One Lucky Cowboy

by Carolyn Brown

  Nellie was flipping pancakes. "Good mornin'. How'd things go while I was gone?"

  Jane crossed the room and hugged her fiercely. "You're home! I missed you so much."

  "I enjoyed the trip and the fun but I'm glad to be back," Nellie said. "Ellen says she's sleeping in this morning."

  "You brought her, too! It gets better and better," Jane said.

  "What?" Slade said sleepily from the door jamb where he'd been leaning the past few minutes. Jealousy rattled through him that Jane showed such emotion for Nellie and was so angry at him for singing that she wouldn't even sit down to supper with him.

  "Nellie is home," Jane sing-songed.

  "Glad to have you back. Please don't leave me with that shrew again," he said, pointing at Jane.

  "Shrew! Me! You've got cow shit for brains! He was mean to me, Nellie. Made me work like a dog all week. I had to drive a tractor, herd cattle, and haul hay. Took me to church and was going to make me come home and cook dinner. I had to produce Bible verses to get a piece of fried chicken."

  "She stretched that verse so thin even Jesus would have sent her to hell for using it like that," Slade yawned.

  Nellie beamed.

  Things were going right in her world.

  Chapter 8

  JANE HAD NEVER BEEN TO A SMALL TOWN FIREWORKS display before. She'd always seen the big one in Greenville or back when her mother was alive there was always a big Fourth of July celebration at the ranch. They would barbecue a steer and at least one hog, invite everyone in western Arkansas and eastern Mississippi, and at the end of the day there would be a spectacular fireworks display from a boat in the river on the back side of the ranch.

  According to Nellie, in Terral, Oklahoma, population 386, they roped off a section of the main street, sold hamburgers right off the grill and snow cones made while you wait, and turned the children loose with their personal firecrackers and other fireworks. At dark they put on a show for everyone. It was a bring-your-own lawn-chair, eat, and visit affair.

  Five miles and the Red River separated Ringgold, Texas and Terral, Oklahoma. Terral was almost four times as big as Ringgold and actually had a Mini-Mart that sold bread, pizza, milk, and gas, as well as a small grocery store. There were two cafés: Doug's Peach Orchard, specializing in catfish and calf fries; and Mama Josie's, where a person could dine on Mexican food, hamburgers, or steaks in an old lumberyard-turned-café. Nellie had insisted they stop at Doug's for catfish. She rode to the celebration with Ellen, Jeannie, and Myra. Since it was Friday night and they'd have to postpone their pseudo-bridge game, they'd all decided to go together. She'd insisted that Slade take Jane in the truck with him so everyone could be more comfortable.

  The Peach Orchard was a small restaurant with the menu on the wall at either end of a dining room decorated with real branding irons. Nellie laid claim to a table for six and motioned for the waitress, who brought a note pad and asked them what they'd like to drink.

  "Coors for me," Slade said.

  "I'll have Miller Lite," Ellen said.

  Jeannie looked at the menu and held up two fingers. "Make that two Millers."

  "I'll have the same," Myra said.

  "Nellie?" The waitress asked.

  "Iced tea tonight. I might have to drive these drunks home."

  "You can't drive," Slade said.

  "Better to be caught driving blind than drunk," Jeannie laughed.

  "Sweet tea for me," Jane said. Already the evening was shaping up to be fun. For a second she let the idea of John and Ramona flit through her mind, then reas sured herself that they were in sunny Miami combing the beaches for her.

  The waitress returned with drinks and took their orders. Jeannie, Myra, Nellie, and Ellen all had catfish and it was on the tip of Jane's tongue to order the same when Slade said he guessed he was the only one with enough nerve to eat calf fries. Jane picked up the gauntlet and grinned.

  "Bring me a full order of calf fries and please add a Coors to that order. Maybe I'll join the ranks of the drunk after all," she said.

  "Do you even know what calf fries are?" Slade asked.

  "Of course, they're like chicken fries. Little pieces of veal rolled in some kind of special batter and deep fat fried," Jane said.

  A wide grin split his handsome face and she noticed the dimple on the left side for the first time. His blue eyes twinkled prettier than the stars in a midnight velvet sky. "You are exactly right."

  "What are you two fighting about now?" Nellie asked.

  "We missed it," Ellen said. "Do the fight all over again."

  "Well, damn, I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut," Myra said.

  "You all are the real Ya-Ya Sisters, aren't you?" Jane laughed.

  "You bet we are. They probably made that movie about us and just changed the names to protect the guilty," Myra told her.

  Ellen pulled a mirror from her purse and fluffed up her hair. "When we were growing up, there were five of us. What one of us couldn't think of, the other four did, and we barely stayed a step ahead of trouble all the time. You all remember when we were kids. Of course I was the youngest one and they all got me in trouble. They're probably the reason I turned out the way I did."

  "What about when we were kids? Hell, Ellen, you were the wild one. You had your bra off and headed for the bonfire before any of us could unhook ours," Myra said.

