“They call Blake the wild Dawson and his brother, Toby, the hot cowboy. They say that they can talk women out of their underpants in less than two hours of the time they meet them.”
Deke threw back his head and laughed. “So that is the reason you wouldn’t look at him at the dinner table. Don’t worry, darlin’, you can super-glue your under britches to your butt and you’ll be safe.”
Allie moved on down the roofline. “Maybe I want him to sweet-talk me.”
“What did you say?” Deke yelled.
“Nothing,” Allie replied from the other end of the roof.
Chapter Five
The squeaky sounds of rusty hinges told Blake that he had to start making sure his doors were locked. If Irene had arrived five minutes earlier she would have walked in on him strip-stark naked standing in front of the fireplace. Thank goodness when she eased the door open he was wearing flannel pajama pants and a long-sleeved thermal knit shirt. Before the door closed he grabbed his phone from the end table and hit the numbers to call Allie.
While he waited, he picked up the remote control, put the television on mute, sighed, and threw back the throw he’d tossed over his legs. Shooter’s ears popped up and he growled but he didn’t move a muscle.
“Gettin’ kind of slow there, old boy. I heard the hinges squeak before you did. And we thought that we were moving to a quiet place. Boy, were we wrong,” Blake said.
“Walter, darlin’.” Irene stopped and glared at Shooter. “When did you get a dog and what is it doing in the house? They have fur to keep them warm outside. They don’t belong in the house.” Irene crossed her thin arms across her chest. That night she wore purple sweat pants and cowboy boots that didn’t match on the wrong feet. Springs of gray hair poked out around her hot pink stocking hat. The stained work coat was three sizes too big and bright red lipstick had sunk into all the wrinkles around her mouth.
“Shhh! You’ll hurt my dog’s feelings, Miz Irene. Have a seat. I’m making a phone call,” he said.
“I didn’t come over here for you to shush me, Walter. Do you think it’s easy getting out of that house? Well, it’s not and besides it’s cold out there. I swear to God on the Bible, it’s going to snow before the end of the week.”
Allie answered on the fifth ring. “Hello.”
“Hi there. This is Walter,” Blake said.
“I’m on my way as soon as I can get my boots and coat on,” she said.
He returned the phone to the end table, flipped the lever on the side of his worn brown leather recliner, got to his feet, and dragged a wooden rocker up close to the fire. “Here, darlin’, you must be freezing. Sit right here and warm your hands while I make you a cup of hot chocolate. Can I take your coat?”
She must have loved Walter a lot, not only to trudge through the snow, but to wear a coat that weighed half as much as she did. It’s a wonder that the thing didn’t fracture her frail shoulders.
“Yes, you can and I like my hot chocolate with lots of extra cream, but you know that, and why aren’t you wearing your glasses tonight? You know you can’t see anything without them.”
“I got those newfangled contact lenses, remember?” he said.
Irene squinted up at him. “Those what?”
“Little tiny lenses that go right in my eyes,” he said. “I don’t have to wear glasses all the time now.”
“That’s crazy, Walter. I bet they were expensive if there is such a thing and your mama paid for them to make you feel guilty about wanting to move her in with your brothers, didn’t she?” She eased down into the rocking chair and held her hands out to the blazing fire. “When did you get that fancy chair? Did she buy that for you, too? I’m not surprised since she let you bring that mangy mutt in the house. She’ll do anything to guilt you into keeping her with you forever.”
Once she was settled, he went to the kitchen and put a cup of milk into the microwave for a minute. While that heated, he searched in the cabinets and found a box of instant chocolate mix. When the milk was ready, he removed it and added the mix plus a heaping tablespoon of coffee creamer, stirred it well, and carried it to the living room.
“Did you put in the extra cream?” Irene asked.
He set the chocolate on the coffee table. “Of course I did, ma’am. I know exactly how you like your hot chocolate. Be careful now. The mug is hot.”
“Don’t you ma’am me. I’m not your mother or an old lady.” She picked it up and wrapped her hands around the mug. “Ahh, nice and warm for my hands as well as my freezing insides. Well, crap! I hear a car coming down the lane. Who would be coming around this late? Don’t folks have any manners at all? You don’t go visiting after dark. It’s not proper.”
“Maybe someone lost their way and needs directions or maybe they’re turning around in the driveway,” he said.