The City Girl's Homecoming. Kathy Douglass

Megan liked the food, she didn’t dine here often. She rented a house in the historic part of town about a twenty-minute walk from the office. Although small, the house had a very nice kitchen. Most days she cooked dinner for herself and her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Crockett. The older woman had mentioned having a hankering for a steak and fries from the Grille, so Megan had decided to grab the food here today. She considered letting Cade know he was safe from her, but decided against it. Instead she marched to the counter and gave her to go order. Once placed, she stood by the front window and waited for it, refusing to look at him again. The seconds seemed to crawl until her order was ready. When her name was called, she ran to the counter and grabbed the brown bag and headed home.

      * * *

      Cade watched as Megan Jennings took her bag and left. Though he told himself not to stare, he couldn’t keep his eyes from focusing on her curvy backside as she strode from the restaurant. After their brief encounter, she hadn’t looked in his direction once, choosing to look out the window instead. Not that he wanted her attention. He didn’t.

      The last thing he wanted was to have Megan Jennings anywhere near his life. She was a city woman through and through and he didn’t need that kind of trouble. When he decided to have a relationship again, it was going to be with a nice country girl. Someone who loved the farm life as much as he did. So why was his mind suddenly filled with thoughts of Megan?

      “Who’s the girl?”

      “Nobody,” Cade said, turning to his brother. Chase must have arrived while Cade had been distracted by Megan. “Let’s grab a table.”

      “It didn’t look like nobody,” Chase said as he slid into the booth.

      “Nobody important,” Cade clarified.

      Chase laughed. “Really?”

      “Yes. I only met her today. So whatever you’re thinking, forget about it.”

      “What I was thinking is that it looks to me like a city girl has gotten your attention. Not that I have a problem with that.”

      “You’re not the one who was burned.”

      “True. But from the way you were staring, it doesn’t look as if you’ve learned your lesson.”

      Cade didn’t bother telling his brother just how wrong he was. Cade had learned his lesson good and well. He’d never let a girl like Megan near his heart again. “Forget about her. I’m sure you didn’t come all the way to Spring Forest to harass me. Let’s eat.”

      * * *

      Megan arrived at home and changed out of her work clothes into a pair of green cotton shorts and a coordinating floral top. Green had been her mother’s favorite color and Megan wore something in that color every day to honor her mother’s memory. Some days Megan missed her family so much her heart actually ached. Wearing green helped her feel closer to her mother.

      Megan grabbed the bag containing dinner then walked across the street to her neighbor’s house. Mrs. Crockett had been widowed many years ago and had never remarried. Most people believed the elderly woman was weird or crazy, and consequently no one ever visited her.

      The day Megan moved into her house, she’d witnessed the woman holding a conversation with one of her sixteen cats and dogs. Megan could have turned her back on the other woman like everyone else in town had chosen to do, but she hadn’t. She recognized loneliness when she saw it. So instead, she’d approached the woman and introduced herself. Mrs. Crockett had smiled broadly and introduced each of the animals by name. Then she’d invited Megan in for a glass of sweet tea. In no time flat they’d become fast friends, and Megan brought her dinner each night.

      Megan knocked on the door. Within seconds it opened.

      “Oh, is that dinner? You know you don’t have to cook for me all the time.”

      Megan smiled at the protest. Mrs. Crockett only received a pittance from Social Security and her late husband’s pension. Unfortunately her limited income wasn’t sufficient to cover care for the animals, pay rent and buy sufficient groceries for herself. Mrs. Crockett had chosen to prioritize the first and frequently didn’t have food. She also hadn’t paid her rent in quite a while and was only days away from being evicted. Daniel and Megan had done all they could to help, but had run out of options. No matter how often they’d advised her of the consequences of her choices, Mrs. Crockett insisted on taking care of the animals regardless of the cost to herself. As a result, she was about to lose her home.

      “It’s just as easy to cook for two as for one. But today I picked up dinner at the Grille. I got that steak you said you wanted.”

      “You can’t tell me you want to spend your Friday evening with an old woman. Surely the men in town must be beating down your door to get you to go out with them.”

      “You live across the street from me,” Megan pointed out with a smile as she put the carryout containers onto the table. “Have you seen any men, young or otherwise, knocking on my door?”

      Mrs. Crockett tsked as she poured sweet tea into crystal glasses. The table had been set with delicate china and a vase of fresh flowers that came from her garden. Embroidered napkins matched the lacy tablecloth. The care her neighbor took to make the table look so nice illustrated how much she looked forward to their meals.

      “I don’t know what’s wrong with the young men in this town. In my day, men knew how to come courting. My Harvey was such a charmer.” Mrs. Crockett glanced at the picture of her late husband that sat in a place of honor on the upright piano. Though the photograph had faded with time, Megan could still make out the young man’s proud smile. “He never once showed up on my doorstep empty-handed. He always brought flowers or candy or some trinket he knew I would like. Men these days don’t have a clue. Or manners. They don’t even hold the door for you. And sometimes they only want what you young people refer to as a booty call.”

      Megan had just taken a bite of her pastrami sandwich and nearly choked at the older woman’s comment. She took a swallow of her tea. “Where did you hear that phrase?”

      Mrs. Crockett laughed. “I may be an old woman, but I do have a television and radio. Not to mention the internet. I know all about what’s going on in this crazy world.”

      “Apparently,” Megan said with a laugh.

      “Now, if my sweet boy Willie was still alive, he could show you the way a young man should behave.”

      Willie had been Mrs. Crockett’s only child. He’d followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Army. Sadly he’d died in an unfortunate training accident while in his twenties. Of course had Willie lived, he would be old enough to be Megan’s father. Not that she would ever point that out. Megan knew Willie would forever be twenty-six in Mrs. Crockett’s memory as well as in her heart.

      “I’m sure you raised him right.”

      “That I did.” Mrs. Crockett focused on her meal for a few minutes before speaking again. “Surely you must have met someone in the time you’ve been here. Someone who could help you forget the ex-boyfriend you left behind in New York.”

      Megan immediately pictured Cade Battle in all his shirtless glory, then just as quickly dismissed him. She might not know everything about men, but she could tell when one wasn’t interested in her. And Cade Battle definitely fit into that category. Their encounter at the Grille this evening had emphasized that. Not only that, he actually appeared to dislike her, although she couldn’t for the life of her imagine why. They’d never even met before today. “Nope. Not a one.”

      “That’s a shame. I don’t know what’s wrong with men your age.”

      Megan heard the disappointment in the older woman’s voice. “Well, I haven’t been in town long. I’m sure I’ll meet someone soon.”

      That seemed to pacify Mrs. Crockett, and their conversation drifted to other topics. Once they’d finished eating, they carried their plates to the kitchen and washed them. A delicious-smelling