  "Y'all were old and floppy by then, anyway," Ellen teased.

  "What story were you going to tell?" Jane asked.

  "Don't encourage her," Slade moaned.

  Ellen pointed a perfectly manicured, bright-red polished fingernail at him. "You can hush or go over there and eat by yourself. The story goes like this: we were all staying at Jeannie's house. Her momma was the least nosy of all and we could sneak out easier there. All five of us went skinny dipping in old man Massey's farm pond and honey, those minnows nibbled at more than our toes. We damn near got caught by the local deputy. Of course, if we had, I fully intended to divert his attention while the older four got dressed."

  Jane laughed right along with them. Slade pretended he wasn't a bit interested but he had that twinkle in his eye that told Jane he was amused as much as she was.

  "So what were you fighting about?" Nellie asked.

  "He dared me to order calf fries. So I did."

  "I did not dare her and when she turns up her nose at them, I'll eat her portion," he said.

  "Do you know what calf fries are?" Nellie asked.

  "Granny!" Slade exclaimed.

  "Of course, they are little bits of veal, rolled in batter and deep fried to a golden brown," she said.

  "Slade?" Nellie lowered her head and looked up over the top of her eyebrows.

  The waitress brought their food before Slade could explain. She set a red plastic basket in front of each of them. French fries covered the top. Fish or calf fries were on the bottom. A platter of bread, tartar sauce, sliced onions, and pickles was set right in the middle of the red-and-white checkered vinyl tablecloth.

  "Napkin?" Slade used his manners and handed the roll of paper towels sitting upright on a wooden holder to Jane.

  "Don't mind if I do. Maybe I'll just have three or four. I might be a messy eater," she said.

  "Dig down deep and get one of those calf fries. See if they're as good as the ones you got over in Arkansas. That is where you are from?"

  "I was born in El Dorado," she said.

  "And grew up there?" He was already popping one into his mouth and blowing out at the same time because it was so hot.

  "Hey, I found one hiding under all these scrumptious lookin' fries. And don't worry about where I grew up, Slade Luckadeau. Just eat your bull balls and hush while I enjoy mine."

  He jerked his head around. "You said…"

  "I said they were little bits of veal, which they are, and they were rolled in batter and fried, which they are, so don't be sending me to hell with that look. I didn't blow the bottom out of the ninth commandment about bearing false witness."r />
  Jeannie nodded. "Want to join our Ya-Yas and be our number five?"

  "Maybe. Can I have a fancy hat or go skinny dipping in a pond? These are wonderful. Almost as good as Momma made. And don't ask me her name, either, Slade, because that's all I'm saying."

  "Honey, if you'll make it a moonless night so all our cellulite and baggy skin don't show, we'll gladly go skinny dipping with you, but you'd probably have a better time if you went with Slade," Ellen said.

  Slade blushed. "No thanks."

  High color filled Jane's cheeks. "Chicken?"

  "No, just protecting your young innocent eyes," he said.

  It was near dark when they finished eating and drove a mile up Highway 81 to the Mini-Mart, where they turned right and parked in the first available place. Everyone lined up at the back of the truck to claim a lawn chair and then carried them past the post office, the fire station, the old Methodist church, and to the center of town.

  The four ladies lined their chairs up in a row and commenced to talking about the past Fourth of July celebrations they'd attended together. Slade and Jane sat behind them on the steps of the old Methodist church, which had been boarded up for years.

  Jane loved listening to them talk, even when various people stopped by to visit a spell. They discussed the weather and wondered if it could get any hotter and people not start dropping like flies; who died; who had babies; who moved away; the fire in 2005 that almost wiped out Ringgold; the watermelon crop and whether there'd be enough to last through the festival in a few weeks.

  "What festival?" Jane asked.

  "Watermelon. They've had it for as long as I can remember. Granny first brought me when I was eight. They set up tables and give away ice cold watermelon all day. Vendors come and line the streets with their wares and there's games and contests. It used to be bigger and then it fizzled for a few years. Now there's a committee that oversees everything and it's growing again, only now they call it the Terral Festival or something like that," Slade explained.

  "Hey, what happened to number five? I just realized y'all mentioned there being five of you. Where's number five?" Jane asked in a lull when there were just the four of them.

  "She died about ten years ago. It was a sad day for us. She got married and moved away when we were all about nineteen. At least they were all nineteen. You got to remember I'm a lot younger than these old girls," Ellen said.

  "I'm sorry," Jane said.

  "She came back every year about this time and we'd have this big party at Jeannie's momma's old place. It was just a little frame house and her momma had been gone for years, but Jeannie kept it just like it was back then. It had beds and a full kitchen and a living room and this wonderful old gazebo out back," Myra said.

  "And we'd all get together for a few days, get drunker'n old women ever should, and remember all the good times we'd had," Nellie said.

  "In Ringgold?" Jane asked.

  "No, in Chico."

