Just One Kiss (The Town of Pearl 8)

“I will, Lewis. Thank you so much for getting me back in here.”

“Are you going back outside to wait?” Lisa asked and eyed over Lucia’s sweater.

She nodded.

“You can stay in here if you want. It’s cold out there,” Lisa said and smiled before she headed back around the counter.

But she declined. Knowing that it was past lunchtime now, she had some money on her to grab something small to eat. She didn’t want them thinking that she was so needy. It hurt her feelings and made her feel like a loser when she was just trying to survive on her own. She gulped down the lump of emotion, straightened her shoulders, and lifted her chin. “I’m going to grab a quick bite to eat and then head to Mrs. Higgins’s house. Thank you again.”

Lewis swung around to look at her, appearing concerned, and Lisa smiled wide. “Enjoy, and good luck with the new job.”

* * * *

Dale and Virgo London were grabbing lunch at Francine’s while they waited for Matt and Quaid to arrive. Dale immediately noticed the young woman—Lucia, he was sure her name was—enter the restaurant. Her eyes darted around the place and then to the two empty seats alongside theirs. Dale could tell that she was very shy. Sage mentioned her over a dozen times in the last several weeks, and her curiosity about the young woman was contagious.

“This seat’s empty, doll,” Virgo told her before Dale had a chance to.

She nodded her head and gave a small smile, maybe even whispered a “thank you,” but he wasn’t sure. She took the seat two stools away from Virgo and sat down.

“What can I get you, Lucia?” Francine asked her with a big smile on her face.

“The five-dollar lunch special, soup, and grilled cheese, please, Ma’am,” she replied.

She was definitely courteous and had good manners as she crossed her legs and daintily placed her hands on her lap. She shivered slightly, and he knew it was because of the way she was dressed. She needed more than a light sweater. Something in him clicked. Instinctively, he was always able to size up a person and follow his gut on what he thought of them. Perhaps Sage was having an influence on him. He wasn’t certain, but he had the feeling the very pretty young woman was maybe struggling a little.

He glanced at Virgo, who was chatting with Francine about the upcoming fall festival and the jack-o’-lantern-of-lights display that would be up and running this weekend before the start of the fall festival.

He noticed that the conversation grabbed Lucia’s attention, and he thought it the perfect opportunity to engage in conversation with her and maybe find out a little more about the young woman. He didn’t overanalyze why he felt compelled to be nice to her, but he did.

“Did you hear about our annual event here in Pearl, Lucia?” Dale asked her. Francine and Virgo looked at her, too, and Lucia’s face flushed.

“No, Sir,” she replied softly.

“Please call me Dale, and this is Virgo,” he said, nodding his head to the side. Lucia followed his motion and gave a nod, but she suddenly looked very uncomfortable. Dale hoped she didn’t think he was flirting. He cleared his throat. “I think you’ve met our wife, Sage. She works at the Main Street Inn and also at Second Chances.”

“Oh yes, sir, I know who she is. There are two other husbands too, right?” she asked just as Quaid and Matt arrived along with Lucifer Walters. He was over six feet tall, filled with muscles, and a very quiet, yet friendly carpenter.

They greeted them all, and Dale introduced her.

“Matt, Quaid, Lucifer, this is Lucia. We were just about to tell her about the jack-o’-lantern display and the events we have in Pearl for the fall festival.”

“Nice to meet you, Lucia. I’ve seen you around before. You do a lot of walking,” Quaid said as he reached out to shake her hand. Matt shook her hand next, and then Lucifer gave her a nod and stuck his hands in his pockets. But his eyes never left Lucia’s.

She looked a bit uncomfortable, and Matt and Quaid seemed to realize it as they took the other empty seats on the side of Virgo and began talking. Lucifer took the seat to the left of Lucia, and she suddenly looked rigid and uncomfortable.

“So, about the festival. We have lots of activities for the entire month of October beginning in two weeks. The jack-o’-lantern display is put on by one of the local farming families, the O’Brians. At the end of September, all the local artists volunteer to hand carve over a hundred different pumpkins. At night the pumpkins are lit and pathways are created so anyone can walk through and see all the artists’ hard work,” Dale explained.

“That sounds very cool. Is the farm far from town?” she asked.

He couldn’t help but wonder if she would walk alone from the Anders place where she was renting a room. He felt a bit concerned.

“I think Larry Jenks is going to be doing those tractor hayrides from town to the O’Brians’ like he did last year. So many people want to go, and we get a lot of nonlocals coming in now to enjoy the display,” Virgo added.

“Yeah, add in the events in town like the hayrides, contests, and weekend vendor events, and Larry is going to need more than just his tractor if the turnout is anything like last year,” Quaid added.

“Plus there are more people entering the best pumpkin carving contest and coming in from Turbank and Keanter, probably even Salvation and Tranquility too,” Matt reminded them.

“Wow, it sounds like the town will be invaded,” she said.