Hot Cowboy Nights (Lucky Penny Ranch #2)(85)

“Then you would not have followed me wherever God led me?”

What was he trying to do? Find closure for his heart and mind or justification for what he’d done?

Another shake of the head. “Mitch, what we had is over. What I might or might not have done isn’t important. What is crucial right now is that you learn to let Myra be a partner and not a slave to your every whim.”

“God says a wife will be submissive, and Myra will learn in good time. Good-bye, Lizzy.”

She waited until he was gone and then she and Fiona hurried to the ladies’ room.

Lizzy opened the ladies’ room door and found a pale Myra sitting in the corner, her head in her hands. Fiona went straight to her, slid down the wall to sit beside the girl, and hugged her. Myra looked up, misery written in her eyes. Lizzy remembered the day that Allie had found her huddled in the bathroom, weeping because Mitch had dumped her to be with this woman. She should be gloating with glee because the other woman had gotten her comeuppance, but she only felt pity for Myra. The poor darlin’ didn’t have a Logan backbone like Lizzy, and she damn sure didn’t have two sisters to help her fight her way out of the misery.

“Where is Mitch? Is he mad at me?”

“He’s waiting beside your car,” Fiona said.

“I cannot do this, not today, probably not ever. I just need a place to go for a couple of weeks to get my head on straight.” Tears streamed down Myra’s face as she looked up into Lizzy’s eyes. “Help me, please, Lizzy. I’m not as strong as you and I need help and there’s no one to ask.”

“If you had a way to get out of town, do you have a friend or money to stay in a hotel?” Lizzy asked.

Myra nodded. “My very best friend in college lives in Olney. He would let me stay with him.”

“He?” Lizzy asked.

“Rowdy Williams and he lives up to his name. We were as different as night and day. He was the wild child. I was the preacher’s daughter in every sense of the word, but we were good friends. I can stay with him and no one will even know where I am. God knows, I couldn’t ever bring him home to meet Mama and Daddy or even talk about him back in those days,” Myra said.

“Lizzy, you don’t have to get tangled up in this,” Fiona said.

“She needs our help. Where’s your car parked, Myra?” Lizzy asked.

“Across the street. In front of that old hotel,” Myra answered.

“My truck is parked out behind my store. Go through the dining room and kitchen and out the back door. Fiona is going to drive you up to the Dairy Queen in Olney where your friend is going to pick you up. She’ll drive my truck home.” Lizzy fished in her purse for a set of keys and handed them to Fiona. “And, Myra, let your mama and daddy know that you are okay. They’ll worry.”

“I’ll text them and Mitch. I can’t call him or he’ll talk me into the marriage. He’s real good at manipulation.” She peeked out the door and turned around. “Thank you, Lizzy. If you ever need anything at all, I owe you big time.”

“What are you going to do, Lizzy?” Fiona asked as she extended her hand to Myra.

“I’m going to keep Mitch in town as long as I can so y’all can get away,” Lizzy answered. “Good luck, Myra.”

“Thank you.” Myra took Fiona’s hand and stood up.

Lizzy marched out of the café and then across the street. Mitch was sitting on the sidewalk right beside the car, feet extended down the three steps, crossed at the ankles and a smug expression on his face.

“Where’s Myra?” he asked.

Lizzy sat down beside him. “I’ve got some more that I need to get off my chest so I told her to sit down and have a cookie or two while we have a private talk.”

“I’m going to be her husband in less than three hours. She needs to listen to me, not to you, and I told her that it was time to leave,” Mitch said coldly.

“If you truly love that woman you need to treat her as an equal, not as property. She’s fragile.” Lizzy saw the tail end of her truck make a left-hand turn at the end of the road. She caught a glimpse of Fiona’s flaming red hair, but no one was in the passenger’s seat. Either Myra was lying low or she’d backed out. If it was the latter, she’d show up at the car in the next few minutes.

“She’s submissive, which is what a good wife is supposed to be. You wouldn’t know anything about that, Lizzy,” he said.

“You should at least give me points for trying.” Lizzy smiled up at him.

“Regretting your decision?” he whispered as he leaned over toward her.

“You left me, Mitch, and broke my heart with that phone call.” She fluttered her eyelids in mock flirtation. Anything to keep him in Dry Creek until Fiona got a good head start.

“But you fought me and God about doing my bidding,” he said.

“I was doing my best to change,” she said softly.



Toby and Blake had been on the other end of town sitting on the tailgate of Blake’s truck when Herman Hudson showed up. Toby talked to him a few minutes, then realized it had been a while since he’d seen Lizzy.

“Y’all excuse me. I need to go find my girlfriend before some other feller makes off with her.” Toby grinned.