Hot Cowboy Nights

by Carolyn Brown

  Lizzy hated mice with a passion. A spider, she could handle. A snake, she could kill with a hoe or a pistol. But a damn mouse was only slightly smaller than a full-grown gorilla and it roared like a lion.

  Keeping her eyes closed tightly, she pulled her pants up, zipped and buttoned them, and then fastened her belt. Maybe the mouse would be gone now.

  One eyelid barely opened and she held her breath, almighty glad that she’d at least finished her business before having her soul scared from her body. Her heart pumped double time as she scanned the floor from potty to door and saw nothing. Then a movement in her peripheral vision snapped the one open eye shut again. She’d seen enough to know the creature was black and furry and it had a tail. Should she yell at Toby to come save her?

  Hell, no, don’t do that. He thinks you’re tough as nails. Don’t ruin that by letting him know you are afraid of a little old mouse.

  If she stepped down really fast and grabbed the door handle, she could be out of the tiny bathroom in no more than three seconds.

  But what if I step on it and it gets mouse on my boots? What then? These are my favorite work boots and if there are mouse guts on the sole, I’ll have to throw them away.

  If she reached forward she could open the door, bail off the potty in one long jump, and then slam the door shut. That was the plan until she heard a squeaking noise to her left and she opened both eyes before she thought.

  “What the hell?” She eased down off the potty. A black and white cat with three little yellow kittens pawing at her belly was curled up tightly in the corner of the bathroom behind a small cabinet. “Where did you come from? We must have left the door open when we ran to the cellar. Are you wild?” She gingerly touched the cat on the head and she started to purr.

  “Lizzy, are you all right in there?” Allie knocked.

  “Shhh!” She put a finger to her lips and eased the door open. “Come and see what came lookin’ for refuge from the storm.”

  Allie put the lid down on the potty and sat down. “Can I pet her?”

  Lizzy nodded. “She’s friendly.”

  Lizzy had been offered cats from every rancher in the county to keep the mice away from the feed sacks. She always refused, telling them that she’d buried too many cats as a child to want to go through the pain of losing one as an adult. The real reason was that she hated any form of rodents, from field mice to rats, and cats often left dead ones as presents. In Lizzy’s books, dead ones were just about as wicked as live ones. But this little family needed her and that made a difference.

  “What’s going on in there?” Katy peeked in.

  “Lizzy has a cat and what looks like three, no four, kittens. There’s a little black head down there under that fat yellow one,” Allie said. “Either the tornado dropped it or it came looking for a safe place to get out of the storm.”

  Toby’s blue eyes showed up over the top of Katy’s head.

  “Most feed stores have at least one cat.”

  “I never wanted one but I think I’ll keep this family,” Lizzy said.

  “Good for you, sister. Now, Blake, either take me home or take me to Nadine’s café. I’m starving.”

  “Home it is. Nadine won’t have any electricity. At least we can rustle up food at our house,” Blake said.

  Lizzy left her new family of cats and stepped out of the bathroom. “Give me time to open a can of food for my new mama cat and fix up a litter pan and I’ll be right with y’all. No electricity means I can’t do a bit of business here right now. I’m going home with you, Allie, if there’s food involved.”

  “Me, too,” Katy said. “What are you cooking, Blake?”

  “There’s a pot of chili ready to be heated up. Allie has been craving it for a week so I made a big batch.” He slipped his arm around Allie’s waist. “And Allie made a cherry cobbler this morning.”

  “When we get done, I’ll get up on that roof and stretch some plastic over that leak until the insurance adjustor comes. Then we’ll fix it for you,” Allie said.

  Deke shook his head. “You will not be getting up on any roof. Not until after this baby is born. I’ll take care of it for Lizzy. Won’t take but an hour at the most.”

  “I’m pregnant, not dead,” Allie protested.

  “And let’s keep you that way,” Blake said.

