Chapter Five

Friday, September 9, 2022

Violet didn't make a habit of eating out.

Certainly not by herself.

Since her meal prep was limited to what she could make in her own kitchen without spending a significant amount of time there, more often than not, she sought sustenance at the best place in town: the diner. Most of the time, she had Elana and/or Spencer to keep her company. Unfortunately, Elana was babysitting her brother's kids, and Spencer was at some real estate conference in San Antonio until tomorrow.

So tonight, it was just her.

It wasn't such a bad deal since she was a sucker for the diner's current Friday night special—Texas chili. It wasn't just your run-of-the-mill ground beef and beans. Oh, no. Texas chili was a culinary masterpiece of smoked chuck roast, cornbread dumplings, and rich, savory spices. And there was only one person capable of making it right: Myrna Talbott. Then again, everything Myrna cooked was amazing. The woman was the queen of a home-cooked meal.

Which was why Violet made a point to come in one night every couple of months for a to-go order of whatever special struck her fancy. And, okay, fine, maybe she came in a bit more often when Texas chili was on the menu. Plus, it worked to stretch her budget because what she didn't eat tonight, she would savor for the next couple of days. Granted, she was starving, so she wasn't sure there'd be much left over.

Rachel Talbott, the owner's daughter and one of the waitresses at the diner, came out from the kitchen as Violet approached the take-out area.

"Hey, Rach," she called, waving her hand to get the waitress's attention.

Rachel flashed a smile and plucked the credit card from Violet's hand as she pivoted and returned the way she'd come. A minute later, she barreled back through the door, passing over Violet's card.

"She was already workin' on it. It's comin' right up," Rachel told her before hurrying off in another direction.

Tucking her hands in her pockets, Violet tried to keep out of the way while not looking like she was eavesdropping on the people sitting at the tables around her. The take-out area wasn't exactly a dedicated spot, so keeping out of everyone's business required finesse.

Of which she had none.

"Hey, Violet."

She stopped moving. She didn't even need to turn around to know who that voice belonged to. Despite her better judgment, she'd been dreaming about that voice for the past week. More so since their electrically charged conversation in Holt's apartment on Monday. And when she wasn't dreaming, she was listening to it, eager to get caught up on Simon's latest podcast series so she would be ready for the next one.

"Uh … hey," she said, steeling herself to see him again.

Sure enough, as soon as her eyes raked over the handsome man, she felt that strange tingle warm her insides. For the past few days, she'd been telling herself that was heartburn. The excuse wasn't working this time since she hadn't eaten anything since her cheese and cracker Lunchables at noon.

"Care to join me?" Simon gestured toward the empty booth across from him.

Violet glanced toward the kitchen, wishing she'd thought to call in her order beforehand. Then perhaps she'd find Myrna strolling her way with a brown paper sack in her hand.

No such luck.

"No pressure," Simon said, continuing to eat as though she wasn't there. "I don't need company to enjoy my dinner."

Maybe Simon Jennings wasn't as nice as she'd initially thought.

Before she could decide what to do, Violet noticed her cousin Cal heading her way, his fiancée April a few steps behind.

"Hey, girl. Whatcha doin'?" he asked, his gaze shifting to Simon, who was no longer pretending she wasn't standing there.

"Gettin' dinner. You?" Violet leaned around him, smiling at his dinner companion. "Hey, April."

Cal's fiancée flashed a sweet smile as she tucked her cell phone into her pocket. "Hey."

"Y'all here for the chili, too?"

"It's April's favorite."

"Nice try. She's a vegetarian," Violet said, rolling her eyes.

Cal turned, strategically putting himself between her and Simon. A move that was far too familiar. It was what happened more often than not whenever she attempted to talk to a guy. Back when she was a teenager, it had pissed her off. In her twenties, she'd found it oddly endearing. Mostly. But now… At thirty-one, it was downright irritating.

"So…" Violet forced a smile. "Y'all ready for your brother's wedding?"

At the moment, the upcoming nuptials of her cousin, Brantley, and his better half, Reese Tavoularis, were dominating the gossip mill. Everyone in town was talking about it and just about that many people were invited to the wedding. Violet included. She'd RSVP'd and even included a plus one, although she didn't have a date. Initially, she'd intended to take Spencer, but then her best friend refused, claiming he was not going to take the chance of ruining Brantley's wedding since Slade was going to be there. She figured worst case, she would go to the wedding solo and skip the reception. If it weren't Brantley tying the knot—he was one of her favorite cousins—she would've come up with an excuse to skip it because the last thing she wanted was to sit at one more wedding while another member of her family found their happy ever after, and she was left wishing for hers.

