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  Allie hit the END button as Lucy Hudson walked into the store.

  “Hey, Miz Allie, where’s your mama?” She made her way to the milk and soda pop case.

  “She had to take Granny up to Wichita Falls for a doctor’s appointment.”

  “Ain’t nothing else wrong with Irene, is there?” She carried two gallons of milk to the counter. “Don’t have to buy this often but my milk cow ain’t makin’ as much as she did a month ago and them grandboys who are stayin’ with me and Herman use a lot of milk. Might have to buy us another cow pretty soon.”

  “Granny is going for a routine checkup. That all you need today?”

  “That’s it. No, wait a minute. I’d better get a pound of bologna to make sandwiches for the boys tomorrow if the weather is fit.”

  “Won’t take a minute. You sure a pound is enough?”

  “Best make it two pounds. Them boys can put away the groceries,” Lucy said.

  Allie sliced and wrapped the order in white butcher paper, wrote the items on a yellow sales pad, and Lucy scribbled Herman’s name on the bottom. Allie filed it under H with the rest of the Hudson bills for the month.

  Lucy leaned over the counter and whispered. “I hear Sharlene is making a fool of herself with Blake and that Mary Jo ain’t far behind her. Them two ain’t cut out for ranchin’. It takes a strong woman to be a rancher’s wife and them two are all about themselves, not helpin’ a man make a livin’. You need to warn him or talk to Deke and get him to talk sense to that boy.”

  Allie was about to say it wasn’t her place to warn Blake but Lucy inhaled and went on. “I like Blake and I hope he makes a go of it on the Lucky Penny. I’d hate to see him fail because he wound up getting roped by a woman with dollar signs in her eyes.”

  Allie nodded.

  “Tell your mama and granny hello for me. I hope they get home all right. It’s going to get slick out there,” Lucy said.

  “I will.” Allie nodded.

  Lucy winked, gathered up her bag of groceries, and hurried out to her truck.

  “Well, that’s done,” Deke said, and looked up at the ceiling rafters. “All ready for her to start beddin’ and tapin’ come morning. Let’s go to the store and get a cold soda pop. I bet Allie is bored to death on a day like this and she’ll be glad for the company.”

  “Sounds good to me. Do they let dirty old cowboys like us in the store?”

  “I expect we can go without shinin’ our boots,” Deke said.

  The first flakes of snow were drifting down from the sky by the time they arrived at the store. Deke removed his weathered old cowboy hat and yelled, “Allie, if there’s any doughnuts left put my name on them and bring them to the…” he cleared his throat and coughed, “back room where me and Blake are going to have a cold soda pop.”

  Allie cocked her head to one side. “What are y’all doin’ in town?”

  “We put in some hard work so we came to get a cold drink, darlin’.” Blake grinned. “I could’ve cut more wood, but me and Deke decided to surprise you. The new drywall for the ceiling is up. Looks like hell but Deke tells me your magic touch tomorrow will do wonders. We’re going to take the ceiling out down the hall and the living room this afternoon. Herman and his boys are still cutting wood but they’ll have to quit pretty soon.”

  Blake noticed Sharlene at the table and was that Mary Jo?

  “What is going on?” Blake asked when he and Deke had passed through a curtain into a back room. A twin bed was set up on one side with a recliner beside it facing a small television. Four chairs surrounded a table for four in the middle of the room. The blinds had been raised to let as much natural light as possible into the room.

  Deke set two bottles of Coke on the table and explained the situation. “Irene stays in here part of the time, so they made it comfortable for her. But your question is about Sharlene, Nadine, and Mary Jo. Don’t never encourage them with even a smile. Steer clear of them. If you need any help call me. They are trouble.”

  “Is this the voice of experience I hear?” Blake grinned.

  “It’s the voice of my older brother’s experience. I learned from his mistakes and I’m passin’ that bit of information down to you. Not only are they on the prowl most of the time, they kiss and tell, and they are Dry Creek’s biggest gossips. And I heard Sharlene has already said that she’s going to marry you, by hook or crook,” Deke answered.

