“Where are you going to find a dress like that?” Rye teased.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m Snow White. I can have the seven dwarves whip up anything I want.”
It was eleven o’clock and the vendors were shutting down when they left the festival and drove south to Terral. He parked outside the house and walked her to the door.
“I had a wonderful evening, Rye. Thank you,” she said. She wanted to invite him inside for a cup of coffee, a cold glass of watermelon wine, or a long session of steaming kisses and whatever they would lead to but Gemma’s truck was still in the backyard.
Rye ran the back of his hand down her cheek and leaned in for a kiss. After his lips touched hers she couldn’t think of anything but throwing Gemma out to the coyotes and taking him to bed. One kiss led to another and that one deepened into a more passionate one that had her panting when it ended. She drew him to the porch swing and sat down in his lap. He wrapped her up in his arms and nuzzled the inside of her neck, his hot breath causing goose bumps the size of mountains all over her body. She pressed closer and closer to him, feeling the hardness and wishing that she had the nerve to make love with him right there. But Gemma could appear at the door any minute.
“This is very nice. Let’s take it inside,” he whispered. It was that or go home to a very cold long shower and she’d been very receptive up to that point.
“Can’t. Too big of a mess in there.”
His fingers made their way up her bare back, unhooked her bra, and made long lazy circles on her back. She thought she’d melt into a pile of aching hormones if he didn’t stop and yet if he had she would have wept. No one had ever sent her into such a sexual tailspin as Rye O’Donnell was doing right then.
His hands slowly made their way around to the front where he cupped a breast. The warmth of his hand on such tender skin made her moan.
“Cold?” he asked.
“No, hot as hell.”
He chuckled. “I like your honesty. I don’t care if it’s messy in Granny’s house. We’ll shove it all to one side.”
“Can’t, Rye, much as I want to, I can’t do it.”
“Why?” He started at her knee and slowly made his way up to her belt buckle.
“Timing is wrong.”
“I understand.” He kissed her firmly, his tongue doing a mating dance with hers. “Then I’ll see you Sunday. I’ll pick you up at… what is that?”
“What?” She looked up at the golden glow coming from the kitchen window out onto the porch not six feet from them.
“Shhh!” He put his finger over her mouth. “Someone is in the house. I’ll take care of it.”
She tried to tell him that it was all right but he was already sneaking across the porch before she could utter a word. He jerked the door open and barged in with her right behind him.
He stopped in his tracks just inside the door. “What in the hell… Gemma?”
She managed a weak smile on her tear-stained face topped off by swollen eyes and an expression of pure misery. “Well, shit! Guess I’m busted.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Don’t throw a fit.”
He sighed. “You promised me.”
“Yep, but the heart wants what it wants and it took awhile for it to change its mind and not want it anymore. I just spent four hours on the phone with him and it’s over this time. He’s bringing all my things to Momma’s tomorrow morning. I called her and she’s not so happy either.”
“And you knew?” Rye asked Austin.
“Hey, don’t put me in the middle of the family squabble. I just gave her a place to stay while she sorted it all out.”
“So that’s why the timing wasn’t right?”
Austin blushed when she realized what he’d thought she meant.
“What timing?” Gemma asked.
“You turning on that damned light,” Austin said.
“I didn’t hear y’all drive up. I didn’t know you were out there.”
“Okay, it’s too late to do anything more tonight so let’s all get some sleep. It’ll look different tomorrow,” Austin said.
Rye looked at Gemma.
“I promise I’ll stay here until Momma says he’s come and gone. I don’t want to see him again either and I promise it’s over. He really, really broke my heart this time. I couldn’t go through that twice.”
“It’s not easy to believe you. You promised me the last time he acted up that it was over,” Rye said.
Austin had never had a brother or a sister to give a damn what she did or didn’t do. She made herself a promise right then that if she ever had children she’d have more than one so they could have what Gemma and Rye had.
“Forgive me?” Gemma’s eyes pleaded.
Rye opened his arms and she walked into them. “Want me to go bruise him up a little for you?”
“The answer right now is yes but it won’t be in the morning because he’s not worth you busting a knuckle on,” Gemma answered.
Rye raised an eyebrow at Austin when he stepped back from Gemma. “Okay then, ladies, I’m going home now. Want to go with me, Austin?”
“Like I said, timing’s not right.”
“Don’t let me stop you,” Gemma said.
Austin rolled up on her toes and kissed Rye on the cheek. “Good night and thanks again for a wonderful night. I’ll never forget it.”
“Me either.”
There was an awkward moment when he couldn’t look away.
Her feet were stuck so tight to the kitchen linoleum that she feared she’d be standing there when eternity dawned. Finally, he turned around and walked out without looking back.
Gemma whispered. “I’ll be damned!”
“What?”
“I can’t believe it. Rye O’Donnell is in love.”
“Hell’s bells, Gemma! That is a very serious thing,” Austin argued.
Gemma just grinned. “Let’s make a pot of coffee and talk. I don’t have any appointments tomorrow so I can sleep as late as I want. How about you? You got farmin’ to do or is Saturday free for you too?”
“I’m free,” Austin whispered.
