Argosy Junction by Chautona Havig Read Free Book Online
Authors: Chautona Havig
you can move without dying.”
Sixty-five minutes later, he gingerly tied his shoe and called, “Come in, it’s open.”
Jingling her keys as she entered, Lane grinned to see him dressed and ready for the day. “That’s the spirit. You’ve gotta walk around today or it’ll be worse tomorrow. Let’s get you something to eat.”
As they drove through town to a small Mexican restaurant, Matt gathered the courage to ask the obvious question. “So tell me what you are doing here today. Why did you come again?” Before she could protest or make a sarcastic retort, he backpedaled. “Not that I’m complaining. It’s nice to have someone to talk to, but why?”
“I knew you’d be sore, and that was partly my fault. I took you on a long ride when we could have taken quads or something.” She threw him a grin that seemed to be intended to look sheepish. It wasn’t.
Matt, while grateful for her aid, couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed. After hours of conversation and one of the most enjoyable evenings of his life, he thought he’d made new friends, but now… Her voice interrupted his thoughts. “Of course, Patience bounced all over my bed asking when you were coming back, and I had to admit that I didn’t know. Everyone is really hoping you will.” Her shoulders relaxed a bit. “We honestly haven’t had real company in so long …”
As they parked in front of the restaurant, Matt absently read the name aloud. “Mexi-Kitchen.” He tried rolling the name around his tongue, but it sounded strange. “It sounds like the word ‘Mexican,’ but then it doesn’t at the same time.”
“Poor Mrs. Montoya. She has no idea that the name of her restaurant is a local confusion. But, she makes the best tacos in the world. Let’s go!”
Matt watched as Lane ordered, joked with the cute teenaged waitress, and waved cheerfully at a large Hispanic woman in the kitchen. Finally overcome with curiosity, he asked, “No pariah status here?”
Lane wagged her head. “Nope. Mrs. Montoya knows what the town thinks and won’t jeopardize her business, but neither will she risk losing ours. When we have extra hands to help with shearing and shipping, we order huge quantities of food. She couldn’t afford to lose our business if she wanted to, and everyone knows it. So here is our Geneva. I wait for the lunch rush to be over and park out front to warn people of my evil presence. It works.”
“So no one will come in while we’re here?” Matt thought the whole thing sounded silly and felt a growing desire to laugh.
“Well, none of the Brethren or anyone dependent upon them for their livelihood will.”
Matt shook his head, barely stifling a chuckle. “Sounds to me like the Brethren need to reread their Bibles.”
Lane’s head shot up. “Why would you say that?”
“Well, I’ve read about the whole brother in sin thing, and Paul said to treat them like an unbeliever.”
Lane waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. “And your point is?”
“They don’t—treat you like a brother in sin I mean. They’ll sit with people who don’t attend their church, they’ll talk to people who aren’t in the super-exclusive-club of theirs, but they won’t even acknowledge your existence except to snub or offend you. That’s not how you treat an unbeliever. Who would want to be a Christian if that was how they were treated?”
Their meal arrived before he could respond. Taking a bite of his first taco, Matt’s eyes grew wide with amazement and then rolled back into his head in sheer bliss. “This is the best—Oh man! When you ordered soft tacos, I thought flour tortillas and spicy ground beef. This—”
“I know. Who expects potatoes in their taco, but isn’t it good? I’ll order some filling to take home to Tad, and we’ll have a truce for forty-eight hours.”
Something in her voice caught Matt’s attention. “What did you do now?”
“Just sweetened up his life a bit.”
He almost
Sixty-five minutes later, he gingerly tied his shoe and called, “Come in, it’s open.”
Jingling her keys as she entered, Lane grinned to see him dressed and ready for the day. “That’s the spirit. You’ve gotta walk around today or it’ll be worse tomorrow. Let’s get you something to eat.”
As they drove through town to a small Mexican restaurant, Matt gathered the courage to ask the obvious question. “So tell me what you are doing here today. Why did you come again?” Before she could protest or make a sarcastic retort, he backpedaled. “Not that I’m complaining. It’s nice to have someone to talk to, but why?”
“I knew you’d be sore, and that was partly my fault. I took you on a long ride when we could have taken quads or something.” She threw him a grin that seemed to be intended to look sheepish. It wasn’t.
Matt, while grateful for her aid, couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed. After hours of conversation and one of the most enjoyable evenings of his life, he thought he’d made new friends, but now… Her voice interrupted his thoughts. “Of course, Patience bounced all over my bed asking when you were coming back, and I had to admit that I didn’t know. Everyone is really hoping you will.” Her shoulders relaxed a bit. “We honestly haven’t had real company in so long …”
As they parked in front of the restaurant, Matt absently read the name aloud. “Mexi-Kitchen.” He tried rolling the name around his tongue, but it sounded strange. “It sounds like the word ‘Mexican,’ but then it doesn’t at the same time.”
“Poor Mrs. Montoya. She has no idea that the name of her restaurant is a local confusion. But, she makes the best tacos in the world. Let’s go!”
Matt watched as Lane ordered, joked with the cute teenaged waitress, and waved cheerfully at a large Hispanic woman in the kitchen. Finally overcome with curiosity, he asked, “No pariah status here?”
Lane wagged her head. “Nope. Mrs. Montoya knows what the town thinks and won’t jeopardize her business, but neither will she risk losing ours. When we have extra hands to help with shearing and shipping, we order huge quantities of food. She couldn’t afford to lose our business if she wanted to, and everyone knows it. So here is our Geneva. I wait for the lunch rush to be over and park out front to warn people of my evil presence. It works.”
“So no one will come in while we’re here?” Matt thought the whole thing sounded silly and felt a growing desire to laugh.
“Well, none of the Brethren or anyone dependent upon them for their livelihood will.”
Matt shook his head, barely stifling a chuckle. “Sounds to me like the Brethren need to reread their Bibles.”
Lane’s head shot up. “Why would you say that?”
“Well, I’ve read about the whole brother in sin thing, and Paul said to treat them like an unbeliever.”
Lane waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. “And your point is?”
“They don’t—treat you like a brother in sin I mean. They’ll sit with people who don’t attend their church, they’ll talk to people who aren’t in the super-exclusive-club of theirs, but they won’t even acknowledge your existence except to snub or offend you. That’s not how you treat an unbeliever. Who would want to be a Christian if that was how they were treated?”
Their meal arrived before he could respond. Taking a bite of his first taco, Matt’s eyes grew wide with amazement and then rolled back into his head in sheer bliss. “This is the best—Oh man! When you ordered soft tacos, I thought flour tortillas and spicy ground beef. This—”
“I know. Who expects potatoes in their taco, but isn’t it good? I’ll order some filling to take home to Tad, and we’ll have a truce for forty-eight hours.”
Something in her voice caught Matt’s attention. “What did you do now?”
“Just sweetened up his life a bit.”
He almost