Some Like It Hot (Sweetrock Cowboy Romance Book 1) by Leighann Dobbs
Authors: Leighann Dobbs
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tequila, but making the cornbread into cute little cupcakes was going too far. She was attracting people to her tent under false pretenses, using something other than the chili itself.
Nick's blood pressure rose. She was nothing but a smooth operator. A city slicker who would stop at nothing to win. Well, if that was the case, then two could play at that game.
Nick flicked the gas off under the cast-iron pan, covered the top, and stormed off toward the beer tent.
* * *
S am had been up all night cooking the cornbread cupcakes. She was a much better baker than a chef, but her parents thought baking wasn't a real career. They thought it was frivolous. Only an accomplished chef that could open a five-star restaurant was career material in their book.
Pride swelled in her chest as she handed a pink-frosted cupcake decorated with the ears, nose, and eyes of a pig to the middle-aged woman on the other side of the table. Her designs had come out pretty good even if she did say so herself, and she'd gotten lots of compliments. It seemed the women appreciated having something different and sweeter to offset the heat of the chili.
It had been fun to create the various designs, and she knew that would attract a crowd. She was sure she would get more votes than Nick. The other contestants were so far behind she didn't even consider them as competition, though she was happy to see that Beulah had risen to second to last. She'd taken a liking to the old lady despite her gruff exterior.
But come mid-afternoon, Sam's excitement was dampened. Her booth had attracted a big crowd because of the cupcakes all morning. She'd been crazy busy and sold a lot of bowls of chili. But now the traffic seemed to have died down.
A niggle of unease sprouted in her gut. Why had the people stopped coming? Was something wrong with her cupcakes and word had gotten out they were no good? She'd expected the crowd to grow even larger once people started talking about them, but now it seemed that even as her crowd was dwindling, Nick's was getting larger.
What was going on over there?
The crowd was mostly men, and they appeared excited. Pushy. Almost as if they were jostling for position. She stood on her tiptoes trying to see over their heads, and then she crouched down angling her head to try to see through the crowd, wondering just what Nick had done to attract so many people.
A large cowboy in a gigantic white ten-gallon hat moved to the side and that's when she saw it. Nick had what looked like an old gold-fish bowl on the table with blue ticket stubs inside. Raffle tickets? Was he raffling something off?
Wait, there was something leaning against the front of the fish-bowl. Another person moved and now Sam could see what it was. A handwritten sign in dark black pen—Buy A Bowl Of Chili And Win A Chance For Free Beer Tent Passes.
Sam clenched her fists so hard that her nails bit into her palms. Anger coursed through her veins. Nick was running a lottery and bribing people to buy his chili!
That couldn't be within the rules, could it?
Now everyone was going over to his tent and buying his chili instead of hers. That wasn't fair!
She wasn't a tattle-tale, but she was sure that running a raffle was against the rules. She wouldn't tell on him, but she hoped someone would. Maybe he would get disqualified. It would serve him right.
Here she was thinking people in Montana were a different breed. That cowboys had some code of honor. Turns out they were no different than your average riff-raff back east.
She couldn't wait to get this contest over with and return to Boston.
6
S am was still pissed when she got home that night, but she didn’t let on to Tessa about Nick’s raffle and simply played up the fact that the customers loved the cupcakes.
Tessa seemed genuinely thrilled for her and happy that her investment in betting on Sam with her friends might pay off. Since Sam knew Tessa and Nick were close, she didn’t want to ruin the good mood of
Nick's blood pressure rose. She was nothing but a smooth operator. A city slicker who would stop at nothing to win. Well, if that was the case, then two could play at that game.
Nick flicked the gas off under the cast-iron pan, covered the top, and stormed off toward the beer tent.
* * *
S am had been up all night cooking the cornbread cupcakes. She was a much better baker than a chef, but her parents thought baking wasn't a real career. They thought it was frivolous. Only an accomplished chef that could open a five-star restaurant was career material in their book.
Pride swelled in her chest as she handed a pink-frosted cupcake decorated with the ears, nose, and eyes of a pig to the middle-aged woman on the other side of the table. Her designs had come out pretty good even if she did say so herself, and she'd gotten lots of compliments. It seemed the women appreciated having something different and sweeter to offset the heat of the chili.
It had been fun to create the various designs, and she knew that would attract a crowd. She was sure she would get more votes than Nick. The other contestants were so far behind she didn't even consider them as competition, though she was happy to see that Beulah had risen to second to last. She'd taken a liking to the old lady despite her gruff exterior.
But come mid-afternoon, Sam's excitement was dampened. Her booth had attracted a big crowd because of the cupcakes all morning. She'd been crazy busy and sold a lot of bowls of chili. But now the traffic seemed to have died down.
A niggle of unease sprouted in her gut. Why had the people stopped coming? Was something wrong with her cupcakes and word had gotten out they were no good? She'd expected the crowd to grow even larger once people started talking about them, but now it seemed that even as her crowd was dwindling, Nick's was getting larger.
What was going on over there?
The crowd was mostly men, and they appeared excited. Pushy. Almost as if they were jostling for position. She stood on her tiptoes trying to see over their heads, and then she crouched down angling her head to try to see through the crowd, wondering just what Nick had done to attract so many people.
A large cowboy in a gigantic white ten-gallon hat moved to the side and that's when she saw it. Nick had what looked like an old gold-fish bowl on the table with blue ticket stubs inside. Raffle tickets? Was he raffling something off?
Wait, there was something leaning against the front of the fish-bowl. Another person moved and now Sam could see what it was. A handwritten sign in dark black pen—Buy A Bowl Of Chili And Win A Chance For Free Beer Tent Passes.
Sam clenched her fists so hard that her nails bit into her palms. Anger coursed through her veins. Nick was running a lottery and bribing people to buy his chili!
That couldn't be within the rules, could it?
Now everyone was going over to his tent and buying his chili instead of hers. That wasn't fair!
She wasn't a tattle-tale, but she was sure that running a raffle was against the rules. She wouldn't tell on him, but she hoped someone would. Maybe he would get disqualified. It would serve him right.
Here she was thinking people in Montana were a different breed. That cowboys had some code of honor. Turns out they were no different than your average riff-raff back east.
She couldn't wait to get this contest over with and return to Boston.
6
S am was still pissed when she got home that night, but she didn’t let on to Tessa about Nick’s raffle and simply played up the fact that the customers loved the cupcakes.
Tessa seemed genuinely thrilled for her and happy that her investment in betting on Sam with her friends might pay off. Since Sam knew Tessa and Nick were close, she didn’t want to ruin the good mood of
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