Paxton just grunted and headed for the bathroom at the end of the short hallway. He’d never been a morning person, but neither was Hud, so they made pretty good roommates. At least there were only two of them in the little two-bedroom house these days. Last year all four of them—Paxton, Maverick, Hud, and Tag—had lived in the place. Some mornings it had been like four old bears were coming out of hibernation until they got their first cups of coffee.
Hud tossed his hat and wet coat on a chair just inside the door and headed to the kitchen. He put on a pot of coffee, then got out a can of biscuits, popped it on the edge of the cabinet, and put all eight of them in the oven. He was whipping up a dozen eggs when Paxton arrived and went straight to the coffeepot.
“Want me to get out a couple of steaks and cook ’em to go with those eggs?” he asked.
“Yep,” Hud said.
Paxton put a cast-iron skillet on the burner, let it get hot, and then slapped two thick sirloin steaks in it. “I’m jealous as hell of my brother and yours.”
“Because you miss their cookin’, or because they woke up this mornin’ with a woman in their arms?” Hud asked.
“Both,” Paxton said. “I thought us four would be chasin’ skirts and two-steppin’ at the bars until we was at least forty.”
“Times change,” Hud said. “Maverick told me that Alana, the tall blond woman over in Daisy, has a thing for you. If you want a wife, maybe you should chase her down when you get back that way this summer.”
“Whew!” Paxton wiped his forehead in a dramatic gesture. “Don’t think so. That woman scares the bejesus right out of me.”
“Why?” Hud asked.
“She can outdo everything I ever tried.” Paxton let the steaks sizzle on one side for a few minutes and then flipped them over. “I want a woman who will at least see me as a little bit of a hero.”
“And Alana ain’t that woman?” Hud asked.
“Nope,” Paxton said.
“You decided when you’re moving out?” Hud asked. Paxton and his brother, Maverick, had inherited the family ranch over in the Panhandle, near a little town called Daisy. Their grandmother had deeded it over to them a few weeks ago, about the time that Maverick got married.
“Maverick needs me.” Paxton rubbed his chin. “He’s workin’ from daylight to midnight. I feel guilty that I haven’t gone out over there, but…”
“Hey.” Hud laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ve got Tag, and we can hire a couple of local boys to help out on weekends and for the summer. You should go home.”
“You sure about that?” Paxton asked.
“Very sure,” Hud said.
“Thanks.” Paxton put the steaks on two separate plates. “Maybe I’ll get things together and go the first of next week, then.”
“We’ll miss you, but you got to do what you gotta do,” Hud said. “What I’ll miss the most is your steaks.”
Paxton pulled the pan of biscuits that he’d put into the oven earlier and shared them between the two plates. “Eat up! A hero has to keep up his strength in case he has to run into another burning building.”
“I’ll miss you and your steaks, but not your smart-ass mouth,” Hud teased.
* * *
“Mornin’.” Dixie smiled as she entered the kitchen. “Sounds like we got us one more storm out there. Thank y’all for sending me some clothes to wear. I was beginning to think I either had to wear those dirty things from the fire or else that hospital gown.”
Dixie sure looked better than she had in the hospital the night before. It was amazing what a little sleep and clean clothes, even if they were used, could do for a woman. Rose remembered basic training and having to crawl through mud puddles under a barbed wire fence. A shower had never felt so good as it did that night.
Reluctantly, Dixie laid the baby in the bed. “This is so pretty. She’s always slept in a wooden crate I found behind the café where I cooked. She looks like a little princess.”
Rose peeked into the portable bed. Sally curled up on her side in her pink gown. She had a thumb in her cute little mouth, and her dark hair, which had been almost gray with smoke the day before, was sticking up in all directions. Rose reached down into the crib and touched her soft, chubby cheeks. Something inside her stirred, telling her that her biological clock was ticking pretty loudly.
I’ve still got time. She sighed. But someday I want kids. I never liked being the only child, so I want at least two.
