Daisies in the Canyon(59)

“Reckon Cooper has made supper to pay us back for taking care of his bull?” Shiloh changed the subject.

“I wouldn’t count on it, but I am hungry again. We forgot all about stopping for ice cream,” Abby answered. “Pop the back door so we can unload our bags. I sent a text to Rusty letting him know that we were doing the grocery shopping and I’d bring the receipt for him to repay me.”

“That was so much fun in the grocery store. Getting to buy what we wanted to cook with instead of having to make do with whatever was on sale,” Bonnie said.

“And all those lovely things we found in the mall. I can’t wait to go to church next Sunday just so I can wear that cute little dress I found,” Shiloh said.

“You’re not foolin’ me about wanting to go to church—you want to get all gussied up for Waylon Stephens. You could do worse, though. And he’s a real cowboy,” Bonnie said.

“How do you know that?”

“Woman, when you’ve been around as many cowboys as I have, you can tell the wannabes from the real ones a mile away. It’s the way they walk in boots and the way they settle their hat on their head,” Bonnie answered.

“And the way they wear their jeans,” Abby chimed in.

“You’re so right. Tight as a hide across the butt and bunched up on their boot tops,” Bonnie added.

Abby crawled out of the van. She couldn’t wait until next Saturday night so she could wear her new designer jeans and cowboy boots at the Sugar Shack. She should have bought the red boots, but the brown ones with that phoenix done in relief on the front had called out to her, and they’d been on sale, half price.

Are you going to get all gussied up and torture Cooper? The voice in her head was her mother’s. Or are you thinking about boots to keep from remembering what you said about falling in love with him?

“What are you frowning about? One minute you were all smiles and now you look like you sucked on a lemon,” Bonnie said.

“I was analyzing why I bought these boots,” Abby said.

“So you could wear them to the Sugar Shack and show Cooper that you are a sexy woman and not just GI Joe with boobs,” Shiloh said.

Abby couldn’t argue with the truth. She had been thinking that very same thing—well, maybe more about how Cooper would react to her in something other than camouflage.

“Well?” Shiloh said.

“You are right.” Neither of them needed to know that she’d also been worried all day about telling him that she could fall in love with him.

Cooper and Rusty were sitting on the sofa watching an old John Wayne Western on television. Cooper looked up and waved. Rusty didn’t even acknowledge them.

“We could use some help with the groceries,” Bonnie said.

“We did the feeding chores. You can bring in the food. What’s for supper, Abby?” Rusty asked.

“It’s Cooper’s day to cook. But I did buy corn chips, chili, and cheese so you can make chili pies. And there’s ice cream in the freezer to chase it with,” she said.

“Sounds good to me. Call us when it’s ready.” Cooper didn’t take his eyes off the television.

Bonnie pointed her finger at both of them and said, “This is Sunday. What did you tell us about the food? Get up and make your own chili pies.”

“Don’t you want to know what happened while you were gone?” Shiloh asked.

“You don’t need to explain a thing to us. We figured out exactly what happened,” Cooper said. “It was stormy and that bull of mine hates storms. I should have put him in the barn before I left. He broke through the barbed-wire fence and created a stampede. He’s got a couple of scratches on his chest to prove it, and the herd didn’t stop running until this house slowed them down. Y’all used the truck to block the fence and you are lousy at mending barbed wire. I will have to give you some lessons in that. Now will you please go on about your business and let us watch this movie?”

Bonnie’s hands popped onto her hips and she glared at both of them. “I did a damn fine job of fixing that fence. Neither of you could have done better and you are so welcome for us keeping your precious bull corralled for you.”

“It’s going to be y’all’s ranch in a few months. You just did what you should have done and you don’t get someone kissing your pretty little asses when you do that,” Rusty said. “Y’all go on and enjoy your chili pies. We grilled a steak and made us a skillet of fried potatoes. We’re good until tomorrow morning. Now move so we can watch the rest of the movie.”

Abby picked up her bags and carried them to her room. Then she went out the back door, rounded the house, and brought in the groceries. There was more than one way to teach those two cowboys a lesson.

Shiloh and Bonnie were on the way to the van to help carry groceries as she was taking in the first four bags. She smiled and said, “It’s time to kill snakes.”

“Where’s a snake?” Shiloh looked like she was about to bolt and run.

“It’s an expression Mama used—there’s more than one way to kill a snake. Y’all just play along with me. I’m about to make supper, ladies. If I remember right, those two smart-ass cowboys do like their desserts, but they told us they’re good until morning, according to Rusty.”