Stacy's Destiny (The Town of Pearl 2)

“What? The cook? What the hell is going on with Tex?”

“He’s been missing his daughter really badly. Now that the third grandchild’s been born, he wants to leave to go see her. He’s been thinking about moving out to Wyoming to be closer to her and help her out.”

“Ah, damn! When it rains, it pours, don’t it?”

“Guess so.”

“All right, we’ll have to have a family meeting tonight to discuss all this. Tell the others to meet here at the main house by eight o’clock. I know Wyatt and Max won’t be here until then anyway. There’s that meeting about the fair and barbecue in three weeks.”

“Okay. See you for supper.”

Chapter 2

Stacy was washing the lettuce for the salad as she helped Marie in the kitchen. Her home was stunning and very neat. There were antique furnishings and old black-and-white portraits of the Lemorte ancestors. Marie made some sort of chicken dish that didn’t smell quite appealing at all. She didn’t want to insult the woman after all it seemed she had done for Stacy. Maybe it just smelled bad but would taste better.

“Okay, New York, you ready with that salad?” Marie asked as Stacy brought the bowl over to the table. Stacy had the feeling that Marie didn’t cook often. It was just a feeling that was confirmed when Stacy took her first bite of the chicken.

She tried her hardest not to react too impolitely to the fact that the chicken was raw inside. As she added dressing to her salad, the one bite of raw chicken still lingered on her tongue. She just couldn’t

fake eating that.

Marie made a disgusted sound then dropped her fork causing a loud clank against the dish. “Aw, hell, I screwed up! This tastes like shit and it isn’t even cooked,” Marie exclaimed then rose from her chair.

“Come on, New York, we’re going into town.”

Stacy placed her napkin on the table. “It’s okay. I wasn’t really that hungry.”

“Nonsense! Rise, child, and let’s get going. Francine is the best cook around. That’s our little restaurant in Pearl.”

“I can cook. Maybe I can salvage this chicken,” Stacy offered, and Marie gave her one of those looks that told Stacy she’d better not argue. Immediately she rose from her seat and cleaned her plate into the garbage. Marie did the same as they quickly cleaned up the kitchen then headed out to Marie’s blue pickup truck.

* * * *

Deputy Max Cantrell stood next to Dr. Jones talking about the sheriff’s part and security detail for this summer’s upcoming events. The annual Fourth of July town barbecue kicked off the festivities with chili and pie contests. It was very popular and brought in a lot of people from surrounding counties in Texas. One woman in Turbank, the town over from Pearl, would take home the winnings every year. There were numerous women and men trying to beat Betsy Whinston. A lot of the women wanted to beat Betsy because she was a troublemaker with the men. She flirted shamelessly and even with married men. Max chuckled at the way even Dr. Jones hoped Betsy would lose. Max and his brother Eric avoided Betsy the best they could over the years. The woman had her eyes set on marrying them, but they weren’t interested. Max and Eric wanted to share a woman like their fathers had and their cousins hoped to one day. There were plenty of ménage relationships in town, and it was accepted. The town of Pearl had grown immensely over the last five years, and it was because of the acceptance of different relationships and the enforcement of the laws. As a deputy, he and his cousin Wyatt, the sheriff, upheld the law and eliminated any potential threats.

“So what do you think, Max? Will someone beat Betsy this year or what?”

“I sure hope so. I hear that Beverly took some cooking classes in Turbank and online to create a better recipe for the chili.”

“Well that’s definitely promising,” Dr Jones replied with a smile just as they saw Marie Lemorte’s truck pull into the parking lot in front of Francine’s restaurant.

Max had to do a double take when another woman got out of the passenger side of Marie’s truck. Having only the back of her to look at, he immediately noticed the reddish-brown hair, the snug-fitting black T-shirt and tight-fitting dark-blue jeans. Her curves were eye catching, and he hoped that she would turn around as Marie looked directly at Max and Dr. Jones, giving a wave.

In an instant, as Max waved back, the redhead turned around. Even from across the street, he could tell she was beautiful. Her shirt wasn’t cut low. In fact, it nearly hugged her neck, but it accentuated her rather large breasts as his eyes absorbed it all. Her belly was flat, and she looked kind of petite, but he was very tall so everyone appeared small to him.

“Who is that?” Max asked.

“That must be Millie’s friend from New York. Marie mentioned having someone stay at the cottage and help out on the farm. It must be her.”

“Wanna go grab a cup of coffee?” Max asked.

Dr. Jones chuckled. “Want to get a good look, huh, son?”

“You saw her. What do you think?”

They laughed as they walked across the street to Francine’s.

* * * *