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Wyatt groans, “Mama, please stop. I don’t need to hear all that.”
She ignores him. “Won’t take long until you’re in the family way, dear.” She laughs deep and heartily as I sit there stunned. “I can’t wait to hold my grandbabies.”
I have nothing to say to that, so I stuff my mouth with the fluffiest, most delicious pancakes I’ve ever had. A moan slips out as the buttery maple flavor hits my taste buds, and Wyatt shoots me a hot look.
“Like I said, won’t take long,” Mama says, giggling as her eyes move back and forth between us.
Mama was right about one thing. There’s nothing left on the table, and I’m stuffed to the brim. Wyatt finished off his plate and everything else Mama and I couldn’t. I mentally calculate how much food it would take to fill Wyatt and any hypothetical sons we may have, and it’s…a lot.
Groaning at how full I am, I excuse myself to the ladies’ room. When I pass the cash register on the way back, I see a Help Wanted sign propped against it, and I stop, my mind whirling.
The young waiter who served our food walks up behind the counter. “Can I help you?”
“Um, maybe.” I point to the sign. “Are y’all looking for a waitress?”
“Yeah, one of the waitresses is moving out of town, so we need to hire a replacement. You interested?”
“Yeah, I think so. Um, what kind of experience do I need to have?”
“Well, first off, how old are you?”
“I just turned eighteen.”
“Eighteen, huh?” His demeanor changes slightly, his smile growing wider. “Well, that’s all you need, no experience required. I’m Matt. What’s your name, sweetheart?” He holds out his hand for me to shake. I’m not sure I like the smarmy look in his eyes, but I figure I need to be friendly if I want to get the job.
Shaking his hand, I answer, “I’m Dolly, Wyatt’s fiancée.” Not. But he doesn’t need to know that. He holds onto my hand a little too long but finally drops it when I tug it away, subtly wiping my hand down my jeans.
“Well, it sure is nice to meet you, Dolly. Here, let me get you an application.” Matt disappears behind an employee only door for a brief second, then comes back with an application and pen that he slides across the counter. “Go ahead and fill that out, and I’ll give it to the boss right quick.” As I’m filling it out, he asks me, “So, you and Wyatt, huh? Isn’t he a little old for you?”
“Nope,” I respond, popping the P. “He’s just right.” I smile brightly at him, then go back to filling out the application.
I figure he’ll leave me alone after that, but he just stands there grinning, undeterred, asking me all kinds of questions about where I’m from, how long I’ve known Wyatt, etcetera. I give him short and vague answers, hoping he’ll take the hint and leave, but he doesn’t.
By the time I’m almost done filling out the application, I’m not sure I even want the job if it means working with him and dealing with his intrusive questions. Plus, I’d have to work with Faye, who I’m pretty sure is in love with Wyatt and probably hates me.
I would hate whoever he was with if he wasn’t with me, so I get it.
Matt is leaning over the counter now, resting on his elbows, his face too close to mine as I hunch over to fill out the last question.
Wyatt walks up behind me, circles my waist with both arms and pulls me back against his chest. “Hey, babygirl. What are you doing?” There’s an edge to his voice, and when I peek at him over my shoulder, I see he’s shooting a not-so-nice look at Matt, who still hasn’t backed up yet or stopped grinning.
“Dolly here is applying to be a waitress. I think she’ll be a great fit, don’t you think?” Matt snatches the application and straightens behind the counter before I can respond to Wyatt’s question.
Wyatt’s arms tighten around my waist. “Is that right?”
Oooh, I do not like the look he’s giving me now, so I pull away. “That’s right. Matt said I don’t need any experience, so this’ll be perfect.”
Wyatt opens his mouth to say something, still giving me that look that says he’s not too happy when Mama walks up.
“Thanks for buying dinner, son. It was delicious as always.” To Matt, she says, “You tell Granny I said so. And tell her I said ‘Hi’ and that I’ll see her on Sunday.” Then she loops her arm through mine and pulls me away. “Time to go. Bye now!” She waves to Faye, who I hadn’t seen standing at the other end of the counter, as she walks me out the front door and to the truck.
I don’t understand the look she gives Wyatt, and neither of them says anything as he opens the door and boosts us both inside, with me in the middle again. Mama chats the whole way back to her house, though Wyatt and I don’t join in.
When we pull down her driveway and stop in front of her house, Wyatt hops out to open her door. Before she lets him help her out of the pickup, she turns to me and pulls me in for a long hug. In my ear, she whispers, “Don’t you let him get away with that. You are your own woman, in charge of your own decisions. You let me know if he gives you any trouble, and I’ll have words with him.”
I nod and smile gratefully at her, already in love with her. She’d make a great mother-in-law if Wyatt and I really were engaged to be married.
Wyatt and I are silent on the drive back home, though he keeps me in the middle seat with a hand on my thigh. When we get inside, he finally speaks. “I don’t want you working at the diner. I don’t want you worrying about money, not when I’ve told you before that I’m going to take care of you, and I meant it in every way possible.”
