Meeting Her Match (9 page)

S
heri and Lacy walked into Sam's diner for lunch. They'd both been busy all morning at the salon and Sheri was starving, nothing new about that. Her mind was still boggled by how their business was growing. True, she wasn't getting rich, but she was enjoying it for now.

“Hey, Applegate and Stanley,” she called to the old-timers hunched over their usual game of checkers.

“I think their hearing aids must be turned down,” Lacy whispered, taking a booth near the kitchen doors. “That, or whatever they're whispering about is of mega-importance.”

“Yeah right, like world peace.” Everyone knew that the two older men had something going on all the time. They'd recently tried their own hand at matchmaking, and it had gone awry. “Hey, Sam,” she called as he ambled over on his skinny little bowed legs. “I'm starving. What's cookin' today?”

“Sam, watch her,” Lacy warned. “She's been acting
particularly peculiar today, and you know how hungry she gets when her weirdness comes out.” Lacy made a face at Sheri, and Sheri anticipated that she was about to be drilled about what was going on between her and Pace. Sheri's stomach knotted.

“I made enchiladas today, and I made extra just for you, Sheri. Knowin' how you like them. Even on days when yer not so weird.”

“That's my man,” Sheri sighed, already tasting the delicious enchiladas. Sam believed in spicing things up and dousing them in
queso.

“He ain't yer man. He's Adela's man,” Applegate snapped. So much for their hearing aids being off.

“She was just joking, App,” Stanley said.

Sam crossed his arms and stared at them. “You two just sit over there and hush. I told you before Sheri and Lacy walked in that I didn't want to hear another word out of your flappers while my lunch crowd was in here.”

Sheri and Lacy's gazes met. Lacy lifted an eyebrow, and Sheri returned the gesture.

“You guys aren't about to feud again, are you?” Sheri asked. They'd just gotten over a feud that had sent the two checker players to Pete's Feed and Seed for a few weeks. It had just about sent poor Pete over the edge. Sheri wasn't so sure all was well between the three longtime friends, but with these guys it was hard to tell when they were being ornery for real or just being their regular cantankerous selves. Thinking of Pace, Sheri decided that some men were just hard to read all the time.

“Tell him he ain't gettin' no younger and neither are
we. If he's ever gonna ask Adela to marry him he needs to do it soon,” Applegate rambled, glaring at Sam.

“Yup, we done gave him pert near two months to get his act together and what's he done? Nothin'.” Stanley shook his balding head.

Sheri almost smiled. Without comment Sam scowled and stormed to the kitchen.

“You fellas are going to drive Sam crazy,” Lacy said. “Really, he and Adela have things under control.”

“That's what you think. We're his friends. Thar ain't no reason on earth why that man don't fulfill the one dream he's ever had in life and ask Adela to marry him.” Applegate stood and placed his cowboy hat on his head in a signal that he was about to call it a day.

Stanley followed. “Yep, we figure if we drive him crazy we'll drive him into action. We done found out we ain't matchmakers, but we're pretty good checker players.”

“That's right,” Applegate said as he strode past them toward the door. “The way you win a game of checkers is by driving yer foe into a corner he can't get out of.”

Stanley winked at them as he followed Applegate. “Believe me, if thar's one thang App knows, it's about losing at checkers.”

“I heard that.”

“Yeah, well I don't hear you denying it.”

They griped all the way out the door.

“They never stop,” Lacy laughed after the door swung shut behind them.

“Nope, but you know they might be right. Poor Sam.”

“Don't ya be sayin' poor Sam,” Sam snapped as he came blowing out of the kitchen with two plates of
steaming food. The smell was enough to send Sheri's taste buds into overdrive. She was glad she and Lacy had come in before the crowd because despite the fact that he'd made extra, Sam's enchiladas wouldn't last long with a herd of hungry cowboys.

“Sam, my man,” she sighed as he placed the plate before her. “I love you. How's about you and me tie the knot and put an end to those nosy matchmakers trying to run our lives?”

Sam frowned. “Eat,” he snapped, spun and marched back to the kitchen.

Sheri blinked at the swinging door. “Boy, the man has absolutely no sense of humor lately.”

“Love…” Lacy crooned.

Lacy loved to sing about love. Sheri rolled her eyes.

“Down, girl. I've got to eat.”

Lacy sent her a look. “Okay. Are you blessing the food or am I?”

“Go for it, sister.” Sheri bowed her head, feeling a bit awkward since she hadn't said a prayer in a while. Then again, what good would it have done anyway? It wasn't as if He was paying her much mind. “I wonder if everyone said a blessing over everything they ate if there wouldn't be any more high cholesterol and high blood pressure?” Despite everything, she still liked to contemplate things.

Lacy paused the forkful of enchilada that was heading toward her lips. “What does that mean?” She took the bite.

Sheri paused her own loaded fork midair. “Well, you know the Bible does say that as a Christian everything
we eat is okay with the Lord. You know, how the disciples didn't think they could eat pig and stuff like that. What about cinnamon rolls and fudge? If we bless it, then I just wonder if that levels out the bad stuff?”

