Allie jumped up and followed her right down the center aisle, which meant she’d have to skinny past Grady to get to the end of their pew. Irene made it to the back pew and stopped. She frowned as if trying to remember where in the hell she was and what she was supposed to do next and then cocked her head to one side.
“I’m sitting right here and if you don’t talk in church, you can sit beside me, Hilda. And I think I will go home with you today for dinner. Your mama makes good fried chicken,” Irene said loudly.
The preacher never missed a single beat, but Allie did hear a few snickers in the crowd. That brought out her protective nature and she would have marched forward and sat on the altar with her grandmother if Irene had wanted to do that. But instead Irene pushed past Blake and sat on his left. “You can sit on the other side of Everett. If he pulls your hair, kick him in the shins.”
Allie slid in beside Blake. He was freshly shaved and the smell of something woodsy, mixed with his soap, sent her senses reeling. She waited until Irene was settled and whispered softly, “Sorry, it’s not a good day. It started off good but it’s gone to hell in a handbasket.”
Blake smiled. “I’m not a bit sorry. I may buy her an ice cream cone after church.”
“And where would you get that?” Allie whispered.
“Shhh. Everett Dunlap, you know better than to talk in church.” Irene popped him on the shoulder. “And don’t you dare pull my hair.”
It was downright crazy: one man’s hand on her shoulder made her want to run; the other sitting a foot away almost made her hyperventilate right there in front of her grandmother, the preacher, and even God. Life and fate were both four letter words and both should be put on the naughty list with the other cuss words.
Allie breathed a sigh of relief when they made it through the benediction without her granny announcing to the whole place that it was about time the long-winded preacher shut his mouth so they could go eat dinner. Everyone was standing up and the noise level was rising by the second as folks talked about everything from the sermon to the weather and lined up in the pews to shake the preacher’s hand at the door.
Blake extended a hand to Irene. “Thank you, ladies, for sitting with me.”
She took it and nodded. “It was our pleasure, I’m sure. I don’t believe we’ve met. Are you Hilda’s uncle?”
“Isn’t this Everett, Granny?”
Her grandmother’s eyes went dark as she searched for a puzzle piece that would tell her who Everett was, then suddenly she clapped her hands. “Everett pulled my hair and I kicked him. He tattled on me but I didn’t care. I think he likes me.” Irene giggled. “But he didn’t come to church today. I’m glad your uncle is here, though.”
“I’m glad, too,” Blake answered with a smile.
“Are you going to Hilda’s for dinner, too? Her mama always makes fried chicken on Sunday and my mama made roast beef today so I don’t want to go to my house,” Irene asked.
“Your mama might want you to go home today since Lizzy has invited her boyfriend over for dinner,” Allie said.
Irene looked up, waved at Katy, and shouted above the noise of dozens of conversations. “Mama, I am going home with Hilda and her uncle today. I don’t like Lizzy’s boyfriend or that mean man that runs around with him.”
“Shhh, Granny,” Allie said.
“We are all going home. You can ride with Allie,” Katy said sternly.
Irene stopped in the middle of the aisle and glared at Katy. “When those two mean men go away I will come home. Besides I want fried chicken.”
“I’d planned on driving over to Olney to a little restaurant that specializes in fried chicken on Sunday,” Blake said quickly. “I’m sure my niece would enjoy her company and I could have her back at your place by mid-afternoon.”
“Yes, yes!” Irene clapped her hands. “Please let me go. I don’t get to go to a café hardly ever.”
“You put her up to this. You put the idea in her head,” Lizzy hissed at Allie. “I will never forgive you for ruining my entire weekend.”
“I did not. Next Sunday you can sit beside her and take her to the bathroom,” Allie said.
Katy slipped her hand around Allie’s arm. “This does not mean any more than taking care of your grandmother, does it?”
“No, ma’am,” Allie said. “She’ll make a scene if you don’t let her go with me and Blake. She thinks I’m her childhood friend, Hilda. They mentioned her name in the nursery and that’s probably what set her off.”
