Melissa smiled. “Long enough to think ‘What’s wrong with this picture?’”

“What do you mean?”

“Usually, the woman is in the kitchen, and the man arrives for food.”

He frowned, waving his tongs in the air. “How caveman do you think I am? I’m a renaissance man. I fight fires. I rescue the occasional damsel in distress, I have an A+ in sex, and I do laundry and cook. This is what you get from a man who’s lived alone forever.”

Melissa laughed out loud. “Oh my lord, Sully. You had me at ‘caveman.’”

Sully took the last piece of bacon from the skillet, then switched off the fire and turned and took her in his arms.

“It feels like I’ve loved you forever, and yesterday scared the hell out of me. I don’t have a ring. I don’t have a job. But will you marry me anyway and trust me for the rest?”

“In a heartbeat,” she said, and shivered when his mouth brushed across her lips.

Pancakes and bacon became the engagement breakfast, with sorghum molasses instead of syrup.

“Georgia will make a Southern boy out of you yet,” she said, eyeing the liberal pour of molasses on his second stack.

Sully shook his head. “All these years, I didn’t know what I was missing. I was on a search when I came here, but I didn’t know it was for you, too. You and sorghum might be the best things that have ever happened to me.”

He winked when she grinned, then forked another bite into his mouth, rolling his eyes in delight at the tangy, sweet taste.

Melissa got up to refill their cups and was sitting back down when her cell phone rang.

“What did I do with my phone?” she asked. She could hear it ringing, but she didn’t see it.

“It’s on the sideboard,” Sully said.

Melissa grabbed it, glancing at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Hi, sugar, it’s me, Lovey. How are you feeling today?”

“Still sore and kinda beat-up looking, but I’m feeling great,” Melissa said.

“Are you up for a little company this morning? It will be after the breakfast rush.”

“Yes! Wonderful. We’ll be happy to see you.”

“I’ll see you then,” Lovey said, and disconnected.

“That was Lovey. She’s coming over after the breakfast rush.”

“Good. I really like her. You can tell what a good heart she has, and she doesn’t mince words.”

“She and Granny’s are fixtures in Blessings. When she nearly died in the hurricane, everyone pitched in to clean up the restaurant and make needed repairs, and the staff ran it for her until she was well enough to come back. We love her to pieces.”

* * *

It was a little after ten when Lovey arrived. Melissa was in the living room, reading the paper and watching for Lovey’s arrival, when she heard her knock.

“I’ll get it,” Sully said, and went to the door.

“I’m here,” Lovey said, handing him a bakery box. “It’s coconut cream pie, one of Mercy’s best.”