For a moment, she studied the tall, sexy cowboy, and imagined being married to him—they’d be in his kitchen while he made his chili just for her and their kids.
She blew out her breath—where was this coming from? She never jumped straight to marriage and children when she barely knew a man. Not to mention, she had a career to think of, and it was too soon to start a family.
She mentally shook her head and pushed the crazy thoughts to the back of her mind and continued walking toward Tucker.
When she was about ten feet away, Tucker spoke with a cheerful-looking woman who must have been closing in on seventy and nodded in Ellie’s direction.
“There you are.” The woman bustled up to Ellie. “I’m Marge, and I’m loud and in charge. I’m Tucker’s aunt.”
Ellie caught Tucker shaking his head and smiling. She held out her hand to Marge. “It’s a pleasure.”
“None of that.” Marge enveloped Ellie in a firm hug. “I’m a hugger. Most of the Rawlings clan are.”
“What do you need me to do?” Ellie asked when they parted.
Marge drew a pad and a blue pen from her apron front pocket. “Here you go, sweetie.” She went on to explain how it worked, then introduced Ellie to the two other judges, who were also pretty new acquaintances to the Rawlings bunch.
The six chili cooks ranged in age from seventeen to eighty-two. Ellie and the other two judges started on the left and stopped at each cookpot or crockpot, with three samples in small plastic ramekins and little spoons in front of their pot.
On their pads, they had to rate each contestant’s chili on appearance, color, aroma, taste, consistency, and heat balance. The eldest contestant’s chili was so hot that Ellie’s ears burned, and she was no stranger to hot foods. The judges could not share notes, so the winning chili would be based on the highest score.
When they reached Tucker, Ellie struggled to keep a straight face. He had a teasing glint in his eyes as he looked at her.
The best pot had been the last pot she tasted. Ellie was glad no one could see her score so she wouldn’t look partial. She absolutely loved Tucker’s chili the best, gave him top marks across the board, and then put her totals at the bottom of the paper.
All three judges folded their papers in fourths as instructed and put them into a white and blue patterned Polish pottery bowl. Marge didn’t look in the bowl and swished the papers around, then moved over to a small table and went through each slip, totaling the scores.
When she finished, a young girl who looked a lot like Maddee brought out a small trophy with a gold cookpot on top of a wooden base. The bottom half of the trophy had “World’s Best Chili Cook” in bold letters on a brass plate.
Marge shook her head and gave a dramatic sigh. “And the winner, for the third year in a row, is Tucker.”
Tucker thanked the girl who handed him the trophy, then smiled and thanked those congratulating him. There were quite a few good-natured boos, with “The whole thing is rigged,” called out by a jolly-looking cowboy who beamed a broad, genuine smile when he offered his congratulations to Tucker.
After Tucker had shaken the last person’s hand, Ellie stopped before him. “Amazing chili, Mr. Rawlings. I want a whole bowl, please.”
He chuckled, removed his apron, and laid it across the table. “That can be arranged.” He came around the table until they stood facing each other. “Marge told you the Rawlings are huggers.” He smiled. “Are you ready?”
Ellie laughed at the mischievous look in his eyes. Before she could say anything, he swept her up in a big bear hug. She giggled as he held her up, her feet dangling in the air. “It’s going to look like I was partial or something. You shouldn’t be hugging one of the judges.”
He set her on her feet, still looking at her with mischief in his eyes. “I’m going to use that hugging excuse as often as possible.”
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “The things I have to put up with.”
“Just be glad I don’t swat you on the ass.” He inclined his head in the direction of the jolly cowboy. “Cal—just keep that cute butt of yours out of his reach.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She felt flushed from the laughter and his calling her butt “cute.” “I should let you get to your family and guests.”
“I already am.” He rested one hand on her shoulder and held her gaze. “You’re more than a welcome guest.”
Ellie felt a rush of warmth throughout her. What exactly did he mean when he said she was more than a welcome guest? Was he feeling the same way about her as she was feeling for him?
“Here’s your camera, Ellie.” Grady’s voice drew her away from Tucker's magnetic hold over her. Grady held out the camera. “I got some great shots.”
She smiled at him as she took it. “Thank you so much.”
Maddee stood at Grady’s side. “Tucker, have you met Grady Donovan? He’s a firefighter from King Creek.”
“Can’t say that I have.” Tucker shook Grady’s hand and gave him a firm nod. “A pleasure, Grady.”