Herman Hudson stepped out from his pew and fell in behind Katy, separating her from Lizzy and the two guys. “Blake Dawson, I hear you’ve got wood to give away.”
“Yes, sir, I do,” Blake said.
Herman stuck out his hand. “I’ll be glad to take all you can pile up for my wood yard. You got a problem with me selling it?”
“No, sir, not one bit. I’d just be glad to get it cleared away and not have to burn it all up,” Blake said.
“Then me and my kin folks will be there soon as this snow stops. We don’t mind workin’ once it’s on the ground but when it’s fallin’, it makes it tough. Thank you, son,” Herman said.
Irene wiggled in the backseat like a little girl eager to get to her destination. “We’ll be there in a little bit, won’t we? Can I have ice cream if I eat all my chicken?”
“Yes, you can or whatever dessert you want,” Blake answered.
“I like your uncle,” Irene said.
The café had two empty tables when they arrived. The waitress waved them to one and said, “If you’ll sit there, we’ll save the bigger one for more folks. Be right with you.”
The waitress finally got around to them, handing out menus, which consisted of one laminated page with the listings for breakfast on one side and lunch on the other. “What are y’all having to drink?”
“Sweet tea,” Irene answered.
“Same here,” Allie and Blake said in unison.
His leg touched hers under the table. That’s all it took to flood her mind with pictures that she should not be entertaining after church or in a restaurant. Most of them did not involve clothing, menus, or even church music.
“We’ve got two specials today. Fried chicken tenders with hot biscuits, your choice of two sides, and pecan pie with or without ice cream for dessert. Second one is roast beef with all the same,” she said.
“Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and I want ice cream on my pie for dessert,” Irene said.
Blake handed her the menu. “Same only with okra instead of mac and cheese.”
“Me, too, except I want corn casserole for my vegetable.” Allie’s arm brushed against Blake’s when she gave the waitress her menu, and the pictures in her head became even more vivid.
“I’ll have it right out.” The waitress hurried off to seat a family of six at the larger table and clean off a small four-person table for another group just arriving.
“So what are you ladies going to do all next week?” Blake asked.
“School.” Irene rolled her eyes. “I hope we don’t have homework every night.”
“Why is that?”
Allie had no doubts that Blake was a very good uncle to his nieces and nephew. He was a natural in the role.
Irene sighed dramatically. “If we have homework, then Hilda can’t come and play with me after school. Her mama won’t let her and my mama makes me sit at the kitchen table until it’s all done, and it takes hours.”
“Do you like Dry Creek?” Blake asked.
Irene shrugged. “It’s where I live so I have to like it. Someday I’m going to move away to a big place, though. I’m going to live in a house in town so I can go to the movies and to a café and have coffee in the mornings.”
Blake nodded seriously. “And do you like coffee, Miz Irene?”
“No, but I’ll learn if I can move away from Dry Creek. Why are you asking me so many questions?” Irene asked.
“I want to get to know my niece’s
friend.” He smiled.
Lord, have mercy! One more of those killer smiles and knee touches and Allie would need one of her mother’s hot flash pills. Come to think of it, Blake should carry those little white pills in his shirt pocket and dole them out to the women he came in contact with. One if he smiled. Two if he strutted past them in tight jeans. Go ahead and fill up a coffee cup with them if he kissed a woman.
The waitress brought their food and drinks at the same time and Irene concentrated on her food. Allie was afraid to say anything at all because it could make her grandmother shift gears and suddenly not know either her or Blake.
“Allie.” Irene touched her on the arm. “What are we doing here?”
Allie laid a hand over her grandmother’s. “You had a forgetting moment, Granny. Deke’s friend asked us to go to dinner with him and you said you’d love some fried chicken.”
“This is Blake from the Lucky Penny. He’s not Deke’s friend,” Irene argued.
“Yes, he is. He and Deke are really good friends. Our fried chicken is here. Let’s eat it before it gets cold,” Allie said.
