Wild Cowboy Ways (Lucky Penny Ranch #1)(24)

“Yes, of course,” Allie said. “It’s Blake’s house and his food, not mine. Besides, I’ll look forward to seeing you every day.”



Allie was surprised that her voice sounded completely normal. Every nerve was humming loudly in her body. She pulled out the chair and sat down, glad to be off her weak knees. What in the hell had she done?

You took another job and Deke won’t be there and you kissed that cowboy just like I knew you would. It was Lizzy’s voice, no doubt about it, fussing at her. Allie hoped that when Lizzy did something stupid that she heard Allie’s voice in her head telling her all about it.

Suddenly Deke touched her on the shoulder. “Earth to Allie,” he said.

She was amazed to see that a disposable pan of fried chicken and one of potato casserole had been set on the table. Both Deke and Blake were looking at her like they expected her to say grace or do something.

“What?”

“Blake is going to say the blessing. Bow your head,” Deke said.

A cowboy who said grace?

Her chin went down and she peeked out of one eye. Blake’s long lashes rested on his cheekbones and that slow drawl sounded sincere when he said a quick blessing over the food.

“Now, let’s eat,” he said.

Allie picked up the potato casserole, helped her plate, and sent it to Deke. “It smells really good. I’m sorry about awhile ago. I was thinking about the ceilings. Do you want drywall, or would you like a framework and panels? That way a panel could be removed and replaced if it got messed up and you wouldn’t have to do the whole ceiling. They make the framework now to look like wood so it’s not so modern looking.” She was talking too fast and talking business when what she really wanted to do was curl up in the rocking chair in her room and think about that kiss.

“Bullshit! You weren’t thinking about ceilings at all. Your eyes were all dreamy and soft so you were off in Cinderella land. Did the prince ask you to dance yet?” Deke laughed. “But if that’s your story, I’m sure you’ll stick with it. Besides you are talking too fast and about work too much so I know you aren’t telling the truth. You want a chicken leg or a breast or a thigh?”

She nodded. “Leg is fine.”

“Who won?” Deke asked.

“Won what?” Blake asked before Allie could answer.

“Allie was fighting with herself again.” Deke forked out a wing and a breast to lay on his plate. “She does that a lot. Lizzy or you? Who won?”

Allie managed a weak smile. “It was a tie this time.”

“What were they arguing about?” Blake asked.

“Friday night.” She answered honestly but kept her eyes on her food.

Blake passed a container of marinated vegetables to her. “What about Friday night?”

It didn’t help that his fingertips brushed hers in the transfer. Thank goodness there was food in her mouth, giving her a minute to think before answering.

“Her sister, Lizzy, the one you met at the feed store, is getting married this spring,” Deke said. “Her boyfriend is Mitch and his cousin Grady is the best man. Lizzy is trying to fix Allie up with him while he’s in town this weekend. Why were you thinking about that Allie? Did you change your mind?”

She shook her head. “Not in a million years.”

“Good.” Deke said. “I can get you out of that Sunday dinner real easy. I’ll call and say that we have an emergency plumbing problem on Sunday right after church. Pipes could freeze right here at the Lucky Penny and we wouldn’t have a choice but to fix them. Might take all the way to supper to get the job done. I’ll bring the beer. Besides it could snow and if it does, Mitch might not be able to get down here to go to church with Lizzy.”

“Don’t even suggest such a thing or it might happen,” Blake said. “And I thought y’all were talking about Friday, not Sunday.”

“She has to put up with Grady on Sunday at her mama’s house since she won’t go out with him on Friday. I’m her best friend so I’m trying to help her out here,” Deke explained.

Blake nodded. “So that’s the reason you can’t go get a burger with me?”

Deke chuckled.

Allie pointed her fork at him. “It’s not funny.”

“Yep, it is.”

“Changing the subject here since my mama says it’s not nice to make a lady blush,” Blake said.

Allie could have planted a kiss right on those full sexy lips at that moment. She was sick of Lizzy’s wedding plans, and she’d rather talk about busted sewer lines than those ugly orchid taffeta dresses Lizzy wanted her and Fiona to wear.

“Are you really going to start hauling wood off this place tomorrow?” Blake asked.

Deke refilled his plate. “Yeah, I am. And I got a feeling there’ll be a lot more folks out there with chainsaws. I bet Herman Hudson is the first one out here with his crew of grandsons. What do you think, Allie? You think that anyone can beat Herman when there’s free wood to be had?” Deke asked.

Allie took a sip of the tea. Not too sweet but with enough sugar and strength to know she was drinking southern tea and not murdered water. “He’s got a big wood yard and we’ve got a lot of winter left, so he sure won’t pass up a chance to get at this much mesquite for free.”