Mary Jo laid a hand on the extra chair. “We really do want you to join us, Alora, even if you did upset Sharlene’s plans. You do know she’s got her eye on that cowboy and it’s not a short-term deal she’s lookin’ for.”
Nadine fanned herself with the back of her hand. “I swear to God, I get hot flashes every time I get a glimpse of him. I needed a fan Sunday in church and it was church! And you got to sit with him when your granny went all wonky. What was that like? Did you feel the heat from all that testosterone? Bobby Ray says that he won’t last at the Lucky Penny and it might be best if he don’t because there’s liable to be a dozen marriages on the rocks if he sticks around very long.”
“You are in love with Bobby Ray and planning to marry him. How can you talk like that?” Allie asked.
“I’m not dead. A dieter can look at the candy counter, you know.” Nadine huffed.
“I work for Blake. End of story,” Allie said bluntly.
“I’d gladly work under him.” Sharlene giggled.
“Or on top of him,” Mary Jo said.
“I’ve got news,” Sharlene said. “Y’all remember Oma Lynn who graduated a year before us?”
“That tall blonde with braces who had two left feet?” Mary Jo asked.
“That’s her. Well, she works at the Muenster bank and she says Blake Dawson…God, isn’t that the sexiest name ever? It sounds like a name you’d hear on the CMA awards. I wonder if he sings.” Sharlene sighed.
Nadine polished off the last of the doughnut and reached for a bear claw. “I bet he could make my body sing.”
“Ain’t no doubt.” Mary Jo’s laugh was high pitched.
Allie was torn between wanting to hear what they had to say and hiding in the back room out of sheer embarrassment. They were acting like they were still cheerleaders at Dry Creek High School. She sat down in the spare chair and crossed one leg over the other.
“Well, anyway, I called Oma Lynn to catch up. She was so happy to hear from me that she didn’t even know I had an agenda.” Sharlene reached for the last bear claw. “So I skirted around the issue and said that some dumb cowboy had bought the Lucky Penny. And she dived right in without me sayin’ another word. She said that they call him the wild cowboy and his younger brother, Toby, is the hot cowboy and the cousin, Jud, is the lucky one.”
Nadine almost choked on the bite of doughnut. “Good God almighty, you mean there’s one even hotter than Blake? And they’ve got a cousin?”
“That’s what Oma Lynn said,” Sharlene said as she nodded. “And that his brother is going to show up here in the summer and the three of them are determined to turn that ranch’s luck around. And one more thing, if I don’t land Blake Dawson, then y’all better stand back because I will get Toby or Jud.”
“Well, I can’t wait to see the other two,” Mary Jo said. “And now we want to hear about Blake. No detail is too small. How does he like his coffee? Black? With cream or sugar? Is he really wild? I heard he and Deke took some woman to Frankie’s this weekend.”
Allie leaned on the table with her elbows. “Who was the woman?”
Mary Jo shook her head. “Must’ve been some loose-legged old girl because you know what they say about Frankie’s, but we can’t find out and believe me we’ve tried hard to get someone to tell us.”
Sharlene shook her head slowly. “I wouldn’t even go there.”
“Me, either. I’ve heard all kinds of things happen at Frankie’s.” Mary Jo shivered.
“You got any idea who they were having a threesome with?” Nadine asked.
All eyes turned to Allie. She squirmed in her chair and said, “You’ll have to ask them. They don’t tell me their dark secrets. Mainly we talk about drywall, paint, and shingles. Oh, and whatever food he brings out of the freezer for dinner.”
Allie’s phone rang and she fished it from her pocket. “Excuse me. Y’all need more coffee, help yourselves.”
It didn’t take a psychoanalyst to know they were talking about her and Blake when their loud voices dropped to whispers when she left the table.
“Fiona, thank you, thank you!” Allie said.
“For what?” her sister replied.
“The gossip triplets are here,” Allie answered.
“What are they doing at the Lucky Penny?”
Allie sat down in the metal folding chair behind the counter. “Mama had to take Granny for an evaluation, so I’m minding the store this afternoon.”
“Don’t they have jobs?”
“They all called in sick,” Allie answered.
“Lizzy has called me a dozen times in the past three days tattling on you for being really rude to some guy named Grady,” Fiona said bluntly.
Allie nodded to herself. “If that sorry sucker was the only man left on earth, I still wouldn’t like him.”
“And Blake. If he was the last man on earth?” Fiona asked.
“I’d jump his bones.” Allie laughed.
“Mama and Lizzy are afraid you are really going to fall for him. You aren’t going to do that, are you? That place has never brought anything but bad luck to anyone who was affiliated with it, so think before you jump,” Fiona begged.
Allie rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, then looked outside. The sun was still shining brightly in Dry Creek. It was hard to imagine that in a few hours the sky could go all gray.