Wild Cowboy Ways (Lucky Penny Ranch #1)(44)

Allie started shaking her head the moment he said the word sell. “Audrey’s Place will never be for sale. It’s our heritage and we’ll pass it on down to our own kids.”

“So you’re planning on having children?” Blake asked.

“One of us will.” She wasn’t going to discuss that issue at the dinner table.

“Then I don’t suppose Jud and Toby will care what you are doing in the way of remodeling here at the Lucky Penny?” Deke asked.

“I don’t think either of them would care if it was painted bull frog green as long as it was cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and had lots of food in the freezer,” Blake answered.

Allie giggled. “How about pink with purple trim?”

Blake laid a hand on hers. “Now, that darlin’, we might all balk at. Would you leave your van and trailer so we can throw the trash out on it? You can take my truck into town this afternoon.” He removed his hand and refilled his glass with sweet tea.

She swallowed hard and nodded. Damn those sparks! Of all the cowboys to be in her sites when she finally tore out the old, it had to be Blake Dawson.





Chapter Twelve



The aroma of chili met Allie when she entered the convenience store and she groaned. If she hadn’t eaten those beans, she could make herself a chili pie with corn chips, cheese, and mustard, but now she was too full.

Katy picked up her coat and Irene’s from the back of a chair behind the counter. “You are a few minutes early but the lunch run is over and there’s still some left so if latecomers want a chili pie, you could probably still make about half a dozen, and the doughnuts have been there since early this morning so sell what’s left at half price and…”

“Mama, I’ve got this,” Allie butted in. “Go on and don’t worry about anything. And if she’s in a good mood after you leave and it’s not snowing by then, take her somewhere to eat. You could use some downtime, too. You are frazzled.”

“I don’t usually forget these things.” Once she and Irene were buttoned up, Katy led her mother toward the door.

“I can walk on my own,” Irene protested. “Don’t know why we have to keep going to this damn doctor anyway. He don’t give me pills or shots or do a damn thing for me. My hip still hurts and he don’t even check it.”

“It’s not that kind of doctor, Mama,” Katy said.

“A doctor is a doctor and he should treat a person’s illnesses no matter what. Allie, I’ve got a bag of them white doughnuts in the back. You can have one but if you take any more, you are in trouble,” Irene said.

Allie hugged Katy and opened the door for them. “You’ve had so much on your mind, it’s a wonder it hasn’t shut down. Go and don’t drive fast.”

“Thanks, darlin’.” Katy blew a kiss her way.

Katy’s car had barely cleared the parking lot when a bright red SUV pulled up and Allie slapped her forehead. Damn it to hell on a rusty poker! She didn’t want to deal with Sharlene and Mary Jo this afternoon. Not after that morning.

Two women pushed their way into the store and hung their coats on the long line of hooks right inside the door. Sharlene’s slim body looked great in skinny jeans and a tight knit shirt. Mary Jo, the brunette with blue streaks in her hair, had put on a few pounds since high school but she still had curves that made men turn for a second look.

Allie wanted to hide in the back room because there she was in the very worst pair of cargo pants she owned, a faded red T-shirt, hair that hadn’t been styled, and no makeup. For the first time in years, it mattered to her what she looked like and she didn’t enjoy feeling like the ugly duckling at a pretty white swan convention.

“Nadine is on her way,” Sharlene smiled at Allie. “She’s always late. You look different than you did a couple of hours ago.”

“Amazing what a little soap and water can do. What are y’all doing in Dry Creek on a Monday afternoon?” Allie asked.

“We all called in sick. Don’t tell on us.” Mary Jo laughed.

A second van came to a halt in the parking lot and Nadine hopped out with an orange Texas Longhorns umbrella over her head.

“Alora, darlin’, would you please get us three big cups of coffee and a dozen of those doughnuts on the counter? And come on back here and sit with us? It’s been too long since we’ve all four sat down and had a good old gossip fest.” Nadine set the umbrella by the door and peeled back her yellow slicker to reveal red hair straight from the bottle.

“Make four of those chocolate,” Sharlene yelled. “And Nadine is right. We haven’t talked in forever.”

Forever, her ass! They’d never been friends, not in high school, not since, and the only reason they wanted her to join them was to talk about Blake Dawson and the Lucky Penny. Besides she and Sharlene had seen each other a couple of hours ago.

“And four of them can be maple iced.” Mary Jo said. “The weather man is saying the sun will come out later today and the main roads will be cleared even though I’ll never understand why they go to the trouble when there’s more on the way. I heard that it’s already starting down around Abilene. Supposed to be here by suppertime and give us another four inches.”

Mary Jo giggled. “I want more than four inches if I’m going to be snowed in with a cowboy. Tell me, Allie, what would I get if I got stranded with Blake?”