“I want to talk about us,” he said through clenched teeth.
Allie shook her head. “There is no us. Hasn’t been in seven years. There is me, and what I do or do not do isn’t a damn bit of your business. There is you, and I couldn’t care less what you do.”
“Come on, Allie. We’ve been in love since we were in grade school,” he said.
“Like I said, that ship sailed. Matter of fact, I believe it sunk in a storm and there’s nothing left of it,” she told him. “You were a sweet guy at one time, but you changed. I’m looking ahead not behind.”
“We were good together. We could be again.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “We could start fresh like Bobby Ray and Nadine.”
“Bobby Ray.” She twisted her mouth to the side. “So he came running to your house when Nadine threw him out last night, did he? I wondered how you got your information so quick.”
Riley reached across the counter and touched her cheek. “Don’t do that with your mouth. It makes you look like an old woman. Bobby Ray stayed with me last night. Nadine cheats on him, too, so she doesn’t have room to bitch. I’m sure that somewhere in our marriage you had a little fling.”
Allie slid off the stool, reached under the counter, and brought up a small twenty-two-caliber pistol. She shoved it up against Riley’s nose and he took a step back.
“Do not ever put your hands on me again. I don’t care if I look like an old woman or like warmed-over shit. If you touch me again, I will shoot you and enjoy watching you die before I call nine-one-one,” she said.
“Well, hell, Allie, you do that with your mouth too much when you are angry,” he said. “I was only trying to help like I did when we were married and I gave you advice.”
She lowered the gun and laughed out loud.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You are a regular comedian today,” she said between giggles. “If I cheated on you, I wouldn’t tell you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t tell you. Go home, Riley. It’s been over with us for a long time. And you weren’t giving me advice, you were putting me down that last few months so you wouldn’t feel guilty about cheating on me.”
“I want you back, Allie. I’ll treat you right this time. I’ll let you work,” he begged.
She shook her head slowly from side to side. “Sometimes it’s too late to do what you should’ve been doing all along. Door is closed, Riley. Let me work, indeed! Are you dumbass crazy?”
His face turned scarlet with rage. “Don’t you talk to me like that and don’t laugh at me.”
She brought the gun back up, only this time she aimed it at his crotch. “Give me a reason.”
The cowbell attached to the front door rang loudly. He took two steps back but she readjusted the gun, hoping her aim would put a hole through both balls with one shot.
Nadine stopped at the end of the counter. “What in the hell are you doing in town, Riley? And don’t be givin’ me that look. I heard that Bobby Ray holed up in your place last night. He’s back home now, but we’ve had a come-to-Jesus talk.” She turned to Allie and asked, “What’s he done that you’ve got a gun on his stuff?”
“He raised his fist at me,” Allie said.
“Then shoot him and I’ll be your witness,” Nadine said.
“He came to give me a second chance,” Allie said. “You want to spread the news so Suzanne knows what kind of man she’s quittin’ college for?”
“Are you crazy? She can damn sure do better than you.” Nadine got right into his personal space and poked him in the chest.
“I don’t know what gave her that idea. I’m a happily married man. I dropped by because I was in town. She’s lying. I would never hit a woman.” Riley pulled himself up to his full height of five feet eight inches. “I’ll be going now. I don’t have to take abuse from either of you.”
“No, but I reckon Greta and Suzanne might have some that you’ll have to take when they both hear you’ve been down here trying to get back with your ex,” Nadine told him.
He almost made it to the door when Irene rushed inside and stopped right in front of him. She stomped one foot on the wooden floor.
“You bastard. What in the hell are you doin’ in my store?” she demanded. “I hope God strikes you graveyard dead. And God hears the prayers of little children and crazy old women, so you’d best get on out of here.”
“I’m leaving.” He turned back to give Nadine an evil smile. “You ever tell her about us?” The slamming door echoed through the store like a shotgun blast.
“Did you screw him, too?” Irene turned on Nadine.
Nadine blushed and covered her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry, Allie.”
