Wild Cowboy Ways (14 page)

“Cinderella emerges.” Blake set a pot of beans on the table. “I thought I heard the shower pipes rattling. Did you find everything you needed?”

She nodded. “Maybe I should have asked.”

Blake patted her on the shoulder. “Friends make themselves at home. Your timing is great. Food's on the table. Beans with ham hock, fried okra, and sweet potato casserole.”

Allie pulled out a chair and eased into it. “I'm hungry. You won't get any fight out of me.”

“I'll do the honors.” Deke picked up a ladle and filled Allie's bowl first. “Herman showed up this morning with a crew and I swear he's cutting and stackin' wood as fast as Blake and the bulldozer can pile it up.”

“How are you doin' with the wood business, Deke?” Allie scooped sweet potatoes onto her plate and added several spoons of okra to the side before passing both off to Blake.

Their fingertips brushed and sparks danced around the room. Life wasn't fair. Not thirty minutes ago Sharlene had her tongue in his mouth and yet, a simple touch had created enough electricity to jack her pulse up. Her mind wandered and she had to play fast catch-up when it came back to the kitchen and Deke was answering her question.

“I'm selling everything I cut to Herman right in the field. We made a deal. He's giving me five bucks less a rick than if I hauled it to Wichita Falls, but when you consider the time and the gas, I reckon I'm probably making money rather than losing it.”

She nodded but her thoughts skipped backward to what her father said when they started a new remodeling job. Was Blake the new that she was supposed to be thinking about now that she'd erased the old?

Deke went on. “But it's going to snow again this afternoon, so when it starts we'll help you get the mess cleaned up in the bedroom and maybe even put up some ceiling. Chainsaws and snow in our eyes don't go together.”

“I have to stop what I'm doing and go babysit the store this afternoon so Mama can take Granny to Wichita Falls for a doctor's appointment,” she said.

Blake nodded. “When it starts snowing, we'll come to the house and do some work here.”

Deke motioned toward her bowl. “We throw it out the window and if Allie will trust us, we can put up the drywall.”

She shook her head. The beans were good, but she couldn't eat a second bowl. “That would be great, but after that last time don't you dare touch the bedding and taping.”

Blake raised his eyebrows in question.

“I decided to surprise her once,” Deke explained. “And I had to sand it all off smooth so she could do it right. Some folks have an easy touch with that shit. Some of us flat out can't do it.”

“You said it's a two-person job. I'll help Deke and we won't touch the bedding and taping. How's that?” Blake asked.

“That'd be great! I'd have a big jump on tomorrow if y'all could get it up.” She almost choked on the words when she heard them out loud.

“Ain't never had too much of a problem with that.” Deke laughed.

It was evident that Blake was biting his lip to keep from roaring. Boys! Their mind was always on sex! But then she couldn't fuss too much after the way she'd let her imagination go into places that would make Lucifer blush.

“Get your mind out of the gutter.”

Then again, maybe she needed to mind her own advice. Blake had said that friends made themselves at home. Did he see her as a friend? Or maybe it was friends with benefits. After all he did have a reputation as being one of the wildest cowboys in Texas with his swagger and womanizing. Was she willing for that kind of friendship?

Well, by damn, she was the product of a whorehouse madam so maybe since she'd gotten rid of the past baggage it was simply her DNA surfacing. She might wind up with a reputation of being every bit as wild as Blake Dawson.

“When are you going to start fencing, Blake?” Deke asked.

“After I get the first eighty acres ready to plow up and plant, then I'll repair what fence there is around that portion so that Toby can bring in the first of the cattle in the summer. I probably should have waited to buy all those posts and barbed wire but I wasn't figuring on this kind of weather.”

“They'll be here when you need them,” Deke said. “That is, if that old ramshackle barn out there don't fall in where you got them stored.”

“Soon as Toby gets here we'll need to put up a new barn, but at least it'll be summer and we won't have to think about it in rain, sleet, and snow.”

Allie almost said that she could build them a barn, but summer was another five months away and after that episode with Sharlene, she wasn't committing to anything.

“So partner number two gets here in the summer?” she asked.

Blake nodded. “There will be two of us to begin getting the next couple of pastures ready for Jud to arrive by winter with the next herd. At that time we'll work on the rest of the ranch. It'll take a couple or three years to get it in top shape but we've got a schedule lined out.”

“Then your brother and cousin will live here in this house with you until they get something else built?” Allie asked.

