The pretty brunette waitress, who looked to be in her late twenties, appeared, clad in a drab tan waitress uniform. She gave them all a friendly smile, but her dark brown eyes lit up when she noticed Chance.
“Hello, again. How are you?” she asked as she led them to a table and placed the menus in front of them. She seemed surprised when Clayton took off his cowboy hat and smiled up at her as she handed him his menu.
Clayton glanced at her nametag and said, “We’re fine, Lydia. How are you today?”
Lydia grinned and said, “Great! What can I get you gentlemen to drink?”
They placed their orders and Richard stifled his amusement when Chance made no secret of watching the shapely waitress walk away. Clayton rolled his eyes at his brother and made small talk with the other men.
When she returned moments later with a laden tray she said, “You two are as identical as you can be.”
Chance spoke up. “Yes, ma’am. This is my twin brother, Clayton. It was me and Richard here that you waited on a few weeks ago. I’m surprised you remembered us. It’s been a while.”
“Only a few weeks. I always remember a friendly face.” She glanced out the front window where the trucks and cattle trailers were all lined up. “Hauling cattle again?”
“Yeah,” Chance responded with a nod. “Making a run into Colorado.”
She talked with them of mundane things for a minute before she was interrupted.
“Lydia!”
She turned her head and looked back at the window behind the counter. She nodded and waved. Turning back to them, she smiled and blushed in embarrassment. “I think my boss is a little hard of hearing. He doesn’t mean to be so loud. What can I get you gentlemen?”
The excuse was made kindly, but Richard wasn’t completely convinced her boss’s rudeness was so benign. It sounded like the same man who had yelled at her the last time they’d been by.
Today, she didn’t seem quite so stressed out, though they were just as busy as last time. Once again, there were only two waitresses working the entire diner. She was wearing better shoes and seemed more comfortable doing her job than last time, as well.
“Lydia!”
Lydia repeated their orders back to them with efficient accuracy, took their menus, and excused herself. She hurried to the window and placed their order.
Richard noticed both Chance and Clayton followed her every move with their eyes. He glanced at Boone and caught his arched eyebrow, but he gave no other hint he noticed the interest both their bosses were showing in the waitress.
Their food took a while, but when she served them, it was fresh and hot. Chance tried to draw her into conversation, and she answered his questions and made small talk with them as she tidied the tables nearby. She kept glancing at the kitchen window, and Richard realized her boss was watching her every move from the kitchen. He was an older gray-haired man with a perpetual frown on his face.
“Lydia, are you from around here?” Clayton asked as she stood between him and Chance at the head of the table.
Lydia shook her head with a wry smile. “No, I’m from San Angelo. I came here for a job that fell through—”
“Lydia!”
She sighed, but the smile never left her eyes as she murmured, “Pardon me, boys, while I go see about changing my name.”
Chance chuckled but cast a hard glance at the kitchen window. “Now don’t go doing that. I like Lydia.”
Richard suppressed his chuckle at Chance’s flirtatious tone. Chance was always serious, while Clayton was usually the one flirting with the ladies.
Lydia smiled and shrugged, saying, “No? Roberta? Ophelia? Maybe Bernardine?”
She snickered as Chance cringed and said, “All nice names, but a lovely name like Lydia suits you.”
Richard nearly spewed his Coke when he caught Boone making a gagging face.
Lydia blushed and gestured a thumb at the window and said, “Duty calls, gentlemen. I’ll check on you in a few minutes.”
* * * *
Kendall wearily climbed from the pickup after parking in front of the ranch house. His day had been long, hot, and tiring. He wanted nothing more than an ice-cold beer, his boots off, and a full belly. His pity party was interrupted by a muffled, thumping sound. A rhythmic sound, like drums. He looked to the house and realized it came from within its walls.
Careful to make no noise on the porch, Kendall climbed the steps and peeked in the front picture window.
Hot, holy, fucking hell.
Kendall’s empty belly, aching feet, and tired body were all forgotten. The throb in the thumb he’d smashed with his hammer that afternoon was a distant memory compared to the throb in his rapidly engorging dick as he watched Maya doing housework. They’d asked her not to bother, but there she was, duster in hand, dressed in her snug little stretchy pants and tank top.