“Before or after we were married?” Allie asked.
The sobbing started.
“I asked a question,” Allie said loudly.
“After,” Nadine sobbed. “But only two times. He said that you couldn’t keep him happy, that you hated sex and wouldn’t even sleep with him. But I wasn’t the only one, Allie.”
“Sharlene?”
Nadine dropped her hands and nodded. “But before y’all were married.”
“And Mary Jo?”
“Right before Greta,” Nadine whimpered.
Irene threw up her hands in disgust and went straight back to the office where she sat down in the office chair and turned on the television. Allie could barely think straight, but she made a quick call to her mom to let her know Granny was safe and sound before turning toward Nadine.
Nadine froze in the spot where she’d been standing when Riley was still there. “I am so sorry. I came to town to ’fess up to you. Honest, I did. I heard you were runnin’ the store for Lizzy because she’s sick, and I came in here to tell you that I won’t be flirting with Blake Dawson anymore. I didn’t know you were interested in him and I feel so guilty for what I did with Riley, I’d never do that to you again, Allie. You deserve better.”
Allie should feel something other than indifference. Four women including Greta had slept with her husband either before or after she married him. One was standing right there within slapping distance. She should hate her but the only thing she felt for Nadine was pity. “Well, thank you for that but you should be thinkin’ about your wedding instead of my feelings.”
Nadine took a step toward the counter. “You have always been too nice. We were all so jealous of you in high school and then afterwards when you married Riley. Every girl in school was in love with him and he chose you. We all hated you for that.”
Allie wasn’t in a hugging mood so she hoped to hell Nadine didn’t come around the end of the counter and expect to have a girly-type hugging fest. “Don’t look like much of a catch now, does he?”
Nadine’s chin quivered and more tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving long streaks of black mascara in their wake. “I’m bored. I want my own café, but that’s not going to happen. Bobby Ray wants me to quit my job when we get married. If I’m bored now, just think what it will be then. I’m so jealous of you. Always have been because you have something that is yours and you work for it and you are happy.”
Allie’s mind went into high gear. “Rent one of the empty buildings and put in a café. We could use one in Dry Creek. You might not make a million dollars a year, but it will give you something to do. I’ve eaten your cookin’ at the church socials and you’re good at it.”
“I’m not as smart as you. I can cook but a business requires book work and I never was real good in school,” Nadine said.
“Sharlene is good at bookkeeping. She works at a bank and could help you with that,” Allie said.
“Do you really think I could do this?” Nadine whispered.
“Yes, I do,” Allie said.
Nadine cocked her head to one side. “You reckon your mom would rent the old café building to me? It’s already set up with a kitchen. Would take a lot of cleanup but it would cut down on start-up cost.”
“Go ask her. She might even rent to own so that if you get
it going good you could buy the place from her,” Allie said.
“Why didn’t I think of that rather than hating you for having what I wanted?” Nadine asked.
Allie laid a hand on Nadine’s arm. At first the woman flinched and then she grabbed the hand and brought it to her cheek. “Like I said, you’ve always been too nice.”
“I can be a real bitch. Ask my sister if you don’t believe me. Or ask Deke or Blake. But the past is gone and today is all we get. You might want to talk to Bobby Ray before you talk to Mama. He’s a lot like Riley in that he expects his little woman to stay home and raise kids.”
Nadine took a deep breath. “Right now is the perfect time to do this because he won’t tell me no. Not after last night. Thank you, Allie. You might have saved my sanity.”
Allie looked out the front window at the buildings across the street and imagined all of them with clean windows and prosperous businesses. “Think Sharlene would want to rent one of the buildings? Or maybe Mary Jo? We might turn this town around if all the women who are bored had something to keep them busy.”
“Lord, honey, Mary Jo can cook, but not like Nadine. But, oh, my gosh, Allie, she might put in a beauty and barbershop combination in the old barbershop. I’m going to talk to her and Sharlene, too.” Nadine clapped her hands like Irene did when she got a chocolate cupcake.
