Met Her Match Read online

  “What happened?”

  “They didn’t know anyone in town so no one knew the girl hadn’t gone with them. She went to the grocery and the sheriff stopped her and asked to see her license. She was a new driver and she’d left it at home.”

  “He didn’t put her in a cell, did he?”

  “Yes. The bad part was that he forgot about her. He and all three deputies were out in the crowds so the office was empty. He left that girl in the cell for forty-eight hours with no food or water.”

  Nate looked at her in horror.

  “It was awful. Her parents came back and couldn’t find her so they called the sheriff. The girl was passed out on the floor of the cell and had to be revived. She spent days in the hospital. Eventually, she was okay physically, but mentally, she was seriously traumatized.”

  “Was the sheriff prosecuted?”

  “No.” Stacy let out her breath. “He knew what was coming. He went to a cabin in the woods and drank bottles of whiskey. When they found him, he’d been dead for days.”

  “Some ending for a fairy tale!”

  “But don’t they all end like that? The evil queen sends the hunter after the beautiful young girl, that kind of thing.”

  “But in those stories the evil queen ends up being dissolved or something. Nothing bad has happened to Della. She still follows Brody around, still spies on people, still spreads rumors and makes people miserable.” He was getting angry. “She still—”

  Stacy put her hand on his arm. “Are you all right?”

  “Sure.” He opened the car door and got out. “What fabulous food did you bring for us?”

  “I went to a new restaurant just out of town. I think you’re going to love it.”

  “If you do, I’m sure I will.” He opened the trunk as Stacy got out.

  “It’s called Kale House. Just wait until you see the green eggs. They’re delicious and so very good for you!”

  * * *

  Stacy had spread the cloth on the sand, put the chairs beside it, then pulled out all the pretty containers and set them on the cloth. Nate had done nothing but look out at the water. His gaze was so intense that he looked like someone in the crow’s nest of a ship searching for whales. “Thar she blows,” she muttered.

  “Did you say something?”

  “Nothing important. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing for the last few days? Any funny stories?”

  Nate had skipped the chair and was sitting on the edge of the cloth. “Nothing worth repeating. Just a lot of people trying to get the most and the best. What about you? I’m sorry I didn’t get to your booth often enough.”

  “That’s all right. Terri helped me.”

  “Did she?” Nate turned his intense glare from the water to her. “You two talk about anything interesting?”

  “Not really. Just you.” Stacy was glad to see him lose his faraway look. “Don’t look so scared. It was just girl talk. Here, try one of these eggs.”

  He took it and stared at it. “Green food.”

  Stacy was getting tired of his odd comments. “Yes. Food is sometimes green. If you don’t like it I can—”

  Nate popped the egg in his mouth.

  Stacy was about to remark on his grimace when she looked behind him. “At last, she’s here. Wow.”

  “Who is?” When Nate looked up, he was so startled he began to choke. He grabbed a bottle of water.

  “Terri looks fabulous. I’ve never seen her like that.” Stacy glanced down at her outfit of white shorts that almost reached her knees and a navy halter top that only showed a few inches of midriff. “I feel completely overdressed. Is that bikini even legal?”

  At that, Nate stopped guzzling water and turned back around—and the sight made the egg and water fill his throat so that he started coughing and sputtering.

  Stacy absently patted his back as Terri and two gorgeous men walked toward them. “Terri, you look great. Where did you get that suit and that cover-up?”

  “Elaine’s. Today I’m a walking advertisement for her shop. You should stop by some time. Do we set up here?”

  “Sure. Anywhere. And I will definitely shop there.”

  Terri motioned to the young men who flanked her to put the cloth and the basket down. “Your food looks like it’s from Kale House.”

  “It is. Have you eaten there?”

  “I went with a friend and we ordered everything on the menu. You can’t have too much green food.”

  “That’s what Nate calls it too.” She glanced at him, but he had his back to them as he tried to calm down from his coughing attack. “I haven’t met your friends.”

  “They’re Turners,” Terri said in dismissal.

  “Brent,” one said.

  “And I’m Brett.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. I guess you’ve met my fiancé, Nate.”

  Nate had finally turned around to face them, but he said nothing.

  “We’ve seen him around, but we haven’t had a lot of conversation.”

  Stacy noted that Nate kept staring at Terri. While it did annoy her, she really couldn’t blame him. Terri was five-nine or -ten and most of her seemed to be long, slim legs. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on her. Actually there was hardly an ounce of anything on her. Her red bikini was so small it almost didn’t exist. She had on a white cover-up but it was a soft, completely transparent cotton voile. Nothing was concealed.

  All three of the men were gaping at her while the twins unpacked the picnic basket.

  “Mr. Parnelli made a meal for me,” Terri was saying. “He makes his own sausage and all the pasta is homemade. Help yourself.”

  “Dad bought some of his food,” Stacy said. “Too spicy for me, but Nate might like some.”

  Nate didn’t say anything, but he was staring at Terri in a way that Stacy really didn’t care for. “Terri,” she said, “you’ll never believe who called me last night. Someone you greatly admire.”

  “Chris Hemsworth?”

  “No, but close. Billy Thorndyke.”

  Terri was leaning back on the cloth, all of what looked to be four feet of her legs before her, but she abruptly sat up straight. “Billy? How is he? Where is he? What’s he doing now?”

  Stacy smiled warmly. “He called me with a job offer. His uncle now owns the Thorndyke house and the old stable. He’s going to make the house into apartments and divide the stables into two houses. He wants me to decorate them and your father to handle the rental.”

  “That’s really great.” Terri gave a quick glance at Nate, who still hadn’t said a word. “But didn’t you put an office on the ground floor?”

  “I did, but there’s still the upstairs and isn’t there an apartment downstairs? I only went to a few parties there. What’s the upstairs like?”

  Brett handed Terri a sandwich, ciabatta bread slathered in mustard, with sliced beef, pickled peppers and homegrown tomatoes. She bit into it. “This is so good. Best I’ve ever had. Soooo spicy.” She glanced at the pretty little containers on Stacy’s cloth. “Is that a kale salad? The one with cranberries?”

  “Yes, it is. Want some?”

  “No, thanks. This is enough. Oh, thanks.” Brett had leaned forward and used a napkin to wipe a bit of mustard from the corner of her mouth. “Food like this makes me such a pig. Could one of you get me a cold beer?”

  Brent opened one and handed it to her. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, dear Billy and that wonderful house. The attic is huge. Billy and I used to spend a lot of time up there. We’d...” Terri gave a little giggle. “Never mind what we were doing. But yeah, I could see that you could divide it up easily.”

  “Billy mentioned his grandmother’s place downstairs. What’s it like?”

  Terri smiled. “It’s very nice. When I was there, it was packed with years of family things. How did Billy sound?”