Fried Pickles and the Fuzz (3 page)

Heather sighed. Maybe Beth Ann was right. Maybe she should just make a move. Friday afternoon
'
s picnic would be the perfect opportunity for a casual first date. Heather mentally nodded. She'd ask him tonight…
after dinner…
once they were alone.

“Speaking of older than dirt, I heard that Gus got out again last night.”
Beth Ann's voice sliced through her woolgathering. “T
hat's
the word on the street
, anyway
. Billy said he must have jimmied the latch.” Beth Ann hopped off the counter and peeked out into the din
ing room. “What are you
going to do about him?”

“I hav
en't the foggiest. I guess I'll
just have to
be patient
until I
can
get everything lined up
for the loan through the bank
.” Heather sighed. “The poor
old
guy is just so lonely.”

“I know
,
but he can't keep wandering around like that. He's liable to get hurt or cause an accident or something.” Beth Ann tugged a rubber band from her wrist and pulled her curly red hair up into a messy
ponytail
.

“I'm doing the best I can.”
Heather stared into the saucepan of
potatoes
. It was
getting close to time for the parade to start
, but she needed to take care of the Gus situation.
M
ost everyone in town had pitched in
to help care for him
, but he held a special place in her heart
,
and she was the one that everyone in town looked to her to solve his special problem
. She only wished that she had the space
right now
for him to come and live with her.
It would make things a lot easier.
“In the morning
,
I'll run down to the
hardware
store and see if he can stay with Arthur for a couple days.
Just until I
can get
another
appointment
with C
arl
at the bank
. For tonight
,
Billy will just have to do his best to keep him
home
.”

Beth Ann nodded. “No problem. I'll tell Billy to put a lock on the
door
tonight. We'll see if that keeps him from getting into mischief.
I'd better run. It's about that time
,
and I
want a good spot this year
.
Last year I got stuck behind Mr. and Mrs. Oldham
,
and I think they must have had fried cabbage for lunch because the smells those two were letting go were strong enough to peel paint off the water tower.
” She giggl
ed as she sashayed
toward the kitchen door.
“I'll save you a spot.”

Heather stopped whipping the spuds
,
and
turned toward her retreating friend
. “
Thanks. You're a doll.
”

“Mmm
-
hmm.” Beth Ann glanced back over her shoulder and
raised a single crimson brow. “But remember, you'd better snatch that man up before somebody else does.
”
Giving
a sassy wink
,
she pushed through the swinging door and left Heather staring after her.

With a shake of her head, Heather turned back to the stove and the potatoes. Okay, fine, it was
really nice that Bronson waited
until right at closing time to come in. It made the visits seem
intimate. Private. Something special for just the two of them.

Their nightly conversations seemed to cover nearly every subject from the daily grind to favorite movies and funny memories. They had gotten to know each other pretty well in the two months he had been in town.
Not that she would claim to be the only person in the county he had personal conversations with, but as far as she knew
,
he didn't really socialize much. He had mentioned a guy
s'
night with the county livestock officer a couple weeks ago
,
but other than that
,
she wasn't sure if she could recall a single instance of him talking about hanging out with anyone.

Maybe she was special.

Then again
,
maybe she was delusional. Seeing what she wanted to be there rather than what actually was.

She shook her head
again
. No matter how much she wanted to take her friend
'
s advice, Heather just wasn't the type of gal to make the first move. Never had been. Not in ma
tters of the heart anyway.
Yes, she would flirt to an extent and drop a hint or two, but she preferred to leave it up to the man to do the asking.
Assuming that Bronson even had any interest in her other than her cooking.

“I'm heading out.” Erma poked her head into the kitchen.
“Gotta get a good spot. You coming?”

“No, that's alright. You go on. I still have
a few things to do but I'll catch up
.”
Heather quickly finished up the prep, covered everything
,
and headed out of the café.

Main
Street
was hopping. The entire square was an undulating sea of residents, visitors
,
and county locals who had halted their day to make the trip into town for the yearly parade.

Bright balloons and colorful streamers danced in the breeze from stop signs and light poles on both sides of the road.
Snack vendors set up their portable stands in strategic locations around the square
,
offering everything from cotton candy to grilled corn on the cob and shaved ice.
The gazebo in the center of the square was adorned with festive banners boasting the
thirtieth
annual Big Creek Days.

Picturesque and quaint just didn't seem to accurately describe their little town. Unlike many small towns, Big Creek's square didn't boast a large courthouse or county building. Instead it was a family
-
friendly, manicured garden of sorts
,
where residents were free to picnic in the shade of large oak trees or sit on any of the number of park benches scattered
around. Bright flowers bloomed in the numerous maintained beds
,
and smack
dab
in the center sat a large white gazebo used for everything from the county cloggers shows to public speaking events and live music.