Allie followed her to the door. “Just remember, you aren’t going to get rich here in Dry Creek but it might make you feel a lot better.”
The door had barely shut behind her when Allie’s phone rang. She recognized Deke’s number and answered after the second ring.
“Are you holding a grudge? This isn’t like you, Allie,” Deke said bluntly.
Riley? Nadine? How did Deke know all that so quickly? “Grudge for what?”
“Come on. All last night wasn’t Blake’s fault so why didn’t you show up for work this morning? He told you he kicked that ex of his to the curb after you left and I believe him,” Deke said.
“Well, it damn sure wasn’t my fault!” she shot right back at him.
“I didn’t say it was. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, so why aren’t you on the job today?” Deke asked.
Blake yelled in the background. “Hey, Deke, I’ve got five messages from Allie. Her sister is sick and she’s down at the feed store. I left my phone on the kitchen table this morning.”
“What’s the matter with Lizzy? Did she finally wake up and realize that she’s engaged to a jerk and it made her sick to think about what a fool she’s been?” Deke asked.
Allie popped up on the counter and crossed her legs Indian-style. “I want to go back to what we were talking about before. Why did you take Blake’s side first? I’ve been your friend a hell of a lot longer than he has.”
“Yes you have and that’s why I didn’t like it when you were sinking back into that ugly mood you got in after the divorce,” Deke said. “I was afraid you’d lose your mind that first year after Riley left.”
Allie didn’t want to talk about the past. “So I’m ugly?”
Deke lowered his voice to a whisper. “I did not say that. I said you were in an ugly mood and you’re not going to twist your way out of this. If you didn’t like Blake and I mean more than a friend, you wouldn’t be carryin’ on like this.”
“You are acting like a girl.” She laughed.
“I’m your best friend, so I have to act like a girl for you to listen to me. Just don’t ask me to wear pink taffeta and be your bridesmaid when you get married again. I draw the line at that,” he said.
“Darlin’, you don’t look good in pink taffeta. I was thinking purple silk, something with a big skirt and a sweetheart neckline,” she teased. “And FYI, I’m not getting married again and if I did it would involve a twenty-minute trip to the courthouse in Throckmorton, not a big wedding. Go eat your dinner and get back to work. With any luck I’ll be back on the job tomorrow morning.”
Deke lowered his voice to a whisper. “The hussy did not come back last night. And Bobby Ray spent the night at Riley’s place, but he and Nadine made up this morning.”
“Gossip travels fast,” she said.
“Nothing speedier in the whole world especially with the help of a cell phone and texting. Got to go.”
“Bye, Deke, and thanks for the call.”
“You betcha and Blake is yelling for me to tell you that he will call you back soon as we get done eating dinner.”
Allie’s coffee had gone lukewarm, but she sipped it anyway. The first tinkling, haunting sounds of the piano announced a song by Conway Twitty started on the radio. She tapped a finger on the counter to the beat in her head. He sang about standing on a bridge that just wouldn’t burn. Allie shut her eyes and pictured an old wooden bridge. Riley stood on the other end with his arms open wide, a smile on his face, beckoning to her to take the first step. In the vision, she took out an imaginary chuck of blazing firewood and set the damn thing on fire.
“Good-bye, past. Hello, future,” she mumbled.
Blake was in the dozer with Shooter right beside him when he called Allie. She was out of breath when she said, “Hello.”
“Busy at the feed store today?” he asked.
“Quiet except for a little drama this morning and then I had a run this afternoon for feed. I was in the back of the store making tickets for half a dozen ranchers who were loading their trucks when I heard the phone. I’d left it on the counter beside the cash register,” she explained.
“I can call back,” Blake said.
“It’s okay. I can talk,” she said. “Everything is taken care of right now. Granny is watching television and eating doughnuts in the office, while Mama has her usual school lunch rush. Hey, guess what? Nadine may open up a café here on Main Street.”
