Relentless Pursuit by Kathleen Brooks Page B

in the middle of the café. Pierce held out the chair and Tammy took a seat. Still, no one paid too much attention until Pierce trailed his hand from Tammy’s shoulder and across her back as he moved around her toward his chair.
    Miss Daisy appeared a second later with her notepad and reached for a pen from the midst of her hair bun. “What brings you two in tonight?” she asked skeptically.
    Here it is. Tammy noticed the heads turning and the sudden quiet that overtook the normally noisy café. She had seen it happen time after time. It was almost as if you weren’t a real couple until you had dinner at the café to make it official.
    “Tammy finally agreed to have dinner with me.”
    Tammy tried not to cringe. He said that really loud, didn’t he?
    “A date?” Miss Daisy asked suspiciously. The whispers started and Tammy’s face turned bright red. Okay, she'd never do this to anyone again.
    “About darn time!”
    Tammy’s eyes widened as she whipped her head around. “Father James?”
    The old priest shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating.
    “Humph. So, what would you like for dinner?” Miss Daisy asked as all the other patrons went back to their dinners.
    “Pecan chicken, please,” Tammy ordered as she looked around the café. No one was paying any attention.
    “Fried catfish please, Miss Daisy.” Pierce waited until Miss Daisy handed off the order to Miss Violet and then turned back to Tammy. “Was it just me, or was that anticlimactic?”
    “It was, but it was plenty for me. I’m never going to stop and stare at people again!”
    “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about everyone listening while I try to get to know you better. Don’t tell anyone, but I may even try to make a move,” Pierce whispered as he reached out and pulled Tammy’s hand into his. “Now, let’s get to know each other.”
     
    Pierce had never been on such a rollercoaster ride before. When he had asked Tammy about her childhood, his stomach fell as she told him about her father and his drinking. Her mother had long left him by the time she reached high school. Guilt washed over him as he remembered hearing about ”Trailer Park Tammy“ and her drunk of a father but never gave it much thought. He hadn’t even known that her father died one week before she turned eighteen and that she had been supporting herself since she was fourteen.
    But then she laughed when he told her how he’d sneak out of the house and follow his four older brothers around when they went to parties. All the while he thought he was so sneaky only to find out when he got older his brothers knew he was there every time. He felt as if he was on the top of the world when she broke out laughing at his story of how he rescued Gus and his parrot’s obsession with stealing snacks. She giggled when he told her Gus would climb off his cage, waddle across the floor, and pull himself up to the kitchen table with his beak to steal cookies off the plate.
    “What did you do when you caught him?” Tammy asked as she giggled again.
    “Put them in Tupperware!”
    “Poor bird. Being deprived of his cookies.”
    “Don’t worry about him. I came home and found the lid laying on the floor and two cookies missing. I looked over at him, he blinked, and said ‘Aw, that’s a good bird!’” Pierce smiled as Tammy laughed. God, she was so gorgeous. She was full of spunk, and happiness radiated from her.
    “Well, dinner was wonderful. Thank you, Pierce.” Tammy set her napkin on the table and Pierce suddenly felt nervous. It was time to take her home. Could he do better this time with the kiss? He was sure going to try!
    “You’re welcome. It was all my pleasure. Let me walk you home.” Pierce winked and held out his arm for her to take.
    “Why, thank you!” Tammy said between laughter. “I usually cut through the kitchen.”
    Pierce led her around the table and was about to walk through the door into the kitchen when Miss Violet whipped out her