One Texas Cowboy Too Many (Burnt Boot, Texas #3)(59)

Leah’s phone buzzed in her pocket, and she removed it to find a text message from Rhett that said, I miss you already.

“Put that phone away. I swear to God’s angels that technology is going to be the death of this great nation. It starts with manners and who knows where the hell it will end. Kids these days ain’t got a bit of respect. Can’t even put those phones away while they have breakfast,” Mavis fussed.

“Granny, I’m not a kid. I’ll be thirty this fall, and I didn’t answer it. I checked it to make sure it wasn’t an emergency and put it back in my pocket,” Leah said.

“See what those things cause? You are sassin’ me. What’s the world comin’ to? I swear it’s on a downhill slide right into hell.” Mavis threw her hand over her forehead in a dramatic gesture.

“Granny, I’m having trouble getting used to your hair,” Honey said, trying to get her off the rampage, but all she got was the old Brennan stink eye.

Leah mouthed, “Thank you.”

Honey’s brief tilt of the head said that she’d seen it.

“Should have had it fixed like this years ago, before that rotten Naomi got her hands on my hairpiece. I swear if she hangs that in her house and says that it’s a Brennan’s scalp, I will burn her house to the ground and then do a jig on Main Street in a pig trough to celebrate,” Mavis said.

Leah polished off a doughnut, drank all of her juice, and said, “Hate to leave good company, but I need to make a dash through the bathroom and then get my purse. Have to be at the cafeteria in”—she looked at the time on her cell phone—“thirty minutes.”

Mavis’s lips puckered up like she’d been sucking on a lollipop made with alum. “Can’t wear that nice watch I gave you for your college graduation, but you depend on the cell phone for time as well as getting mail.”

“Tell me, Granny, which one of the beauticians did your hair?” Honey asked. “I’d like to give her a try.”

While Mavis was trying to remember the woman’s name, Leah escaped through the sliding glass doors into the house. She ran up the stairs, shucked off all her clothing, and took the fastest shower she’d ever had in her life. She donned a pair of cutoff jean shorts with a ragged hem, flip-flops, and a sage-green T-shirt that she knotted at the waist, and then grabbed her purse.

As luck would have it, Mavis was in the foyer when she started down the steps and there was no getting out the door without another confrontation.

“See you at the breakfast,” Leah said.

“Dressed like that? Good God Almighty, Leah.”

“I won’t be back home until after the race, so I’m dressed for Sadie Hawkins.” She smiled sweetly.

“Like I said, the world is going to hell in a handbasket.” Mavis clucked like an old hen all the way to her bedroom suite at the end of the foyer. “But I’d rather see you dressed like that than see you fully clothed on the back of a motorcycle with that hippie cowboy.”

What about clothed like this on the motorcycle? Leah thought as she hurried out to her truck. Then she looked around to make sure she hadn’t said the words out loud.

Four Brennan daughters-in-law had taken over the school kitchen and organized the cooking process. Kinsey and Honey had been given the job of serving, and when Leah arrived, she was told to take the money at the door. She was set up with a gray metal box with dividers for the bills, a small desk, and a folding chair.

As luck would have it, Tanner Gallagher was the first person to walk into the cafeteria, with Betsy and Naomi right behind him. He flashed his most brilliant smile at her and laid a twenty-dollar bill on the desk. When she reached for it, he covered her hand with his.

“Don’t make change. Just put it all toward the library for the kids, since our kids will be here too,” he said.

She pulled her hand free. “Thank you for your generous donation, Tanner.”

“I’ll be hanging back waiting for you at the race. Don’t run past me,” he whispered.

“Don’t hold up the line,” the person behind him said with a raised voice. “You can run in the race and let her catch you later this afternoon. We’re all hungry.”

“From his lips to God’s ears,” Tanner said.

“Good morning, Leah.” Betsy nodded.

“Hello,” Leah said. “Enjoy your pancake breakfast.”

“Oh, we will.” Naomi smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.

Leah scarcely looked up for the next half hour. The cafeteria quickly filled with Brennans, Gallaghers, and neutral folks coming and going. She had about two minutes to catch her breath, and then Rhett, Sawyer, and Jill stepped up to her table. Jill shoved a bill at her and said, “Three adults, and I don’t care if these two cowboys think it’s a sin for a woman to pay for breakfast.”

“Reckon you could take a break and eat with us?” Rhett asked Leah.

“No, but I would like a funnel cake afterwards,” she answered.

“Consider it a date,” he said.

She handed Jill the change. When she looked up at the next person, she saw her grandmother scowling at her. “Two adults. One for me and one for your dad here. Just remember this: when you play with fire, you will get burned.”

Rhett turned around, bent low, picked up Mavis’s hand, and kissed her knuckles. “Hello, Miz Mavis. Don’t you look lovely this morning? Are you going to be entering the race this afternoon? I swear if you are, I might let you catch me.”