“You got that right. So tell me more.”
She took a deep breath. “Finally Henry gave up and married another woman. They weren’t married long enough for the ink on the license to get dry but Victoria Radner had gotten pregnant during that time and Henry Hayes Radner Wells was the son they had from that misbegotten marriage. But Henry had told her about Ruby Lee and how much he’d been in love with the woman. Bless his heart, that was about a stupid ass thing to do and Victoria put all the ill feelings on Ruby Lee. She spent the thirty years trying to buy out the Honky Tonk so she could burn it down because she thought Henry was seeing Ruby after they were married and before the divorce.”
“How was that possible?”
“Victoria had a business in Dallas and thought she’d change Henry into a citified dandy. Henry had a big ranch up north of Palo Pinto and thought she’d become a ranch woman. Neither one would budge. So he lived on the ranch and she lived in the fancy house in Dallas and they saw each other on weekends until they figured out they’d both made a huge mistake.”
“What a tangled up mess,” Holt said.
“Yep, so anyway, Hayes, aka Hank, paid Daisy and Cathy a visit one night trying to buy the place and they put him packing. Then Daisy and Jarod finally admitted they were in love and she gave Cathy the joint, the cars, and the motorcycle in the garage and she and Jarod went to Cushing to live.”
Holt looked over at Sharlene. With the sunlight lighting up her hair and green eyes, she was even more enticing than she’d been in the barn. “What happened next?”
“Cathy took over and that’s when Tinker was still the bouncer. He was almost as big as Luther and twice as mean. It was New Year’s Eve and Gretchen Wilson was singing ‘Redneck Woman’ on the jukebox. The whole crowd was doing the countdown with Gretchen’s words. Like ‘ten, hell yeah; nine, hell yeah’ when Travis arrived. He wanted to kiss someone at the stroke of midnight so he just walked right across the floor and laid one on Cathy. He didn’t know she was the owner or that she’d be his neighbor.”
“You got to be shittin’ me,” Holt said.
Sharlene crossed her heart and held up two fingers like a Girl Scout. “When Cathy told me the story I said the same thing. It’s the pure gospel truth according to Larissa and Cathy both. I’m just giving you the bare bones but anyway, Amos hired her to work during the day for the oil company. The trailer was back behind the Tonk and she and Travis were constantly in each other’s company. Then her old boyfriend had her kidnapped and Travis rescued her. I guess she went up to Mena and knocked the pure old shit out of him before they came back to Texas.”
“And then they got married and as Judd says, ‘they lived happily never after’?” Holt grinned.
“Oh, no. He took a job in Alaska and she cried. But he found out somewhere along the trip that he didn’t want wings to fly as much as he wanted Cathy so he came back, fell down on one knee, and proposed right there in the Honky Tonk in the same spot where he’d kissed her on New Year’s Eve. Then they went to Shamrock, Texas, to run a company for Amos, which they’ve bought out since then.”
“Now Larissa,” he said.
“Well, she’s rich as Midas and she’d been everywhere for about six or seven years. And I mean every corner of the earth looking for happiness. So one day up in Perry, Oklahoma, she pulled down a map in her fancy house, turned around a few times, and stuck the pin in the map. It was smack dab in the middle of Mingus. So she moved to Mingus.”
“Is this part of your book or the truth?” he asked.
“Pure unadulterated, one hundred proof, guaran-damn-teed truth.” She raised her hand and even crossed herself.
“Go on then,” Holt said. They’d just gone through Wichita Falls. He hit the brake and reset the cruise control to a slower speed. He was fully awake and wanted to know the whole basic story even if it did take longer to get back to Mingus.
“So she came to Mingus and could not believe that fate had such a horrid sense of humor. She rented a hotel room down in Stephenville and was about ready to go home when she drove through town one more time and saw the house you are living in for sale. She bought it and believe me, it looked even worse in those days. Hadn’t seen paint since the original was put on in the thirties. One night she got to craving a martini and went to the Honky Tonk because it was the only joint open on weeknights. At first Cathy thought she was there trying to buy the place for Hayes but they became friends and before long Larissa was bartending for her.”