“Where’s the coffee and the filters?”
Austin pointed to the cabinet above the percolator. “I saw your mother at the festival. She was worried about you.”
“I called her after I got things settled with the bastard. No, I shouldn’t call him that. His parents were married when he was born. He could be a son of a bitch though because part of the problem is his mother. She is a bitch with a capital B. Nothing is too good for her precious baby and by damn his way is the only way. A woman is supposed to walk three steps behind him, figure out what he wants before he does, and have it ready thirty seconds before he asks for it, and never cross him.”
“Sounds like he should catch the next plane to the Middle East.”
Gemma made coffee and pulled out a kitchen chair. “Never thought of it like that but that would be a good place for him. Now tell me, what is going on with you and my brother?”
“Nothing. You ever hear that song called ‘Strawberry Wine’?”
Gemma nodded.
“Remember that part where it said something about being caught somewhere between a woman and a child. Well, I’m not in that place. But I’m caught somewhere between watermelon wine and martinis, if that makes a lick of sense.”
“It does.”
“Okay, then let’s talk about you. Where are you going to live?”
“With the folks until I can find an apartment in Wichita Falls. Tell the truth I wish I could just put in a shop in Ringgold.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“Population 100.”
“Terral doesn’t have a beauty shop. Folks have to go to Ryan. Ringgold is closer and then there’s all those people between there and Henrietta and from there to Nocona. You might have more business than you realize.”
Gemma poured two cups of coffee and set them on the table.
“
Oh, crap, I forgot,” Austin said.
“What?”
“Out on the porch. I set them on the chair while…”
“While you were making out with my brother?” Gemma’s eyes twinkled.
Austin gave her a mean look. “Indian tacos. If Rascal hasn’t eaten them, I brought you some supper.”
Gemma raced to the door and retrieved the Styrofoam containers, carried them into the house, and pulled out a chair. “You are a darlin’. I’ll marry you if my brother is too stupid to ask you.”
Chapter 11
Gemma was gone when Austin awoke the next morning. There was a note beside the coffee pot that said her boyfriend had wasted no time in getting her stuff to her parents’ house that morning and she was going home to talk about the future. She thanked Austin for the safe house, the late supper, but most of all for the support.
Austin roamed through the house and decided to start in the garage again but when she opened the door she shut it quickly. That’s when the realization hit her like a bitch slap in the face. She’d have to be in and out of the house for the next few months, so she did not have to deal with the garage today.
“So I can work on it a weekend at a time through the summer. And I can see Rye every weekend and maybe have dinner with the O’Donnells sometimes.”
The battle began.
In this corner was common sense. If she came back every weekend for three months, she’d never want to sell the farm when fall came.
“But I don’t want to sell it! Where in the hell did that come from? I can’t run a farm and do my job in Tulsa too. I’m not Superwoman.”
In the other corner her heart was pouting. It wanted more time with Rye to see where the relationship might go. Out of sight; out of mind. It kept repeating that phrase over and over, reminding her that they’d barely gotten a foundation laid in the two weeks she’d been there. He’d forget a few wild kisses and a couple of nights of passionate fumbling in no time.
Temptation begged to stay.
Ambition insisted that she throw her bags in the ’Vette and leave Terral behind in a cloud of dust.
She poured cold cereal in a bowl and topped it off with milk and carried it to the living room desk. She pushed aside the payroll checkbook. She really needed to be there on Fridays for payroll.
“But if I go for good, I could make arrangements for the bank to do a direct payment each week for the money going to Mexico and then give them their money in advance for the rest of the season. Felix will have the truck.” The more she rationalized the heavier her heart became.
When she finished her breakfast she had another idea. She called her boss on his cell phone. He picked up on the first ring. He was in the office playing Saturday morning catch-up before going to his daughter’s softball game in Oklahoma City.
They did the usual niceties including are you getting your grandmother’s affairs settled, and how are things at the office? Then she hit him with the bombshell. “I’d like to work four days a week until the end of the summer. This is taking longer than I thought in the beginning. There’s a crop in the field and payroll to meet on Fridays for the hired help. I’ll stay late at my job there every night Monday through Wednesday to make up the time.”
“I think that is doable. I’ll see you Monday?”
“Yes, and thank you.”
“Austin, you know you are being groomed for my job. Don’t let us down by deciding to make a career move toward farming. I’m looking forward to having you back in the office.”
She said good-bye and heard the guys talking as they rounded the end of the house on their way back to their trailer. She hurried out the front door and yelled at Felix. He waved and headed to the porch.
“What is it?”
“I’ve made arrangements to work four days a week in Tulsa and be here on weekends until the crop is harvested. You have the keys to the old truck. Is there anything else you’ll need me to do before I leave this afternoon? I’ll be back every Thursday night and stay until late on Sunday.”
Felix removed his hat and leaned against a porch post. “I’m sorry that you are going but we will take care of this place like it was our own. You will be here on Friday for our payday?”
“Yes, I will, and in time to take it to the bank.”
He nodded slowly. “Our families depend on that.”
“I’ll be here. Would you take care of Rascal?”
