My One and Only Cowboy

by A. J. Pine

“But when he gets ready to settle down or if Valerie decides to step down from runnin’ the ranch, he will inherit Prairie Rose and this one will be yours alone. Lila Harris is your first love, right?”

  “Can I answer? You told me to be quiet.”

  “Just nod.”

  He did.

  “I saw her at the bull riding tonight. She sat at the top of the stands all alone. I watched her actions without her even knowing it. Emma talks about her all the time and Rustin thinks she flat out hung the moon. I hear that Silas went right to her when y’all went for ice cream last night.”

  He nodded again.

  “I stand by my reasoning back when you and Lila were teenagers. She was wild and I could see that you would mess up your life if you got involved with her at eighteen.”

  “And?” Brody asked.

  “I could feel what she was experiencing tonight. Neither Wes nor my first love rode bulls but when you came out of the chute, I was experiencing that rush that I used to get when I was sneaking off to see—” She stopped before she said his name.

  “Sneaking?” Brody’s eyes widened.

  “Dad didn’t think he was good enough for me. Like I said, he was a dreamer, not a rancher, and I had a lot of responsibility toward Hope Springs. Back to what I was trying to say—she had eyes for no one else tonight and almost fainted when the bull was chasing you. She left before the rides were finished. I know that feeling that she had, and I expect your heart reacts the same way when you’re around her, right?”

  Another nod.

  “Then it’s time to see if there’s enough left for another chance or to get over her,” Hope said.

  “Was it worth losing your first love for this place?” Brody asked.

  “At this point in life, I can say yes, it was,” she answered. “If I’d done what my heart wanted instead of what my mind knew was the right course, you wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation with me.”

  A long, heavy pause hung over the room like dust at the rodeo arena.

  “You’re thirty years old and so is Lila. You have a chance that I never had. You cannot re-create the past. It’s gone and done with. Decisions made. Consequences paid. But if you see something in that woman, then you have the opportunity to see if there is a future there,” she said.

  Brody almost fell out of his chair. “You aren’t against me seeing her?”

  “You’re a grown man and you had a lot of responsibility laid on your shoulders when your grandpa and daddy both died that summer. I’m proud of you, Brody.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he said.

  Hope inhaled and pulled her hands free. “Always in a hurry. That’s your decision. Lila is a responsible woman with a pretty good head on her shoulders from what I’ve found out since she came back to Happy. I knew that wild girl but I don’t know the woman Lila. Take my advice and either get her out of your system while she is here or else do something about the attraction. It’s time for you to have a child so Hope Springs can live on through another generation. This summer needs to tell the story of who the mother of that child will be.”

  “Again, Jace?” he asked.

  “I told you. He will inherit your folks’ place when Valerie steps down like I did, probably in the next couple of years at the most, and he will sign Hope Springs over to you and move back down the road to Prairie Rose,” Hope said. “And that is the confidential part.”

  “And Kasey?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. Now it’s well past my bedtime and you need to get a shower. You’ve got dirt in your hair and behind your ears.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned.

  She covered a yawn with her hand. “Good talk, as you kids say today.”

  “It was and thank you, Granny,” he said.

  “But,” she whispered, “let Jace think I gave you a hard time. It keeps up my image.”

  “You got it. I’ll take care of the cleanup here and see you in the morning,” he said.

  “Bright and early. Ranchin’ starts with daylight and ends when there’s not enough light to see anymore.”

  “Amen.” Brody rose to his feet and kissed his grandmother on the forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

  Hope stopped at the door and turned around. “Your mama has never forgiven Lila’s mama for trying to get between her and Mitch Dawson when they were in high school, so you might not get off so easy with her. But that’s not my business so you’re on your own there.”

  Chapter Eight

  Lila hated the church social, where everyone who had ever preached at the church, had ever attended, or who had even lived in Happy was invited back for a reunion of sorts. More than once in her younger years she’d faked sickness in an attempt to get out of going but it never worked. Molly insisted that they were going to close the café just like always and go to morning services and then to the social.

  “No buts about it,” Molly said seriously as they prepared for the breakfast run that morning. “Your mama started the tradition when she managed this place and we ain’t changed it.”

  “I’m not going. I’ve got two kittens I have to take care of today. They’re in new surroundings and I need to spend time with them,” Lila said.

  “You’ll be home all evening to do that.” Molly slid another pan of chicken and dressing into the oven to warm. “You can tell them cats bedtime stories and rock them to sleep.”

  “Okay,” Lila sighed. “I’ll rush back to my apartment and get a shower right after we close.”

  “Good! Glad that the spiritual light finally showed through into your soul.” Molly slapped a thick slice of ham on the grill for the next breakfast order.

  Molly was a tyrant. Lila loved her and appreciated her staying on at the café until she could get the place sold, but good grief, Molly was the same to her as Hope was to Brody. They both had a grandmother figure who was doing their dead level best to make their lives miserable.

  “If I didn’t love you like my own kid, I wouldn’t tell you what to do. You can ride with me.”

