Mallory's Bears(34)
“Not much?”
Instead of answering, she waved at Earline. “Hey, Big E, when you get a chance, could you get some coffee for my new friend? And a plate of your breakfast special, too, please.”
“Thanks. I’m starving. I’d better eat something soon. Otherwise, I get as grumpy as a bear.”
Tension rippled in the room as everyone stopped talking and stared at her with more intensity. She stared back for only a moment, unable to stop doing so when she saw the flash of amber in their eyes.
“Anyway, how are you getting along with the Northman brothers?”
“Oh. I, um, I mean, we were doing okay.” Could she tell Mayla the truth? Although she sensed that they would probably have many things in common, she wasn’t ready to spill her guts.
Mayla leaned over the table toward her. “Did you feel it?”
Was she talking about the strange, wonderful sensation? Or was she fixated on that? “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
Judging from the tilt of her head, her new friend didn’t believe her. “Yes, you do. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Mayla, really, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t start slinging that shit with me. You felt it, all right. The invisible cord that runs between you three? The feeling that if you don’t have their hands all over you, you’re going to go insane? Tell me you haven’t felt that.”
She didn’t want to lie. Besides, she couldn’t force the truth from her face.
“You did. I knew it.” Mayla leaned back with a satisfied smug. “You love them.”
Mallory sucked in air and tried to check to see if the others had heard. And yet, the simple declaration Mayla had made tore at her heart. She’d love to hear Rick and Gunner tell her that they loved her, but that wasn’t going to happen. “It doesn’t matter now.”
She was almost relieved when Earline deposited a cup of steaming coffee in front of her. Trying hard not to focus on the others, she shifted her attention to Earline, the fascinating owner of the restaurant.
Earline was a heavyset woman with graying hair that was pulled back and ran down her spine. Mallory had a feeling that, if she ended up in a physical fight, the large woman could hold her own with some of the men. The same sweet smile she’d been greeted with flashed at her.
“I guess you’re Mallory.”
“Uh, yes. That’s me.”
Gray eyes that held a gleam of humor were flanked by laugh lines. “Then you’re Rick’s and Gunner’s woman.” She fisted one hand on her hip as she held a coffeepot in the other. “I hear you’ve been giving them hell about how they treat their animals.”
Mallory wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond to that. If she got defensive, she assumed that most of the others would jump onboard to take the men’s side. No doubt a lot of them ran cattle ranches, too.
Mayla held her cup up for Earline to fill. “Don’t go giving her a hard time, Big E. She doesn’t know what it takes to run a herd. I bet she’ll come around to our way of thinking soon enough. You know, once she becomes a permanent fixture around here.”
Permanent fixture? If only.
She added a packet of sugar to her coffee. “No, Mayla, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m leaving today. I’m taking the next bus.”
Why was everyone staring at her again?
Mayla’s mouth dropped open. “No. You can’t. Believe me. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is true, undying love. You can’t give up on it so easily.”
Irritation had her gritting her teeth. “Seriously. This is no one’s business but mine. I don’t know where you got the idea anyway, but please, just stop.”
Earline set the pot down on the table hard enough that Mallory was surprised when it didn’t break. She fisted her hands on her hips and hollered, “For shit’s sake. Gunner? Rick? What the hell do you think you’re doing? How can you let her get on the bus and ride off?”
The heat burst into her cheeks. Her face had to be as red as a fire engine. “Oh, my God. Earline, please don’t.”
“Please don’t what, honey? Everyone knows you’re their mate.” She narrowed those strange silver eyes at her. “You know it, too, right?”
She couldn’t answer. Not with the men remaining silent.
“Big E, it’s none of your damn business.”
Rick, please, don’t get into it with her. Just get me out of here.
“Maybe I should leave.”
She jolted as Earline’s large hand came down on her shoulder, holding her in her seat. “Bullshit. Boys, I don’t know what you did to make her leave, but an ostrich with its head in the sand can see she doesn’t want to go.”