“That old tomcat eats at our trailer a lot of the time anyway. He likes Lobo’s tacos as much as he likes his morning eggs. And he wanders across the road to Rye’s place pretty often. Rye took care of him all these months since Miz Verline passed on. You be careful. Does Rye know you are leaving today?”
“I’ll get in touch with him. He knows I’m going this weekend but not this afternoon. If you have a problem I’m sure he’ll help until I can get back down here over the weekend.”
Felix settled his hat back on his head. “We will see you next Thursday then.”
“Thank you,” Austin said.
Had it only been two weeks since she and Pearlita had the simple memorial for her grandmother? That day seemed like a lifetime ago, one that she should leave in the past, and go on to a very different one that involved green John Deere tractors instead of black power suits.
She went back inside and called Rye’s number and got the answering machine. “Rye, this is Austin. I’m going back to Tulsa today. I’ve made arrangements with my boss to take off a day at a time on Fridays so I’ll be back next weekend. I’d like to get home in time to run by my office and get things in order for Monday morning. Tell Maddie I’m sorry I’ll miss the strawberry shortcake. I told Felix that if anything happens to call you. You’ve got my cell phone number so please call me when you get this message.” She paused. Did she tell him that his kisses were still hot on her lips after twelve hours or that she would miss him? “Well, I guess that’s all. Talk to you later. See you next weekend.”
She flipped her phone shut. “Shit! That sounded like a message I’d leave for my mother. And I’m beginning to cuss like Granny. Molly and Greta must be right. There’s something in the water.”
It was on the machine and she couldn’t erase it so she neatly packed her things into the suitcase, adding her jeans and shirts to her black suits and pajamas. She dressed in hip slung jeans, comfortable boots, and a western shirt and pulled her hair up in a ponytail. She tried to call Rye one more time but got his answering machine again.
“Rye, I’m on my way out of here. Wanted to talk to you in person before I left but I guess you are off somewhere this morning.”
Then she tried his cell phone and got nothing but left a message there, too. “Rye, I’ve talked to my boss and would love to tell you the new arrangements. Please call me.”
She drove slowly through Terral but didn’t see his truck in front of the café or at the Mini-Mart. Turning north at the stop sign was almost as hard as watching her grandmother’s ashes float down the Red River. She pulled off the side of the road in front of the big brick Welcome to Terral sign and sat there for several minutes. The Lanier gut said she was making a big mistake, that she shouldn’t leave Terral. She fought with it for a few minutes but she pulled back out on the road and drove north, arguing with herself every single mile she drove away from Terral.
***
Rye was whistling when he came in the house at dusk. He and Kent had walked the fence line until noon, shoring up the sagging barbed wire. They’d had lunch together at the Peach Orchard and then worked all afternoon on the loading chute for the rodeo livestock. On April 23 and 24 he’d have to have them in Mesquite, Texas, for the first rodeo of the season. He’d bring them home after that weekend and then reload them the week of May 21 for the season. After that he’d be in Mesquite two days a week. The bulls looked brawny and were mean as hell. They’d give any rider a run for his money.
Kent had left at five thirty to take the family to Wichita Falls for dinner at Long John Silver’s and a movie. Rye h
ad put the finishing touches on the chute and checked out the farm pond with intentions of taking Austin fishing down at the river that night. He’d already figured out which quilt to take and what picnic basket to fill up with snack food; found a cooler and filled it with beer, ice, and a bottle of watermelon wine; and had a shower when he saw the red blinking light on the answering machine.
He smiled when it rang once, imagining Austin coming down the hall in her overalls and tank top, all sweaty after a long day of packing boxes. His pulse raced and desire flooded his body at the vision. On the second ring he could almost hear her swearing. The third ring he was pulling back his mini-blinds to see if there were lights on in the house. Fourth: it was dark as midnight and her little red car was nowhere to be seen. Fifth: Verline’s voice answered, “If this is a telemarketer, take me off your list. You ain’t got a thing I’m interested in buying or hearing about. Anyone else, you know the drill. When it beeps, you talk. When I get the message, I’ll call back.”
Rye’s smile vanished leaving a frown in its wake. Maybe she’d gone with Gemma down to Ringgold. He dialed his folks’ number and Gemma picked up.
“Hello. If you are calling to fuss at me, don’t. I’m at home and Momma says I can stay here until I find a place. We’ve got an idea in the works that Austin set me to thinkin’ about.”
“Where is Austin?”
“I left her asleep this morning. We talked until way past midnight and when I woke up this morning I was so excited that I drove down here to talk to Momma and Daddy about things. I’m thinkin’ of putting in a beauty shop of my own right here in Ringgold. What do you think about that?”
Rye sighed. Right then he didn’t care if she put one in front of the Pearly Gates and fixed hair for free to the ladies who had an appointment with St. Peter. “Honey, that sounds great. You’d be closer to home and Momma would like that. You could even help with the horses in your spare time.”
Gemma groaned. “What spare time? I’ll have to fix hair from daylight to dark to pay the loan off if I borrow money for my own shop.”
“I’ll loan you the money. I don’t think Austin is going to sell the farm any time soon and that’s the only place up here I’m interested in buying.”
Love Drunk Cowboy Page 20
