I was thinking about a slice of pie at the Sands first.

Pie? Why didn’t you say so? I’ll be waiting for you to pick me up.

Your wish is my command.

He got Buck out of the car and into the house. He needed to brush his teeth and his hair too.

His phone pinged one last time. A picture she’d taken of herself with one brow raised. The accompanying text said, Oh yeah? After pie. My commands will be a lot nicer then.

She was waiting for him, her hair up in a high ponytail, face with only a trace of makeup. As they were moving toward fall, it was still warm in the evenings, but not stiflingly hot any longer. Gone were most of the shorts and tank tops women had worn so often. She wore a skirt though. He loved her legs, so he wasn’t complaining.

“Hello there, Mizz Murphy.”

She looked him up from his toes to his face. A smile on her lips. “My goodness you’re even better than pie.”

That deserved a kiss.

But when he pulled her close and brought his mouth to hers, it wasn’t a quick hello. He was drawn in to that sweetness of her lips. The lushness of her mouth. Her taste.

He’d been inside her. More than once. Had kissed all the best parts of her. And he still yearned for more.

He finally pulled away, nearly going back again when she licked her lips as if to get one last taste.

“Come on then. Before I forget about pie and ravish you right here on the doorstep.”

“Like that’s incentive to leave?”

He tugged her toward his truck. “I need to eat. The calories will help me do what I have planned for you.”

She laughed and let him help her up into the truck.

It wasn’t all that far to the Sands, and it was already eight so a parking space on Main was suitably quick to find as well. They grabbed a booth and sat.

“I want a cup of decaf and some peach cobbler, please.”

Joe ordered some chicken, potatoes, greens, a slice of pie and a salad.

“What have you been up to this week?”

“The shop has been crazy busy. Which is good.” And true because they weren’t sure just how much of his father’s treatment would be covered by the insurance he had, and Joe didn’t want his dad to hesitate because he was worried about cost.

“My car is running a lot smoother since you did whatever you did to it.”

He loved to watch her eat. Beth Murphy didn’t hide how much she enjoyed whatever it was she was doing. She ate her cobbler, loving each and every bite she took.

“What? Do you want a bite?”

He laughed. “Nope. I’ve got my own pie coming after my dinner. Just having a great time watching you eat yours. I saw William yesterday. He said Tate’s been under the weather?”

“She had two pretty easy pregnancies. This one? Not so much. The baby is fine. Which takes a big weight off her shoulders. But she’s really sick and having a hard time eating. She’s tired too. We’re all taking turns with the kids. Polly Chase has been amazing as well. She adores Tate, of course, and you can only imagine what sort of grandma she is to those girls. Anyway Tate, being Tate, hates it when she thinks anyone is being put out on her behalf. So she frets and fusses when anyone helps. And that pisses everyone off because hello, Tate has been doing for all of us our whole lives.”

His food arrived, and he noticed when Royal Watson and Nathan came in. Royal came over. “Hey, Joe, what’s going on these days?” He grinned. “It’s my favorite Murphy sister.”

“You and Anne off again?”

Joe realized it would be rude not to invite them to sit, so he did, giving Beth an apologetic glance. Her response told him she wasn’t mad. She scooted over to allow Nathan to sit on her side.

“How’d you know?” Royal asked as he settled in.

“Duh. If you were on again, I’d be your second favorite.”

Nathan grabbed a spoon and Beth rapped him on the knuckles. “Not even. Get your own cobbler.”

“You’re mean.”

“Yeah, that’s me. Where’s your girlfriend?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you liked Lily more than me. Which would make me sad.”

“Course I like her better. I can borrow her clothes. However, you’ll always be my favorite Nathan in the whole world. If there was only enough cobbler left for one, I’d share. But the case is full. Therefore, you can get your own.”

“She and Chris are having a phone call with their mom. I thought it was best I not be around.” He shrugged. “She’ll feel better when they’ve checked in. Pamela is getting better. It’s good. It makes Lily happy, it keeps Chris on a good path.”

“Glad to hear it. You still need to order your own cobbler though. I’ll even pay for it.”

Her brother snorted. “Stingy.”

“When it comes to baked goods, your sister is definitely not a sharer.” Joe winked at her.

Nathan shook his head. “She’d give you a kidney. But not her cobbler.”

“Tate raised me right. Sheesh.”

Royal and Nathan ordered some food. She’d hoped for a nice intimate dinner, just her and Joe, but really, it was nice to hang out with friends too. Like an actual couple.

People stopped by the booth to check in on Tate. To say hey to Joe or one of the others. It was a normal night in Petal. One that made Beth happy she lived in a small town and knew most everyone.

Of course there were the women who looked at Joe a little too long. But he was there with her so it didn’t matter. Or the ones who tried to get Nathan’s attention, which pissed her off because he was getting married and everyone in town knew it.