She straightened, turned around, and tipped her head up, moistening her lips seductively. “Don’t you tell that I came a little early.” She tapped a manicured nail against his chin. “This is just to hold you over until they get here. Got to run. Call me if you need anything, Mr. Dawson.” A pen appeared out of her jacket pocket and she wrote her name and number on the outdated calendar. “We’ll have to see about getting you a new calendar. Bye now and enjoy the casserole.”
He followed her to the door and opened it for her. “Thank you so much for the food and I’m Blake, not Mr. Dawson.”
“Right nice to meet you, Blake. I’ll be waiting for you to call.”
Katy Logan popped her hands on her hips. That gesture usually brought her three girls to attention, but since Fiona was in Houston, only Lizzy and Allie sat up straighter in their chairs. “I heard the new cowboy next door is pretty damn handsome. Sure you’re not planning to do any more than fix his roof?”
Allie took down four plates from the cabinet, put the silverware in the top one, and started setting the table for breakfast. “For God’s sake, Mama. I’m not going to marry the man. I’m going to put a roof on his house and that’s it.”
Katy pushed her dark hair, with streaks of white starting to show, behind her ears. “Your grandmother said he looked at you like he could eat you up yesterday when you were over there.”
“Hell’s bells, Mama. Granny was so busy talking about Walter that she didn’t know who she was or where she was. And I smelled like pine oil and ammonia. I don’t think he wanted to bite into that. He just wanted to get me to say yes to helping him out. His kind isn’t interested in women like me.”
Her youngest sister, Lizzy, whipped her dishwater-blond hair up into a ponytail and went to the pantry to get several bottles of syrup. “This new guy sounds like a player. Why can’t you find a good decent man like my Mitch? He wouldn’t have to be a preacher but he needs to be a godly man.”
Allie rolled her eyes. “Yes, we all know Mitch is a paragon of men. But I had a man. A husband! I gave him my heart and he broke it. So no, thank you, not just to godly men but to any man. I’m going to the Lucky Penny to put a roof on the house, not have a fling,” Allie said.
Lizzy plopped the syrup on the table and went to the refrigerator for the butter dish. “If you go over to the Lucky Penny, you can bet you’ll be in the gossip spotlight even worse than when you left Riley. Besides every unmarried woman in Throckmorton County probably is layin’ out plans to get to know Brian. I heard that Sharlene was making a Mexican casserole to take to him. You know what that means.”
Allie popped Lizzy on the arm. “His name is Blake and I did not leave Riley. He left me and that was seven years ago. And yes, I know that Sharlene expects something hot in return for her hot Mexican casserole.”
“Mama, she hit me,” Lizzy said.
“I barely touched you,” Allie protested. Sisters might grow up in body but in spirit they stayed children. Some habits weren’t breakable, like Allie’s instinct to slap Lizzy for being a smartass.
“Don’t get all pissy with me,” Lizzy said. “I’m trying to make you see that this is a bad idea. You can’t stop gossip and it’s been a long dry spell in town for good rumors.”
Allie brought out butter and a bowl of fruit. “A roofing job will only last a week. What can happen in a week?”
“Stop your bickering. You know it upsets your grandmother.” Katy piled the pancakes on a platter, slathering each layer with the butter she had melted earlier. “Who did you say she kept calling the new guy? Walter? I remember some folks who lived there years ago and tried to make a go of that place. An elderly woman and her son. I think his name was Walter, but that was about the time I married your father so I didn’t pay a lot of attention in those days.”
“Maybe she knew him but was married to Grandpa at that time. I can’t see her falling in love with a man when she’d been married more than twenty years,” Allie said.
“She’s got it all mixed up. I bet she liked some guy from over there back when she was a young girl and her mama refused to let her get mixed up with him because she knew no one ever lasted over there,” Lizzy said.
Allie peeled paper towels off the roll to use for napkins. “I’m going to take this job. I don’t give a shit what people say. We’re lucky that the weather is going to be decent the next few days.”
“You’ll call Deke?” Katy sighed. “Promise me you’ll call Deke. At least you’ll have a chaperone as well as someone to help you. Maybe folks won’t talk so much that way.”
“I don’t need a chaperone, Mama. But I called Deke this morning and he’s free the rest of this week.” Allie nodded. “One of you will have to take Granny to work with you today so I can make a trip to Wichita Falls for supplies. If the weather holds we can get started today and have the job done by Friday.”
Lizzy pushed a strand of wayward hair behind her ears. “Mitch is supposed to come by today. You know how Granny hates him so you’d best take her today, Mama, and I’ll babysit tomorrow.”
“I still don’t like it,” Katy said. “That new man didn’t even come to church on Sunday. If he wanted to fit in with the community, he’d come to church.”