“I do like fried chicken. Did Grady and Mitch go home with Lizzy?” Irene asked.
Allie nodded.
“Well, I’m glad I came with you and Blake because I really don’t like either one of those guys.” Irene dug into her dinner with gusto.
Blake bit into a piece of fried chicken. “Is your chicken this good?” he asked Allie.
Irene laughed. “Oh, honey. Her fried chicken is even better than my mama’s was. And her biscuits would make the angels in heaven weep for joy.”
“Now you have to marry me.” Blake grinned.
Where were those hot flash pills? She needed a mug full to eat like candy corn.
“No, she’s not going to marry you. We might go to dinner with you when fried chicken is involved, but the women of Audrey’s Place do not marry the men from the Lucky Penny, and that’s a fact.” Irene’s mind and body both shifted from little girl to grown woman in the blink of an eye. “If we had some fried green tomatoes, this would be the ideal Sunday dinner.”
Without another word, she cleaned up her plate and pushed it back. “Now I want pecan pie with ice cream.”
Allie caught the waitress’s eye and the lady hurried right over to their table. “Ready for dessert? Three pecan pies with ice cream.”
Irene giggled. “No, three slices of pecan pie with ice cream. I can’t eat a whole pie.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The waitress patted her gently on the shoulder.
“Old people can say whatever they want and folks don’t even mind,” Irene said. “But I’m glad these people over here in Olney−we are in Olney, aren’t we?”
Blake nodded. “Yes, ma’am, we are. I heard you liked fried chicken and that this place served up a good Sunday special.”
“Well, I’m glad that we’re here and not in Dry Creek. That café has been closed for years in Dry Creek, hasn’t it?”
Allie’s head bobbed. “Yes, Granny. You are remembering very well today.”
“Some days are better than others,” she said.
Floating from one time period to the next always exhausted her grandmother. The poor old dear curled up next to the window on the way home and went to sleep. What little Allie and Blake did say to each other was said in low tones so they wouldn’t wake her. Twenty-five minutes from the time they’d left the restaurant, he drove past the church, the feed store, and the convenience store and on out to the lane that led back to Audrey’s Place. He parked in front of the big two-story house and Allie saw the house through his eyes.
“Not what you were expecting?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. I don’t see red lights or scantily clad women or even a sign that says Audrey’s Place.” He looked up at her through the rearview mirror.
“Well, it’s not still a whorehouse! Truth is it was always referred to as a hotel. The porch is an add-on and I’ve redone a lot of the interior,” she said.
Irene roused up and looked at the house as if seeing it for the first time in her life. “Where are we? Why did you bring me here?”
Allie touched her on the arm. “We’re home. Are you ready to go on inside and get warm in your own bed?”
Irene blinked several times and skewered up one side of her face as she finally found a place that made sense. “I’m not going in there. Not until he leaves. He shouldn’t have slept with that woman and I don’t want to be married to him anymore.”
“Who?”
Irene had settled on the time when her husband had cheated on her. “Your grandpa. He’s in there trying to be nice to Mama so she’ll make me stay with him. He’s lower than a snake’s belly and I will get even. I can still turn a man’s head even if I am almost forty.”
Blake started to back the truck out of the driveway. “Where do you want to go? You name the place, Miz Irene, and I will take you wherever you tell me to.”
“Granny, that is Mitch’s truck. Remember? He’s engaged to Lizzy,” Allie said.
Irene nodded slowly. “That’s right. I get things mixed up sometimes, especially when I first wake up. It’s like I’m in another world. Let’s sneak inside. We can’t go anywhere else with this snow coming down.”
When they left church there was about a flake to the acre as her father used to say when it was barely spitting snow, but after they left Olney the skies turned a solid gray and it started to get serious about the business.
“Come on in with us, Blake, but you will have to be very quiet.” Irene’s eyes twinkled as she put a finger over her lips.
Blake shut off the engine. “I should be going.”