It would be the center of many of the events taking place during the festival this coming week
,
including the box
ed
lunch auction, picnic
,
and dance on Saturday. Heather was looking forward to all of the events. It had been a few years since she'd been able to enjoy the full week of festivities
,
and while she wouldn't be able to participate in all of them
,
she planned on at least seeing as many as she could. The parade was just the start of a fantastic week to come. She just knew it.

Moving carefully, Heather wove her way through the throngs of folks all settling into position for the parade
,
toward the feed store at the end of the block. Beth Ann would no doubt already have their spot secured and would either be snuggled up to Billy or chomping at the bit for him to run the last customer out of the store and join her by the light pole.

Another ten feet confirmed her first suspicion. Beth Ann and Billy were standing arm in arm on the corner, a group of small children from town right in front of them sitting on the curb. They both waved as they saw her approaching. “We were starting to wonder if you'd changed your mind and decided to hole up in
T
he Pickle.” Billy tugged her braid.

“And miss the opening event? No way.” Heather had waited a long time to get back to Big Creek
,
and she didn't want to miss a single minute of this festival.

“This will be your first
festival
in what, three years?”
Beth Ann picked a dab of fluffy cotton candy from the mound on
the
cardboard cone she held and popped it into her mouth.

“Yep, and I've really missed them.” Scanning the crowd across the street on the square lawn, Heather looked for Bronson.

“Who ya lookin' for?”

Heather glanced at Billy. With his dingy ball cap cocked slightly to the side and his crooked smile
,
it was easy to see why Beth Ann was so smitten. Blond hair and green eyes only seemed to add to the rugged appeal that Billy exuded. Years spent working in his famil
y's
feed store and grain mill had chiseled his muscles into works of art. His biceps and forearms bulged beneath his deeply tanned skin, toned and rock hard from lifting and toting
fifty-pound
sacks of grain and feed for nearly fifteen years. “I'm just trying to see who all made it this year.”

“Mm
m-
hmm.”
Beth Ann offered Billy a bite of her spun sugar. “You're not foolin' anybody, hon. Tall, dark
,
and studly came by about five minutes ago
,
heading down to the parade start to make sure everyone is all ready.”

Billy
swallowed his cotton candy and looked down at Beth Ann. “Studly, huh?”

The redhead giggled, stood on her
tiptoes
,
and kissed the tip of his nose. “
Doesn't hold a candle to you, baby.”

“You two are positively nauseating.” Heather began scanning the crowd again. While most of the faces were locals, there were a number of visitors and tourists who had popped into town for the festivities this year. Big Creek Days had really grown in popularity during the past three years
,
it seemed. Beth Ann had told her that the Friday night rodeo was now one of the biggest in West Texas
,
brin
g
ing in competitors
and spectators
from all over the country.

For a small Texas town that balked at change, Big Creek and its business owners collectively couldn't argue that visitors brought money into the
community
. Money that ultimately worked its way around the town and county
,
breathing new life into the economy and help
ing
to sustain a way of life they all treasured.

Music and clapping from the other end of the block drew their attention. As with tradition
,
the parade would start on the corner of Main and First, circle the square
,
and end
at the corner of First and Second
.
The horseshoe pattern made it perfect for crowds lining the streets to see everything
,
and those on the square lawn could still enjoy. Plus it put the end of the parade near the beginning so they could easily head right back into the school parking lot to dismantle floats, lo
ad horses
,
and end the merriment with ease.

The
h
igh
s
chool band marched by, followed closely by the flag twirlers. Next came Mayor Higgins in his classic convertible
,
then the Historical Society Matrons.
Many of the local businesses and community groups had created colorful floats along with most of the school clubs. Each one a varying degree of whimsy and town pride
,
but all
were
works of art and a testament to what kids and boosters could do with a flatbed trailer, two-by-fours, chicken wire
,
and tissue paper.

The crowd cheered as the local rodeo
q
ueen and princesses, all decked out in their finery, pranced down the road atop their equally gussied
-
up mounts.
The Shriners in their little cars came next, whirling and tossing candy to all the giggling children who lined the streets. Several of the local rodeo clowns had agreed to join in the event
,
and they came next
,
spreading their joy with free passes for the kiddos to Friday night's rodeo.

Heather knew the end was near. Next it would be the local rodeo club and then the
p
olice department and
s
heriff
'
s cars. She swallowed hard and fought desperately to tamp down the butterflies swooping in her tummy. Bronson. He would be bringing up the rear of the parade…
all studly in his uniform and
cruiser. She sighed. Oy, she had it bad.