“Are there any more Luckadeaus?” Liz asked.

“What would you be askin’ that for? Raylen acted like he was almighty interested in you at Sunday dinner,” Jasmine said.

“You think so?” Liz asked.

“The blush on your face says that you are interested in him, too,” Jasmine said.

“More customers are coming in,” Amber said. “Today, you take the orders and I’ll deliver them, and we’ll split the tips.”

Liz picked up a pen and headed out into the dining room. “I’m in the learnin’ stage. You keep the tips for your trip.”

“You are a good woman. Jasmine, you keep her as long as you can,” Amber said.

Liz took orders from the first table and turned around to see another group who’d pulled up chairs around the table next to the door. She made a quick trip to the kitchen and hurried back out.

“Just coffee for all of us,” a man said.

“Except I’ll take a slice of whatever pie Jasmine has back there,” Becca said.

“Well, hello again.” Liz pasted on a fake smile.

“Hello to you. Don’t matter what kind of pie it is. I had breakfast in the bunkhouse with the guys, but I’m wantin’ something sweet.” Becca dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

Liz took the two orders to the back, filled four coffee cups and set them on a dark brown tray, picked up a slice of chocolate cream pie, and carried it out. Becca didn’t say a word, not even “thank you” when Liz set the pie in front of her. As she carried the tray back to the kitchen, she met Amber coming out with an armload of orders.

“Watch that woman over there with all those men. Her name is Becca, and she is downright mean. She treats me like dirt,” Amber said out the side of her mouth and kept walking.

“Why doesn’t Becca like Amber, and why would she be ugly to her?” Liz asked Jasmine as she waited for orders to get ready.

Jasmine cracked four eggs into a bowl and whipped them until they were frothy. “Becca comes from money. Her dad owns the biggest spread in the county over around Stoneburg. She’s got an ego bigger than Dallas and pretty much gets what she wants.”

“I get the feeling she doesn’t know what she wants,” Liz said.

“You’ve met her?” Jasmine asked.

“She showed up at the café where I was having lunch yesterday. Raylen introduced her, and she looked down on me, too,” Liz answered.

“I’ll expect to hear more of that story when we aren’t busy. She and Raylen are a strange pair, but they’ve been friends since they were babies. To my way of thinkin’, she’s got roundheelitis, but someday she expects to walk down the aisle with Raylen or Dewar. Her daddy doesn’t really care which one.” Jasmine lowered her voice. “A union with either one would unite two of the biggest ranches in this part of the state.”