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How could anything truly smell this delicious?
A far cry from the nonexistent aroma of grilled tilapia and brown rice.
“Dig in,” Mrs. Carson said.
I waited until Lucas and Matt each took a bite, and then I speared a piece of pork on my fork and slowly brought it to my lips.
Oh. My. God.
It was so tender and delicious. I had no idea what kind of spices she had used other than the onions. Probably some chili powder of some sort, maybe a little coriander? I wasn’t a big cook, so I truly was only guessing.
“What do you think, dear?” she asked.
“It’s delicious,” I said after I swallowed. “You should be running a restaurant around here.”
Lucas and Matt burst into laughter.
Had I said something funny?
“Everyone says that the first time they eat Mrs. C’s goodies,” Matt said. “It’s like a ritual, you know? Every time I bring someone over here, they say the same thing.”
He brought other people over here before? Just friends, maybe?
Or other women?
Did it matter? I’d just met the man, and I was leaving in six days. Still, it pierced my heart just a little. After all, Mrs. Carson had said I might be a keeper. That seemed to imply that Matt had brought other women here.
Why let it bother me? Right now, I was starving, and I had a plate of the most delicious food I’d ever eaten in front of me. I tried a bit of the enchilada next. It was a cheesy, corny, creamy delight topped with a red sauce that I’d thought might be tomato, but it wasn’t. It was a mild blend of some kind of peppers.
“The sauce is divine,” I said.
“I gave you the mild. The boys here like theirs spicier.”
“I love spicy food,” I said. “I eat Thai a lot at home.”
“Do you want to try the spicy, then?” Mrs. Carson asked.
“Careful, honey,” Matt said. “It’s not for the meek.”
That did it. “Yes, if you don’t mind, I’d love to try it.”
Mrs. Carson brought over a pot from the stove and spooned some reddish-brown sauce over the edge of my enchilada. “Best try a bite first, dear. It does pack a whopper.”
I brought a bite of the newly sauced enchilada to my mouth. It was delicious indeed. Almost smoky, and yes, very spicy, but I could still taste the flavor, which was remarkable.
I swallowed and cut off another bite with my fork, brought it to my mouth, and—
My jaw dropped. Heat invaded my mouth and throat. I grabbed my glass of water and drank half of it down.
Matt and Lucas were chuckling.
“Not for the meek,” Lucas said.
I was certain my throat was on fire.12MatteoI couldn’t help a raucous laugh. “We warned you!”
Riley coughed and sputtered as she downed her water. Mrs. Carson hurriedly brought her a new glass, which she downed as well.
“I’m sorry, honey,” Mrs. C said.
“It’s…okay,” Riley choked out.
“It’ll pass,” Matt said. “Then you’ll realize how good it is.”
“It’s already good. Delicious, actually. Just really”—she coughed—“hot.”
“That’s the best part.” I smiled. “Mrs. C has it down to a science. Some food is just hot and you can’t actually taste the flavor. With Mrs. C’s you can.”
She nodded and took another drink of water.
“It’s best to start slowly,” Mrs. C said. “I should have given you a mixture of the mild and hot.”
“It’s okay.” Riley’s voice was raspy. “It really is delicious.”
“Thank you.” Mrs. Carson winked. “I hope Mattie will bring you over again while you’re here. When do you leave?”
“In six days,” Riley said.
“Such a brief stay. That’s not near enough time to get the full Sumter Falls experience. I wish you could stay longer.”
“I have to get back to work,” Riley said.
Back to work? This was summer. If Riley was a high school business ed teacher…
As I suspected all along.
Riley Mansfield was hiding things.
And I intended to find out what they were.
“I can’t thank you boys enough,” Mrs. C said to Luke and me.
“Anything for you,” Luke said.
“Ditto.” I downed the last of my beer and then looked to Riley. “If you’ve recovered, I’ll take you back to the cabin.”
She nodded. “I’m good. Thank you for the lunch, Mrs. Carson.”
“Thank you for helping the boys, dear.”
“It was my pleasure.”
She wasn’t lying. Riley had truly enjoyed pounding those nails. Talk about getting your frustrations out. Now I just had to figure out who she’d been pounding.
We walked outside to my truck.
An idea struck.
I had a little shop in town for my silversmithing. Normally I opened only by appointment, but during the summer, I hired a high school kid to man the store for me. In a small town there just wasn’t a lot of demand for silver, but tourists loved it and I did a great business during the summer. Most of the items I crafted for sale were Native American designs, as those sold the best. But I also created my own designs.
