t it? I think that’s where Brittany is getting married.”
“They have a restaurant,” Carmen said. “I’ve eaten there.”
“It’s closed,” Bryce said.
“Good. It was the worst barbecue I ever had.”
“Are you going, too, Beau?” Alice asked.
“No. I’ll be staying on as foreman of Rancho Cañada Verde.”
“So . . .” Alice pointed at them. “Y’all will be, um, separated?”
She made it sound like something that required surgery.
Bryce laughed and stood. “Just by a few miles. Anyway, I need to be getting back to the ranch. It was nice having lunch with you ladies.”
Beau knew he was supposed to stay behind and ask Alice for help. But he was mortified by the idea. He’d already tried once today. Shouldn’t that be enough?
He raised an eyebrow. Do I have to?
Bryce gave a slight shrug. Suck it up, brother.
“I’ll be going, too,” Carmen said, standing up.
Alice began gathering her things . . . Shit. Shit. Shit. It was now or never. “Alice, do you have a few minutes?” he blurted.
Alice looked startled, and then she made a show of looking at her watch. “Just a few.”
He waited until Bryce and Carmen had started walking for the door. “I need your help with something.”
“I can’t imagine what it might be.”
“Do you have any experience with dyslexia? In adults?”
“Yes. I’m trained in two different programs that address adult illiteracy, which is often the result of dyslexia.”
Beau winced at the word illiteracy.
“Two programs?”
“Often, it’s a bit of trial and error to find what works. Everybody’s different. Why?”
“Because, well . . .”
He could tell the moment she got it. First her eyebrows rose and her mouth opened in surprise. Then her face softened, and she folded her hands on the table. “Are you dealing with dyslexia?”
“I think dealing with it might be inaccurate. I’ve never really dealt with it.”
“I see. And Bryce is leaving.”
Okay. So, she really got it. “Yep. And I’m going to be the lone foreman. Ranching isn’t what it used to be. We’ve got a new software program and I really need to be able to . . .”
“Read?”
“I can read. I’m just real slow. And sometimes I get the details wrong.”
“We can definitely improve your fluency.”
She said that as if she had zero doubts. Typical Alice. “So how does this work?”
“We just need to coordinate our schedules and figure out a time for you to come by the library.”
“I’d rather not do this in the library, if you don’t mind.”
“Why on earth not?”
Beau shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Did Alice really not understand the crushing shame and embarrassment he felt over this?
“We’ll be discreet,” Alice said, finally catching on. “We can go into one of the private study rooms or even my office. We’ll have complete privacy.”
“Privacy? In Big Verde?”
Alice furrowed her brow. “You’re right. You’ll just have to come by my house, I guess.”
“That will work. When can we start?”
“I think I have something scheduled nearly every night this week. How about Saturday?”
Beau sighed, because that seemed like a long way off. But Alice was always busy running here, there, and everywhere. He was lucky she was making time for him at all. “Sounds good. How much do you charge?”
Alice put a hand up. “No way. Community education and literacy is part of the library’s mission.”
“But we’re not meeting at the library. We’re doing it after hours. In your home. And I doubt you get paid overtime. So, consider it a tip, because I’m not letting you do this for free.”
The last thing he needed was to owe Alice Martin anything.
Alice squirmed in her chair. She bit her lip. Picked at a cuticle. Examined an invisible spot on her blouse. Jesus, did his insistence on reimbursement make her that uncomfortable?
“I think we can barter,” she finally said.
“Barter?”
Alice sighed. “I’m not happy about this, but I need a plus-one for Brittany Fox’s wedding.”
Was she asking him to be her date? And if so, how did he feel about it? On the one hand, she was totally obnoxious. On the other, she was offering to help him out. Also, he remembered how her legs looked in those cutoffs.
“She tried to fix me up with her uncle,” she added.
“The one with the sweaty palms?”
“He’s found special medication for it, but yes. That’s the one.”
Beau shivered a bit at the thought of Brittany’s uncle putting his clammy paws on Alice. He
