Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Stunned was too mild a word to describe how Magnolia felt when Dawson slid a hand around her waist and tugged her closer. All she could do was stare into his sun god eyes and wonder what the hell was happening as he lowered his head and kissed her.
One word popped into her head.
Wow.
She had been kissed hundreds, maybe thousands, of times before, but not one of those kisses was as good as this one.
Dawson knew just the right angle to tip his head to achieve the perfect fit of lip on lip.
He knew just the right amount of pressure to apply and just the right amount of moisture to impart and just the right amount of tongue to introduce.
If that wasn’t enough to melt her like hot candle wax, the contrast of his gentle fingers cradling her face and the possessive way he claimed her mouth was.
It was like being cherished and devoured at the same time.
Respected but consumed.
Like his caressing fingers were saying, “It’s okay. We can stop any time.” While his hungry lips were saying, “Hell, no, I’m not stopping.”
If the grip she had on his shirt was any indication, Magnolia didn’t want him to stop either. She wanted to freeze this moment and keep right on kissing Dawson as the world went on around them.
“Dawg?”
The sound of Huck’s voice popped the dreamy bubble she’d been floating in. Dawson ended the kiss and drew back, his eyes staring at her as if he didn’t quite know what had just happened.
She didn’t either.
Had she just been kissed by Dawson Hennessy and loved every second of it?
The Kissing Tree really did have magical powers. She didn’t even realize she was still clutching his shirt until he carefully unclenched her fingers so he could turn to his brother.
“What’s up?”
“Who’s that with you?”
“None of your damn business. Now what do you need?”
“The bikers at the bar are getting out of line with Poppy. If we don’t escort them out now, Poppy Hell is going to break loose.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Once the door closed, Dawson turned back to her. Any heat that had been in his eyes was long gone. “You okay?”
“Of course, I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay? Like you said, it’s just a silly legend.”
His gaze lowered to her mouth. “Yeah. Just a silly legend.”
Once inside, she flirted with every man she came in contact with, wanting to prove to herself and Dawson that his kiss meant nothing.
But if that were the case, why did her heart thump erratically every time she glanced in his direction and saw him watching her?
Why did three words keep drowning out the loud country music?
Best kiss ever.
She ended up drinking way too much in order to eradicate both of those unwanted responses and woke up the following morning with a pounding head and a queasy stomach . . . and the memory of the best kiss ever front and center in her mind.
Annoyed, she threw back the covers and got out of bed.
After downing a bottle of water and two aspirins and taking a long steamy shower, she felt marginally better. But she knew she wouldn’t feel a hundred percent until she’d had her morning coffee.
In California, Magnolia had driven everywhere in traffic so bad that two miles took you a good twenty minutes.
In Promise Springs, she could walk anywhere in town in ten minutes.
It was nice not having to fight traffic.
It was also nice to have so many people greet her as she walked down the street.
As soon as she stepped into the town square, she was greeted by Charlene Slater setting out buckets of flowers on the quaint wooden cart in front of Two Lips Flower Shop.
Next door, Joe’s daughter, Junie, waved at her before going back to artistically writing out the day’s menu on the bi-fold chalkboard placed by the door of Sloppy Joe’s.
Janice Walsh and Cynthia Tate called out a greeting on their way into Hair Raisin’ Salon and Roy waved his hair chippers at her as she passed the window of Clip and Shave Barbershop.
But no one greeted her every morning as enthusiastic as the three middle-aged sisters who ran Grounds For Divorce coffee shop.
As soon as she stepped in the door, Arlene, Ada, and Adele called out greetings.
Adele from behind the coffee counter and Arlene as she waited on tables and Ada through the pass through that led to the kitchen.
The sisters all had brown eyes and dyed chestnut hair that was razor-cut in a slanted bob that was longer in the front and shorter in the back.
They had prominent noses and wide toothy smiles.
Between them, they had been married and divorced eight times.
After their last divorces, they had made a vow to remain single and moved back to Promise Springs to turn their daddy’s failing newspaper business into a coffee shop.
Magnolia was certainly glad they had.
Not only did the sisters serve up the best coffee and mini donuts in the world, but they also served up the juiciest gossip.
This morning, Magnolia had barely sat down at her favorite place at the bar when Arlene hurried over and started in.