  "You told me you were going to a friend's house for Bible studies," Slade said to Nellie.

  "I was. Jeannie's momma had a Bible on the coffee table," she told him bluntly.

  "Anyway, when number five died, we put her picture on a little raft we made with Popsicle sticks, set it on fire, and pushed it out into the pond where we'd skinny dipped," Jeannie said. "It was truly a funeral worthy of a queen."

  "Did she have children?" Jane asked.

  "One," Nellie answered.

  "Oh, look, they're about to start the big show," Myra said.

  Jane hopped up. "I'm going for a snow cone before it starts. Anyone else want one?"

  "Blue coconut," Slade said.

  The rest declined and she headed toward the stand at a trot so she wouldn't miss any of the show. She ordered a blue coconut and a salty dog and was on her way back when she stepped on a piece of paper and saw two elderly women pointing at her at the same time. She stopped and looked at the paper stuck to her sandal and there she was, in living color, wearing a white robe and looking like pure hell. For a moment she wondered if the picture was computer generated. She'd never worn a robe like that except when she got out of the pool.

  Maybe she hadn't caught a lucky break after all when she got off the bus in Wichita Falls. Maybe she'd just prolonged a really unlucky streak.

  Another look and she remembered John taking it with his digital camera. It had been an issue because she didn't want him to snap it. Her hair was wet and limp and hanging in her face. Her makeup had long since washed off and she'd just jerked the robe on to cover her bikini. She looked exactly like Ramona had described her on the phone. Drugged out and slightly deranged. The white robe could easily be mistaken for hospital attire. How very convenient. She picked up the flier and read what she could by the low lights.

  Ellacyn Jane Hayes had escaped from an institution, blah, blah, blah. The same story Ramona had told her on the phone.

  When Jane looked up several other people were holding the fliers and looking around the grounds. Evil had come to their little town. The insane lunatic might be hiding behind the trees ready to jump out and nab a child while a firecracker was being popped to cover the sound of the screams.

  "Have you seen this woman?" Ramona was asking the snow cone operator. "We had word she was last seen working for Nellie Luckadeau at the Double L Ranch."

  "Can't say I have. Nellie don't usually hire help, though. Wait a minute. She does look familiar. No, I'm wrong. I'd remember someone that helpless lookin'," the lady said.

  Jane's heart raced, blood pumping through her veins so fast and furious that she got dizzy. Her stomach clenched up into knots. She made herself pretend to study the poster as she carried the snow cones in one hand toward the pickup truck. Thank goodness she still had the keys in her purse and she'd brought it along to buy the snow cones.

  She tossed the snow cones along with the flier at the last minute and was about to crawl into the truck when a hand touched her shoulder. Adrenaline rushing and flight mode kicking in, she doubled up her fist and drew back to begin the fight. She might wind up dead but they were going to have a hard job. A big fist closed over her hand in mid air.

  "You about to steal my truck?" Slade said.

  "Yes, I was. But I was just going home in it."

  He shoved a flier in her face. "Got anything to do with this horrible picture of you?"

  She nodded.

  "Damn, I hate to miss the fireworks show, but I guess we'd better get you out of the limelight. Folks around here wouldn't cotton to you stealing their thunder tonight. They put on a fine show. If the FBI was to handcuff you and lead you off to the unmarked black van which is sitting across the street, that's what the folks would talk about for a month. No one would remember much about the show." The whole time he talked he was leaning in toward her ear as if he was propositioning her.

  "What in the hell are you doing?"

  "Nod."

  She did exactly as he said.

  He pulled out his billfold and handed her a dollar bill.

  "Fold it up and stuff it into your bra, then get in the truck. Don't slide all the way over. Stay in the middle and put your hand on my neck and toy with my hair while we drive away. There's a man in the van and he's looking right at us," Slade said.

  She did.

  "Want to explain what the hell is going on that the FBI is looking for you?"

  "FBI?"

  "They're flashing credentials back there. That is you on the flier, isn't it?"

  "It is, but I'm not deranged and I've never been in an institution. Why would the FBI want me if I wasn't in my right mind?"

  "That's what Ellen asked them. They said you'd witnessed a murder and they needed you for testimony. Granny whispered I was to take you home and wait for her to get there. She doesn't want to leave for fear she'll cause them to follow her."

  "I'm so sorry and believe me, those two are not FBI agents. That's just a scare tactic."

  "You know them? By the way, you can scoot over now and you can
stop playing with my neck," he said.

  She blushed. "I don't know where to start, but I damn sure don't want to tell this story but once, so I'm waiting until Nellie gets home to do it."

  Ten minutes later they were sitting in strained silence in the living room. Half an hour after that, the four ladies came rushing through the door, all of them talking at once.

  "Okay, here's the deal. Your grandmother was Olivia Ranger, right?" Ellen said.

  "How did you know that?" Jane was stunned. Besides, what did her grandmother have to do with what was happening right then?