Blake made sure his phone was fully charged and in his shirt pocket instead of leaving it on the kitchen table. He could hardly believe that it was Friday. In ten days his house had gotten a brand-new roof and his bedroom was getting a fine remodel. Things were falling into place even better than he could have hoped for when he first moved to the Lucky Penny. He had missed seeing Allie the past two days while she worked at the feed store but he hoped she’d be back at the Lucky Penny that day.
He’d barely crawled up in the dozer when the phone rang, and he hurriedly pulled it from his pocket and smiled brightly when he saw that Allie was calling.
He answered before it rang the second time. “We’ve got to stop all this talking on the phone. I miss you, Allie. I miss seeing your gorgeous smile and having you sit beside me at the dinner table. I miss talking to you. It’s not the same around here without you, and Deke is getting depressed. Poor old Shooter misses you, too.”
“I’m at the store today,” Allie said. “Not the feed store but Mama’s place. Lizzy finally felt well enough to go to work, but Granny is lethargic so Mama took her back to the doctor to make sure she’s not coming down with the stomach bug. She was afraid to let it go over the weekend. You and Deke want to come into town for dinner? We’ve got a big pot of taco meat simmering and we’re serving tacos with pinto beans and dirty rice. I’ll treat today. If you wait until the school rush is over, I can even sit down and eat with you guys.”
Blake smiled and nodded to himself. She talked too much when she was nervous. He wanted nothing more than to hug her, to calm her from whatever was creating turmoil in her life, but most of all he wanted to be near her again. Even if he couldn’t kiss her or hold her, he wanted to share space with her, be able to look at her. It seemed like a hundred years since that craziness when Scarlett showed up at his house and even longer since Allie stormed out past him in that damn robe. He was glad she’d burned the thing. He never wanted to see it again.
“What time? Can I bring the beer?” he asked.
“Twelve thirty or after and yes on the beer. I can’t sell it but I could sure drink one with dinner. Looks like our bedroom celebration will have to wait until the first of the week. There’s no way I can get it finished by Saturday,” she said.
“Bedroom celebration, darlin’?” he asked.
“We’re going out to celebrate finishing your bedroom. Did you forget? I thought we’d ask Deke to join us so he won’t feel left out,” she said quickly.
“No, I hadn’t forgotten. I was teasing you and darlin’ I don’t do threesomes,” he said. “I’ll see you at dinner. I’ll be the one with three beers and a lean and hungry look on my face.”
In the middle of the morning he got a text message from Toby, saying that he was leaving Muenster as soon as he could get away that evening and driving up to the Lucky Penny for the weekend.
He couldn’t wait for Toby to arrive at the ranch so he could see the progress Blake had made. But most of all he wanted to introduce him to his Allie.
“My Allie,” he muttered. “I only wish she were mine.”
Allie was so busy making lunches from eleven thirty until five minutes before the final bell rang down at the school that she didn’t have time to look up. When the store finally cleared she sat down at a table and propped her legs up on an empty chair.
She wished she was painting walls at Blake’s place rather than running the store, but family helped family, even when they didn’t like it. Too bad Lizzy or her mother didn’t know a hammer from a dishrag so they could return the favor when she needed help.
“Hey,” Deke called out as he and Blake pushed their way into the store. “Looks like we timed it about right. There’s some big black clouds gathering up down in the southwest and I got a text from a friend in Throckmorton who says we’ve got freezing rain on the way by midnight, so we’re in for a blast. Cold wind is coming down from the north and rain from the south. Won’t be no more workin’ outside today.”
Allie’s heart kicked in an extra beat when she saw Blake, and her pulse went from low to high gear in less than five seconds. It was the first time she’d seen him since that horrible night. He stopped a few feet from her and she searched his expression, hoping that they were truly all right and the whole scene wouldn’t be awkward between them.
“Crazy how the weather affects what we do, isn’t it? Take off your coats and hang them on the rack in the back. Dinner is on the stove. Help yourselves.” Her voice sounded normal despite the way her heart was flopping around like a fish out of water inside her chest. She started to get up but Blake shook his head.
“Keep your seat. I’ll bring you a plate. One or two tacos?” He smiled and erased all doubts from her mind.