Wild Cowboy Ways (Lucky Penny Ranch #1)(84)

“What?” Allie sputtered.

“It’s all over your face and Blake’s been whistling more than usual and well, I’m your best friend, Allie, so I know. Now let’s eat before the food gets cold. I’m hungry and talking about hungry”—he blew on a spoonful of soup—“Nadine is having her grand opening tonight. She’s serving hamburgers and two blue plate specials. It’s not a big menu, but tomorrow she’s adding to it. We’re going. My treat for all the food I’ve been getting here and, Allie, this was your idea, so you need to be there.”

“So that’s what you wanted to tell us?” Blake asked.

“Yep. Now admit it. I’m right. You two are dating,” Deke said.

Allie downed the rest of her sweet tea. “Blake and I are more than friends.”

Deke reached for the salsa and added a tablespoon to his second bowl of soup. “I knew it. Have you told Lizzy and your mama?”

“Not yet. I thought maybe since we’re best friends that you’d do that for me,” she teased.

“Hell, no, I want to be out of the county when you tell Lizzy.”



Allie wasn’t a bit surprised to see that Lizzy had gotten all dressed up in a cute little pencil skirt, a turtleneck sweater in the same shade of brown as her eyes, and had even added a clunky gold necklace to the getup. She’d abandoned her cowboy boots for a pair of spike-heeled dress boots. Her dishwater-blond hair floated in curls on her shoulders and her makeup was perfect. Mitch expected her to look beautiful when they went out and she did everything to please him.

Lizzy gasped when she saw Allie wearing a snug pair of skinny jeans, a form-fitting sweater that accentuated her curves and her tiny waist, and a pair of cowboy boots that Lizzy had never seen.

“What?” Allie asked.

“Did you change your mind? Please tell me that you did and you’re going with me and Mitch and Grady.” Lizzy smiled.

“I’m going to the grand opening, but I’m not going with you. And for the last time, Grady is out of the question. I’m going with Blake Dawson.”

Lizzy fell back in the old rocking chair and threw her hand across her eyes in a dramatic gesture that did Scarlett O’Hara justice. “I knew it. I told Mama nothing good would come from you going over there to work. You are weak and you can’t say no.”

Allie frowned and held up her hand like a little girl in the classroom. “Hello. My name is Alora Raine Logan and I am weak and exactly like most of my whoring ancestors. I fall over backward for any sexy cowboy that pushes on my shoulder. My youngest sister is the smart one. My middle sister is the strong one. I’m the failure.”

“God almighty!” Lizzy dropped her hand and glared at Allie. “That is not funny.”

“There’s the doorbell, so that will be Blake. See you at Nadine’s. I hope she made her famous apple pie for tonight.” Allie picked up her coat and purse and left Lizzy sitting there speechless for the first time in her life.

Katy had already opened the door and Blake was standing at the foot of the stairs when Allie started down. Her breath caught in her chest at the sight of him there in his bulletproof jeans bunched up over the tops of black boots so shiny she could see the reflection of the foyer light fixture in them. Holding his black hat in his hands, his eyes locked with hers and his smile said more than words could ever get across.

He handed her a tiny stem with a little white daisy-looking flower at the end. “I should have brought flowers, but I didn’t have time to go into town so this will have to do. Mama calls them snow flowers because they bloom in the winter. I found it this evening right up next to the house. You are stunning tonight, Allie.”

“Oh, Blake, it is beautiful. I’m going to press it and keep it forever,” she said. “Hold my coat and give me a second to put it in water until I get home tonight.” She hurriedly put the flower in a small glass of water, went back to the foyer, and turned to Katy.

“Are you and Granny going to have supper at Nadine’s?” she asked.

“No, she’s already in her room and watching episodes of Designing Women. I’m going to make myself a sandwich and catch up on quarterly taxes while things are quiet,” Katy said. “Give Nadine my best and tell her I’ll be there for lunch tomorrow. Lizzy and I are going to put a sign on our doors and take a thirty-minute lunch break. That way all the school kids will go to Nadine’s and it will stir up a little more business for her.”

“You’ve cooked your last time at the store then?” Blake asked.

Katy smiled. “Yes, I have, and I won’t miss it a bit.”

Blake and Allie walked out to his truck, fingers laced together, ignoring the cold weather and smiling at each other. He opened the door for her and settled her into the passenger’s seat in his truck. They rode in comfortable silence almost all the way to town and then Deke called to tell her that he was already at the café and was holding a table for the three of them and one of Herman’s granddaughters. She was between jobs and came to visit for a couple of weeks.

“Kelly?” Allie asked. “You better be careful. Herman will skin you alive if you mess with her. She’s his favorite since she’s the only granddaughter.”

“It’s not a date. It’s only a chair at a table. She was waiting. It’s a packed house, I’m tellin’ you,” Deke said. “And Nadine has apple pie. I told her to save three pieces and one of pecan for Blake since he hates apple pie. It’s going fast.”