  It was less than a mile to the church and Molly parked as close to the back door as she could so she could unload the food. The kitchen was empty but four tables were laden with covered dishes. Space had been left at the end of the first table for Molly’s four large pans. When they were situated to suit her, she pointed toward the door leading from there to the sanctuary.

  “You go on in and get settled. I’ll be there soon as I make a stop in the restroom.”

  Lila nodded and headed toward the sound of “I’ll Fly Away.” Well, now, that was a fitting song to hear since she would have rather been appreciating the handiwork of God while riding her bike down in the canyon rather than in a packed church that morning. Flying away to anywhere sounded better than sitting on a hard oak pew.

  She found the song in the hymnal and sang the last verse along with everyone else. The choir director stepped aside and the preacher took his place behind the pulpit. Feet shuffled, folks whispered to children to settle down, a few old men cleared their throats, and a couple of Amens floated out over the church.

  The preacher had just read the scripture when Molly took her place beside Lila. “Good timin’. I won’t miss the sermon.” Molly set her purse and Lila’s on the floor. “I brought your purse. You left it in the kitchen.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  The preacher said something about sin being in many forms and then hesitated. It was during that pregnant pause that the phone in her purse started playing an old tune, “Heaven’s Just a Sin Away.” She’d turned the volume as high as it would go earlier that day because she expected a call from her mother. In the quiet church, it sounded like it was coming from a concert stage.

  Some folks tried to part the back of her hair with dirty looks; others giggled. She blushed scarlet and grabbed her purse, plopped it down on the seat between her and Molly, and started digging for the phone. It stopped before she could get a grip on it and she set
the purse on the floor again.

  “Like I said...” The preacher’s booming voice reached to the back of the room. But then Lila’s phone started again, as if trying to help him prove the point. She grabbed the purse and, thinking she had both handles, jumped up to get out of the building. Blushing crimson, she stepped out into the center aisle, hit the lopsided purse on the edge of the pew, and sent everything in it flying everywhere. She dropped to her knees and started gathering it all up, snatching the phone first, but it slipped from her hands and skittered under the pew right beside her.

  Valerie Dawson’s high heel hit the thing and sent it back another pew. Lila was ready to crawl in that direction when Brody left his seat, knelt in front of her, and helped her get everything put back in place. Her face burned like fire with embarrassment when Rustin crawled out from under a pew and handed the phone to Brody. It had stopped ringing but every eye in the entire congregation was on them. Some would even have kinks in their necks tomorrow from trying to see around other folks. The buzz of whispers filled the place as Brody handed it to her.

  “As I was saying,” the preacher cleared his throat, “sin comes in many forms.”

  “Guess he don’t recognize your music or he’d know you were agreeing with him,” Brody whispered as he extended a hand to help her and made sure she was seated before he returned to his own pew.

  The preacher went into a long-winded explanation about sin and Lila sent a text to her mother: Church. Annual social.

  She immediately got one back: OMG! So sorry!

  “Why in the world do you have that song on your phone?” Molly said out the side of her mouth.

  “Mama always liked it,” she answered.

  “Well, thank God she didn’t call during benediction,” Molly said.

  Lila should have set her foot down and refused to go to church that morning. This whole thing was one big omen telling her that she did not belong here. She’d smooth things over with Brody to ease the anxiety in her heart and then she wasn’t doing one thing but working and talking to her cats. No more church, not even if Molly did quit.

  The little church was so full there wasn’t room to cuss a cat without getting a mouthful of hair. Paul McKay’s wife, Gracie, a short, round woman with a bouffant hairdo and enough perfume to douse down the whole church, was on the other side of Molly and then there was her husband and another couple beyond that.

  Lila felt someone staring at her, so she took a quick look over her shoulder and right into Brody’s sexy blue eyes. He winked slyly and she started to whip around but caught Valerie Dawson glaring at her. After the morning she’d had, she wasn’t going to let that woman intimidate her, so she slowly slid one eyelid shut. Valerie’s jerky body language said that she was totally offended.

  Tall, dark haired, and slim built, Valerie had always had a no-nonsense way about her that reminded Lila of those old tintype photographs—the ones where the woman looks like she could cut steel with her eyes and would shoot first and ask questions later. Lila straightened her back and smiled. Valerie’s cold eyes piercing her head like a bullet didn’t matter. She’d lived through the embarrassment and Brody had helped her right out in public, even though they hadn’t parted on good terms. And now that she’d had time to settle down, she thought the whole episode was humorous. She couldn’t wait to tell her mother about it.

  The sermon seemed to last an eternity. She bit back a sigh when the preacher finally asked Paul to deliver the benediction. There was a little more room on the pew when he stood to his feet, bowed his head, and gave thanks for everything from the beautiful day to the folks who’d come from afar to attend the social. Lila began to think that the whole congregation was going to die of starvation before Paul wound down and said, “Amen.”

  But finally he got around to thanking God for the food they were about to eat in the kitchen and for the hands that had prepared it and said the magic word that made everyone in the church pop to their feet.

  “Hey.” Gracie McKay reached out a hand toward Lila the second they were standing. “So is it true? You going to sell the café since Georgia retired? We are going to miss Molly so much in the Ladies’ Circle here at the church,” Gracie said.

