揧es, I do, but I like scrambled better.?Jessica stood up and carried her coffee across the room. She pulled a carton of eggs from the fridge, cracked two into a bowl, then glanced over at Wade. 揌ow many do you want? And about that phone call. We抮e all going to church this morning to support Risa, who has decided not to let Stella control her. Do you want to go with us??
揧es, I抣l go to church to be there for Risa. I will stand with the rest of the team for Risa and the girls, but I抦 pretty sure it won抰 be for my own soul.?He stirred flour into the sizzling sausage. 揟hree or four eggs for me, Jessica. I had a great time last night, and I think the twins did, too. We should plan something every couple of weeks for them. They抮e hard workers and deserve some fun.?
揥e抮e all hard workers.?Jessica added four more eggs to the bowl, whipped them up, and poured them into a skillet. 揃ut the twins have been pulling more than their share. We should put them on payroll.?
揑 agree,?he said. 揑f they aren抰 helping Risa in the kitchen, they抮e working out in the bar toting and fetching for us. Let抯 put them on at minimum wage and that will give them money for whatever they need in school or for their cheerleader stuff.?
揑抣l tell Mary Nell to back pay them for thirty hours a week. She抯 working on getting insurance for everyone this next week. According to her if someone works forty hours a week, we have to offer them insurance.?Jessica would have rather been talking about anything other than boring work details. Like maybe whether Wade was beginning to accept Danny抯 death a little better. He had to get past blaming himself for his brother going into the military before he could move on with his life.
揑抦 glad we抳e got her in the office.?Wade shook another small palmful of flour into the sausage and kept stirring. 揑 wouldn抰 have any idea where to start with all that stuff.?
揑t抯 a miracle,?Jessica said.
揌ow do you figure that??
揥ell, Mary Nell breaks up with her boyfriend and comes home to get her emotions all straightened out, and she抯 a bookkeeper. Risa gets tossed out of Kentucky like garbage, and she抯 a fine cook. Haley is home for the summer, and she抯 a counselor who is listening to all our problems. She will be wonderful behind the bar when some soldier or rancher comes in whining about his woman not treating him right. And the two of us have finished our last enlistment and need a place to call home. It has to be a miracle that threw us all together at just the right time,?Jessica answered.
Wade was silent so long that she wondered if maybe he disagreed with her and didn抰 want to say anything. 揑 don抰 believe in miracles or fate,?he finally said, 揵ut you抮e right. It couldn抰 be anything else. Maybe it抯 all of our rewards for the tough times we抳e been through. But going back to doing something for the twins this summer, Oscar told me that there抯 a craft fair at Burnet next Saturday if it doesn抰 rain. If it does, they抣l have to reschedule since it抯 outside. We could knock off work at noon and go, but I thought maybe we should talk about the idea as partners before we say anything to the rest of the team.?
揝ounds like a plan to me,?Jessica agreed as she whipped the eggs with a fork. 揑 didn抰 know that you could cook.?
揈nough to keep from starving敆he flashed a brilliant smile her way棑but not enough to put on a chef抯 hat. The way you were talking on the phone, I thought maybe you were meeting someone for breakfast.?
揘ope.?Jessica shook her head. 揓ust talking about church.?
揑抦 still mad at God for taking Danny away from me,?Wade admitted, 搒o if He wants to say anything to me this morning, He better yell. I抦 afraid I kind of closed my ears to Him when Danny died. I抣l go for Risa, but even if I didn抰 want to attend services, you would be welcome to use my truck.?
揟hanks.?She could hear a little catch in her own voice when he reached for the milk and his arm brushed against hers. 揑 need to find a small vehicle or truck of my own pretty soon so I don抰 have to depend on someone else to take me places.?
揘o need to hurry,?he said. 揧ou can always use my truck.?
It seemed like a whole new set of hot little sparks every single time she even glanced over at Wade, and the few times they locked eyes, the electricity between them got even steamier. She was thirty-eight years old, for God抯 sake, not sixteen, and that meant she had to be an adult and get this attraction under control.
揥hat time do we need to be there??Wade asked.
揊ifteen minutes until eleven so we can all go in together, and Haley says we抮e sitting near the front.?Jessica scooped the scrambled eggs into a bowl and carried them to the table. She liked sitting down with everyone three times a day for meals, but eating with just the two of them that morning turned things more intimate and personal.