Page 29 of His Wounded Heart

I start shoveling in the cheesy grits so that I don’t have to answer questions.

“Florence was too busy complaining about Delmar and Drake Avery for Simon to get a word in edgewise,” Alice says with a twist of her lips.

Lettie laughs. “Sounds about right.” She turns her attention to Florence. “You should have given up on that bully senior year when he beat-up that sophomore and got suspended for a week. What you ever saw in him, I’ll never know.”

“He was a—”

“Good kisser.” Alice and Lettie say simultaneously.

“Good Lord, Florence, if that’s all you’re looking for in a man, go buy a date up in Nashville for a night and be done with it.”

Thank God I’d just swallowed my bite of pancake, otherwise I’d be choking on my food. Did Alice just suggest that Florence purchase a man for a night? I make a grab for my glass of orange juice and take a hasty sip, again not wanting to be dragged into the conversation.

“You’re just lucky you have Dave. You don’t know what it’s like to be a single woman in a small town,” Florence pouts. Then as sure as the sun sets in the west, Florence turns to me. “Are you single, Simon?”

“Yeah, but I’ve been told on multiple occasions that I’m not a good kisser.”

Alice starts coughing, but I know she is really laughing.

“You’re not?” Florence clarifies.

“No, ma’am. You’re going to have to look elsewhere. It sounds like new men are being hired at the John Deere plant, maybe you should start having breakfast at a diner closer to Knoxville.”

Florence turns to Alice. “What do you think of that idea?” she asks her friend.

“Couldn’t hurt.”

“I’ll go pay the check,” Florence says as she gets up from her chair. Alice turns to look at me.

“Damn shame.”

“What?” I ask with a smile.

“You being a bad kisser, and all. You do realize that piece of information is going to be all over Jasper Creek by the end of the day, don’t you?”

I take a sip of my coffee. It’s good. This place sure knows how to put together a good breakfast. “I figured so. I’ll just have to live with a ruined reputation.”

“I think some of the ladies might be willing to overlook the drawback,” Alice says as she fishes out some bills from her wallet and lays them beside her plate. “If you need anything, don’t forget to stop by the hardware store. If Dave doesn’t have what you need, he’ll know where you can get it.”

“Is the store open today?”

She nods. “Eight to six, Monday through Saturday.”

“I’ll stop by. I have a couple of questions about buying something more suitable if I want to drive some of the backroads.”

“Talk to Dave. He might be able to point you in the right direction on that.”

“Sounds like your son is plugged in.”

“He inherited the hardware shop from his dad, who inherited it from his father. It’s almost an institution around here, so yeah, he’s plugged in.”

“Are you coming, Alice?” Florence asks from the diner’s entry.

Alice smiles. “It was nice meeting you, Simon,” she says as she gets up.

I stand up and smile. “Same here, Alice.”

“You might be a lousy kisser, but you are a gentleman.”