Wild Cowboy Ways (Lucky Penny Ranch #1)(57)

Nadine took a deep breath. “Right now is the perfect time to do this because he won’t tell me no. Not after last night. Thank you, Allie. You might have saved my sanity.”

Allie looked out the front window at the buildings across the street and imagined all of them with clean windows and prosperous businesses. “Think Sharlene would want to rent one of the buildings? Or maybe Mary Jo? We might turn this town around if all the women who are bored had something to keep them busy.”

“Lord, honey, Mary Jo can cook, but not like Nadine. But, oh, my gosh, Allie, she might put in a beauty and barbershop combination in the old barbershop. I’m going to talk to her and Sharlene, too.” Nadine clapped her hands like Irene did when she got a chocolate cupcake.

Allie followed her to the door. “Just remember, you aren’t going to get rich here in Dry Creek but it might make you feel a lot better.”

The door had barely shut behind her when Allie’s phone rang. She recognized Deke’s number and answered after the second ring.

“Are you holding a grudge? This isn’t like you, Allie,” Deke said bluntly.

Riley? Nadine? How did Deke know all that so quickly? “Grudge for what?”

“Come on. All last night wasn’t Blake’s fault so why didn’t you show up for work this morning? He told you he kicked that ex of his to the curb after you left and I believe him,” Deke said.

“Well, it damn sure wasn’t my fault!” she shot right back at him.

“I didn’t say it was. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, so why aren’t you on the job today?” Deke asked.

Blake yelled in the background. “Hey, Deke, I’ve got five messages from Allie. Her sister is sick and she’s down at the feed store. I left my phone on the kitchen table this morning.”

“What’s the matter with Lizzy? Did she finally wake up and realize that she’s engaged to a jerk and it made her sick to think about what a fool she’s been?” Deke asked.

Allie popped up on the counter and crossed her legs Indian-style. “I want to go back to what we were talking about before. Why did you take Blake’s side first? I’ve been your friend a hell of a lot longer than he has.”

“Yes you have and that’s why I didn’t like it when you were sinking back into that ugly mood you got in after the divorce,” Deke said. “I was afraid you’d lose your mind that first year after Riley left.”

Allie didn’t want to talk about the past. “So I’m ugly?”

Deke lowered his voice to a whisper. “I did not say that. I said you were in an ugly mood and you’re not going to twist your way out of this. If you didn’t like Blake and I mean more than a friend, you wouldn’t be carryin’ on like this.”

“You are acting like a girl.” She laughed.

“I’m your best friend, so I have to act like a girl for you to listen to me. Just don’t ask me to wear pink taffeta and be your bridesmaid when you get married again. I draw the line at that,” he said.

“Darlin’, you don’t look good in pink taffeta. I was thinking purple silk, something with a big skirt and a sweetheart neckline,” she teased. “And FYI, I’m not getting married again and if I did it would involve a twenty-minute trip to the courthouse in Throckmorton, not a big wedding. Go eat your dinner and get back to work. With any luck I’ll be back on the job tomorrow morning.”

Deke lowered his voice to a whisper. “The hussy did not come back last night. And Bobby Ray spent the night at Riley’s place, but he and Nadine made up this morning.”

“Gossip travels fast,” she said.

“Nothing speedier in the whole world especially with the help of a cell phone and texting. Got to go.”

“Bye, Deke, and thanks for the call.”

“You betcha and Blake is yelling for me to tell you that he will call you back soon as we get done eating dinner.”

Allie’s coffee had gone lukewarm, but she sipped it anyway. The first tinkling, haunting sounds of the piano announced a song by Conway Twitty started on the radio. She tapped a finger on the counter to the beat in her head. He sang about standing on a bridge that just wouldn’t burn. Allie shut her eyes and pictured an old wooden bridge. Riley stood on the other end with his arms open wide, a smile on his face, beckoning to her to take the first step. In the vision, she took out an imaginary chuck of blazing firewood and set the damn thing on fire.

“Good-bye, past. Hello, future,” she mumbled.



Blake was in the dozer with Shooter right beside him when he called Allie. She was out of breath when she said, “Hello.”

“Busy at the feed store today?” he asked.

“Quiet except for a little drama this morning and then I had a run this afternoon for feed. I was in the back of the store making tickets for half a dozen ranchers who were loading their trucks when I heard the phone. I’d left it on the counter beside the cash register,” she explained.

“I can call back,” Blake said.

“It’s okay. I can talk,” she said. “Everything is taken care of right now. Granny is watching television and eating doughnuts in the office, while Mama has her usual school lunch rush. Hey, guess what? Nadine may open up a café here on Main Street.”

Blake put the phone on speaker so he could talk and drive at the same time. “I wanted to tell you that Scarlett left right after you did last night. I guess a person can’t run from their past, can they?”