Merry Cowboy Christmas (Lucky Penny Ranch #3)(54)

“Want to get some lunch at Nadine’s? I’ll buy if you’ll keep me company,” Jud said.

Truman’s head bobbed up and down. “I wasn’t lookin’ forward to soup out of a can. Never did like that stuff. It don’t taste like Dora June’s.”

“Her cookin’ sure can spoil a man, can’t it?” Jud removed his arm and shook hands with the preacher.

“Yes, it can. She can make something out of nothing when times is tough and she never puts anything on the table that disappoints me. I’m pretty much a lucky man,” Truman said.

The norther that had hit the night before hadn’t let up in intensity one bit. The wind whipped through the bare limbs of the mesquite and scrub oak, creating a strange music that said winter had arrived early and the human race couldn’t do a thing about it.

“Colder’n a mother-in-law’s kiss out here, ain’t it?” Truman pulled his lined denim jacket tighter across his chest with one hand and used the other to keep his cowboy hat from flying south with the other.

“Ain’t never had a mother-in-law. Are you speakin’ from experience?” Jud laughed as he shortened his steps so Truman didn’t have to run to keep up.

“Hell, yes. Dora June’s mama hated me when we married and then when she found out it was my fault we couldn’t have kids that put the icin’ on the cake. Her last words to Dora June was that she wished she’d married someone else.” Truman didn’t waste a bit of time getting inside Jud’s truck.

“What are you doing this afternoon?” Jud asked. “Want to play some dominoes while the girls are out shopping?”

Truman cut his eyes around at Jud. “You want to lose your money?”

“What are we playing for? If you are that good, maybe we’d best play for pennies.” Jud contained the laughter but it wasn’t easy.

“Quarters,” Truman answered. “And I’m really good.”

“Quarters, it is. Maybe I’ll win back enough to pay for our Sunday dinner.”

Truman chuckled for the first time since Jud met him. “I wouldn’t count on it, son.”

Jud wanted to do a fist pump and maybe even a little touchdown dance when Truman called him son but he kept his composure. They snagged the last table at Nadine’s café, hung their jackets on the back of their chairs, and picked up a menu from the center of the table. Truman looked at it for less than a minute and put it back between the salt and pepper shakers and the napkin dispenser.

“Hey, boys.” Sharlene set two glasses of water on the table. “What’ll it be today?”

“I’ll have the liver and onions special with mashed potatoes, corn, and an extra biscuit. Sweet tea and save me a piece of coconut cream pie,” Truman said.

“And you?” Sharlene asked Jud.

“I’ll have a bacon burger basket with gravy on the side for my fries.”

“Sweet tea?” Sharlene asked.

“Yes, and save me a bowl of Nadine’s blackberry cobbler with ice cream on the top,” Jud answered. “I expect we’ll both want a cup of coffee to go with dessert, right, Truman?”

“Sounds good to me.”

A cowbell sounded at the back of the store and Sharlene hurried off to pick up an order to deliver. Truman tucked an oversized cloth napkin into his collar and spread it out over his chest. Jud opened his napkin and laid it on his lap.

“I wanted kids,” Truman said bluntly. “It broke my heart for Dora June when we found out we couldn’t have any. I told her she could leave me even though that would have killed me, but she said that she’d married me for better or worse.”

“Is that when you bought the goats?” Jud asked.

A sad smile turned the corners of Truman’s mouth up. “Dora June said they were her kids. We’ve had a little herd for years and she’d sit out there in her lawn chair in the spring when the babies are little and laugh at them rompin’ around and headbuttin’ each other. I always liked the sound of her laughter. It’s like bells ringin’.”

Jud sipped at his water and waited.

“I feel a change in the air and I’m not sure I like it,” Truman said. “I thought it was because y’all had bought the Lucky Penny, but it’s deeper than that. I can’t put my finger on it yet, but I think it’s got to do with me and Dora June instead of the whole county or even Dry Creek.”

“Is it time for y’all to retire?” Jud asked.

“We don’t know nothing but what we do and we like our life this way. I guess I need some kind of sign to show me that’s what I’m supposed to do. Do I build another house? Do I sell my ranch? And if so, what do I do then?”

“I’m in the same boat only in a different way,” Jud confided.

“Fiona?” Truman asked. “Don’t look so surprised. I see the way you look at her. Same way I did Dora June back when we was young. But Dora June wanted to put down roots. Fiona was born with wings. You got a big job ahead of you if you set your mind for that girl.”

“Yep, I sure do,” Jud agreed, and changed the subject. “I should warn you about something, especially since it’s Sunday and we should be honest on this day. My granddad taught me to play dominoes when I was barely able to see over the top of the kitchen table. He never let me win and when I did at the age of thirteen, I did a victory dance.”