Page 83 of Yours To Take
“All good over there?” Blake is waiting for me with a smile on his face.
“All good.”
“Looking a little warm there, Gem.”
“Stop it.” I shove him in the direction we need to be walking.
“I’m starting to see why you love small towns so much.”
“Not small towns. This small town.”
“I’m glad I landed in Dixon.” Blake wraps an around around me as we come up to Dick’s table.
“Good. Now, meet Dick.”
“Gemma! It’s been a minute since I’ve seen you.” Dick comes around his table and opens his arms to me.
“Hi, Dick.” I wrap him in a hug.
“Wait, you’re a real person?” Blake looks confused. “I thought Gemma was making you up.”
I smile up at the man who is consuming my every thought. “Blake. Please meet Dick, otherwise known as Ghost Pepper Dick.”
Dick’s laugh is boisterous. “I forgot that’s what you kids used to call me when you were little. Last time I ever gave you hot sauce to try.”
“It’s hard to forget when you try one of your ghost peppers because you think you’re a badass.”
Blake sticks his hand out. “Hi, Dick.”
Dick eyes it with suspicion. “So you’re the famous writer we’ve heard so much about?”
“Does everyone here know about me?”
Dick laughs. “Small-town gossip. People knew you were here before you checked in at the ranch.”
“Okay, then.” Blake laughs. “Can I try some of this famous hot sauce I’ve heard so much about.”
Crossing his arms, Dick eyes him up and down. “Tell you what. You put me in your show, and I’ll give you all the free hot sauce you want.”
Blake sticks his hand out for Dick to shake. “That sounds like a fair trade.”
“Great. Now, you going to try the ghost pepper sauce?”
“Do I want to?”
“You’ll be a true Dixonite if you do.”
Blake hands the pie over for me to hold. “Then give me a sample.”
Dick is beaming as he pours some hot sauce into a small, paper cup for Blake and hands him a carrot.
Blake takes a hearty bite, chewing before his face gets red. And redder. And redder.
“Holy shit!” He drops the cup and grabs the milk that Dick is holding out for him in his hand. “How do people eat that?”
“They don’t.” Dick is beside himself with laughter. “That’s what we like to give unsuspecting tourists when they come into town.”
Blake turns watery eyes on me. “You let me fall for that?”
