"But you're a big city boy … there's nothing for someone like you to do here."
"If you mean the town doesn't have distractions, you're correct, and that is exactly what I need."
I stared at Gabe for a few moments before huffing in frustration. "You're impossible."
"Right now, I'm hungry, so what do you say we get a table?"
"Fine," I grumbled.
The owner of The Hitching Post, Kenneth Maxwell, sat propped up on a stool at the register. He doubled as both the cashier and host. "How many?"
"Three."
"Follow me."
I couldn't hide my surprise when Gabe motioned for me to go ahead of him. "And here I thought you didn't have a remotely chivalrous bone in your body," I remarked.
"I'm full of surprises."
"I'd say it was more you were full of shit."
Gabe threw back his head and laughed. Just as Kenneth pointed out our table, Linc arrived back from the bathroom. When I started to pull out my chair, Gabe once again shocked the hell out of me by stepping in front of me to do it himself. "I believe that makes me two and oh when it comes to chivalry points," he mused.
I rolled my eyes before allowing him to push me up to the table. When I reached out to take a menu from Kenneth, he was staring open-mouthed at Gabe. "Yes, he's a famous country rocker. I'm sure he'll sign something for you after dinner."
Kenneth head jerked back at my response. "I didn't realize that. I was just surprised to see anyone under sixty pulling a chair out for a woman." He then turned his interested gaze over to Gabe. "Are you really famous, or is she just pulling my leg?"
Gabe laughed. "She's telling the truth. I'm the drummer for the band Jacob's Ladder."
"Well, I'll be damned. I think the last time we had anyone famous in town was years ago when they were filming that movie about the circus with the guy who played the sparkly vampire."
"Sparkly vampire?" Gabe questioned.
"Robert Pattinson. They filmed some scenes for Water for Elephants at a farm not too far from here."
With a grin, Gabe replied, "I see. He did play a sparkly vampire in the Twilight series. He's a pretty cool guy though."
I sucked in a breath. "You know Robert Pattinson?"
"I met him at a party a few years ago right after the last Twilight movie came out-Breaking … whatever it was."
"Breaking Dawn," I replied breathlessly.
"Yeah, that's the one."
Linc snickered. "Mom thinks he's hot."
"I do not," I protested as I felt warmth flooding my cheeks.
"Yes, you do. You and Aunt Ellie are always talking about how you'd have his babies when there's a Twilight weekend on Freeform."
Refusing to look at Gabe, I turned to Kenneth. "Linc and I will have sweet tea."
After bobbing his head, Kenneth looked over at Gabe. "And you?"
"I'll have the same."
"Three sweet teas it is. I'll let May know. She'll be your waitress tonight."
"Thanks, Kenneth."
After staring down at my menu for a few seconds, I could feel Gabe's eyes on me. Finally, I dared myself to look up at him. "What?"
"Robert Pattinson?" he asked with a smirk.
"Shut up. I should be able to have my celebrity crushes without any judgement."
Gabe held up his hands. "No judgment, just surprise. It makes sense now why you turned me down." With a wink, he added, "I must not be your type."
"Trust me, whether or not you're my type had nothing to do with me turning you down."
May returned with our drinks. "Rae, can I get you and Linc your usual?"
I looked at Linc for confirmation before replying, "Sure."
"What about you?" she asked Gabe. At that moment, she got a good look at him then proceeded to freak out. "Oh my God, you're Gabe Renard. You're in Jacob's Ladder." Her usually porcelain face flushed to a tomato red.
Gabe flashed her a genuine smile. "I am. It's nice to meet you."
"I've listened to you guys for years. I even have some of your CDs from when Micah was still in the band."
"That is a long time."
With her free hand, May fanned her face. "Whatever you want to eat is on the house-my treat."
"I can't let you do that."
She giggled. "I insist. Then I can tell everyone I bought Gabe Renard dinner!"
"While I'm still not agreeing, I'll take the chicken and dumplings, macaroni and cheese, and the fried okra."
With a trembling hand, May wrote down Gabe's selections. "I'll be right back."
"Looks like if you play your cards just right, May might take you home with her tonight," I mused.
He grinned. "She's not my type."
"Because she's old?" Linc questioned while wrinkling his nose.
Shaking his head, Gabe replied, "Because she's tall and blonde." His gaze came to me. "I like petite brunettes."
I rolled my eyes in reply to his come-on. "Linc, do you have any homework you could be working on?"
"Nope. I got it all done at the shop."
"You're absolutely sure? We're not going to get home and you realize you were supposed to do another project like the solar system one?"
Linc laughed. "No, Mom. I promise."
"Good."
Gabe broke apart one of the cornbread muffins in his hand. "Tell me, Linc, do you play any sports?"
"Soccer."
Gabe glanced from Linc to me. "Not football like your mom?"
"I'm really not comfortable with him playing until he's a little older," I said.
"He's got plenty of time. I didn't start playing until I was about twelve."
"Was it because your mom was a scaredy-cat and thought you'd get hurt?" Linc asked while shooting a look at me.
Before I could respond, Gabe shook his head. "No. It was more about the fact that we were living overseas at the time."
"Was your dad in the military?" I asked.
"No. My parents were missionaries."
I stilled my fork midway to my mouth. "You're the son of missionaries?"
"What does that seem so shocking to you?"
"I guess I never stopped to imagine it." I gave him a pointed look. "Maybe it was because of your behavior when we first met."
"How did he act?" Linc asked.
"Uh … " While Gabe smirked at me, I quickly answered, "Not very Christian."
May interrupted us by bringing our food. "Let me know if you guys need anything else."
"Thanks," Gabe replied as he picked up his fork. When we were once again alone, Gabe stared intently at me. "As I said this morning, I am truly sorry for the way I acted yesterday."
I cocked my brows at him. "And this morning?"
With a scowl, Gabe added, "Yes, this morning as well."
"Whatever," I muttered before taking a sugary sweet sip of tea.
"You are going to forgive him, aren't you Mom?" Linc asked.
As Gabe leaned forward expectantly in his seat, I slowly set my glass down. "You know, Linc, that's really between me and Mr. Renard."
"But they always say in Sunday school that we're to accept sincere apologies and love our neighbor."
For the first time in my life, I regretted that my son paid attention in church. I obviously couldn't tell him that part of me not forgiving Gabe stemmed from the fact that he was a sex fiend who wanted to get in my pants. He also wasn't old enough grasp the enormity of a man being a sexist pig either. "Fine. In light of what you said, I forgive him."
Gabe smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."
"Let it be noted for the record that it was only under duress," I hissed at Gabe.
"I'll take it in spite of that."
Even as we began devouring the Southern goodness on our plates, the conversation never died down. Like an obsessed member of the paparazzi, Linc wanted to know every facet of what it was like to be in a band, and Gabe was kind to humor Linc's incessant questions about what it was like to get a record deal and to go out on tour.
Of course, as I watched Linc's eyes light up as he heard about the antics of life on the road, I couldn't fight the uneasy feeling that came over me. It was the same feeling I got whenever Linc talked about music and wanting to play the guitar. My heart had been broken too many times because of music. I'd ultimately lost my mother and my boyfriend because of music, and I would be damned if I lost my son as well.
With his plate empty, Gabe leaned back in his chair and rubbed his belly. "Damn, that was good. I can't remember the last time I had really good Southern food. I guess it was the last time I was at my mom and dad's in Texas."
"They really do have the best food in town. I guess that would be obvious since we eat here at least once a week," I said as I wiped my mouth with my napkin.
"Yeah, Linc told me you did." The moment the words left his lips, a panicked look took over Gabe's face. At the same time, Linc gasped next to me.