“I’m seeing a pattern here. Fate sends the women to the Tonk. They become bartenders and then fate sends them the love of their life,” Holt said.
“That’s the way it’s worked in the past.” Sharlene looked out the window. They’d all fought fate and they’d all lost. Was she next in line? She couldn’t remember asking herself so many questions. Or having fewer answers.
“Keep talking, please,” Holt begged.
“Okay. After Cathy and Travis got married, Larissa took over the place. Hank, who was also Hayes, came to the area for a month like he did every summer. When he was a little boy it was Henry’s visitation rights. When he grew up he came to get away from the city. He kind of had two lives just like Larissa. They had a hell of a lot in common but neither of them were opening up and admitting who they really were.
“So he was coming into Mingus in one of his dad’s old work trucks. I guess he was on his way to Stephenville for a tractor part. He was driving into Mingus and so was she. He was in the truck and she was in her fancy little vintage Mustang when a deer jumped out in front of him. He swerved but hit the thing anyway and it bounced back toward her. They both slid all over the road and ended up in the ditch. Her car wasn’t hurt but Henry’s truck was messed up because it came to a halt up against an old oak tree. Luther used the company tow truck and pulled them out of the ditches and took Hank home. You got to remember now that Hank slash Hayes had been trying to buy the Honky Tonk forever for his mother. By then they had investors and were going to turn Mingus into an amusement park if they could get everyone in town to sell their places. So he had been trying to figure an angle to meet Larissa and dig up some kind of weak spot to make her sell to him. And there they were crawling out of their vehicles, giving him a perfect chance to get to know her on the sly.”
Holt grinned. “This damn thing really does sound like a soap opera on television.”
“Doesn’t it? Wonder if we could sell the premise to one of the major companies and start a new soap. We could call it Honky Tonk Angels!” she said.
“I get half the profit if you do.”
“It’s not your story,” she argued.
“But I encouraged you to put it all in chronological order so I’m as good as the producer,” he said.
“Twenty-five percent and I get seventy-five,” she bartered.
“Thirty-five.” His eyes sparkled.
“Okay, it’s a deal. If we ever sell Honky Tonk Angels to the big soap opera world you can have thirty-five percent of the take,” she agreed.
“Well, don’t stop now. What happened?” he asked.
“Okay, there was enough heat between them to cause the people with the global warming stuff to start to worry. I mean every time they got together sparks flew and boom, they fell in love,” she said.
“The end?” he asked.
“Not quite. He was in and out of the Honky Tonk as well as her house. She helped him haul hay and made him help paint the house. Imagine how he felt when she told him what colors she’d chosen.” Sharlene smiled.
“I don’t have a bit of problem imagining that scene. I bet his nose hairs curled as much as mine did and I didn’t even have to deface a perfectly good house like he did, but tell me the rest of it. How’d she find out he was really Hayes?”
“She and her buddies put together a town meeting and invited the Radners to attend.”
“Holy crap! And all this time she had no idea that Hank was really Hayes?”
“Not a clue until he walked
into that meeting.”
“What happened?” Holt was really into the story.
“They had a big fight out behind the garage and he left. When he tried to call her and explain she put the phone on the jukebox and played ‘My Give a Damn’s Busted.’ She wouldn’t talk to him at all, period. Then her mother came to Dallas to this big charity to-do and wanted Larissa to go with her. Stop right here and hear a little about Doreen, her mother. She’s a short redhead like me and people thought I was her daughter instead of Larissa because Larissa’s father is Indian and Mexican. Remember what she looked like that time you saw her at the ranch? She has dark hair and eyes. Doreen had Larissa while she was in college and her parents and a nanny raised the baby while she ran all over the world and had affairs with very young men.”
Holt shook his head. “More and more like a soap. Write up the pilot and let’s sell it.”