  “Allie, darlin’, we need to pay our bill. We’re going to Wichita Falls for a spa afternoon. You want to go with us?” Nadine called out.

  “Got to keep the store for Mama. Y’all have fun and be careful. You might get stuck up there if the weather gets really bad,” Allie said from behind the counter.

  Nadine giggled. “That is exactly what we are hoping and why we packed our bags in case of emergency.”

  Mary Jo handed her a twenty-dollar bill. “Are you sure there’s nothing goin’ on with you and Blake? I’m paying for everything today so take it all out of this.”

  Allie rang up the amount in the cash register and made the right change. “Smart ladies to go prepared.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Nadine said.

  “Like I told you, I work for him. Deke helps me out when he can like he does on all jobs.” If there was something going on, those three would be the last people on earth that Allie told.

  “Good. I’d hate to see you get involved with the wrong person again like you did with Riley. Y’all never did go together. And believe me, honey, that cowboy is way too much for you to handle, especially since you couldn’t handle Riley,” Nadine laughed.

  Tally was growing. Now it had five people on the list.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Allie had been working all day Tuesday cutting and putting up insulation and she itched from her scalp to her toes, some of it real but a lot of it was imaginary since there was no way the insulation had gotten down into her socks and work boots. But still, it would be nice to take a quick shower before supper so she dropped all those itchy clothes on the floor and pulled the curtain around the tub.

  Blake had taken a pan of pulled pork barbecue from the freezer and had invited her to stay for supper. Her mother, sister, and grandmother were at a ladies’ meeting down at the church and they’d be there until well after nine, so no one would even know she’d spent the evening with Blake.

  “Hey, throw your clothes out here in the hall and I’ll put them in the washer. They’ll be clean and dried by the time we finish supper.” Blake’s deep voice carried through the thick bathroom door. “My robe is on the hook on the back of the door. You can wear it until your stuff is ready.”

  She stood behind the door and shoved all her things out to him. Dammit! Now he’d know she wore plain white bras without a bit of lace and matching cotton bikini underpants. Nothing sexy about her; not one thing to catch a wild cowboy’s eye.

  The robe smelled like a mixture of Blake’s shaving lotion and soap so she pulled it closer and inhaled deeply. Making sure it was securely belted around her waist and nothing was showing that shouldn’t be, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

  She felt totally naked even though she was covered from head to toe. The woman in the mirror with no makeup and wet hair wore white cotton underpants and a white bra and Blake would know it by now. There wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it so she took the first step toward the kitchen.

  “Come on in, Allie. I’m putting the food on the table,” Blake called out.

  She opened the door and sniffed the air. “Smells good.”

  Everything was normal when she got to the kitchen. Supper was on the table in disposable aluminum foil pans. A washer was running in the background and the coffee pot gurgled out the last bit of water. It was merely another meal at Blake’s place but without Deke there and Allie wearing nothing but a robe—well that changed things a hell of a lot.

  “Beer or sweet tea? I made a fresh pot of coffee for after with dessert, which is peach cobbler that c
ame with the church ladies.”

  “Sweet tea,” she answered. She didn’t want a damn thing that Sharlene had brought into the house. “I love peach cobbler. I bet it’s Ruby’s recipe. That’s what she always brings to church suppers.”

  “You look downright adorable in my robe and I bet you feel a hell of a lot better with all that insulation washed off you,” Blake said. “After your things get washed and dried let’s go outside and build a moon snowman.”

  “A what?”

  “A snowman by the light of the moon.”

  She smiled. “That sounds like fun. It’s wet enough to pack good and solid and there’s enough to make a good snowman.”

  “You look beautiful,” he said abruptly.

  “I got to admit, I feel more than a little vulnerable, so you might want to keep your wild ways under wraps,” she said honestly.

  How did the conversation go from snowmen to her so quickly? She felt a blush coming on but she wasn’t the only one with high color in her cheeks. Grown men did not get flustered, but Blake did. Then he laughed. “And what makes you think I’ve got an ounce of wild in me? I’m only a rough old cowboy trying to turn a ranch around and get the town of Dry Creek to accept me.”

