Wild Cowboy Ways (Lucky Penny Ranch #1)(67)

“Allie? Can I come in please? We need to talk.” Blake said from the other side of the door.

“It’s your house,” she said.

He slipped into the room, shut the door behind him, and sat down in front of her, keeping a foot of space between them. Before he could say a word, another knock on the door startled both of them. “Hey, is Walter hiding in there? I’ve got a sweet little lady out here hunting for him. I told her we don’t have a Walter here, but she doesn’t believe me.”

Blake rolled up on his feet and offered her his hand. “What you saw wasn’t what was happening.”

She ignored the hand and got up on her own, leaving the coffee behind.

Irene slung the door wide open and marched inside with her hands on her hips. A pair of Lizzy’s designer jeans hung on her skinny hips and the red-sequined top that Allie wore to the church Christmas party a few weeks before had slipped off one shoulder, letting a white bra strap shine right along with her veined skin. Her thin gray hair hung in wet strands and the makeup she’d applied streaked down her face settling in the wrinkles. The jeans were soaked as well as the sequined top and her poor frail body had a faint blue cast from the cold wind and rain.

“What in the hell are you doing with another woman in this house, Walter? Three of them to be exact and those two in the kitchen are barroom Rosies if I’ve ever seen one. This one might look decent but she’s in your bedroom behind closed doors and where is the furniture?” Irene stopped for a breath and slapped Blake on the arm. “You’ve got some explainin’ to do. I swear to God, I don’t know why I even bother with you. It’s a wonder your mother hasn’t taken a fryin’ pan to those bitches.”

Toby cocked his head to one side just like Allie had seen Blake do when he found something amusing. Well, her grandmother was not funny, and the disease that was eating holes in her memory wasn’t a bit comical.

“Breakfast is served. Laney and Lisa are already digging in. There’s plenty for all y’all,” Toby said.

“Is this one of your lazy-ass brothers? Where is your mother?” Irene demanded.

“Granny, this is not Walter. It’s Blake Dawson and his brother, Toby Dawson. I’m Allie, your granddaughter, and those women in the kitchen are not here to see Walter,” Allie said.

“I’m ready to go home now. I’m cold and I’m hungry.” She looped her arm through Allie’s and marched past Toby, with Blake right behind them. They’d barely made it to the living room when Katy knocked softly on the door, pushed it open, and sighed.

“I figured I’d find you over here. Good God, Mama! If you don’t get pneumonia from getting out in that getup, it’ll be a miracle. I’m surprised you didn’t fall and break a hip on the ice.” She grabbed Allie’s yellow slicker from the coatrack and slung it around Irene’s shoulders.

“Allie was in the bedroom with that man,” Irene tattled. “And I’m not old. I can damn well climb over a fence any old day of the week and the ice broke when I stepped on it so stop your bitchin’.”

“It’s the room I’m working on,” Allie explained.

“Introductions?” Toby asked.

“Sorry.” Blake grinned sheepishly. “This is Allie, the woman who’s redoing the house and who put the roof on for us. This is Katy, her mother, and this is Irene, her grandmother. Ladies, this is Toby, my brother and business partner in the Lucky Penny.”

So she wasn’t his friend Allie, or his neighbor Allie. Heaven forbid that she might be his girlfriend Allie. Hell, no! She was the woman who was redoing his house. Lizzy had been right all along. She didn’t have enough sense to know not to wade right into hell.

Toby kissed Irene’s hand, shook hands with Katy and with Allie, and said, “I’m right pleased to make your acquaintance, ladies.”

Irene’s eyes started at Toby’s toes and traveled slowly up his long legs to his zipper, hesitated a brief second, and went on up to the top of his head. “Are you kin to Blake?”

“Yes, ma’am. He’s my brother, and I’ll be moving into the house with him in a couple of months,” Toby answered.

“Who are them cheap barroom Rosies in the kitchen?” she asked.

“Just a couple of women who followed me and Deke home last night,” Toby said.

“Like a couple of dogs in heat, I suppose,” Irene said.

Toby chuckled. “Don’t let them hear you say that.”

“I’ll say whatever the hell I want. Truth is truth, don’t matter if you pour chocolate syrup or cover it up with fresh cow shit, it’s still the truth.”

“Lord, help us all,” Katy moaned. “Allie, you’ll have to stay home with her today. You know how she gets after she runs off and comes over here. I can’t manage her at the store, and Lizzy sure can’t keep an eye on her on a Saturday at the feed store. That’s her busiest day.”

“I thought she was with you at the store. Lizzy said you’d taken her,” Allie said.

Katy shook her head. “I did but she stole my car keys, slipped out the back door, went home and obviously changed her clothes, and here she is. I had to get Nadine to loan me her van to come get her. The car is parked at home. You can come get me at five.”