  “Yes, ma’am, the Happy Café is for sale. If you know anyone who might be interested, just give them the phone number.” Lila nodded.

  “Well, good luck, darlin’. Much as we love havin’ a café in town, folks around here ain’t got two pennies to rub together and those who ain’t from here don’t want to be,” Gracie said.

  “Ain’t it the truth,” Molly agreed. “Let’s sneak out the back door and go straight to the kitchen. That way we don’t have to stand in line. I’ll shake the preacher’s hand before we leave.”

  Lila followed the two older women out of the sanctuary and down a short hallway to the kitchen. When they arrived, the place was already bustling with women taking covers off the dishes and getting things ready for the dinner.

  Molly grabbed her arm and led her to the far end of the tables. “You can help Valerie cut cakes and pies and get them ready to serve.”

  God hates me for sure. She should have listened to the sermon and she dang sure should not have winked at Valerie Dawson. This was her punishment for both infractions right there in the church.

  “I’d rather help with the chicken and dressing and roast,” Lila said.

  “Nonsense!” Molly protested. “Gracie and I have taken care of this job for years. You go on and help out with desserts.” Molly lowered her voice to a whisper. “Face your enemies head-on. Don’t run from them.”

  “She’s not my enemy,” Lila protested.

  “Yeah, right.”

  Gracie nudged Lila on the arm as she passed by her. “You know what they say about the social?”

  “What?” Lila asked.

  “That if you ever help serve at one, you’ll be serving at them until you die,” she answered.

  Lila sighed and went to the other end of the food line.

  Valerie handed her a knife. “You can cut the pecan pies. Make them into six slices each,” she said with ice dripping from her tone.

  Was the woman certifiably goofy, handing her a knife? Evidently she did not value her life one bit.

  She leaned in close to Lila and whispered, “I don’t like this any better than you do but we will be civil while we are in church. Understood?”

  “Mrs. Dawson, this is such a treat to get to work with you. I haven’t got to see you since I’ve been back in town,” Lila said in a voice made of pure sugar. “We can use this time to catch up. So how are things on Prairie Rose? I was so sorry to hear about Mitch’s passing.”

  “Sarcasm will get you nowhere with me,” Valerie said from the corner of a pasted-on smile.

  “And threatening me won’t get you anywhere,” Lila said.

  “I hear that you aren’t stickin’ around after the summer?”

  “One never knows what might happen by the end of August,” Lila answered.

  Brody pushed through the back door and yelled from across the room, “Miz Molly, I’m here to carry tables out under the shade trees. How many do you think we’ll need?”

  “Eight,” Gracie yelled. “We used ten last year and two weren’t used. Old folks like to sit in the cool to eat, so we’ve already got two extra ready in here.”

  Brody’s biceps strained against his plaid shirt when he had a folding table under each arm but he stopped dead when he saw his mother and Lila side by side.

  “Great to see you here, Lila,” he said from across the room.

  “Thank you,” she muttered.

  “Guess I’d best get busy or Molly will fire me.” He grinned.

  “She’s pretty tough on the hired help.” Lila smiled back as she eyeballed the three exits. One at the back, one at the side, and the last one through the kitchen. Any one of them would provide a good escape as soon as dinner was over.

  Jace met Brody midway across the church lawn and relieved him of one of th
e tables. “What happened with Granny last night?”

  “It didn’t go like I figured it would.”

  “Really?” Jace’s dark brows shot up.

  “Nope. She was pretty calm and she didn’t threaten to disown me. She says I’m thirty years old and it’s time for me to settle down but whoever I want to do that with is my decision. She did say that Mama would have a different notion because Lila’s mother tried to get between Dad and Mama when they were dating. And I’m supposed to tell you that she came down on me real hard so she won’t lose face, so that’s confidential.”

  “Small towns!” Jace said. “I love Happy but there’s a part of me that wishes it was so big that everyone didn’t know everyone else.”

  “And who they did and where it was.” Brody nodded seriously. “Mama and Lila are in there working together.”

  Jace’s eyes widened and he sat down hard on a chair. “How in the devil did that happen?”

  Brody shrugged. “I don’t think either of them would ask to cut cakes and pies together. Molly probably has something to do with it.”

  “Holy hell! They both have knives?” Jace asked.

  Brody nodded and sat down beside his brother. “There’s a chill in the room that ain’t got a thing to do with the air-conditioning.”

  Kasey pushed a baby stroller in between them and slung an arm over each of their shoulders. “Have y’all seen Rustin? If I don’t watch him, he’ll get a plate full of desserts and nothing else.”

  Emma came running and tugged on Kasey’s hand. “Mama, Rustin is with Grandpa Paul and I’m hungry to death.”

  Brody stooped down to Emma’s level to hug her. “Then we’d better get on over to the door and get in line if you’re that hungry. What are you going to eat today?”

  “Chocolate cake and cookies.” She beamed. “And so is Rustin.”

  “And chicken?” Brody stood up.

  She frowned and nodded at the same time. “No Russell sprouts. They are nasty.”

  “I agree.” Brody took her hand and started toward the building where the people were starting to line up.