  Chapter Nine

  The electricity came back on in town at two o’clock that afternoon. It was hard to believe that not three hours before, a tornado had ripped through Throckmorton County, leaving trees uprooted, barn roofs gone, sheet metal wrapped around trees. The mesquite trees looked like a bunch of pranksters had toilet-papered half the county, but in reality it was wet shredded paper from businesses on south of Throckmorton that had gotten hit harder than Dry Creek.

  “I’ve never seen mesquite look like that,” Lizzy said as Deke drove them all back to town. “All the leaves have been stripped off the limbs and replaced with paper. It’s kind of eerie.”

  “I saw it once or twice down around Muenster,” Toby said.

  He’d had more than two hours to think about that comment he’d been about to make in the cellar and had changed his mind about voicing it. The hatch had opened at the exact right moment to keep him from saying anything more. Granny Dawson used to say that sometimes fate stepped in to help us out when we’re about to make a big, big mistake.

  Why would he ever even think about asking Lizzy to change their relationship status from fake to real? He chalked it up to simple adrenaline from the tornado. Thank God, Allie and Blake had shown up when they did or he’d be doing some fancy back-stepping.

  He tapped out the beat of an old Conway Twitty song playing on the classic radio station. The lyrics talked about the games people play when they broke each other’s hearts.

  “We’re playing a game like he’s talking about, aren’t we?” Lizzy asked.

  “And doing a fine job, but there won’t be broken hearts at the end of our game, will there?” he answered.

  She shook her head. “We knew going into this, both with the fling and with the relationship we’re in, what we were doing.”

  “And now we’ve got a request for another Conway song today,” the radio announcer said.

  Lizzy moved her shoulders to the beat of the music.

  “What are you thinkin’ about?” Toby figured she was thinking about the night they’d gone to the bar. It had been the first date he could remember actually relaxing and enjoying himself instead of worrying about what lines it would take to get a woman into bed. Not that he’d ever had to work too hard at that.

  “Tight-fittin’ jeans, just like Conway is singing about. I was remembering all the beer that we went through at the bar that night…well, maybe not beer for me but shots of Jack Daniel’s. I didn’t marry money like he’s singing about, but I almost married a preacher, which is just as bad. I loved the feeling in that bar, Toby. I liked the noise and the dancing.”

  “And the hangover?” Even when she was drunk off her ass he didn’t feel like a seductive player just waiting to get all hot and dirty between the sheets.

  “Taught me a hell of a lesson that I won’t need to repeat,” she said with a smile.

  “And now you are back in your world and I’m in mine, like Conway says, but I won’t forget the fun we had that night, Lizzy.” The feel of her in his arms. The joy of making her laugh. Despite their differences, it was so easy to just let go and enjoy himself around her. Yes, he’d remember that night for a long time.

  “Me, either,” she said.

  Toby had to force himself back to the reality that she was looking for a lot more than he was willing to give, no matter how much fun they had together. Lizzy was a good woman and he hoped all her dreams came true, but the very thought of settling down, of being a father—well, bring on his usual pickup lines and morning-after breakfasts for nameless women.

  Lizzy bailed out of her truck before Toby had time to come around and open the door for her. She caught the keys when h
e tossed them over the hood toward her and opened up the store and flipped on the lights. That was the moment that the whole experience hit her full force. She’d been so grateful to be alive that the logistics didn’t surface until she saw the trash can sitting in the middle of the store and remembered the destruction in the back room.

  Where was she going to put her feed and barbed wire when the new order came in? There were lots of empty stores in town. Katy owned four of them but she’d already leased the café to Nadine and had promised two of the others to Sharlene and Mary Jo. The last one was the old hotel across the street and down the block from the feed store.

  What Lizzy really needed was the empty store right next to hers. It had been a grocery store at one time and had a big storage room in the back that would be perfect, but Truman O’Dell owned the building. She might as well wish for hell to freeze over or for Toby Dawson to change his type from a leggy blue-eyed Barbie to a dishwater blond with brown eyes and a curvy body. Neither one was likely to happen.