She’d learned years ago that she didn’t need anything more than a good job and the ability to travel. She lived in the barracks, ate in the mess hall, and worked fourteen hours some days, but now she’d begun to yearn for more—a relationship, a family, and maybe even roots instead of wings.
Did she even want to think about that job in Fort Worth? It would mean renting an apartment, buying furniture and dishes, and all that kind of thing. Reenlisting would be so much easier. All she’d have to do was sign her name on the dotted line, move her suitcases back into a room, and go back to what she already knew. It would be going against what her heart was telling her, but it would be the easy way out.
“What do you think, Rose?” Dixie asked.
“I’m so sorry. I was woolgathering. What do I think about what?” Rose asked.
“About fate being real? I was just tellin’ Luna that I never believed in fate until now,” Dixie said.
A loud knock on the door made all three women look toward the foyer. “Hold that thought,” Rose said and headed toward the door. She smiled at the short pregnant woman with light brown hair and kind eyes on the other side of the threshold. “I’m Rose O’Malley. You must be Claire. Come on in out of that horrible rain. Hud told me you’d be coming by. Have you had breakfast?”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m Claire, and I did have a piece of toast, but I’m pregnant, so I’m always hungry.”
“I had a friend in the service who said the same thing,” Rose said. “When are you due?”
“In a month,” Claire answered. “I’m seeing the doctor once a week now. Thank you for letting me stop by today. I’m really excited about meetin’ Dixie.”
“Can I help you with your coat?” Rose asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Claire said.
“Aunt Luna’s got the food on the table. We were just about to sit down. We can visit while we eat,” Rose said.
Claire removed her coat. “Lead the way.”
Luna had put out pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast on the bar separating the kitchen and dining area. “Y’all help yourselves. I’ll get down another plate. I expect that you are Claire. Hud told us you’d be droppin’ by.”
“Yes, ma’am, and thanks for inviting me to breakfast.” Claire laid a hand on her stomach. “This little boy is always hungry, and this all looks so, so good.”
“I’m Dixie Boudreaux, and I remember those days when I couldn’t get enough to eat,” Dixie said. “When are you due?”
“In a month, but the doctor says the baby is big, so he could come a little early.” Claire helped her plate and stopped to look at Sally. “Your little girl is precious. How old is she?”
Dixie’s eyes lit up. “She’s three months old, and her name is Sally.”
“Did Hud tell you about the job?” Claire asked.
Rose poured a mug full of coffee and set it in front of Claire. “Yes, he did.”
Claire buttered her pancakes and topped them with warm maple syrup. “I’ve been lookin’ for over a month for someone to help me out in my quilt shop. I’m going to need extra hands when the baby is born.”
“I helped my granny quilt a few times when I was a little girl,” Dixie said. “I’m a fast learner at anything you want me to do.”
“It would be full-time and as long as you want it. If you’re interested, you could start right away, and if we’re both satisfied with the way things are working out, we’ll make it permanent. My shop used to be a house, so you’d have a bedroom and bathroom all to yourself, and a kitchen. I’
m open from nine to five and have quilting classes one evening a week, and I’d pay you minimum wage here at first,” Claire said.
“Can I talk to Miz Luna and Rose about it before I say yes?” Dixie asked.
“Of course,” Claire said, “just let me know when you decide.” Claire turned her attention to Rose. “I remember seeing you at Maverick and Bridget’s wedding out in Daisy, but I don’t think we were introduced.”
“My best friend was the maid of honor, and I was visitin’ with her, so I kinda crashed the reception,” Rose said.
“And Miz Molly talked you into helping out at the B&B while she’s off on her dream vacation? She and our friends the Fab Five have been talking about this for months. None of them have been on a real vacation in years,” Claire explained.
“Who’s the Fab Five?” Rose asked.
“Five elderly folks who bought a house in Sunset and moved into it together. All of us love them and have included them in our extended family. They’re just a little older than Molly, but she’s gotten to be good friends with them since they attend the same church.”