“I don’t do script. Only prose,” she said. “So anyway, when they got to the charity thing Hank was one of the men being sold at the bachelor auction to raise money. Larissa paid something like fifteen thousand dollars for him and then left him sitting in a rundown fish café in Dallas. But it broke the ice and he finally moved back to the county and won her heart. It took some doing and there were times when I thought the charm had finally failed, but they finally settled the fight and lived ‘happily never after.’ The end.”
“It’s not the end. You are still in the picture,” Holt said.
“But you know all about me. You just spent a whole day with my family and you are part of the extended story. You are building an addition on to the Tonk and living in the Bahamas Mama house. There’s no hidden identity. No old boyfriend to kidnap me. Nothing exciting going on here.”
“Then tell me more about Iraq.”
They were driving through the hilly north side of Palo Pinto County where the road twisted and curved back on itself. Up in the area where Larissa and Hank lived. She wanted to ask him to stop, but it was already getting dark and it wasn’t fair to leave Tessa alone at the beer joint too long. She didn’t want to talk about Iraq or the nightmares or what she did there. She wanted to suppress it all and forget it.
“There’s nothing more to tell about Iraq. I spent two years there and I can describe it in three words. Hot. Hotter. Hottest. Most of the time it was the last word. Like I’ve said before, Iraq and the war over there is something you either did and saw or didn’t. Words aren’t worth a damn in that case. And besides, I talk too much and have already told you about Iraq.”
“Sharlene, I love to listen to you talk. It’s like listening to those tapes where someone is reading. Your voice is soothing and smooth and you have a way with words. No wonder you can write a book,” he said.
“Thank you but you are covering your ass,” she said.
He pulled the truck into the full Honky Tonk parking lot. People were crawling out of their trucks and cars and heading for the porch.
Holt turned to face Sharlene. “I’m telling the truth. I’ve loved listening to the Honky Tonk Angels story. We’re home and I didn’t even mind the drive. But now I have to take these kids who have slept for five hours home and try to get them to sleep tonight. Tomorrow is a school day.”
“I forgot about that. Poor babies are up past their bedtime.”
“They’ll be home at three thirty every day ready for a snack and a nap after the weekend and a late night tonight.” He unhooked his seat belt and hurried around the truck to open the door for her and retrieve her bags.
“Thanks for going with me, for driving, and for…” she giggled.
When she stepped out he wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her to his chest. “Thank you for a wonderful weekend.”
He tipped her chin up and kissed her hard right there in front of everyone in the parking lot. “I loved every minute of it.”
“Even those with Dorie?” she asked.
“Oh, yes, ma’am, even those with Dorie.” He grinned. He wasn’t about to tell her that that half hour he spent with Dorie had convinced him that Sharlene was special. Dorie’s touch hadn’t set off any bells and whistles and her voice wasn’t honey in his ears like Sharlene’s. Dorie did not pour molten desire in his veins like Sharlene did when she brushed up against him.
“Then why the hell are you kissing me?” she snapped.
“You go figure it out and I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said. Explaining would require a commitment. Holt wasn’t ready to go that far.
***
The place was hopping. Every lusty redneck cowboy and cowgirl in five counties had evidently decided to start their week with dancing and drinking. Tessa and a stranger were behind the bar when Sharlene threw her duffle bag under Luther’s chair and made her way across the dance floor to the bar.
Tessa waved from the mixed drinks section. “Hey, hey, you made it earlier than I figured you would. Grab a tray and get two pitchers of Coke and Jack ready. Meet my sister, Darla. She was sitting on my doorstep when I got home today. She’s moving in with me and Luther for a while until she can get her own place. I told her she could work tonight for tips,” Tessa said.
“Glad to meet you, Darla.” Sharlene mixed Jack Daniels and Coke together in a pitcher being careful not to create a fizzy top on it. “Thanks for helping out while I was out of pocket.”
“I need a job and I’ve done this kind of work. Need some full-time help?” Darla asked.
“Tess?” Sharlene looked at her.
She nodded.
“You’re hired. We’ll talk about wages and benefits later tonight,” Sharlene said.