  Allie sat down. “Oma Lynn. You ever heard of her?”

  Blake’s heavy dark brows drew together until they became one long line. “You mean the sweet lady who works at my bank in Muenster? Why are you asking about her?”

  Allie dipped into the pot and filled up her bowl with pulled pork. “She grew up right here in Dry Creek. Sharlene, Mary Jo, and Nadine have gotten the scoop on you from her. She spilled the beans about you being the wild Dawson, your brother being the hot one, and your cousin being the lucky one.”

  Blake raked his hand down over his face. “Well, hell! I guess a man can’t outrun his past, can he?”

  “Just how wild were you?”

  “Just how married were you?” he fired right back.

  “Touché,” she said with the briefest of nods.

  “Guess we’re both lookin’ to make changes in our lives and forget the past,” he said.

  Did Allie hear him right? Did he say he wanted to make a change in his life? Could that possibly mean that Sharlene or Mary Jo weren’t in his sights for a one-night stand or even more?

  “Yes, sir. Would you please pass the cheese?”

  He handed her the plate. “Anything for a beautiful lady. Thanks for having supper with me, Allie. The evenings get long if you and Deke aren’t around.”

  Every time, without fail, that he called her beautiful her pulse raced and her heart threw in an extra beat. She took a deep breath before she spoke so he wouldn’t know what crazy things he did to her nerves. “I know exactly what you mean about getting lonesome. Lizzy is so involved with wedding plans and the evenings are tough for Granny. If she does have a lucid moment it won’t be after dark. And Mama gets dragged into the wedding business so even though there’s four of us over at our place, I still get lonely.”

  He gave her one of those brilliant grins that electrified the whole room. “Well, darlin’, you are welcome here anytime of the night or day.” He stood, walked over to move Allie’s clothes from the washer to the dryer, then came back to the table.

  She drew his robe even tighter around her chest, glad that the plush material covered up the effect he had on her aching breasts. She was flirting with the devil, but he was so damn enticing that even a glance drew her to him like a wayward saint to the warmth of hell’s blaze. Allie had sure never been any kind of saint, but she really should slow down and quit taking such giant steps toward the fire.

  “You’ve got that faraway look on your face again. Is Lizzy arguing with you?” Blake asked.

  “No, she’s been quiet this evening. It was me fighting with me,” she said honestly.

  “About what?”

  Blake picked up a pickle and bit into it. “Want to talk about it?”

  “No, I’m tired of analyzing everything to death.”

  Blake handed her the rest of the pickle. “It’s dill and I thought it was a sweet pickle. You finish it. You like dill.”

  Without even thinking about it, she popped the rest of the pickle into her mouth. Was that something that friends did? She didn’t share her food with Deke and they’d been friends for more than a decade.

  She was still chewing when the front door burst open and Irene stomped in wearing a pair of bright red rubber boots, a cowboy hat, and a long denim duster, all covered with snow.

  “Walter, where in the hell are you?” she yelled.

  Allie jumped up so quickly that the robe’s belt loosened and the top fell back, showing the top half of her breasts. Blake and Allie met Irene in the living room and she took one look at Allie, doubled up her fist, and shook it at Blake.

  “Damn it, Walter! I’m going to kill you with my bare hands for cheatin’ on me.”

  Allie took a step forward and grabbed her grandmother’s hands. When she did even more of the robe opened up.

  “Granny, this is Blake and I’m Alora Raine. I’m your granddaughter and this man is not Walter,” Allie said sternly.

  “You are naked under that robe,” Irene hissed.

  Allie continued to hold her hands. “Yes, I am. I’ve been working in insulation all day and my clothes are in the dryer right now. I’ll get dressed as soon as they are done. We’ll call Mama to come get you.”

  “My mama has been dead for years so you can’t call her. Silly girl, there ain’t no phones in heaven.” Irene eyed Blake seriously. “You aren’t Walter, are you? Who are you again?”

  “I’m your new neighbor, Blake Dawson. Allie is doing some carpenter work for me,” he said.