“That’s so sweet,” Rose said. “But now, how do you know Hud?”
“I’m married to Levi, the foreman at the Longhorn Canyon ranch. Justin Maguire, who co-owns the ranch, is married to Hud and Tag’s sister, Emily. She worked at the assisted-living facility where the Fab Five used to live. It’s kind of like an extended family on the two ranches,” Claire answered.
“Wow, everyone really does know everyone here, huh?” Rose said.
“It’s true,” Claire laughed.
“More pancakes?” Luna asked.
“No, but thank you,” Claire answered. “I hate to eat and run, but my doctor’s visit is in a few minutes. I’ve got to be going.” She fumbled in her purse and laid a business card on the table. “My cell number and the business number are on that. You can give me a call when you make up your mind, Dixie. I sure hope you say yes and can come to the shop soon. That way, you’ll be settled in when I go into labor and have the baby.”
“Will I be able to keep Sally with me while I’m workin’?” Dixie asked.
“Sure. There’s even a baby bed and a playpen already in the bedroom. I put them in there so when I have this child, I’ll have a place to keep him, but I can always clean out the storage room and make another nursery.” Claire stood up. “Lord, I feel like a waddling duck these days.”
Dixie giggled. “Yep, I remember that feeling too.”
As soon as Claire was out of the house, Dixie looked over at Luna and Rose. “This job feels like a present from heaven. I’d have a place to live, a steady income, and I can even keep Sally with me.”
“I think it’s fate,” Luna said. “You was dropped off here for a reason, and that was to help Claire in her business. And she started that business however long ago, so she’d be here to help you when you needed a job.”
“Rose?” Dixie asked.
“I’d never stand in your way. If you want this job, call her. If you want to go back to the quilt shop with her today, we’ll load up your things and hold the umbrella over your head so Sally won’t get wet.” Rose hated to see her go, since she could cook. “It sounds like a fantastic opportunity for you.”
“I just can’t believe all y’all are so nice to me when you don’t even know me.” Dixie wiped away a tear. “First Hud, and then y’all, and now Claire. It’s like I walked up out of hell into heaven. ‘Thank you’ don’t seem like nearly enough, but it’s straight from my heart.”
“Then it’s plenty of thanks.” Luna patted her hand. “I never got around to asking. Just how old are you?”
“I was eighteen last week,” she answered. “I was just seventeen when I had Sally, the same age as my mama when she had me.”
That meant her mother was only seven years older than Rose. As cute as Sally was, she could barely think about being a mother, much less a grandmother at thirty-four.
“You reckon it’d be all right if I called Claire now?” Dixie asked.
“I think that would be fine. That way, you can get started today.” Luna pulled a twenty-dollar bill from her bra. “This is for you. You’ll need diapers and maybe some personal things for yourself before your first paycheck.”
“I’ll only take it if I can pay it back when I get that first check,” Dixie said.
“Deal,” Luna said.
She might be downright weird, and she definitely looked like a bag lady, Rose thought, but Luna had a heart of gold, and Rose was glad that she’d shown up the day before.
Chapter Six
The rain continued all through the night, but when Rose awoke on Friday morning, the sun was shining brightly into her bedroom window. The smell of coffee floated up the stairs. That meant Luna was already up and around, and probably had a big breakfast waiting on the bar.
Today, Rose decided, they’d go out at noon. Maybe to that little Italian restaurant where she and Hud had gone the first day he had showed up in her shop. The thought that she might see him warmed her face more than the sun rays coming through her window. She sat up in bed and stretched.
Then she flopped back and stared at the ceiling, focusing on nothing, and just like she’d done in junior high school, she wished that she’d had a life like Hud’s—stable parents, a big ranch to explore, and most of all, siblings. She’d been dealt a whole different set of life cards, so maybe reenlistment was the answer. The idea looked pretty good that morning. At least she wouldn’t wake up to leaky pipes, and she would have room and board, and a really nice paycheck each month. She could understand exactly why Dixie had jumped on the job that Claire offered. Security brought peace of mind.
