Love Drunk Cowboy

chapter 10

Austin rushed home, carried her secondhand clothing into the house, and dumped them on the floor beside the washing machine. She crammed all the jeans inside the machine, added liquid detergent, and turned it on.

Then she paid the hired hands and listened with half an ear as Felix told her the rain was supposed to pass on through that night and the weekend would dry the land out so they could get back to planting on Monday.

Monday, she was supposed to be back at work in Tulsa. She would not think about that. Rye was coming home and she had to be ready for a date with him.

When the washer had finished its cycle, she tossed the jeans into the dryer, reset the washer on delicate, and tossed in the shirts. She was ironing a pair of jeans when her cell phone rang. She fished it out of her purse and answered on the third ring.

“Where were you? I was getting worried when you didn’t answer on the second ring. Is everything all right down there in the land-that-stood-still?” her mother said.

“Mother, I can take care of myself.”

“Are you on your way home?”

“I’m ironing jeans for a date tonight.”

“Don’t tease me, Austin!”

“I’m not. Molly and Greta, that’s two of Granny’s old friends, and I had banana splits at the drugstore in Ryan today and they told me about this cute little shop called The Red Barn. I bought jeans and boots for tonight’s date with Rye. We’re going for Chinese and then a movie.” She punched the speaker button and laid the phone on the windowsill beside the ironing board.

Total silence on the other end made her think her cell phone had gone dead.

“Mother?”

“I’m here.”

“Mother, I’m coming home in a couple of days. Stop worrying.”

“You’ve come so far in your career. I hate to see you throw it all away for a watermelon farm.”

Austin rolled her eyes. She hated trying to reason with her mother because the guilt trip would follow and that’s what she really, really hated.

“I’m not throwing anything away. I’m going out on a date with a really hunky cowboy. I deserve it after a hard week in the fields.”

“I don’t have to remind you that you are the only grandchild my mother and father have too. I’ve made plans for Sunday. We are having a family dinner right here. Both of your aunts are coming and your grandparents. Promise me you’ll be here. We’re eating at seven. That will give you plenty of time to drive home and get ready.”

“I will be there,” she said but her blue eyes did a double roll.

And her heart took a tumble down past her knees to the floor. Did she really want to go to Tulsa or plant watermelons?

“Good!” Barbara’s voice was suddenly chipper. “Your boss came in today to look at a new car for his wife. He mentioned that he’s looking forward to retirement in six months and that he knows you will do fine when they promote you to department supervisor. I’m so proud of you. To think my child is going to be in charge of operations at the oldest oil company in Tulsa when she’s only thirty. Your grandparents are going to be so, so happy when we tell them on Sunday.”

“Mother, I’ve got to get these jeans finished and my shirt is almost dry and I have to iron it too. I’ve got to go or I won’t be ready when Rye gets here.”

“Enjoy your fling, darlin’. You should have something out of the sorriest vacation of your entire career. See you on Sunday for dinner.”

“I told you I’ll be there. Stop worrying about me. Good-bye, Mother.”

She’d barely hung up when the phone rang again. She pushed the button, left it on speaker, and said, “Hello.”

“Hi, sweetie, it’s Aunt Joan. I’m told we’re having a family dinner. Was wondering if you want to go shopping tomorrow for something new to wear to the affair? I hear Neiman’s has a sale going.” Her voice was almost identical to Barbara’s but had a very, very slight nasal twang. All of the Watson girls looked as if they’d been popped out of the same mold: dark-haired beauties with blue eyes and built on a tall, slim frame that was stunning in business suits.

Without even shutting her eyes, Austin could imagine her Aunt Joan in her quaint little two-story house on five acres of prime land in Memphis, Tennessee. She was ten years older than Barbara, which made her sixty-two years old.

“Wow!” Austin said when she realized Aunt Joan was close to retirement age.

“So we’ll do Neiman’s and have lunch then?”

“No, I won’t be home until Sunday. How long are you staying in Tulsa?”

“I’m just flying over for the weekend. Your mother tells me you are taking care of selling your grandmother’s farm? Never met her but I’m sorry you’ve got to waste your vacation time like that.”

“Thank you. I’ll look forward to seeing you then on Sunday at the dinner.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Ironing jeans. I found this cute little shop called The Red Barn and it’s got really reasonable prices. I’ve got a date tonight with the hunky cowboy rancher who lives across the street.”

“Why are you ironing jeans? Don’t they have a dry cleaner in town?”

Austin laughed. “Terral has a population of three hundred and eighty-six at last count. They barely have a grocery store and the school only goes to eighth grade.”

Joan gasped. “Sweet Jesus!”

“Take a week and fly into Dallas. I’ll pick you up and you can help me plant watermelons. Driving a tractor is a lot of fun and even though you are tired at the end of the day, you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something.”

“Gotta run, darlin’. See you at the dinner. Don’t do anything foolish. Good-bye,” Joan spoke so fast that Austin only caught every other word.

She’d barely finished ironing the jeans when the phone rang again. Before she answered it she laid the creased jeans on the top of the washer and jerked the lacy western cut blouse from the dryer. It looked good enough that she didn’t need to iron it so she put it on a hanger and punched the speaker button.

