Cowboy Take Me Away

by Jane Graves

  “She was in the office a week ago for a cleaning. Velma had to go over her teeth twice before she thought they were clean enough. Plus, I’ve heard things.”

  Shannon didn’t have to ask to know what “things” he was talking about. One Christmas her mother had insisted that Mary in the nativity scene in the town square be repainted so her smile would look more realistic. She said Mary wouldn’t have looked quite so happy after the rigors of childbirth, even if it did result in the baby Jesus.

  They got out of the car and started up the walk. “Beautiful house,” Russell said.

  Shannon agreed. She had always loved her parents’ house, from the stately wraparound front porch to the second-story stained glass windows to the turn-of-the-century millwork that accented the peak of every roof.

  “It’s the original homestead of the Danforth estate,” Shannon said. “My parents bought it thirty years ago when Mildred Danforth moved to an assisted living facility in Austin. The homeless animals she was taking care of at the time were the first residents of the shelter. Actually, she once owned all the land that eventually became Rainbow Valley.”

  “I heard she died fairly recently.”

  “That’s right. Just before I moved back here.”

  They went to the door and Shannon rang the bell. Several seconds later her mother opened the door. She wore a pair of gray slacks and a silk blouse, accompanied by just enough jewelry to make a statement without being ostentatious. Her hair was swept into a perfect chignon highlighted by a silver comb, evidence that she’d spent a few hours that day at Tasha’s Hair Boutique.

  Astrid was tucked under her arm looking newly coiffed herself, wearing her usual pink bow and sweet doggy smile. She was an engaging little Pomeranian Loucinda treated like a third child, a perfectly behaved third child who did as she was told, barked only when spoken to, and was quite content to spend most of her days just lounging around looking beautiful. Neither of Loucinda’s daughters, for their own reasons, had ever been the lap dog she’d so desperately wanted.

  “Dr. Morgensen,” Loucinda said, reaching out a perfectly manicured hand. “I’m so glad you could come this evening.”

  Russell took her hand. “Please. It’s Russell.”

  “Russell,” she said with an ingratiating smile. “Do come in.”

  She closed the door behind them, and Russell held out the wine. “This is for you.”

  Setting Astrid down, Loucinda took the wine, admiring the vintage and the label. Shannon’s father, Jerome, came into the entry and shook Russell’s hand, but Loucinda cut that short by shoving the wine at him and escorting Russell into the living room herself.

  When they entered the room, Shannon saw Eve sprawled on the plush Bridgewater sofa, poking away at her iPhone. Her hair, brassy red this week, hung in thick waves across her shoulders. She wore a tie-dyed skirt she’d gotten at a craft fair in Austin, flip-flops, and a skintight lime green shirt that left very little to the imagination from the waist up. It was as if a Woodstock hippie had traveled through time and landed in an Ethan Allen showroom.

  “Hey, you guys.” She tucked her phone into her pocket and scooted over, making space for the two of them on the sofa. “I just sold a vintage brooch to a guy on eBay. I was finalizing the deal. If only I hadn’t caved in and sold it to him for twenty-five percent off, I might have actually made money on it.”

  “So what sob story did you buy into this time?” Shannon asked.

  “Hey, it wasn’t a sob story!” Eve said, then twisted her mouth with irritation. “Okay, so it was a sob story. He wants to give it to his wife to wear to their daughter’s wedding.”

  Sucker, Shannon thought, even though it was nice that Eve at least had a heart. In her profession, it meant she’d probably be broke forever, but to Eve, the story was way more important than the money.

  They sat down on the sofa, and Astrid promptly leaped up and plopped down next to Russell.

  “Oh, look at that!” Loucinda said, beaming. “Astrid likes you!”

  But Shannon wasn’t entirely sure Russell was returning the love. Astrid was very sweet, but she had no radar when it came to snuggling up next to a receptive ear scratcher. Russell patted her head, then pulled his hand back to his lap and shifted uncomfortably. The slacks, his body language said. Move away from the slacks.

