Holly Jolly Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #7)(7)

“Is there a problem?” Wade asked, coming out of the back. He wiped his hands with a towel, affecting his mild, cheery “customer” smile.

“Of course not,” Holly began.

But Adam—that horrible jerk—nodded. “She’s using the wrong bread on the sandwiches. I asked for the other kind specifically.”

So they were really going to fight over sandwiches. She sighed heavily. “And as I’ve explained, the homemade sourdough won’t be ready until later this afternoon. We’re out.”

“How do you know you’re out?” the infuriating man asked, arms crossed over his chest.

“Because I’m the one that makes the damn bread,” she snapped. “And I haven’t made it yet. I’m standing here arguing with you.”

“Now, now Holly,” Wade said in his gentlest voice. “I’m sure we can all settle this easily.” He beamed at Adam Calhoun. “I’m real sorry, but if Holly says we’re out, we must be out. Let me make it up to you. I’ll throw in some extra cheesecake for everyone with your order. How’s that?”

“Fine,” Adam said in an exasperated voice. When Wade turned away, she heard Adam mutter, “That shit’s like eating glue.”

Holly’s lips twitched. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a smile, even if he was right about the cheesecake. Didn’t matter. She still didn’t like the jerk. But she made sandwich after sandwich with no more protest, putting extra bacon on like she always did, and wrapped them all up neatly in butcher paper. She even threw in a baked doggy treat for his pup, because he probably needed a bit of extra love if he had this guy for a dad. Wasn’t his fault that he had Adam for an owner.

She handed him his order in silence.

He set down a single dollar—creased lengthwise down the middle—on the counter. “For your service.” Then he turned and left.

Dear lord, she hated that prick.



* * *



? ? ?

Adam was in a foul temper by the time he got back to the Price Ranch. It was just a damn sandwich run. Why was he letting a foul-tempered waitress get the best of him? Next time he’d just send Carson instead of going himself. He’d volunteered because Carson had been mucking stalls—not Adam’s favorite task—and Adam’s dog, Hannibal, always loved a ride in the truck. So he’d gone. Yeah, well, never again. Now he was in a crap mood, his sandwich sucked, and he was pretty sure that the next time he went to the only eatery in town, he was going to have spit in his food.

He brought the food to the main house, where everyone seemed to be bustling. Sage had one baby on her hip and the other helping her fold laundry. Jason was on the phone, pacing in the kitchen, so Adam just left their food where it was. He’d heard that Sage wasn’t thrilled about the idea of leaving town for an entire month and had to be sweet-talked into a vacation. She was probably as prickly as that waitress and—

“Oh, Adam, is that you?”

Adam hid his grimace and turned around to face his boss and the mayor of Painted Barrel, Sage Cooper-Clements. Well, Jason was technically the boss of the day-to-day stuff, but the ranch belonged to Sage’s family. And Sage was the sort that liked to try to manage everything. Not in a bad way, just in an endless need to make things run smoothly. She ran the town, too, as mayor for the last year or two, and he’d seen her at every event the town had to offer, as well as looking after her children and helping with the ranch.

Yeah, he supposed she needed a vacation.

But he smiled at her. “Just dropping food off. I’ll be out of your hair in a minute.”

She put down the laundry she was folding and headed over to him, balancing the baby on her hip as she moved. “I wanted to ask you . . . are you going to the Winter Festival?”

That felt like a loaded question. “I’m pretty sure. Doesn’t everyone go? It’s next weekend, right?”

Sage nodded brightly, her smile dimpling across her face. “First official weekend in December! Are you bringing a date? Is Carson?”

Alarm bells went off in his head. “I can’t speak for Carson, but no, I’m not—”

“I have a friend of a friend who’s looking to meet someone in town. She’s lonely and just got divorced and is finding it hard to get back into the dating pool, and I thought, well, I know this lovely young man that works for me and I wanted to ask you . . . ?” She trailed off, probably hoping he’d finish her sentence with enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm was not what he was feeling at the moment. Dread was. Adam didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but dating some stranger was the last thing he wanted at the moment. Ever since finding out about Donna and the “boyfriend” she had while she was married to Adam, well, it had kinda soured him on relationships. And if he felt lonely, that’s what his hand was for. “I’m not looking to date right now.”

Sage gave him an apologetic look, adjusting the child on her hip. “I know I’m being nosy, but I thought I’d ask. It never hurts to ask, right?”

“Of course not. And I’m sure there’s a few lonely men in town. I’m sure she won’t have a hard time finding someone to date.” Not unless she had a personality like the sandwich harridan back at the restaurant. No wonder that one was single.