Being that her last husband had been a bodybuilder, she was extremely fit with muscular arms and legs.
“Oh, honey, you should have been in earlier. You just missed seeing him.”
There were a lot of hims in town, but only one had occupied Magnolia’s mind all night long. “Dawson Hennessy was here?”
Adele peeked between the coffee machines at Magnolia like she’d said a bad cussword. “Of course not. Dawson knows better than to set foot in here after he painted a giant red penis on that very window when my daddy ran the town newspaper.”
Arlene flipped over a cup onto its saucer before filling it with coffee. “Jaxon took the blame for it, but we all know it was Dawson who did it. Sheriff Gentry had caught him spray painting a cussword on the First Baptist gymnasium door only a month earlier.”
Ada’s voice rang out from the pass through to the kitchen. “And Dawson always did think it was funny that our daddy’s name was Dick.”
The few people sitting at the tables chuckled and Arlene sent them an annoyed look.
“Anyway, I wasn’t talking about Dawson. I was talking about the itty-bitty man who came in here this morning and ordered four dozen mini donuts and ate every single one.
I kid you not, it was like watching a donut-eating contest. He devoured the entire heaping plate of donuts in minutes. ”
“Didn’t even burp,” Adele added. “I haven’t seen anyone eat like that since Buford Mills went on that low-carb diet and, after only a week, came in and wiped out half our display case of pastries.”
“I didn’t see anything wrong with the man eating so much.” Ada came out of the kitchen. She was the petite sister. Her head barely reached her sisters’ shoulders. “He just knows a darn good donut when he tastes one.”
“But four dozen!” Arlene shook her head.
“And once he was finished, he brushed the cinnamon and sugar off his mouth with a napkin, paid his tab—along with a healthy tip—and walked out to his RV.” She sent Magnolia a pointed look.
“A brand-new coach RV with them pull out sides. It was so big it took up four parking spaces.” She hesitated.
“Big RV. Big stomach. It does make one wonder what other big things that itty bitty man has.”
“Don’t you even think about it, Arlene!” Adele shot some steamed milk into a takeout cup of coffee. “That’s how you ended up with Jonas. Big doesn’t mean a thing when your husband is never home to use it.”
“Oh, hush up, Adele.” Arlene flapped a hand. “I’m not going after that itty bitty man . . . even if he did leave me a nice tip and his number.”
Ada set a plate of two mini donuts in front of Magnolia, the amount Magnolia allotted herself every morning, before she held out a hand to her sister. “Hand it over.”
Arlene sighed dramatically and pulled a receipt from her apron pocket and slapped it into her sister’s palm. “I wasn’t going to call him.”
Ada set the receipt on the counter, then folded and creased it before she carefully torn off the part with the writing and handed the other part back to Arlene.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry. Just like it’s not a good idea for an alcoholic to carry around a bottle of whiskey, it’s not a good idea for any of us to carry around the number of a man.
We’ve proven that relationships are not our forte. ”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Magnolia popped a delicious mini donut into her mouth and closed her eyes as it dissolved against her tongue, leaving behind just a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar. “Maybe you just haven’t found the right men.”
“That’s how we ended up with all the divorces,” Adele spoke above the hiss of the coffee machine finishing a cup. “Looking for the right men.”
Arlene nodded. “Picking out men is like picking out watermelons. They can have a bright green rind, a nice yellow spot on the bottom, and a pleasant thump, but when you get them home and slice them open, they’re nothing but overripe mush or underdeveloped pulp.”
Ada scolded her sister. “Now don’t be turning Magnolia off on marriage, Ar.” She ripped her half of the receipt into little pieces and stuffed them in her apron pocket. “I’m sure there’s a right man for her.”
Arlene huffed. “Well, she’s not going to find him if she continues to fish in the wrong pond. Rumor has it that you were hanging out with Dawson last night under The Kissing Tree. I didn’t believe it until his name popped out of your mouth so easily this morning.”
Magnolia was stunned speechless. Although she shouldn’t be. She knew how fast rumors traveled in the town and half the town had been at Honky Tonk Heaven last night. Someone had probably seen her walk out the door with Dawson and decided to spy on them.
“So did you?” Adele asked. “Kiss him?”