  Jerome sat down on his throne—a La-Z-Boy recliner in cranberry leather with power recline and Shiatsu massage. Ever since he’d retired from his law practice, he’d divided his time between that chair and Majestic Golf and Country Club, an exclusive property halfway between Rainbow Valley and Austin where the rich folks gathered for golf, gossip, and gastronomics.

  “You have a lovely home,” Russell said.

  “Why, thank you,” Loucinda said. “But it wasn’t always that way, you know. It was an absolute horror when we bought it. It hadn’t been updated since the 1930s, and there was so much to do. We recently went through another round of renovations to bring it into the twenty-first century.”

  “That was fun,” Jerome muttered.

  “That was necessary,” Loucinda said.

  Jerome looked at Russell. “‘Necessary’ meant we had to paint all the walls exactly one shade darker. I’m still trying to figure that one out.”

  From the look on Russell’s face, he didn’t know which person to side with. In the end, he just said nothing.

  They made small talk for a few minutes about the weather and the economy, and then Loucinda announced it was time for dinner. They gathered in the dining room, where she’d set the table with one of her three china patterns and the most ornate silver she owned. Classical music filled the air, wafting out of the sound system she’d insisted on installing during their last renovation.

  “So how’s business?” Shannon asked Eve as they sat down. “Aside from giving brooches away.”

  “Great. I have two new estate sales booked. Lots of good stuff.” She turned to Loucinda. “Oh, Mom! I found something just for you.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “A Mickey Mouse wall clock. It would look très chic over your fireplace. A hundred and twenty-five bucks. Want me to reserve it for you?”

  Loucinda gave Eve a long-suffering look, then turned to Russell. “I’m afraid Eve has a very odd sense of humor.”

  Eve shook her head sadly. “I try to save the good stuff for family members, but do they appreciate it? No, they do not.”

  “We already have something over our fireplace,” Loucinda said, then turned to Russell. “It’s a portrait of Emmaline North, Jerome’s mother. She died fifteen years ago.”

  Russell glanced over the fireplace, and Shannon saw his face crinkle ever so slightly. No wonder. The portrait of Grandma North was a frightening thing. Shannon had always thought she looked like Cruella de Vil minus the two-tone hair and the full-length fur coat.

  “It’s…lovely,” Russell said.

  “It was painted by Frederick Durand,” Loucinda said. “He was one of the premier portrait artists of the mid-twentieth century. It cost Emmaline thousands to commission his work.”

  If he was so damned good, Shannon thought, why couldn’t he make her smile?

  But no matter what that portrait looked like, Loucinda would hang it over their fireplace until the world turned to dust. If she didn’t, she knew for a fact that Grandma North would crawl back from the grave, tell her how ungrateful she was, and make life hell for her for the rest of eternity.

  They filled their plates and began to eat. Russell took a bite of Loucinda’s Monterrey Chicken and told her it was excellent. As Loucinda thanked him with the proper humility, Eve leaned over and whispered to Shannon under her breath. “He gets ten points for complimenting Mom’s cooking. If he reaches a hundred, he gets to marry you.”

  Shannon glared at her sister. Will you knock it off?

  “So, Russell,” Jerome said, “you haven’t been in town long, but I hear your business is booming.”

  “It keeps me busy,” Russell
said. “But I don’t mind hard work. That’s what it takes to build a successful practice.”

  “Ten more points,” Eve whispered.

  “Your clinic is very attractive,” Loucinda said. “You have lovely taste.”

  “I hope it’s not too masculine,” Russell said. “It probably needs a woman’s touch.”

  “Twenty points,” Eve whispered.

  Shannon kicked her sister under the table.

  “So why did you become a dentist instead of a heart surgeon like your father?” Jerome asked.

  “I considered cardiology,” Russell said. “But I decided I didn’t want to be on call for the rest of my life.” He smiled at Shannon. “I’m more suited to being a family man.”

  When Loucinda looked delightfully impressed, Eve whispered, “He gets a hundred points for that alone. Can you hear the wedding bells?”

  Shannon would have loved to have given her sister another swift kick, but it was all so close to the truth she had a hard time mustering one up.

  “Shannon told me you and Jerome just got back from a cruise,” Russell said.

  “Yes,” Loucinda said. “The weather was perfect, and the tours were spectacular. Of course, there was always the chance of pirates.”

