Curves and the Rancher by Jenn Roseton Page A

said
reassuringly. “ Go on, now. ”
    Cassie nodded and walked
over to the counter. In her five days of working at the diner,
spilling the eggs on Luke had been her only incident. “ One
and only, ” she muttered fiercely to
herself. Picking up the coffee, she carefully made her way over to
Luke ’ s booth and set the mug down on
the Formica table.
    “ Coffee? ” Embarrassed about spilling hot eggs on him the other day, she peeked
up at him from beneath her lowered lashes.
    “ Thanks. ” He gave her an easy smile and she found herself tentatively smiling
back.
    “ I ’ m-- ” She drew in a breath and smoothed her hands nervously down the large
apron which covered most of her curvaceous figure. “ I ’ m
sorry about the other day. ”
    He chuckled wryly. “ Don ’ t
worry about it. ”
    Relief made her smile a
little more confident, and she noticed just how good looking he was.
    “ Betty
said you haven ’ t worked here long. ” He kept eye contact with her, interested in her answer.
    “ That ’ s
right. ” She couldn ’ t
think of anything else to say. She ’ d
always been shy around guys, and now, thanks to Phillip, she was a
little wary of them too. Besides, this man - Luke - wouldn ’ t
be interested in her life story - or how she wound up in Coldwater
Springs.
    Two curvy girls around
her own age walked in, stopping at the counter to place their order.
The brunette laughed at something her blond companion said, then they
threaded their way to an empty booth in Cassie ’ s
section.
    She turned her attention
backto the man sitting in front of her. “ May
I get you anything else? ”
    He smiled and shook his
head. “ No thanks. ”
    “ Okay. ” She didn ’ t understand why, but she
was both relieved and sorry he didn ’ t
want anything else. She offered him a little smile and walked to the
counter.
    Arnold, the grizzled
middle-aged cook, gestured to the two steaming cups of coffee and
plates of cherry pie. “ For Sarah and
Libby. ” He nodded in the direction
of the booth where the two girls talked animatedly.
    Cassie loaded up a tray
and walked over to their booth. “ Cherry
pie and coffee? ”
    “ Hi, ” said the dark-haired girl. “ I ’ m
Sarah. ”
    “ And
I ’ m Libby, her cousin, ” the blond chimed in. “ You must be
Cassie. ”
    “ I ’ m
not wearing a name badge. How did you-- ”
    “ News
travels fast. ” An impish grin lit up
Libby's face. “ How are you finding
it here? ”
    “ I
like working here. ” Cassie realized
she was speaking the truth. “ Coldwater
Springs seems like a nice place. ”
    “ It
is, ” Sarah assured her, before she
and Libby exchanged a satisfied smile.
    “ So
what have you done to Luke Jackson? ” Libby enquired.
    “ What...what
do you mean? ” Cassie frowned.
Surely they hadn ’ t heard about the
egg incident.
    “ This
must be the third time he ’ s been in
here this week. Usually he only comes in for breakfast about once a
month when he ’ s getting supplies.
He ’ s sitting over there. ” Libby gestured to Luke ’ s booth on
the opposite side of the diner.
    “ I
haven ’ t seen him since I...since he
came in three days ago. ” Cassie
wrinkled her brow. She ’ d worked the
afternoon shift yesterday instead of her usual morning shift.
    The blonde girl ’ s
eyes sparkled. “ I have it on very
good authority he came in on Wednesday and Friday. And he ’ s
here again today. ”
    Cassie tried to fight the
rising tide of pink creeping over her cheeks. Libby ’ s
suggestion was laughable. Who on earth would want to come back to
the diner after having hot eggs splashed on him by a clumsy waitress
unless he really was hungry or thirsty? “ I
don ’ t know what you mean. ”
    “ I
don ’ t see any other new waitresses. ” Libby stifled a giggle. "Especially one with cute auburn hair
and blue eyes."
    “ Libby. ” Sarah glanced at her cousin.
    Libby sobered. “ Sorry,
Cassie. My boyfriend told me he ’ s a
good guy, and