“Hello.”

“Hi. I was about to hang up or leave a message. This is your Aunt Clydia. Where are you? Still at work?”

“You know where the hell I am. Mother called, didn’t she?”

“She’s worried about you. Thirty is a tough age and you’ve got this promotion and all the responsibility that will go with it. She’s afraid you’ll throw everything away on a whim,” Clydia said sternly. She was a year younger than Joan but a hundred times bossier and a thousand times more serious. A smile might ruin every Botox injection she’d ever had and she wasn’t taking any chances on that.

“I’ve got a date tonight with the sexiest cowboy this side of the Red River. He’s got muscles across his chest that would make even your hormones go into overdrive and his kisses are like heaven. When his big old callused hands touch my bare back I want to roll over like a puppy and let him do anything he wants to my body.” Austin smiled when she heard Clydia suck air.

“What? Are you serious? You are teasing me because you think I’m interfering in your life, aren’t you? For God’s sake, Austin, you weren’t raised to talk like that or…” Clydia stammered.

“Or what?”

“You better keep your goals in your sights and not do anything stupid.” Clydia quickly regained her superior status after the stuttering tirade.

“I’ll see you Sunday. If I’m smiling you’ll know I got lucky.”

“Good God!” Clydia hung up without a good-bye.

“Jesus is sweet. God isn’t good; He’s great. Beer is good. And people are the crazy ones according to that country song I heard on the radio. I’m damn glad I don’t have but two aunts or I’d never get ready on time,” she told Rascal, who had curled up on top of the dryer.

The house phone rang at seven o’clock just as she was slipping her feet into the buff-colored boots she’d bought that day. She reached for it and propped it on her shoulder, hoping she could get rid of whoever was calling quickly because Rye would be there any minute.

“Hello,” she said cautiously.

“I’m running about ten minutes late.”

Rye’s deep Texas voice sent shivers all the way to her toes.

“No problem. I’m just now getting my boots on.”

“I was expecting you to have on those high-heeled things but boots sure does draw up a pretty picture in my head. I can’t wait to see you. Be there in ten.”

She made one more run to the bathroom mirror to check her makeup and hair and was on the way down the hall when she heard the crunch of truck tires in the driveway. Boot heels sounded on the wooden porch and she swung the door open to find Gemma, her eyes swollen and her face a mess from crying.

“Can I come in? Rye isn’t here, is he?” Gemma asked.

“No, but he will be in about five minutes.”

Gemma started toward her truck in a trot. “Then I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Hey, put it in the backyard and I’ll call Rye. I can put him off for ten minutes,” Austin yelled.

“Hey, I was about to put my boots on and come over.”

“Give me ten minutes. I had a makeup emergency and I’m not quite ready,” she said smoothly.

“Sure thing. Looks like we should’ve said seven thirty instead of seven,” he chuckled. “No problem. We’ll have a nice long supper and see the late movie. You don’t have to get up early tomorrow, do you?”

She motioned Gemma into the house. “No, but if you don’t let me get this makeup fixed, it’s going to be a midnight movie.”

“I missed you so bad these past three days. Please don’t tell me that you turn into a pumpkin after midnight?”

“No but my Corvette does if I’m not home. Good-bye, Rye.” She put the phone back on the base.

Gemma stopped inside the door and wiped her teary swollen eyes. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea you and Rye were going out. I just needed a place to go tonight where no one knows about.”

“You got ten minutes to talk and you are welcome to stay here. I just won’t be here. Is that all right?”

“It’s fine. I could’ve gone to a motel but I was afraid they’d track me down. You said to drop by anytime. I hope you meant it.”

“I did. What happened? Can I make a pot of coffee or get you something to drink before I go?”

“Got a good slug of whiskey?”

Austin pointed to the cabinet. “No but I’ve got a bottle of some pretty damn good watermelon wine right there and you are welcome to it.”

“That’ll do. Short story is that I’ve got… had this boyfriend. We’ve fought before. He doesn’t like it when I go anywhere with my girlfriends. I’m supposed to spend every minute with him doing what he likes, which most of the time I don’t like. Golf on television drives me crazy. It’s not such a short story, is it? Tonight we got into it again when I told him I was going out with my friends for dinner. The last time we broke up I promised Rye I’d never go back with him because my boyfriend slapped me and Rye wanted to kill him.”

Austin patted her on the shoulder and took down a tumbler from the cabinet. “Enough said. Pour this full of wine and if it doesn’t do the trick, pour up a second one. You can hide out here all weekend if you want. There’s food in the fridge and more wine on the cabinet. Make yourself at home. You can sleep in Granny’s room or on the sofa. Take your pick. The room with the twin bed is mine. Turn off your cell phone and if you need to make any calls do it on the house phone. That way no one can track you by your phone. I hear Rye driving up so I’m going out to meet him on the porch.”

Gemma nodded. “You are a good woman, Austin.”

“Shhhhh,” Austin opened the door and stepped outside. “Hey, right on time. It’s been exactly ten minutes and my makeup disaster is fixed.”