  “Mom, you were in the Mediterranean,” Eve said. “Not off the coast of Somalia.”

  “You never know these days,” Loucinda said. “The world is a dangerous place.”

  Russell and her parents expanded their vacation talk, soon discovering they’d both stayed at the same exclusive boutique hotel in Miami and had dinner at the same five-star restaurant. Shannon felt strangely disconnected from all of it. In spite of the fact that she’d done her share of high-class traveling with her family as a child, she’d never felt particularly in tune with that kind of lifestyle. She took a big swig of wine, then scooped up her last bite of chicken, wishing the evening was closer to being over.

  “Hey, Shannon,” Eve said. “Heard you hired Luke Dawson to be the new caretaker at the sanctuary.”

  Shannon froze, her fork hovering over her plate. It took about five seconds for her to thaw enough to look at her mother, whose eyes were wide with shock and whose fork was similarly stuck midair. Russell looked back and forth between them, clearly wondering what might be causing the floating flatware. Eve, of course, was still eating with the zeal of a lumberjack. The only thing that stopped Shannon from killing her sister right then and there was the overabundance of witnesses to the crime.

  “Excuse me?” Loucinda said. “You hired Luke Dawson?”

  “Yeah,” Shannon said, trying to sound as unconcerned as she could. “It’s only temporary. For three months or so.”

  Loucinda’s face slowly took on a red tinge, and for a moment, Shannon seriously thought she might have choked on something.

  “I heard he was in town for his father’s funeral a week or two ago,” Loucinda said, “but I thought he was long gone by now.”

  “He came back.” Shannon stuck the bite of chicken in her mouth and swallowed, nearly choking herself.

  “But I don’t understand,” Loucinda said in that tone of voice that suggested she’d rather be shouting than speaking rationally. “Why in the world would you hire Luke Dawson?”

  “Who’s Luke Dawson?” Russell asked.

  “He used to live here,” Eve said. “He raised holy hell in high school. Most people thought he was the devil himself.”

  Russell blinked. “You hired the devil himself?”

  “He’s not the devil,” Shannon said. “And he’s not a kid anymore.”

  “I’ll say he’s not,” Eve said. “I saw him walking into the real estate office downtown the day of his father’s funeral. Wow. Just…wow.”

  Shannon pursed her lips and gave her sister the Evil Eye. But Eve just smiled and kept on eating. Russell turned to Shannon, his brow furrowed. “So how old is this guy?”

  “He and Shannon were in the same class at Rainbow Valley High,” Eve said. “So he’s probably twenty-nine.”

  Twenty-nine years old…devil himself…double wow…

  And that furrow in Russell’s brow grew deeper still.

  Loucinda slowly lowered her fork to her plate, still gripping it so tightly her fingers whitened. “Luke is just an employee,” she said to Russell. “Performing manual labor at the shelter. That’s all.” So he’s no competition for you. None at all. Feel free to date my daughter.

  Shannon stood up, grabbing her plate. “Come on, Eve. Help me get dessert.”

  “No,” Loucinda said. “You girls stay here. I’ll do it.”

  “Nonsense,” Shannon said, grabbing her mother’s plate. “You probably spent all afternoon in the kitchen.”

  Eve picked up her plate and Russell’s and followed Shannon into the kitchen.

  “Wow,” Eve said, as the kitchen door swung closed behind them. “I’m thinking Mom didn’t know about Luke yet.”

  “Yeah?” Shannon said, glaring at her sister. “What was your first clue?”

  “The vein popping out on her forehead.”

  “How did you even know?”

  “Well, it has been over two hours since you hired him. Freddie Jo told Rosie, who told Tasha, who told me.”

  Forget Facebook and Twitter. The speed of the Rainbow Valley grapevine made social media look like the Pony Express.

  “Did you have to drop that bomb right in the middle of dinner?” Shannon said, setting the plates beside the sink.

  Eve shrugged. “She was going to find out soon enough. Might as well rip off the Band-Aid.”

  Actually, it was probably the best place for her mother to get the news. With Russell around, she was forced to be on her best behavior.