"One more week," Cal confirmed. "Then I won't have to listen to my sisters count down the days."

Despite the sarcasm, Violet could hear the love in his tone. Cal was the youngest of her Uncle Frank's seven children. And since Uncle Frank, like Uncle Curtis, spent a fair amount of time keeping tabs on Violet's mother, she was close with all her cousins. Hence, the reason Cal thought it was okay to intervene, keeping her from a potential suitor.

She laughed as the word bounced in her head. Suitor. Such an archaic term, but for some reason, she liked it.

"What's funny?"

"Nothin'." She giggled again as she peeked over at Simon, then back to Cal. "If you'll excuse me."

Not waiting for her cousin to move, Violet squeezed past him, staring down at Simon as she scooted into the booth across from him.

She didn't miss the double take Cal did before he led April toward a booth in the back where another couple was sitting.

"Did you join me to buck the system or because you can't stop thinkin' about me?"

No way was she admitting to the latter, so she said, "I'm a rebel, don't you know?"

"Relative of yours, I assume," Simon said, sitting up straight.

"Yeah." She frowned. "How'd you know?"

He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Seems small-town rumors are true."

Violet laughed. "Oh, my God. Tell me Holt did not feed you that Rapunzel nonsense."

Simon's smile beamed as he reached for his soda. As he was doing so, Rachel came by and asked if he wanted a refill. Violet did not miss the gleam of approval in the woman's eye.

A weird tingle of jealousy ran over her skin.

"Could I just get my food for here?" Violet interrupted.

"Of course. I'll be right back with more Dr. Pepper," Rachel told Simon.

Simon smiled at her. "Thanks."

"My pleasure."

When Rachel walked away, Violet muttered, "This isn't Chick-fil-A. Keep your pleasure to yourself."

"What was that?"

"Nothin'." She waved him off. "How's your first week in town been?"

Simon sat back, causing the navy-blue T-shirt he wore to stretch across his broad chest. She fought the urge to stare, keeping her eyes on his face.

"A bit slower than I'm used to," Simon answered. "But it's growin' on me."

"You ever figure out what you're doin' with Holt's nonsense?"

Simon's lip curved up in a half smile. "I wouldn't call it nonsense."

"So you're gonna do a series on it?"

"Haven't decided yet."

"Hmm. What do you do about your podcast when you're out of town?"

"I've got my equipment with me. Provided I can find a quiet place, I can still record."

Violet wished she didn't find that so fascinating. It didn't sound all that difficult. Well, the talking into the microphone part, anyway. As for sounding good or making sense or appealing to a broad audience, she wasn't sure she could pull it off. Then again, she didn't much care for the sound of her own voice.

"Is it not quiet at the B and B?"

"It is."

"So you're gettin' some work done?"

"Not really." He grinned. "You could say I've been procrastinating."

"Well, if you need somethin' to do, you can always help out at the store," she teased, sitting back when she saw Rachel approaching.

"Here you are." Rachel set her food in front of her, then placed Simon's drink down. "How long are you in town for?"

If he was surprised by the question, Simon didn't show it. His full attention shifted to Rachel. "Another week or so."

"Well, if you find yourself with some free time, maybe we could grab a beer at Moonshiners."

Violet watched Simon closely, noticing the way his gaze shifted to her briefly before returning to the waitress. "I'll have to see how my schedule pans out."

"You know where to find me," Rachel told him before turning her attention to Violet once more. "You need anything else?"

She managed to shake her head, forcing a smile. "I'm good."

The moment she was gone, Simon's expression fell. "Was that not nice enough for you?"

It took a second for his words to make sense, and when they did, Violet was at a loss for words. Quite possibly for the first time in her life.

·····

Simon couldn't stop thinking about her. The woman sitting across from him had plagued his thoughts for the past few days, so he figured he might as well broach the subject. He wasn't big on playing games, and he didn't intend to start now.

"Elana told me nice guys aren't your thing."

Violet's eyebrows arched toward her hairline.

"Unfortunately, that's about as not nice as I get," he admitted. While he had no interest in going out with the waitress—he might have if he hadn't met Violet first—Simon refused to be rude. He didn't have it in him. And if that made him a nice guy, so be it.

He watched as Violet poked at her food, her mouth partially open as though she was hoping words would simply tumble out.

Pushing his plate to the side, Simon put his elbows on the table. "Is this better?"

Her forehead creased. "Is what better?"

"I'm violatin' table etiquette." He lifted his elbow and put it back down.