Lacy almost choked on her food laughing. “You've been talking to Esther Mae too much,” she finally said.

“How'd you guess?”

“That was an Esther Mae kind of observation.”

“Yes, but it is valid. Don't you agree?”

“Good try, girlfriend, but this conversation is not going to derail the questions you know I'm
fixin'
to ask you.”

“Don't mean I'm
fixin'
to answer you,” Sheri shot back.

Lacy laughed. “C'mon, you know you want to tell me all about what's happening between you and that hunky cowboy that showed up at the crack of dawn to fix your Jeep. Yep, I've got to tell you I saw this coming from a mile away.”

“Nothing's happening. Well, nothing really.”

“Okay, so what does that mean?”

“Well, the man is a hunk—no denying that, even though I tried. But that doesn't change the fact that the man really gets under my skin. Why, do you know that he actually thinks that I am a loose woman? A floozy, basically.” She felt her blood pressure rise just talking about it again. It had taken her most of the morning to cool down. “After he fixed my Jeep and I let him have a cup of coffee, the man was lucky I let him walk out of my house this morning, I was tempted to toss the entire pot of coffee on him.
What?
”

Lacy was grinning so wide that her blue eyes were dancing.

“Stop that.” Sheri held up her hand. “Stop that thought right now. I have to confess, I'm getting pretty devious, wanting to give out some major payback. There's nothing wrong with me wanting to stay single.”

“You are the one who pushed me to follow my heart with Clint. What makes you different? Come on, Sheri. I'm so happy, and I want you to be, too.”

“I am happy, Lacy. You were meant to marry Clint Matlock. Everyone could see it the moment the two of you met. Me, I'm not meant—I'm not,” she huffed and slapped her hand on the table. “You know how my parents were—how they are. Nothing has changed. It's getting about time for one of them to add another divorce to their list.”

“Sheri, that has nothing to do with you.”

“Lacy Matlock, you above everyone knows how I am.”

“You betcha I do. You are the best, most loyal, most supportive friend a girl could have. Don't you get that, Sheri? I'm not certain what's up with you and the sudden way you are avoiding God, but He created you special. And someday, you're going to take all of your wonderful attributes and make the most fantastic wife in the world for the man you fall madly in love with.”

“Yeah right, Lace. You're talking to me, remember? Save the cheerleading for someone else. Plus, I'm not avoiding God.”

“No, you remember you're talking to me. You aren't coming to church. You aren't talking about Him. That's avoidance if I ever saw it.” Lacy's eyes seemed to look straight into Sheri's soul. “Everything else I said about you is all true, Sheri. You are special.”

“Nine divorces, Lacy.
Nine.
With that kind of gene pool and my wandering eyes—”

“You sound like a broken record, Sheri—”

“Lacy, come on. You can't force me to want to get married.”

“Well, that's true.” Lacy sighed, then smiled. “But I can pray for the right guy to come along and change your mind. 'Cause I'm telling you, God's got someone out there who is perfect for you, and there is a lasting commitment on the horizon for you. I can feel it. You know what happens when I get a good feeling about something, especially when there are sparks flying every time you mention a certain cowboy's name.”

The diner door swung open as Lacy was speaking and Norma Sue came barreling inside with Esther Mae and Adela trailing behind her.

“Did I hear something about sparks?” Norma Sue asked as she scooted into the booth seat with Sheri, not waiting for an invitation.

Here we go,
Sheri thought. Her plan had just clicked another notch along, but she had to make this look good. They wouldn't believe her if she acted too interested in Pace.

“Sparks,” she said. “There are no sparks.”

Esther Mae was almost as red as her hair she was so excited. “
Sheri,
we saw you last night at Norma Sue's. Believe us, you can't hide chemistry like that. The way he watched you, all brooding and intense.”

Feeling triumphant, Sheri frowned, took a monster bite of enchilada and didn't say another word.

She didn't need to.

The posse had just kicked into high gear, and they were doing fine without any help from her.

Although she did wonder about Pace watching her. That was a tidbit she hadn't seen.

O
n Friday Pace was loading feed into the back of his truck at Pete's feed store. He was very much aware of the pink, two-story salon sitting directly across the street from him. As he worked he tried not to look in that direction, but he was all too aware that Sheri was over there working. It looked as though the salon was busy.

Not that that was any concern of his, he thought as he continued loading fifty-pound bags of feed from the dolly. He paused to wipe the sweat off his forehead with the back of his sleeve, and saw Norma Sue, Esther Mae and Adela come bustling out of the salon. They made a beeline for Pace as soon as they spotted him, and there was no mistaking the purpose for their visit.

Pace had never been so uncomfortable in all of his life as the ladies began expounding on Sheri Marsh's outstanding attributes. On and on they went, starting with how nice it had been of him to give Sheri a ride to Norma's the night of the Bible study and how nice it had
been for him to fix her Jeep. Of course, he didn't mention that she basically hijacked him. Yet, they acted as if he'd done something extraordinary.