She folded her hands over her chest and glared at him. “Nonsense. I’m not getting out of this truck if you don’t go in with us.”
Allie nodded ever so slightly when he caught her eye in the mirror again. “I guess you’ll have to do what she wants.”
“Thank you,” Irene said. “Now you can help me out and I’ll hold on to your arm so I don’t fall going up the porch steps. You do remind me of someone but I think he wore glasses.”
Blake slung open his door and then opened hers. He looped her arm through his and held his hand over hers as he matched his step to hers.
Allie was on the other side and Irene grabbed her hand. “I think we had a good time today but I can’t remember much about it. Is it Monday?”
“No, Granny, it’s Sunday. We went to church this morning.”
“That’s right and we sang, ‘Abide with Me,’ didn’t we? And now it’s snowing like the weatherman said. Can we make snow ice cream tomorrow?”
“You had the prettiest voice in the whole church.” Blake took the three porch steps one at a time, making sure her footing was steady before he went to the next one. “And I’ve got a real good recipe for snow ice cream. I’ll make a big bowl full and bring it to you if Allie is too busy to make it for you.”
“Thank you. I like that hymn. It was Mama’s favorite. And I really like snow ice cream,” Irene said. “You are a good man to help me inside, but now it’s time to be quiet and not talk or we’ll have to be nice to that sumbitch that Lizzy is engaged to marry. Some folks have to learn their lessons the hard way.”
Allie opened the door and they slipped inside the foyer and all the way back to Irene’s room without getting caught. When Audrey’s Place was first built, the owners occupied the only bedroom on the first floor. Granny and Grandpa shared that room until he died, but now it was hers alone. She let go of Blake’s arm and Allie’s hand and eased the door shut. “They’re in the kitchen. I’m safe now and I’m going to sleep a while so y’all can go on. Allie, don’t you stay out late and Blake, you see to it she’s home by ten. Decent women are in bed at ten. And it feels like I had a good time today so thank you for that.”
“Yes, ma’am, I will see to it that she is,” Blake said.
When they were in the foyer, Blake hugged her close to his side. “It has to be the scariest thing in
the world for her. She’s probably afraid to shut her eyes when her world is right because she’s afraid she’ll lose what control she has while she’s asleep,” he said. “Poor old darlin’ is such a sweetheart when she’s lucid. I would have loved to have known her before this disease started eating away at her mind.”
Allie leaned into his shoulder and it felt so right. “We never know what will set her off. She doesn’t like Mitch or Grady, so that might have made her regress to her childhood so she didn’t have to think about them. The doctor says one day she simply won’t remember any of us, so we take the good when we can get it.”
“Well, look who made it home.” Grady’s shifty eyes darted from Blake to Allie and back again. “I told Lizzy I heard you out here.”
Allie put a finger over her lips. “Shhh. She’s settled down for a nap. If she hears voices it will upset her.”
Grady’s nose curled in disgust. “She needs to be put away in a place where they take care of people like her. It has to be draining on the whole family to put up with those tantrums when she goes back to being a child, if she does.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Allie asked coldly.
“She doesn’t like me or Mitch. She’s told him that she hopes he dies before the wedding, so I figure that she’s playing the whole bunch of you. I’d be willing to bet that she wasn’t a little kid at all this morning.” Grady tilted his chin up like the know-it-all he thought he was.
“You really think so?” Blake asked.
“I don’t think so. I know it but right now I will speak for the family and say thank you for playing along with her and bringing Allie home early. I hear that you bought the Lucky Penny? How long do you think you’ll last before you give up and go back to wherever you came from?” Grady asked coldly.
“I don’t give up easy. When I want something I work my ass off for it and treat it right,” Blake answered.
“And,” Allie said, “you don’t need to speak for the family since you are definitely not a part of it.”
Grady laid a hand on Allie’s shoulder. “Now don’t get all huffy, darlin’. It’s not becoming for a lady.”
Wild Cowboy Ways Page 11