“Thank you,” Darla said. She was as tall as Tessa, only slimmer built and no glasses. She had the same luminous green eyes and dark hair, smooth complexion, and smile.
“You are twenty-one, aren’t you?” Sharlene asked.
“Twenty-three last month. Not married. No kids. Bad taste in men. I’m four years younger than Tess,” Darla said.
Another soap opera segment begins, Sharlene thought with a grin. “Okay, ladies, they’re starting a line dance. You know what that means.”
“Set ’em up and get ready for the stampede,” Darla said.
“You got it, girl,” Sharlene said.
After the joint closed down Sharlene popped the tops off four bottles of beer and carried them to the nearest table. “So you still think you want to work here after tonight?” she asked Darla.
Darla tipped up the bottle and took a long gulp. “Yes, I do.”
“Tell me now if you’ve got any bad habits like drugs or alcoholism,” Sharlene said.
“Just horrid luck when it comes to men. There ain’t many Luthers out there and if there was I couldn’t find him with both hands and a flashlight. I don’t have a damn bit of luck when it comes to men. Tess is the lucky sister,” Darla said.
Tess laid a hand on Luther’s arm. “I know it!”
Sharlene took a long drink of beer and set the bottle down on the table. “Well, if being unlucky with men was a sin, a hell of a lot of us would have hell’s fire licking at our rear ends. I pay minimum wage to start with. Raise in three months if you’re still around and one of the cowboys hasn’t talked you into running off with him. One free beer a night if you want it after work and if you want to clean the place up before hours, that’s extra money and up to you,” Sharlene said. She remembered when Larissa gave her the same deal and she’d been glad to get it.
Darla didn’t hesitate a minute. “Deal and yes, I will come in an hour early every night and do cleanup to get the extra money.”
“Okay, now my turn,” Tessa said. “I want off either Saturday or Monday night.”
“You got it,” Sharlene said.
“Just like that?” Tessa asked.
“Hey, you’re good help. Six nights a week is a load. Plus you work from noon to five every day for the oil company. You’re going to burn out if you don’t take some time. You want a night off too, Luther?” Sharlene asked.
“Who’d you get t
o be a bouncer for you?” Luther asked.
“I expect Kent would do it in a heartbeat on Monday nights. Loralou doesn’t come around that night because she has to work a three to eleven shift on Mondays. So you want a little time off with your woman?” Sharlene teased.
“Talk to Kent. If he’ll take the job, I’ll take a night off.” Luther nodded.
“What about you? You want a night off too?” Tessa looked at Sharlene.
Sharlene held up both palms. “Hell, no! The Tonk is my life. Once in a while I might ask you to open for me but I’ll be here. Except for that week when I’ve promised my friends I’ll come for a visit and sign books in their home towns, I’ll be right here.”
***
She made it through the whole week and weekend without going back to the orange rocking chair on Holt’s porch. But the next Friday night she was a mess. She locked the Honky Tonk doors and paced from one end of her apartment to the other. The only thing that was going to put her mind at ease was sitting on Holt’s front porch so she picked up her keys and headed for the garage.
She parked on the road and sat down in the chair so easily that it didn’t even startle the stray wild cat snooping around the end of the house. She sighed deeply when she looked up at the stars and the half-moon. The cat slinked past her and took off in a run toward the trees on down the road.
“Can’t sleep?” Holt asked from the corner of the house.
“I was being quiet,” she said.
“Come on in the house. I’ll make us some hot chocolate and we’ll watch a movie. Maybe that will help,” he said.
She stood up. “I’ll go on home. I can’t keep disturbing you like this. I don’t know what it is about Friday nights.”
“Maybe it’s knowing you won’t see the kids until Monday,” he said.
“Could be. I’ve gotten pretty attached to them,” she answered.
“Well, I can’t sleep either so you might as well come on in,” he said.
“Are you sure, Holt?”
“Yep, fact is I was about half expecting you tonight,” he told her.
“Really?” she asked.
He smiled. “Maybe I was just hoping.”
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