“Yes, they will. Since I got here first and I'm working alone, this house is going to be mine. They get to live in it until we're up and running a profit. They've already picked out a spot where they want to build when the time is right. Jud wants to put his house over on the other side of Audrey's Place and Toby wants to build back behind Audrey's Place. Allie, if y'all ever want to sell your twenty acres, we'd sure like to buy it.”

Allie started shaking her head the moment he said the word
sell
. “Audrey's Place will never be for sale. It's our heritage and we'll pass it on down to our own kids.”

“So you're planning on having children?” Blake asked.

“One of us will.” She wasn't going to discuss that issue at the dinner table.

“Then I don't suppose Jud and Toby will care what you are doing in the way of remodeling here at the Lucky Penny?” Deke asked.

“I don't think either of them would care if it was painted bull frog green as long as it was cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and had lots of food in the freezer,” Blake answered.

Allie giggled. “How about pink with purple trim?”

Blake laid a hand on hers. “Now, that darlin', we might all balk at. Would you leave your van and trailer so we can throw the trash out on it? You can take my truck into town this afternoon.” He removed his hand and refilled his glass with sweet tea.

She swallowed hard and nodded. Damn those sparks! Of all the cowboys to be in her sites when she finally tore out the old, it had to be Blake Dawson.

T
he aroma of chili met Allie when she entered the convenience store and she groaned. If she hadn't eaten those beans, she could make herself a chili pie with corn chips, cheese, and mustard, but now she was too full.

Katy picked up her coat and Irene's from the back of a chair behind the counter. “You are a few minutes early but the lunch run is over and there's still some left so if latecomers want a chili pie, you could probably still make about half a dozen, and the doughnuts have been there since early this morning so sell what's left at half price and…”

“Mama, I've got this,” Allie butted in. “Go on and don't worry about anything. And if she's in a good mood after you leave and it's not snowing by then, take her somewhere to eat. You could use some downtime, too. You are frazzled.”

“I don't usually forget these things.” Once she and Irene were buttoned up, Katy led her mother toward the door.

“I can walk on my own,” Irene protested. “Don't know why we have to keep going to this damn doctor anyway. He don't give me pills or shots or do a damn thing for me. My hip still hurts and he don't even check it.”

“It's not that kind of doctor, Mama,” Katy said.

“A doctor is a doctor and he should treat a person's illnesses no matter what. Allie, I've got a bag of them white doughnuts in the back. You can have one but if you take any more, you are in trouble,” Irene said.

Allie hugged Katy and opened the door for them. “You've had so much on your mind, it's a wonder it hasn't shut down. Go and don't drive fast.”

“Thanks, darlin'.” Katy blew a kiss her way.

Katy's car had barely cleared the parking lot when a bright red SUV pulled up and Allie slapped her forehead. Damn it to hell on a rusty poker! She didn't want to deal with Sharlene and Mary Jo this afternoon. Not after that morning.

Two women pushed their way into the store and hung their coats on the long line of hooks right inside the door. Sharlene's slim body looked great in skinny jeans and a tight knit shirt. Mary Jo, the brunette with blue streaks in her hair, had put on a few pounds since high school but she still had curves that made men turn for a second look.

Allie wanted to hide in the back room because there she was in the very worst pair of cargo pants she owned, a faded red T-shirt, hair that hadn't been styled, and no makeup. For the first time in years, it mattered to her what she looked like and she didn't enjoy feeling like the ugly duckling at a pretty white swan convention.

“Nadine is on her way,” Sharlene smiled at Allie. “She's always late. You look different than you did a couple of hours ago.”

“Amazing what a little soap and water can do. What are y'all doing in Dry Creek on a Monday afternoon?” Allie asked.

“We all called in sick. Don't tell on us.” Mary Jo laughed.

A second van came to a halt in the parking lot and Nadine hopped out with an orange Texas Longhorns umbrella over her head.

“Alora, darlin', would you please get us three big cups of coffee and a dozen of those doughnuts on the counter? And come on back here and sit with us? It's been too long since we've all four sat down and had a good old gossip fest.” Nadine set the umbrella by the door and peeled back her yellow slicker to reveal red hair straight from the bottle.

“Make four of those chocolate,” Sharlene yelled. “And Nadine is right. We haven't talked in forever.”

Forever, her ass! They'd never been friends, not in high school, not since, and the only reason they wanted her to join them was to talk about Blake Dawson and the Lucky Penny. Besides she and Sharlene had seen each other a couple of hours ago.

