Page 51 of The Wedding Gift
“I’ll have to remember that.” Dalton grinned as he set plates and cutlery in the proper places.
When everything was ready, Greta told Dalton to sit at the head of the table, and she sat to his left, leaving the place to his right for Becca. “I’ll say grace,” she said, and gave a twenty-second grace for the food. “Eli already blessed everything in the whole bloody county, so that’s enough even if it is Sunday.” She passed the platter with the pot roast, potatoes, and carrots over to Dalton.
“This is one fine meal,” he said as he heaped his plate and handed the platter to Becca. “Thank you so much for inviting me.”
“You’re very welcome. It’s nice to have a man at the table.” Greta took out a good portion of meat and vegetables when Becca was finished. “Us McKays are not a bit bashful when it comes to eating. We like our food, and we’re not ashamed to take seconds, so don’t hold back, Dalton, but do remember that we have pecan pie for dessert.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He tried to eat slowly so he could spend more time with Becca, but he was so danged hungry that he finished off his plate in record time.
“After dinner, me and my friends are going down to the casino to see if we can turn twenty dollars into a hundred,” Greta said as she reached for a second helping. “There’s movies in the entertainment center. You kids can pick out one and watch it while I’m gone, unless you’ve got somewhere you need to be, Dalton.”
“No, ma’am.” He grinned and picked up a second hot roll. “I’d love to settle in and watch a movie with Becca.”
“Just don’t fall asleep.” Greta grinned. “My granddaughter can be a real practical joker.”
“Oh, really?” He arched an eyebrow toward Becca.
She shrugged. “Fall asleep and find out.”
Chapter 3
Grammie was a sneaky one.
Becca wasnotgoing to watch a movie with Dalton that afternoon. She intended to curl up on the porch swing and read one of the romance novels her mother had given her last weekend. Or she might go down to Ringgold, saddle up her horse, and go for a ride across her folks’ ranch. She had fended off all the real cowboys, wannabe cowboys, and cowboy singers in Nashville, but she had to admit she was attracted to Dalton. The chemistry between them was way too strong to spend a whole afternoon alone with him.
Or is it?She pondered.
Dalton Wilson could be like chocolate. If she had too much of it and got downright sick of the taste, she might not want to ever look at it again. If she spent some time with theman, she might possibly find all kinds of things about him that she didn’t like.
Grammie was also more than a little controlling.
“I’ve got the perfect movie for y’all to watch this afternoon,” Grammie said as she rifled through the drawers in her entertainment center. “Here it is. It’s an old one, probably popular when y’all were just kids.”
“What’s the title?” Becca set a glass of sweet tea on the end table and then plopped down on the sofa.
“It’s got Patrick Dempsey in it, and it’s”—she held up the movie to show them that it wasLucky 7—“and Kimberly Williams, and it’s all about a girl who thinks…” She stopped and smiled. “Y’all just watch it. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. It won’t take us long to lose twenty bucks at the casino.” She picked up her purse from the coffee table and left the house when the sound of a car horn blasted out in the front yard.
“You ever watched this?” Dalton sat down on the other end of the sofa.
“Nope.” Becca said. “Grammie loves chick flick movies, so you can bet your bottom dollar this is not an action film. You can sneak away if you want to.”
“Naw,” Dalton grinned and put the disk she handed him into the player. “I don’t reckon one love movie will hurt me.”
Becca picked up the remote, hit the Play button, and thenread the back of the container that held the movie. Oh, yes, sir, Grammie was playing matchmaker for sure.
“Mind if I take off my boots?” Dalton asked.
“Not one bit.” Becca propped her bare feet up on the coffee table. “Grammie says this is what a coffee table should be for, not for doilies and fancy flower arrangements.”
“Smart woman.” Dalton removed his boots, set them to the side, and stretched his long legs out. “What do you like, Becca? Do you prefer fancy fixin’s, or do you follow after Greta?”
“A little of both,” she answered and focused on the movie, which showed a bagel shop right close to the beginning. She missed grabbing a bagel on the way to work each morning the way she had done in Nashville. She hadn’t even minded driving a little bit out of the way over to Abbot Martin Road to get a fresh one.
“So, this girl is going to be waiting for her seventh boyfriend to really fall in love, right?” Dalton asked after the very first flashback scene to where a young girl was visiting with her dying mother. “Tell me that your mother is alive and well, and that you aren’t waiting for number seven.”
“My mama is Trudy McKay, and she is very much alive,” Becca answered. “I’m not waiting for any particular number.”
Dalton wiped his forehead in a fake dramatic gesture.“Whew! I was afraid I’d have a long wait if I had to go on home and wait until you went through six boyfriends.”