Wild Cowboy Ways (Lucky Penny Ranch #1)(25)

She didn’t want to talk about wood or anything else. She wanted to be back on the roof with her nail gun working on the job where she’d have lots of time to think. Maybe even with her earbuds in place and listening to George Strait, who had helped her through the most difficult time of her life with the lyrics to his fifty greatest hits. Back when she first found out that Riley had been cheating on her for years, she’d leaned on country music to get her through those sad, tough times.

She stole a sideways glance toward Blake and found him staring at her. Their gaze caught above the fried chicken and time stood still.



Those dark eyes mesmerized him and Blake wished that she’d let him in long enough to see into her heart. He knew women, could look into their eyes, see past the glitter and glam, and know what they wanted from him. If it was a good time, he provided it. If it was a relationship, he was gone in a hurry. But this was something different. Could he really be courting a woman for friendship? If so, he was damn sure in virgin territory.

Deke pushed back his chair, picked up his plate, and carried it to the sink. “I bet that’s Nadine’s apple pie, isn’t it?”

“That’s what the ladies said. Help yourself to all you want. I hate apple pie. Ice cream is in the freezer if you want to top it off,” Blake said.

Allie pushed back her chair. “I’m too full for dessert, even Nadine’s pie, which I do like. I’m going back up on the roof. See you when you get done. Thanks for dinner, Blake. We’ll discuss the next job after we finish the roof.”

Blake waited until she was out of the house to ask, “What’s her story?”

“Lived here in Dry Creek all her life, most of it over at Audrey’s Place. Crazy the way that name has stuck for more than a hundred years.”

“House is almost a hundred years old?” Blake rinsed dirty dishes and set them aside.

“Pretty close to that. Before the Depression it was a small hotel but Audrey found out pretty quick that folks didn’t have money for traveling. No one ever called it a brothel but she hired six girls, gave them a room and three meals a day and a big cut of what they made. At least, that’s the story. Who knows what is true and what is rumor around here?”

Blake poured two cups of coffee and set one in front of Deke. “It looks like it held up good.”

“Foundation is good and solid. Allie is afraid to knock out walls for fear the ceiling will sag. I told her that she couldn’t knock them out because the studs are petrified by now,” Deke answered.

Not caring that he was being nosy, he wandered into personal territory that went deeper than mere friendship. “Tell me more about Allie.”

Deke dug into his pie. “She has two sisters. Lizzy that you met and Fiona who lives down in Houston. Works for some big crackerjack law firm and is married to one of the partners. Allie’s daddy was a carpenter and she learned the trade from him. Married right out of high school. Divorced after two or three years. Can’t remember exactly how long they were together, but he cheated on her. The rest you’ll have to ask her. She’s my best friend and I’m not getting into any more trouble.”

“Sometimes her eyes look sad,” Blake said.

Dozens of wrinkles creased Deke’s forehead when he frowned. “Allie? Sad? Not that woman. She’s the happiest woman I know. She likes what she does and she’s the easiest woman in the world to work with and for.”

“How long has she been a carpenter?”

Deke polished off his tea and refilled it one more time. “She started helping her dad when she was in middle school. I think she was about fifteen when she went on the payroll. She bought the cutest little pickup truck when she was sixteen. She’s still got that truck somewhere over there at their place, but mostly she drives the business van these days.”

Blake nodded, remembering his first crush on an older girl. “Gloria Anderson.”

“Who?” Deke asked.

Blake grinned. “She was my Allie. I was about twelve and she was seventeen and in love with the football quarterback.”

Deke piled ice cream on top of the apple pie and carried it to the table. “Seems like we all do that, don’t it? When I was sixteen and she was twenty, she hired me to help her put the first roof on a house. It was her first solo job and she was so nervous and—damn you, Blake Dawson, you got more out of me than I should have told. You interested in her or what?”

“She’s going to be working on my house. I wondered if something about this place makes her sad, like her ex-husband lived here at one time. Or if maybe she used to sneak off and meet him here?”

“Hell, no! Riley wasn’t…” Deke shook his head. “All I’m sayin’ is that this house does not make her sad and my lips are sealed past that. You want to know more about Allie, you go to talk to her. She’d fire me on the spot for shootin’ off my mouth. Now I’m going to change the subject. Are you going to tear up some more mesquite after dinner or start fixin’ fence?”

Blake cocked his head to one side. “Why would you ask that?”

“There’s the feed store truck coming down the lane.” Deke pointed out the window. “I reckon it’s bringin’ all that barbed wire and those fence posts you bought. There are no secrets in Dry Creek, especially when it comes to the Lucky Penny. You might as well live in a glass house.”