“And four of them can be maple iced.” Mary Jo said. “The weather man is saying the sun will come out later today and the main roads will be cleared even though I'll never understand why they go to the trouble when there's more on the way. I heard that it's already starting down around Abilene. Supposed to be here by suppertime and give us another four inches.”

Mary Jo giggled. “I want more than four inches if I'm going to be snowed in with a cowboy. Tell me, Allie, what would I get if I got stranded with Blake?”

Nadine pulled out the fourth chair and patted the seat for Allie.

Allie fought the blush but she lost. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Mary Jo to ask Sharlene, but she bit her lip to keep from spitting out the words.

“I think we've embarrassed her.” Sharlene giggled. “But we do want to hear more about Blake Dawson and his brother. Blake is hot enough to make a virgin sin and I lost my V-card years ago. If Allie hadn't interrupted us this morning, I might have more to tell you.” Sharlene went on to tell about how she was about to get Blake in a horizontal position when Allie came out of the bedroom looking like a bag lady.

Mary Jo laid a hand on the extra chair. “We really do want you to join us, Alora, even if you did upset Sharlene's plans. You do know she's got her eye on that cowboy and it's not a short-term deal she's lookin' for.”

Nadine fanned herself with the back of her hand. “I swear to God, I get hot flashes every time I get a glimpse of him. I needed a fan Sunday in church and it was church! And you got to sit with him when your granny went all wonky. What was that like? Did you feel the heat from all that testosterone? Bobby Ray says that he won't last at the Lucky Penny and it might be best if he don't because there's liable to be a dozen marriages on the rocks if he sticks around very long.”

“You are in love with Bobby Ray and planning to marry him. How can you talk like that?” Allie asked.

“I'm not dead. A dieter can look at the candy counter, you know.” Nadine huffed.

“I work for Blake. End of story,” Allie said bluntly.

“I'd gladly work under him.” Sharlene giggled.

“Or on top of him,” Mary Jo said.

“I've got news,” Sharlene said. “Y'all remember Oma Lynn who graduated a year before us?”

“That tall blonde with braces who had two left feet?” Mary Jo asked.

“That's her. Well, she works at the Muenster bank and she says Blake Dawson…God, isn't that the sexiest name ever? It sounds like a name you'd hear on the CMA awards. I wonder if he sings.” Sharlene sighed.

Nadine polished off the last of the doughnut and reached for a bear claw. “I bet he could make my body sing.”

“Ain't no doubt.” Mary Jo's laugh was high pitched.

Allie was torn between wanting to hear what they had to say and hiding in the back room out of sheer embarrassment. They were acting like they were still cheerleaders at Dry Creek High School. She sat down in the spare chair and crossed one leg over the other.

“Well, anyway, I called Oma Lynn to catch up. She was so happy to hear from me that she didn't even know I had an agenda.” Sharlene reached for the last bear claw. “So I skirted around the issue and said that some dumb cowboy had bought the Lucky Penny. And she dived right in without me sayin' another word. She said that they call him the wild cowboy and his younger brother, Toby, is the hot cowboy and the cousin, Jud, is the lucky one.”

Nadine almost choked on the bite of doughnut. “Good God almighty, you mean there's one even hotter than Blake? And they've got a cousin?”

“That's what Oma Lynn said,” Sharlene said as she nodded. “And that his brother is going to show up here in the summer and the three of them are determined to turn that ranch's luck around. And one more thing, if I don't land Blake Dawson, then y'all better stand back because I will get Toby or Jud.”

“Well, I can't wait to see the other two,” Mary Jo said. “And now we want to hear about Blake. No detail is too small. How does he like his coffee? Black? With cream or sugar? Is he really wild? I heard he and Deke took some woman to Frankie's this weekend.”

Allie leaned on the table with her elbows. “Who was the woman?”

Mary Jo shook her head. “Must've been some loose-legged old girl because you know what they say about Frankie's, but we can't find out and believe me we've tried hard to get someone to tell us.”

Sharlene shook her head slowly. “I wouldn't even go there.”

“Me, either. I've heard all kinds of things happen at Frankie's.” Mary Jo shivered.

“You got any idea who they were having a threesome with?” Nadine asked.

All eyes turned to Allie. She squirmed in her chair and said, “You'll have to ask them. They don't tell me their dark secrets. Mainly we talk about drywall, paint, and shingles. Oh, and whatever food he brings out of the freezer for dinner.”

Allie's phone rang and she fished it from her pocket. “Excuse me. Y'all need more coffee, help yourselves.”

It didn't take a psychoanalyst to know they were talking about her and Blake when their loud voices dropped to whispers when she left the table.