  Allie groaned when she heard a vehicle coming to a stop outside. Thinking about having to explain to her mother why she was wearing nothing but a robe was enough to make her want to run home in four inches of snow in her bare feet. If that old adage about how that man plans and God laughs was true, then the Almighty must be howling up in heaven right now.

  High heels on the wooden porch didn’t sound like her mother’s footsteps but then maybe Katy had gotten dressed up for the church thing and hadn’t had time to kick off her Sunday shoes. It didn’t matter if she showed up in rubber boots or her best dress shoes as long as she took Granny home and didn’t throw a hissy about the way Allie was dressed.

  Allie let go of her grandmother’s hands and put the robe to rights. The cutesy little rap on the door sounded like da-da-da-da-da and then a da-da should have alerted Allie that it was not her mother.

  Blake yelled for the visitor to come on in. The door swung open and a cold north wind pushed Nadine into the room. She wore her best Sunday coat and high-heeled shoes, and she carried an apple pie in her hands.

  “Blake, darlin’, I brought you a pie. Oh. My. God!” She looked from Irene to Blake and then to Allie. “I didn’t know you had company.”

  Irene poked her on the arm. “What the hell are you doing here? Does Bobby Ray know you are out at this time of night flirtin’ with a married man? He’ll call off the wedding if he finds out and I’ll tell him next time I see him.”

  “Blake is married?” Nadine frowned.

  “I’m not married,” Blake answered.

  Nadine shoved the pie into his hands. “I just dropped by to bring you another apple pie and welcome you to Dry Creek.”

  “Thank you,” he mumbled.

  More noises out in the driveway meant Katy was really coming to take Granny home this time. After this shit with Nadine, it would be wonderful to get the whole ordeal finished and go home with her mama and Granny. Hopefully, her things would be dry by then.

  The knock came to the door and Blake opened it.

  “May I help you?” he asked.

  “Nadine?” Her fiancé, Bobby Ray, pushed his way past Blake and into the house. He stopped so quick that his boots squeaked on the floor. His eyes went straight to Nadine. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to
be at that ladies’ thing at the church?”

  “I came to see Allie,” she said quickly. “She wanted to taste my apple pie so I brought one to her.”

  Bobby Ray, a tall man with a full black beard and a beer belly, crossed his arms over his chest. “Why here and not over at Audrey’s Place?”

  “Lizzy was at the church meeting and said she was doing some work here and when I called her, she said to bring it here,” Nadine lied.

  “I asked about the pie recipe when she and Sharlene and Mary Jo came in the store yesterday for coffee. It’s awful sweet of you to bring one to me,” Allie said.

  Bobby Ray tilted his head toward Blake. “Why is Blake holding it and why are you dressed like that?”

  “He’s holding it because”—Allie nodded toward her grandmother and lowered her voice—“she thought it was for her and she hates apple pie and she’s on a tear tonight and we were afraid she would throw it at Nadine and ruin her coat.” The sentence came out in a rush. “And why I’m dressed like this isn’t a damn bit of your business, Bobby Ray.”

  “That’s right.” Irene slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t you dare call my granddaughter a slut! What exactly are you doing here? Did you get drunk and lose your way to Audrey’s Place? Well, it ain’t a whorehouse no more but we all know that you chase anything that’s got a pair of panties up under their skirt.”

  “Granny!” Allie said.

  “It’s the truth.” Irene tilted her chin up defiantly.

  Nadine frowned as both hands popped on her wide hips. “Bobby Ray?”

  Bobby Ray’s cheeks turned fire engine red. “She’s off in another world. Don’t listen to her.”

  Nadine pushed him on the chest. “Have you been cheatin’ on me?”

  “Hell, no! If anyone is cheatin’, it’s you. I don’t believe this cock and bull story one bit about bringing that pie to Allie.” His voice got louder with each word.

  Irene took a step between them. “If you are going to shout in Walter’s home, then get the hell out in the yard. If you wake his cantankerous old bitch of a mama, I’ll shoot the both of you.”