AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The hand stayed up. Who was that? Derek Hostetler?
“Yes, sir?” Maggie asked.
“If we’ve got some issues with our equipment and want to replace it, would you help us tackle that?”
The crowd broke out into a cacophony of agreement. Bennett rested his forehead in his hands.
“I’d be honored. For all of you, if you’d like. Tonight, I’m here to explain the fire safety system, but why don’t I set a day where I table up at Mae’s to take your orders and talk shop—would that be okay?” she asked Mae, who nodded enthusiastically.
“If people buy a coffee or dessert,” Mae shouted from the back. Everyone laughed.
“Well, that sounds like a cheap deal to me. I’ll offer my consulting free of charge if you’ll support Mae. So come by with what your needs are—both input and output—any budgetary concerns and other questions. Oh, and bring an appetite. Mae’s four-cheese grilled cheese is divine.”
More laughter ensued.
Derek waved his hand, and Bennett, who didn’t consider himself a violent man, had an impulse to clap his hand over Derek’s mouth and forcibly keep it there until Maggie was done with her presentation.
Maggie pointed to him again.
“When will you be at Mae’s?”
“Hmmm. How does Saturday the twentieth sound?”
“No good. Bill’s getting married that weekend,” a voice from the middle of the crowd shouted. Bennett recognized the voice on his radio each morning. Bob Warner would have all the major dates in Deer Creek memorized, wouldn’t he?
“Okay. How’s this Saturday, then? I’ll set up shop around nine in the morning and be there till everyone’s had their questions answered.”
The crowd erupted in applause, some of them shouting their thanks or appreciation. Bennett’s anger at Maggie being interrupted simmered to a low boil. Maybe there was something to this. Maybe, just maybe, the town could help convince Maggie to stay once they realized what Bennett had known his whole life…
Maggie Newman was special, and women like her didn’t come around every day.
“Okay,” she said, her smile bright. The penny was gone and so were her nerves, it seemed. “Where did we leave off?”
Chapter Eight
Maggie squealed with delight and, as much as her ankle brace would allow, did a little dance on her way to Mae’s on Saturday morning. She’d done it. Not only had she successfully pitched a fire suppression system at the entrance to the canyon to be installed in a joint Steel Born and D.C. Fire Safety venture, but she’d secured a way to help Deer Creek modernize. It was, in a nutshell, her childhood dreams come true.
Well, most of them, anyway. Some of them were off the table for obvious reasons.
I don’t know what you’d think about Bennett, but I did it, Dad. I got the system you imagined up and running.
“Good morning, Mae!” she called to the back of the house. The scent of mint and rosemary hung thick in the air, which meant Mae was up to some sorcery Maggie wanted in on.
“Is that our famous engineer-slash-ranching-queen?” Mae asked, emerging from the kitchen with handprints of flour dotting her entire body and a tray of scones in her hands. Her apron read “Hot stuff coming through.”
Maggie grinned and performed a little curtsy. “I’ll take that label. Whatcha working on back there?”
“My newest recipe—cranberry-rosemary scones. You want one?”
“Are these them? They look amazing.”
Mae laughed and put the tray into the display case. “No, these are my boring ole blueberry-lemon-ricotta batch.”
“Oh, right. Those sound so boring,” Maggie laughed. “So boring that I think I’ll start with one and then see where the morning takes me.”
“Here you are, dear. And a large tea with mint and lemon?”
“Yes, please. I love that you remembered. You know, I understand why you don’t want to franchise, but your attention to detail and customer care would go gangbusters in a city like San Antonio.”