  Toby crossed his arms over his chest and studied the situation with her. “Okay, the way I see it for the short term is this, Lizzy. I’ll put the idea out there and you think about it until your orders come in. We’ve got an empty barn on the ranch and whatever you’ve got coming in to restock what blew away can go out there. You can write folks up a ticket here and they can bring it out to the ranch where I’ll make sure they get what they bought all loaded up.”

  The first lick of the nail gun snapping down the plastic tarp on the roof above her made her jump and brought her new cat out from the office. Toby picked her up and held her close to his chest.

  “Poor mama cat,” he crooned. “Did that mean old storm scare you or were you hiding those babies out there in the back room? I bet that’s the real story. You had those babies back in a corner and brought them inside when we left the door open.”

  Lizzy had been shifting the trash can, with a couple of gallons of water in it, to one side, but she stopped long enough to rub the cat’s ears. “You did good, mama cat. Taking those babies to a room in the center of the place was smart. It’s what I would have done with my babies if I couldn’t get down inside a cellar.”

  All that talk about babies sent another streak of shivers down Toby’s backbone. He shifted the cat over into Lizzy’s arms and changed the subject. “So what about putting the feed out at the Lucky Penny until you can get your storage room rebuilt?”

  “I’d like to have the store right next door, but Truman owns it,” she said.

  “That most likely means that you won’t ever get your hands on it. Sounds like Deke is about done up there, so I’ll take this out back and dump it for you.” He picked up the heavy trash can like it weighed nothing.

  The store phone rang and Lizzy set the cat down on the checkout counter. She promptly jumped down, picked something up in her mouth, and with one leap she was back with a dead mouse, which she deposited beside the phone and purred loudly. There was no way Lizzy was answering the phone with a dead mouse laying right beside it.

  “Looks like she brought you a present. Think it would offend her if I took it away?” Toby chuckled.

  Lizzy took two steps back and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I don’t care if it hurts her little feline feelings. That right there is the number one reason I’ve never had a store cat. I absolutely hate mice—dead or alive.”

  Toby picked up the vicious creature by the tail and slung it out the back door, then went straight to the bathroom to wash his hands. She picked up a spray bottle of disinfectant cleaner and wiped down the whole counter with the cat right behind her, leaving paw prints everywhere before the cleaner had time to dry. Lizzy’s cell phone rang and she recognized the tune so she answered without even looking at the ID.

  “Hello, Allie,” she said. “This cat brought a mouse and put it right by my cash register.”

  “She’s showing you that she appreciates you letting her live in your store,” Allie said. “I called the store phone. Was the mouse close to it? Is that why you didn’t pick up?”

  “Yes, it is. Do you need something?” Lizzy asked.

  “Well, that was abrupt,” Allie answered.

  “I’m sorry.” Lizzy rolled her eyes toward the ceiling in time to see another wet spot not two feet from the actual hole. “I think I may need a whole new roof and the back room will have to be rebuilt and I’m stressing out, Allie.”

  “Okay, settle down. I’ve already called the lumberyard and gotten my estimates for repairs. Deke has promised to give me a couple of weeks’ work so we should have the roof fixed and the back room rebuilt within a week,” Allie said.

  “Blake is going to let you put a roof on?” Lizzy asked.

  “My marriage contract doesn’t say a damn word about being submissive. It does say love and respect.”

  “Whoa, sister!” Lizzy held up her free hand defensively. “If you want to put a roof on my store and build a new storage room out back, I’m not saying another word.”

  “Good. That is settled. Toby already talked to Blake about putting your supplies out here until we get finished. Two miles for a vendor to bring the stuff or for your customers to get feed and wire and posts is a hell of a lot closer than having to drive all the way to Throckmorton or Olney.”