“Muffins are coming out of the oven in five minutes,” Luna yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
“Be right down.” Rose threw back the covers just as Chester jumped up on her bed from the other side. She thought he had a toy in his mouth, but when he dropped it and the gray, furry thing ran, she realized he’d caught a mouse—and the damned thing was running right toward her hand. She felt like she was moving in warp speed when she left the bed and was suddenly standing on a ladder-back chair.
“Get that thing off my bed!” she screamed.
As if he understood, Chester grabbed the mouse, carried it to the middle of the bed, then let it go again. When it ran to Rose’s pillow, he quickly slapped it off onto the floor.
Rose’s heart thumped around in her chest like it was trying to find a way out of a box when the critter came right at her, scaled the legs of the chair, and scampered across her feet. With one leap she was back on the bed.
That’s when Luna came into the room, pistol in hand. “Who’s in your bed, and what’s happening?”
Rose pointed to the mouse, who was now on top of the back of the chair. Luna zeroed in on the thing and pulled the trigger. The mouse fell onto the floor and Chester grabbed him up and went back to the bed with it, but the poor animal was dead and wouldn’t run from him.
Luna picked it up by the tail. “No blood. Guess I gave the damned thing a heart attack.” She slung it out into the hallway. Chester retrieved it and took off down the steps with it in his mouth.
Rose shivered as she carefully got off the bed, her eyes still on the big hole in the wall with light coming through it. She went to the next room to find that the bullet had busted up a lamp on its way to break the glass and stick right in the eye of a poor sheep in the picture.
Luna chuckled behind her. “I was aimin’ at a mouse and done killed me a sheep.”
“What’re we goin’ to do about all this damage?” Rose muttered.
“Wonder if Hud knows anything about patchin’ holes in walls?” Luna shrugged. “We can ask him when he comes to get his bag that he left in the foyer. Right now we’re goin’ to have breakfast, then I’m going to clean Madam. You got to take care of your weapons in case another vicious mouse gets in the house. And Chester better damn well eat that whole mouse. If I find part of it layin’ somewhe
re, that cat may get my next bullet.”
“I can’t ask Hud to fix the walls,” Rose said. “That would be taking advantage.”
“Not if you pay him with kisses,” Luna grinned.
* * *
On his way into town to get another roll of barbed wire, Hud passed by the little Italian café where he’d taken Rose for dinner. He realized that it was past noon, and he hadn’t eaten anything since that bowl of cereal he’d had for breakfast sometime before daylight. As if on cue, his stomach grumbled loudly, so he whipped into a parking spot, got out of his truck, and went inside.
The moment he walked in, Luna waved at him from a booth. “Join us. We’ve got room,” she called out.
He locked eyes with Rose, and she smiled. He felt like his cowboy boots were six inches off the ground as he headed toward their booth. Her smile always affected him that way—even back in junior high school. The first day of school he’d caught her staring at him and she’d flashed a big grin. She didn’t blush or turn away, but just kept right on smiling until they were out in the hallway.
He thought for sure that as soon as Tag came up to them, her attention would shift, but she’d barely said hello and turned back to Hud. When she put her hand on his arm, his skin had tingled and his heart had skipped a beat. Strange thing was that he’d never known strong vibes since then—not until he helped her get up out of that bowl of water.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” He hung his cowboy hat on the rack at the end of the booth. “What brings you to town this cold day?” He slid into the booth beside Rose.
“We’re hungry for something other than breakfast,” Luna told him. Today, she was dressed in bibbed overalls and a red flannel shirt, and had pulled her hair up into something that looked vaguely like a hay mow that someone had spilled purple grape juice on. “That’s all I know how to cook, and Rose don’t even know that much. About all she can do is open a can or put something in a microwave, but I can’t bitch about that, since it’s my limit too after breakfast is over.”
“I guess the cat is out of the bag about my culinary skills.” Rose shrugged.
Cowboy Courage: Includes a bonus novella Page 6