  “But Mom was the least of your worries,” Eve said. “I thought Grandma North was going to pop out of that painting and go for your throat.”

  Shannon had been a little afraid of that herself. Grandma North’s hypercritical nature had been legendary. If Loucinda had scrambled her whole married life to be good enough for Jerome, how would Grandma North feel about Shannon even speaking to Luke Dawson?

  “So why Luke?” Eve said.

  Shannon pulled a coconut cream pie from the refrigerator as she explained the situation. Unfortunately, the longer she talked, the weaker her logic sounded.

  “So not only did you hire a man with a terrible reputation,” Eve said, “he can’t even walk?”

  “He can walk,” Shannon said. “He just can’t do…you know…oh, hell. I couldn’t get anybody else to take the job. He was willing to do it, so there you go.”

  “Sure you don’t still have a thing for him?” Eve said, retrieving plates from the cabinet.

  Shannon’s heart skipped. “I never had a thing for Luke.”

  “Then you were the only girl who didn’t.”

  Russell came into the kitchen, and Shannon tossed her sister a sidelong glare. Nothing more about that subject. Absolutely nothing. Do I make myself clear?

  Russell sidled up next to Shannon, looking mildly distressed. “Your mother hated the wine, didn’t she?”

  “No. She liked it just fine.”

  “It was sixty bucks a bottle.”

  “All the more reason for her to love it.”

  “She made a face when she drank it.”

  “Lighten up,” Eve said. “She liked it. After all, you’re a doctor. You could have brought her a bottle of Drano and she’d have poured it into the Waterford and choked it down.”

  “Not doctor,” Russell said. “Dentist.”

  “That’s fine. As long as she can eventually say, ‘Meet my son-in-law, Dr. Morgensen,’ she’s happy.”

  Shannon gave her sister a deadpan look, then turned to Russell. “Sorry. Eve has no filter.”

  “Oops,” Eve said. “Here comes Mom.”

  Loucinda swept through the door, her heels tapping. “Now, Russell. Guests aren’t allowed to help. Why don’t you go back to the dining room and keep Jerome company while we girls get dessert?” />
  Russell obediently scooted out of the kitchen.

  “You two have this under control,” Eve said, handing Shannon the knife. “I think Dad needs more company.”

  Thanks a million, sis.

  As Eve slipped out the door, Loucinda said, “Now, about Luke Dawson—”

  “I needed a caretaker. He wanted the job. Supply, demand. That’s all there was to it.”

  “No. That Dawson boy has no business back in this town, much less anywhere near my daughter.”

  “Mom, your daughter is nearly thirty years old. I’ve been making my own decisions for quite some time now.”

  “I just don’t understand why you would jeopardize your relationship with Dr. Morgensen by fraternizing with the likes of that man.”

  “There’s nothing to jeopardize,” Shannon said, cutting a slice of pie and depositing it on a plate. “We’ve dated only a few times.”

  “Well, it’s pretty clear to me Dr. Morgensen is looking for a wife.”

  Shannon wanted to beat her head against the counter. “A wife? Aren’t you jumping the gun just a little?”

  “Deny it if you want to, dear, but your suitability for each other is obvious to everyone in Rainbow Valley.”

  Shannon couldn’t deny that. That was the way it was in Rainbow Valley. People were paired up as if they lived on Sesame Street. Which of these things look the same? That’s right, boys and girls! Shannon and Russell! They’re both pretty people with professional degrees. They belong together!

  “Stop the speculation, Mom,” Shannon said, scooting more pie onto plates. “Just because we’re dating doesn’t mean a wedding is right around the corner.”

  “Men like Russell don’t come to Rainbow Valley every day,” Loucinda said. “He’s interested in you, so you’d do well to pay attention. He comes from a good family. His father is a heart surgeon, you know.”

  Good Lord. If Shannon heard that one more time…

  “Luke Dawson is a distraction you don’t need. Have you forgotten what his father was like?”

  “He’s not like his father,” Shannon said.

  Loucinda’s mouth settled into a grim line of disapproval. She swept two of the plates of pie off the counter. “It’s a mistake,” she said on her way out the door. “That’s all I can tell you. Hiring that man is a mistake.”