  “Thanks, Allie. I appreciate that.” Lizzy dropped her hand. “We should know something by the end of the week about the insurance, and then you can get started on your part of the job. I feel better already.”

  When she hung up and turned around, Toby was right behind her, cat in his arms again. “Blake isn’t going to let her fix a roof and rebuild that room for you, is he?”

  “We Logans aren’t delicate flowers. We’re tough as cow tongue cactus. I’m not arguing with her and if you and Blake are smart, you won’t either. Deke will do the heavy lifting, trust me. He loves her,” Lizzy said.

  Toby’s phone buzzed and he set the cat on the counter so he could check the message. A broad smile covered his face and he shoved it back in his pocket without replying. “At least she’s tame and she’s a mouser.”

  “Are we talking about my new cat, Miz Stormy, or the woman on the phone?” Lizzy asked, and immediately wished she could cram the words back in her mouth.

  “Miz Stormy? Name fits her well. As for the other, what makes you think it was a woman?”

  “You would have answered it if it had been family.” No way was she telling him that she’d guessed it was a woman by the smile that the message created. She’d been right in breaking off the fling with him; Toby was probably never going to be ready for the things she wanted in life.

  “Yes, it was a woman. Why? You jealous?” he teased. “It’s nothing I’m going to answer,” he added quickly. “I can’t be talking to other women when we’re dating.”

  “Fake dating,” Lizzy reminded him, steeling herself. She was so not jealous. Not the least little bit.

  “Even so”—he took a step closer—“I’m not a cheater. Fake or otherwise.”

  Lizzy tried not to get dizzy looking up into his blue eyes. It was hard not to be mesmerized. It took everything she had not to push herself to her tiptoes and bring her lips to his.

  He placed his hands on her shoulders and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “So you’re naming her Stormy?”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. Clearly he hadn’t felt the intensity of the moment the same way she had.

  He ran his hand down the length of the cat from ears to the tail. “Sounds fitting. Should have been your name.”

  “You don’t like Lizzy?”

  “I love your name, but Stormy fits your attitude better.”

  The cowbell sounded above the door but Lizzy didn’t move an inch. Unreal or not, she needed to convince folks that what she and Toby had was genuine. Besides, she admitted to herself, she liked being close to him.

  Lizzy looked over Toby’s shoulder and asked, “What can I do for you, Truman?”

  “I came to tell you not to ask me f
or the use of my store building and to buy a new hammer. Tornado made off with my best hammer I had to leave out in the yard when me and Dora June made a run for the cellar. Left the drill layin’ right there and took the hammer.”

  “Did I ask for the use of your store building?” Lizzy moved away from Toby so she could see the man better.

  “No, but you were going to and I wanted to tell you right away not to even ask.”

  “Well, that’s right neighborly of you,” she said sarcastically. “But you are smack out of luck. I don’t have a hammer to sell you.”

  “You are just like your crazy old grandma,” Truman said.

  “Thank you.”

  Truman pointed at a shelf with hammers of several different sizes and weights. “And what is that?”

  “Those have all been asked for from folks who need to get some work done on their places. I have a salesman coming in a few days. Check back with me then and, Truman, don’t talk about my granny again or call her crazy. And one more thing before you drive on down to Throckmorton to buy a hammer, I don’t want or need your store. I’m storing my supplies out at the Lucky Penny.” She paused long enough to enjoy the look on his face. “If you will need any wire, posts, or feed this next month, you might want to pick that up while you are in Throckmorton since I heard you wouldn’t be caught dead on the Lucky Penny.”

  Truman shook his finger under her nose. “You will pay for this, Lizzy. God spoke this morning when he blew away part of your store.”

  She stood up straight and rounded the counter. “What did he do to your place? Other than take your hammer?”

  “Blew off a roof, stole one of my goats, and broke the window above Dora June’s kitchen sink.” Truman started toward the door.

  “Maybe God is mad at you for being so hateful, Truman. Ever think of that?” Lizzy said.