Home is Where the Heart is(64)

“Well, I don’t think words will ever do it justice, but thank you.”

“Oh, darlin’, you have no idea how much your words mean to me.” Jordan reached across the table as his hand touched the side of her face, and he was surprised when she didn’t pull away from his touch. But how could she not let him touch her? His sexy Texan accent drawled out of him the way it always had and she couldn’t help but go weak in the knees, making it a good thing she was sitting down. His fingers grazed her cheek softly, and she melted from his warm touch, forgetting all about the other people seated around them.

Oh, God! What would they be thinking right now? She could only imagine the town gossip tomorrow. They would be the talk of the town, not that she wasn’t used to being talked about anyway.

Cassie flinched back suddenly, and Jordan moved his hand back to the meal in front of him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled under his breath.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I would just prefer not to be talked about any more than I already am. Lord knows, I’ve given Yellow Valley plenty to talk about throughout the years. I don’t want to give them another reason to talk about my life if I don’t need to.”

This was why she didn’t go out very much. When you lived here, word got around very fast. Who you dated or what you did when you went out didn’t stay your secret for very long.

“But, um…I like this place. It’s good to go someplace else besides Mike’s Tavern, not that I don’t like it there or anything—”

“I know what you mean,” Jordan cut her off. “It is nice here, and not as loud as it can get at the tavern. At least we’re able to hear ourselves talk here.”

Talk. Something Cassie didn’t really know how to do with her ex. She hoped to hide the fact that she had nothing to say behind her meal as she took a bite off her fork.

“Do you like your pork chops?” she asked him.

Jordan licked his lips, swallowing the mouthful of food in his mouth and nodding his head. “Mm, yes I do. I forgot how good the meals are here. Nothing beats good southern style cooking.”

“I bet Miami has some fancy restaurants though. This must be a change of pace for you.”

“They do. I love living in Miami. It has most definitely been good to me, but I love coming home too and slipping back into a slow-paced lifestyle. It’s still home to me and my favorite place to be.”

Silence fell on the table, and the only sounds came from utensils hitting the plates as Cassie and Jordan devoured their meals.

Once they were done eating, Jordan and Cassie sat back in their plush booth as they listened to the people singing and playing guitar on the small stage. Cassie gave credit to those people who chose to participate in open mic night. She didn’t think she had enough courage to show her hidden talent.

She was in awe of the petite red-haired girl singing on stage right now. She didn’t look more than sixteen years old and wondered how much she had to psych herself up to be able to play for a crowd of people.

The girl finished her song, giving a little bow as she moved from her spot on the stage.

Then Amanda, the middle-aged owner of the diner, stepped onto the stage to introduce an up-and-comer in the country music world.

“His name is Dakota Bradley, and he’s passing through town eager to showcase his new music for us, which I’m told is apparently available to download on iTunes.” The crowd laughed. Amanda’s teenage daughter Lacy had obviously filled her in on that little piece of information.

“So let’s give him a warm welcome."

The singer stepped onto stage with a guitar in hand, shaking Amanda’s hand. He perched on the edge of the stool, resting his guitar in his lap as he got ready to play. He leaned into the standing microphone. “Um…hi, how y’all doing tonight?”

The crowd responded to his question, and then the song started and the audience got into the melody. Then as the upbeat chorus began, Cassie couldn’t contain the energetic feeling inside of her. She jumped up from the booth, along with a bunch of other people, and moved to an open area of the diner where people were swaying to the music. Jordan joined her a short time after, wrapping his strong arms around her tiny waist, and for the first time in a very long time, she didn’t feel the need to push away from his tender embrace. She simply went with the mood as they swayed together, and she leaned back against his firm body.

She turned her head to the side so she was looking into his delicious brown eyes when she spoke to him. “This is nice. He’s really good. I’m actually having fun.” Her voice came out in a whisper.