Rock Chick Rescue (Rock Chick #2)(121)

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The alarm went off and I hit the snooze, thanking God for one smal favor, that the snooze button was always the biggest one. The alarm went off again, and again I hit the snooze.

This happened two more times.

At 7:15, I stared bleary-eyed at the clock, let out a little scream and jumped from the bed.

I was in my underwear and one of Eddie’s flannel shirts, hair wet from a fast shower and in a complete tizzy, when there came a pounding at the door.

It was Bobby.

Bobby was built like a tree and he looked like a member of the Tex Family, except younger and before the crazy kicked in. Just before.

He did a body scan and his eyebrows went up.

“I’m running late, can you wait?” I said to him.

He shrugged, sat down on the couch, grabbed a remote and found a bal game.

“How can there be a bal game on at 7:30?” I said, exasperated, staring at the screen.

“English footbal , it’s later there. Man U vs. Arsenal, a friendly.”

It was like he was speaking in code but I wasn’t real y listening, I was staring at the screen.

These guys didn’t wear pads and helmets that hid their faces, these guys didn’t wear sil y pants with gathers at the ankles.

These guys wore shorts and shirts, no hats or helmets and you could see, straight out, they were hot.

I sat down on the arm of the couch and watched.

Some official looking guy threw a yel ow flag.

“What’s that mean?” I asked.

Bobby explained someone did something bad but I wasn’t listening, al the players were pissed off and getting in each other’s faces.

I pushed Bobby over and sat down ful y on the couch.

Twenty minutes later, Bobby looked at me. “Don’t you need to get to work?” he asked.

Shit!

“Shit!” I said, jumped up and ran to the coffeepot. I made Bobby a coffee, made one for me and did the getting ready business.

It was nippy and not the normal, bright, sunshiny Colorado day. I put on a fitted heathered gray t-shirt, a wool, aubergine, ribbon cardigan, jeans and my high-heeled black boots. Hair back in a ponytail, minimum makeup, spritz of fancy perfume and ready to rol .

We swung into Fortnum’s way late.

No one noticed.

Mom was on the couch, Lottie next to her and I gave them both a kiss and went behind the espresso counter to help Duke and Tex with the line of customers.

“I see you’re stil alive,” Duke said, obviously stil feeling crotchety about my recent troubles and deciding to blame it on me.

I felt the best course of action was not to answer.

It proved not to be the best course of action.

Duke stared at me a beat, then turned to the CD player, yanked out Tex’s Steppenwolf and put in Charlie Daniels.

Normal y, this was indication of a throw down. Once a CD was on, it was on and the only reason you were al owed to turn it off was if it wasn’t some of Duke’s country or some of Al y, Indy and Tex’s rock ‘n’ rol .

I held my breath waiting for Tex to react.

Tex wasn’t biting.

This was weird, Tex always bit.

Both Duke and I stared at him.

“Are you okay?” I asked Tex.

He turned to me, “Gonna ask your mother to dinner and I want your blessing.”

My mouth dropped open.

Duke made a sound like someone punched him in the gut.

“Wel ?” Tex asked me.

I struggled to find my voice.

“Um… you two are consenting adults, you don’t need my blessing.”

“Don’t want you and your sister playin’ snotty tricks on me like those brats on TV,” Tex said.

I blinked.

“The brats on TV are usual y kids, not adults approaching thirty like Lottie and me.”

His bushy eyebrows hit his hairline.

“Wasn’t very adult, pul in’ each other’s hair and having a f**kin’ catfight on the floor, Loopy Loo.” He had a point.

“You have my blessing,” I said.

Then I smiled liking the idea of Tex dating my Mom.

He scowled.

“What? I said you have my blessing,” I told him.

“Now I gotta ask her.”

I looked at Mom, she was watching us. Or more likely, watching Tex. She looked away the minute she saw me looking at her.

I looked back at Tex. “I think she’l say yes.”

“Yeah?” he looked uncertain.

I did my best not to laugh.

It didn’t work.

“Shee-it,” Tex said, turning away from me.

The door opened and Daisy strol ed in, her hair barely tamed by two pigtails sticking out the sides of her neck. I left Tex to his worried thoughts and Duke to his pissed off state of mind and walked out from behind the counter.

Daisy waved to me and then looked to Lottie.

“You ready, Sugar?” she said to Lottie.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“Daisy’s going to take me to Smithie’s, show me some moves, make sure I get my Porsche,” Lottie explained.

“Mom’s gonna come with us.”

I thought about Mom hanging out at Smithie’s watching her daughter practice strip routines.

My family.

Then I turned to Daisy.