Blake put the phone on speaker so he could talk and drive at the same time. “I wanted to tell you that Scarlett left right after you did last night. I guess a person can’t run from their past, can they?”
“Riley came in here this morning wanting to give me a second chance. Then that old song by Conway played on the radio. Remember ‘A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn’?”
“No but I can understand the title after last night,” Blake said. “Are we okay, Allie, until we can talk face-to-face?”
“Did you hear what I said? He wants to give me a second chance; not me give him one.” Allie’s tone changed.
Blake chuckled. “Now I understand.”
“I’ll be back at work tomorrow or Friday at the latest. My goal is to have your bedroom done by Saturday evening,” she said. “We can talk then.”
“And then you’ll go out with me for dinner and a movie. Maybe up to Wichita Falls?” he asked.
“Tell you what. I’ll go out with you when I have that room done. It can be our celebration,” she answered.
Blake pumped his fist into the air and Shooter barked. “I could help you so it would be done by Saturday night.”
“How good at painting are you?” she asked.
“I can roll paint just as good as anyone and I’ll be more than glad to help out.”
“And now I have a customer so I’d best get off the phone. Thanks for calling, Blake, and yes, we’re okay for right now.”
It was another rancher needing a pickup load of feed and that didn’t take long. Allie checked on Granny and then went back to her stool. She should have been dancing a jig around the store that Blake had asked her out, but instead she had a rock in her chest.
“It’s because I’m falling right back into the same pattern I had with Riley. He calls the shots and I do the dancing,” she mumbled.
“No, you are not going dancing,” Granny said at her elbow. “You are not going to a bar where they do that hoochy-cooch dancing. Your sister is marryin’ a damn preacher and you’ll ruin her reputation. I’m going back over to your mama’s store. She made pinto beans and ham this morning and I’m hungry for more than doughnuts.”
Allie helped her into her coat and followed her t
o the door, stepped outside in the bitter cold and watched her until she was safely inside the convenience store, and then went back to her fretting stool. It was only dinner and a movie with a friend; it wasn’t a date. Not even after all those hot kisses, it still wasn’t a date. She’d ask Deke to go with them to prove that it was friendship and not the beginnings of a relationship.
Chapter Sixteen
Blake made sure his phone was fully charged and in his shirt pocket instead of leaving it on the kitchen table. He could hardly believe that it was Friday. In ten days his house had gotten a brand-new roof and his bedroom was getting a fine remodel. Things were falling into place even better than he could have hoped for when he first moved to the Lucky Penny. He had missed seeing Allie the past two days while she worked at the feed store but he hoped she’d be back at the Lucky Penny that day.
He’d barely crawled up in the dozer when the phone rang, and he hurriedly pulled it from his pocket and smiled brightly when he saw that Allie was calling.
He answered before it rang the second time. “We’ve got to stop all this talking on the phone. I miss you, Allie. I miss seeing your gorgeous smile and having you sit beside me at the dinner table. I miss talking to you. It’s not the same around here without you, and Deke is getting depressed. Poor old Shooter misses you, too.”
“I’m at the store today,” Allie said. “Not the feed store but Mama’s place. Lizzy finally felt well enough to go to work, but Granny is lethargic so Mama took her back to the doctor to make sure she’s not coming down with the stomach bug. She was afraid to let it go over the weekend. You and Deke want to come into town for dinner? We’ve got a big pot of taco meat simmering and we’re serving tacos with pinto beans and dirty rice. I’ll treat today. If you wait until the school rush is over, I can even sit down and eat with you guys.”
Blake smiled and nodded to himself. She talked too much when she was nervous. He wanted nothing more than to hug her, to calm her from whatever was creating turmoil in her life, but most of all he wanted to be near her again. Even if he couldn’t kiss her or hold her, he wanted to share space with her, be able to look at her. It seemed like a hundred years since that craziness when Scarlett showed up at his house and even longer since Allie stormed out past him in that damn robe. He was glad she’d burned the thing. He never wanted to see it again.
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