Free Come and Get It by Beyond the Page Publishing Page B

avocado and Vidalia relish. Yes? No?”
    “ Hell, yes.”
    Dixie assembled the sandwich and put
it on the hot griddle, then ladled up a bowl of fresh tomato soup.
At precisely noon, the construction noise stopped.
    “ Here comes the thunderin’
herd,” Allen said.
    Dixie leaned out of the window and
hollered, “Come and get it!”
    Bubba beat Hugh to the window today,
an unusual happenstance. “Hey, Bubba, what’ll it be today? I got
homemade tomato soup or smoky corn chowder. For sandwiches, it’s
apple chicken salad and chipotle roast beef on artisan bread, and
chili steak burritos. The hot meal is spicy peach pork roast with
asparagus risotto and spicy glazed carrots. Got some of those
clover rolls you like too.”
    Bubba blushed like a schoolgirl. “I’ll
have the hot meal, Dixie Rose. Can I have an extra honey
butter.”
    She smiled. “Of course you can, sugar.
You hang on just one minute.” Quick as a whistle, she filled a
plate with food and set it on the counter. “There ya go, Bubba.
Enjoy.” She took his money and tried to give him change but he
refused. “Thank you very much, sugar.”
    As she turned to put the money in the
drawer, the next man stepped up to the window. She turned and
smiled and was momentarily speechless. Golden. The man was a golden
god. Golden blonde surfer hair hung past his shoulders. His eyes
were the golden brown of a tiger’s eye gemstone. A white V-neck
T-shit clung to a broad chest with sprinkles of light hair at the
point of the V.
    “ Hi,” she said, trying to
remember how to put a coherent sentence together. “What can pet for
you . . . get for you. What can I get for you?” She closed her eyes
and gave her head a barely perceptible shake. It’s official. I’m an idiot. “Sorry.”
    “ That’s all right,
buttercup,” he drawled. “I’ll have the hot meal, too. I like
spicy.”
    She jerked her gaze from his full lips
and gave him a jerky nod. “Spicy. Okay.”
    How she managed to fill the plate
without spilling food everywhere she would never know, but she
pulled it off.
    “ Here you go.” She set the
plate on the counter and took his money. Her equilibrium returning,
she counted out his change.
    He smiled and leaned on the counter.
“So, I’m new in town and I surely would like someone to have supper
with me tonight. What about it . . . Dixie?” She nodded. “Say yes,
sweet Dixie.”
    She shook her head. “Thank you for the
offer, but no.” She attempted to give him back his change but he
simply grinned and walked off with his food.
    Big Hugh stepped up to place his
order. “I think I’ll take the hot meal today, too.”
    “ Hungry today, Hugh?” she
asked, fixing his food. “How’s Rita Mae? She recover from Saturday
night yet?”
    Hugh’s laughter boomed. “I swear,
Dixie, I’ve never seen her let loose like she done at your place.
She was feelin’ so poorly she didn’t make it to church yesterday.”
She set the plate before him, knowing he hoped she’d comment on her
run-in with Quin at church. She smiled and took his money. “Keep
the change, honey.” He looked down at the plate. “Sure does smell
good, Dixie Rose.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and wandered off
to find a seat.
    After everyone got their food, Dixie
made the rounds with a coffeepot in one hand and a tea pitcher in
the other, refilling drinks and chatting with the men. Turned out
Hugh was sitting with the new guy.
    “ Hugh, you need a refill?”
Dixie held up the tea pitcher.
    “ Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled
around a bite of dinner roll. “You ought to come on down to the
Stumble Inn tonight, Dix. Audie’s auditioning bands. I’m gonna try
to go, if Rita Mae don’t pitch a fit over it.”
    Dixie leaned over his right shoulder
and poured. “Tell Rita Mae she’s got no wiggle room when it comes
to giving you hell for celebrating too hard. Tell her I got
pictures of her dancing on a table at my birthday party and I ain’t
afraid to use them.”
    They had a