“Fiona, thank you, thank you!” Allie said.

“For what?” her sister replied.

“The gossip triplets are here,” Allie answered.

“What are they doing at the Lucky Penny?”

Allie sat down in the metal folding chair behind the counter. “Mama had to take Granny for an evaluation, so I'm minding the store this afternoon.”

“Don't they have jobs?”

“They all called in sick,” Allie answered.

“Lizzy has called me a dozen times in the past three days tattling on you for being really rude to some guy named Grady,” Fiona said bluntly.

Allie nodded to herself. “If that sorry sucker was the only man left on earth, I still wouldn't like him.”

“And Blake. If he was the last man on earth?” Fiona asked.

“I'd jump his bones.” Allie laughed.

“Mama and Lizzy are afraid you are really going to fall for him. You aren't going to do that, are you? That place has never brought anything but bad luck to anyone who was affiliated with it, so think before you jump,” Fiona begged.

Allie rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, then looked outside. The sun was still shining brightly in Dry Creek. It was hard to imagine that in a few hours the sky could go all gray.

“Allie, are you still there?” Fiona yelled.

Allie held the phone out from her ear. “I'm here. What if Blake is the one?”

“I hear he's got a reputation for wild cowboy ways, so he's definitely not the one for you, sister. After that crap with Riley, you're too responsible for that kind of relationship,” Fiona said.

Well, that put the tally up to four who thought she was nothing but a plain old Jane who could never even get a wild cowboy to kiss her.

“Changing the subject. Remember when I told you when Riley left you that if Greta could break up a marriage, then she'd better watch out because someone could come along and Riley would leave her behind, too? Do you remember Denise Wilson who graduated with me?”

Allie didn't want to hear about Riley. He was the old that she'd taken care of that morning. Strange as it was, she'd rather be at the table with the gossip trio than listen to stories about her ex, but Fiona was only trying to help.

“She had an older brother who was Riley's friend, right?” Allie asked.

“That's the one,” Fiona said. “She works at the dealership and rumor has it that Riley has been sneakin' around with Denise's younger sister, Suzanne. The kid won't listen to a damn thing. She's quit college and says that she's ready to settle down and be a mama.”

“Holy shit! Is she pregnant?” Allie gasped.

“Not yet, according to Denise, but she and Riley have been going at it hot and heavy for more than a month. I've got to get to work now but tell me that even though he's hot, you're not interested in the cowboy and I'll tell Mama and Lizzy. That way they'll stop calling me,” Fiona said.

Allie propped her feet on the counter. Crap! She was even wearing work boots and all three of those women at the table had on cute cowboy boots with their fancy jeans. “He's hot. I'm not interested.”

“That don't sound like you mean it.”

Allie laughed. “Okay, he's scorchin' hot. But I've got better sense than to get tangled up with someone that close to home. He's my friend and I like him.” No way in hell was she mentioning Frankie's because her sister wouldn't only tattle, she'd make arrangements to send Allie off to a convent.

“You are interested. I can hear it in your voice. Dammit, Allie!”

“Tell Mama and Lizzy that I'm not interested in him and they'll leave you alone,” Allie said. “And now I'm hanging up.”

Allie hit the
END
button as Lucy Hudson walked into the store.

“Hey, Miz Allie, where's your mama?” She made her way to the milk and soda pop case.

“She had to take Granny up to Wichita Falls for a doctor's appointment.”

“Ain't nothing else wrong with Irene, is there?” She carried two gallons of milk to the counter. “Don't have to buy this often but my milk cow ain't makin' as much as she did a month ago and them grandboys who are stayin' with me and Herman use a lot of milk. Might have to buy us another cow pretty soon.”

“Granny is going for a routine checkup. That all you need today?”

“That's it. No, wait a minute. I'd better get a pound of bologna to make sandwiches for the boys tomorrow if the weather is fit.”

“Won't take a minute. You sure a pound is enough?”

“Best make it two pounds. Them boys can put away the groceries,” Lucy said.

Allie sliced and wrapped the order in white butcher paper, wrote the items on a yellow sales pad, and Lucy scribbled Herman's name on the bottom. Allie filed it under H with the rest of the Hudson bills for the month.

Lucy leaned over the counter and whispered. “I hear Sharlene is making a fool of herself with Blake and that Mary Jo ain't far behind her. Them two ain't cut out for ranchin'. It takes a strong woman to be a rancher's wife and them two are all about themselves, not helpin' a man make a livin'. You need to warn him or talk to Deke and get him to talk sense to that boy.”