That was only the beginning. They kept on going and going. At one point he glanced toward Heavenly Inspirations and saw Sheri standing in the window laughing.
Laughing.
He was seriously beginning to think the ladies of Mule Hollow were one strap short of a full bridle, as his dad would have put it. In the span of ten minutes, Norma Sue and Esther Mae bombarded him with Sheri's good qualities as Miss Adela stood back lending moral support. He actually came away with some pretty interesting facts about his neighbor.

Such as, Sheri was a pretty plucky gal. Of course, he'd already figured that out on numerous occasions. Something he didn't realize was that, according to them, she'd recently had her heart broken. He'd have never guessed that, except that may have shed a bit of light on her odd behavior and her scheming. She told him she wanted to be single. She hadn't told him it stemmed from rejection. He also learned she was from “good stock” and would make a great mother, that she'd keep a good man on his toes, and that she could be sarcastic at times but that was actually a plus “because whoever married her wouldn't get bored easily.” Among all the unabashed matchmaking babble, Pace learned something he wouldn't have guessed in a thousand years….

Sheri Marsh had overcome extreme shyness to become the spunky gal she was. Now that intrigued him. He remembered that she'd told him once that she'd been shy but he hadn't figured she meant introverted to the
point of isolation. But that was exactly what the ladies told him.

How could a woman like Sheri ever have been that shy?

He was thinking his neighbor was definitely a puzzle when the salon door opened and she came bebopping across the street. He knew the moment she opened her mouth she was going to be outspoken. Shy? He just couldn't see it.

If she had been as inhibited as the ladies had said, where had that Sheri gone?

 

Sheri crossed the street, trying not to smile.

“Hey, ladies, what are y'all doing to my neighbor?” she asked, startling the posse from behind. They whirled around to face her, not even attempting to hide what they'd been up to. Watching Pace get paid back for his uncalled-for accusations was such fun.

The man deserved every bit of the harassment he was getting. She knew from watching him through the window that he'd just gotten an earful of information about her and how she would make a perfect match for him.

She knew this because she'd seen him unloading feed and she had casually mentioned that fact to the ladies. Just as she'd expected, they took the bait.

So basically she'd set him up. Since he thought so little of her, she really didn't feel any remorse about it.

“We were just telling Pace what a nice girl you are.”

“Nice? Me? Ha! You all know I don't have a nice bone in my body.”

“That's not true.” Esther Mae laughed. “We told him, so he would ask you out. What do you think?”

Sheri rammed her hand on her hip, playing this up to the hilt. “I told you I don't want your help. For the last time, I don't want a husband.”

Pace was watching her. She was still totally against them setting her up, but this was her plan. She suddenly felt a tinge of remorse over the deception she was pulling off. She batted it away like a mosquito.

Esther Mae's mouth dropped open. She leaned in close to Sheri's ear and hissed, “Sheri, have you
looked
at this man? Honey, he reminds me of my Hank twenty years ago. You're planning on passing this chance up? Don't be foolish. We almost have him hooked.”

Sheri chuckled; she couldn't help it. If Esther Mae thought Hank had ever looked like Pace, then love obviously altered one's perception. Hank was short, squat and jovial. Pace was tall, lean and as handsome as they came—and as immovable as a fence post.

“Look,” Sheri said, deciding it was time for her to get out of there and let the posse do their thing. Poor man, she'd tried to warn him. “Y'all chitchat all you want, but I've got to go. Have fun.” She shot Pace one last glance and almost laughed at the steam she could pretty much see coming out of his handsome ears. The man hadn't said one word to her.

She winked at him before spinning away and striding to her Jeep. That should just about do it, she thought smugly.

“Sheri,” Norma Sue called out. “You planning on coming out tomorrow for the church work day? We've got plenty of scraping and painting to do and some roof repairs.”

Sheri mentally bopped herself on the forehead—the church work day! Everyone was coming out for a work day at the church. It would be the perfect place to be seen interacting with Pace. Not a date, but it could certainly serve the same purpose and with no permission needed from him.

“Is Pace going to be there?” she asked, meeting his unreadable gaze, knowing he probably wasn't going to answer.

“Sure he is,” Norma Sue said, elbowing him. “Pace, it will be a great way for you to feel like you belong with us here in Mule Hollow. What do you say?”

He didn't hesitate as Sheri thought he would. Instead he gave a quick nod. “I'll be there. What time?”

“Ten o'clock,” Esther Mae snapped. “You and Sheri should ride in together since y'all both live so close together. No sense wasting gas.”

Perfect! “That's a grand idea, Esther Mae. Pace, I'll pick you up a little before ten. I'll repay you for all you've done for me over the last few days.” And then some.

Hopping into her Jeep before he had time to protest, she waved and made her getaway. This was just going to be too easy. The posse was probably thinking they already had her and Pace in the snare.

Yep. Too easy, indeed!