Violet laughed, and the sound went straight to his cock. Jesus. He loved that sound.

"You think puttin' your elbows on the table qualifies you for bad boy status?"

"Maybe." Simon smiled. He couldn't help it. "Is it workin'?"

"Not really," she said with a straight face, but he sensed she was teasing him.

"Well, I'll keep tryin'."

Violet spooned some of her chili and blew on it. His brain processed the purse of her lips as the most erotic thing he'd ever witnessed, and it took effort to keep from groaning aloud.

"Why?" she asked after she swallowed.

"Why what?"

"Why would you keep tryin'?"

"Why not?"

Violet shrugged and took another bite, chewed, swallowed. "You're only in town for a few days."

"Probably longer," he said before he could think better of it.

It was true; he hadn't yet decided whether he would pursue this story. He had a meeting with Travis Walker, but not until tomorrow. If the man wasn't opposed to it, that would only tip the scales. It wasn't the deciding factor. Simon also had to weigh the cost of trying to get information from people who weren't three sheets to the wind and ready to tell their family's deepest, darkest secrets. He needed valid, reliable information, not gossip.

As a rule, Simon would only tug on threads for a short time before he expected something to come from it. There were far too many cases and convictions for him to dive into. He didn't have to spend too much time on those with little substance. If this were anyone other than Holt asking him to look into it, Simon would've gone back to Dallas already.

Then Violet appeared, and suddenly, he was thinking about moving to Coyote Ridge.

Okay, maybe he wasn't that far gone, but he would admit he was fascinated in a way that made absolutely no sense.

"What's the draw of bad boys?" he asked, watching as Violet continued to eat. A lot of women he'd dated would've pretended they weren't hungry. Not Violet. She was chowing down like this was her last meal.

And damn if he didn't find that sexy as hell.

She set down her spoon and reached for her napkin. "It's a curse."

"Oh, that's right. Elana mentioned that."

"Exactly how long did you talk to my best friend?"

Simon liked the way her dark brown eyes glittered with amusement. "Long enough to carry a drunk cowboy out to her car."

"Slade." Violet nodded. "He's havin' a rough go of it. I think he's in love."

Surprised by the gossip, Simon's eyebrows lifted. "Lemme guess. He's a cousin of yours?"

"No." She reached for her spoon. "He's a Jameson. I'm a Walker."

He had to admit he found the way they referred to themselves amusing. Like a family rivalry or something. Although, based on what little he'd gleaned from being in town, there didn't seem to be any animosity between the families.

Violet continued. "I think he's got a thing for Atticus, a guy Elana works with. But Atticus might have a thing for Carson, who is my cousin. If so, that's complicated because Carson and Slade used to have a thing, but they don't anymore."

Simon leaned forward. "Just so you know, for those of us who aren't from here, it's not easy to keep up with all the names or the family affiliations."

Violet grinned. "I know. But it's fun to toss it all out there and pretend you do."

"I take it you're close to your family," he said simply to keep her talking.

"My mom and my kid sister, yeah. My older sisters moved away when I was ten. Whitney, the oldest, she just recently moved back." She took a sip of her iced tea. "What about you? Where's your family?"

"I'm an only child. My parents divorced when I was fourteen. It was civil for the most part. My mom … she lives in Florida with her third husband. Tom. Nice guy. Old enough to be her father, but nice."

"Your dad?"

"He's in Dallas. Got remarried a couple of years ago. His new wife's got some kids younger than me. I see him every few months or so."

The next half hour flew by as Violet gave him an animated update of recent gossip, most of which he couldn't remember. There were so many names, and without faces to go with them, he had to shove it all into the just noise box in his head for his sanity.

While he didn't care much for gossip, Simon loved to listen to her talk. There was a lyrical tone to her voice that resonated deep in his soul. No, it didn't make a lick of sense, but for whatever reason, he didn't really care.

"Well, I guess I should get goin' since I crashed your dinner and all," Violet said after Simon had paid for his meal.

He'd offered to pay for hers, but Violet had already paid, intending for it to be a to-go order. The fact she'd opted to stay to eat with him made him feel all kinds of weird shit.

"I'll walk you out."

She stared at him as though he'd lost his mind.

"I know." He chuckled. "Nice guy, no chance."

Her smile lit up her entire face. "As long as we're on the same page."

They weren't, but Simon didn't bother telling her as much. What was the harm in pursuing her while he was in town? If something happened, it would be brief and casual. Surely, she could deviate from her norm for a temporary fling.

Not that he was banking on it. Simon would be content as her friend if that were all he was allowed.

Maybe if he said it enough, it would be true.