“Because you love people,” Lacy said, her blue eyes flashing with laughter. “This side-gig gives you human contact. For all you love your computer work, you hate that it’s so solitary.” Lacy picked up the table sanitizer and started wiping down tables, her dark brown braid swinging across her back with every vigorous stroke. Honey took a small hand broom and brushed crumbs from a deep blue and red upholstered seat where three toddlers had been eating crackers.

“True. I couldn’t stand to be holed up on my computer all day, every day, without talking to live people. But I do love my tech work.” She dropped into the booth she’d just swept and massaged her aching calves, making her bell anklets jingle. “But days like today…”

“You wouldn’t give this up for anything. In fact, if the pay were better, you’d give up the technical work.” Lacy chuckled. “Besides, you’d miss me if you weren’t here.”

“Too right.” Honey rose to her feet changed her broom and dustpan for a bottle of sanitizer and a cleaning cloth. “I do love Coyote Creekers. They’re a strange and interesting bunch.”

“Speaking of strange, what do you think of the new guy?” Lacy asked. “The one with the muscles? He’s been in five times this week.”

“The one with the dark hair? How could I possibly miss him? He’s military for sure.”

“And as hot as sin. I can barely talk to him without drooling or tripping over my tongue.” Lacy chuckled at her own weakness. Handsome sexy men were Lacy’s passion, and her kryptonite.

“Girl, you need a man,” Honey said. “There are still Flint boys available even with Justice and Riley off the market. There’s Kendrick, Carl and Jason. They all need a good woman, someone like you.”

“Fat chance. Ken’s still pining over his ex and Jason will never see beyond his butcher shop and Nicole. He’s had a thing for her since high school. He’s still hung up, even though she married that jerk and left town.”

“But there’s also Carl. He’s so hot with all those muscles and his sexy grin. He’d be perfect for you.” Honey’s bracelets clicked together as she wiped down table legs.

“Again, I might as well be chopped liver as far as he’s concerned,” Lacy grumbled. She laughed and wiped a smudge off her black jeans. “How do you keep those crazy chiffon and broomstick skirts clean. I’m always a disaster of food stains by the end of my shift.” Abruptly, she returned to the topic of men. “Besides, Carl doesn’t do much for me. I mean he’s hot, but he doesn’t rev my engine, if you know what I mean.”

“Funny.” Honey chuckled. “The mechanic doesn’t rev your engine.”

“I think I’m immune to the Flint charm because I grew up here. You, on the other hand, have only been here a couple years. You don’t remember them as kids and don’t know their past mistakes.”

“True,” Honey agreed. “But I’m not programmed to be attracted to dark hair, green eyes, and sexy builds. I’m more into brains.” They moved in unison to the next table. “I say you should go for it. Ask the new guy out on a date.”

“I’d never have the guts.” Lacy sighed. “Oh, speak of the devil. Here comes Mr. Dark and Handsome now. I’m not one for beards, but his is short and neat. Da-am, he is fine.”

Honey glanced over her shoulder toward the door. Robert Flint, the family patriarch, was holding the door open for the man they’d been discussing. Almost as if their gossip had conjured him up. “You think he’s hot, why don’t you wait on them?” Honey turned toward her friend who was now half way to the kitchen. She snorted in amusement at Lacy’s cowardice. “I guess this one’s on me.” How could one woman be so bold and gregarious one minute and a total chicken the next? People were fascinating, and the two men walking through the door were no exception.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’ll be right with you. I’ll just wash my hands and grab a couple coffees.” Both men had been in often enough Honey knew their usual beverages. Robert was practically a fixture in Tammy’s.

“Thanks, Honey.” Robert smiled broadly and led his companion to a table in the back, away from the windows and door.

Robert usually sat front and center where he could talk to everyone who came in. Today, like his past few visits with the new guy, he hid in the back. She shrugged it off. None of her business. The analytical side of her brain catalogued the odd behavior as she washed her hands. It had taken years to learn to ignore idiosyncrasies which didn’t directly affect her. She still noticed oddities, but no longer fixated on them. Coffees in hand, she headed to their table.

“Isn’t it rather sexist to call her Honey?” the man with Robert asked as she approached from his blind side.

Robert roared with laughter. “Not at all.”

The man scowled.

Honey slid the mugs onto the table. “Not at all,” she repeated Robert’s words. “My name is Honey. Honey Dalton.” She thrust out her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Um. Ira. Ira Castillo. Nice to meet you.” He accepted her offered hand and shook it warmly. His eyes widened and nostrils flared.

She stared into his bright green eyes for a moment, enjoying the soft strength and warmth of his grip. Heat raced up her arm and into her core. She jerked her hand away. The man packed a punch, and a girl could drown in those sexy green eyes. Whoa! That green was Flint green. His eyes looked just like Robert’s. This man, a newcomer to town, had the trademark Flint eye color. A coincidence? A relative maybe? She knew all the Flint men personally and this sexy guy wasn’t one of them. Interesting. She switched off her over-active imagination. Probably a cousin or something.

Blurb:

Honey Dalton can’t resist Ira Castillo’s handsome face and kind, if somewhat taciturn manner. She admires his dedication and service to his country, but senses he’s hiding something from her. She’s determined to ferret out his secrets while concealing her above average intelligence and secret career as a counter terrorism agent for the Canadian government.

For his entire life, Ira believed his father was dead. After a deathbed confession by his mother, he learns that his father is alive and well and raising another family. Seeking answers, he heads to Coyote Creek where he meets a beautiful, but somewhat scatterbrained waitress.

Ira, a total balls-to-the-wall soldier, cannot reconcile himself with Honey’s seemingly carefree, purposeless life. Nor can he fight the attraction building between them. If not for her lack of ambition, and his own focus on getting to know his newfound family, Honey Dalton would be perfect for him.

But they’ve got more in common than either realizes.

Can they shatter the secrets between them and build a life together, or is the gulf between them too wide to breach?