Rye was thunderstruck by Austin all dressed up in creased blue jeans, a western cut top that belonged on a country music star in concert, and boots. His eye went from her boots up to the belt buckle that glittered in the fading light of a setting sun and on up past a long slender neck to the prettiest girl in the county. Hell, she might even be the prettiest one in the whole state of Oklahoma.

“You are beautiful tonight. My vision did not do you justice.” He met her at the bottom of the steps and wrapped her up in his arms. How could he ever let her go on Sunday? He wanted to carry her across the road and lock her in his house and flush the key down the toilet.

He tilted her head to the right level with his fist and claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss so full of passion that it set her hormones to humming so loud that her ears buzzed.

Monday! Reality stopped the hum and sent cold chills down her spine.

He broke away and planted a soft kiss on each eyelid, then stepped to one side, laced his fingers in hers, and led her to the truck.

“I missed you, Rye,” she said. “And darlin’, my vision did not do you justice either.”

“Me?” His crazy old cowboy heart swelled up until it put pressure on his rib cage. She’d said that she missed him. “I’m just an old cowboy who drove hard all day and looked forward to a Friday night with a pretty woman.”

“So you like a woman in jeans and boots better than one in a dress suit and spike heels?” she asked.

He stopped beside the truck and put a palm on each side of her face. “Darlin’, everything I’ve seen you in so far has looked damn fine. You are gorgeous in a suit, smashin’ in overalls and sneakers, and almighty delightful in whatever them shorts you wore to the river. But in jeans and boots you are delicious lookin’.” He brushed a kiss across her lips so light and yet so full of promise that she shivered.

He settled her into her seat and shut the door.

She could see the tail end of Gemma’s little truck in the headlights and was glad that he hadn’t noticed it.

“Your sisters wear high heels. What’s the matter with them?” she asked as he backed the truck up to the road.

“Yep, they do.” He headed west, through town to Highway 81 where he’d turn north. “They’re half cowgirl and half hussy. See, I called them hussies and I love them so that proves I wasn’t being mean when I called your mother a hussy.”

“Are you one of those big brother types?”

“I am.”

“I bet they just love that.”

He reached across the console separating them and laced his fingers in hers. “Don’t care if they love it or not. I’m protective. They were the babies of the family and Momma said us boys had to take care of them. Colleen has always had her head on straighter than Gemma so I don’t have to big brother her as much as I do Gemma.”

He drove through town and made the turn north toward Duncan. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving. How far is it?”

“Forty miles.”

“Then they’d better double what they put out on the buffet tonight. Did you and Granny ever go to this place?”

He grinned and the dimple in his chin deepened. “Granny hated Chinese food. Her favorite restaurant food was whatever they served out at the Peach Orchard. She did occasionally like a hamburger from the Dairy Queen in Nocona.”

Sitting so close that every breath brought her a fresh wave of his shaving lotion, she had two choices. Either make him talk to divert her mind from the naughty thoughts dancing around in her head or else flip that console back and slide across the seat and nuzzle her face into his neck. Talking seemed the better choice so she asked, “Why did your parents name you Rye?”

He smiled again and she wished she’d forgotten the questions and did the sliding.

“The story Dad tells is that they had a different name picked out. I was supposed to be Holt after a bull rider they liked. But when she was in labor she kept telling Dad if he’d sneak a bottle of Old Overholt rye whiskey into the room and let her have a couple of shots that the pain would go away. Then they got to singing that old county song, ‘Rye Whiskey,’ between pains. When I was born they decided that Rye was a better name for me than Holt.”

“So you’re named after the whiskey your momma liked and I’m named after the city where I was conceived. We’re quite the pair, aren’t we? Hey, that mural on the side of the building there…” She pointed at the end of a big building in Ryan as they went through town, “with the cows and cowboys. What are they talking about? The Chisholm Trail?”

“It’s the path the ranchers drove their cattle up through going to Nebraska to ship them off to the east. Came across the Red River and right through Terral and Ryan. I heard in the day that there were lots of banks and brothels in this area. They still have a reenactment every year of the cattle run. They start in Terral and ride horses and herd a few head of cattle up north. The newspapers come around and write up stories and take pictures of the chuck wagons and covered wagons when they head off up 81.”

“They go right up the highway? Doesn’t that cause problems?”

“Hasn’t yet. I’ve got to stop up at the truck stop outside of Waurika to fill up the truck. You want to grab a candy bar or something to hold you until we get to Duncan?” he asked.

“No, I’m going to embarrass you with how much I eat when we get there. But I could go to the bathroom,” she told him. She was surprised that she had said such a thing but she was as comfortable with Rye as if they’d known each other their whole lives.

It was only a few more minutes before she saw the truck stop at the crossroads in Waurika. He pulled up to the gas tanks and she hopped out to run inside. The truck stop was a convenience store on one end with snack foods, drinks, and souvenirs and the other end was a restaurant. Her stomach growled when she smelled the aroma of grilled onions.

“Restrooms?” she asked the lady behind the counter.

She pointed toward the back of the store. “All the way to the back. Women on the right.”

“Thank you.”

She used the restroom, checked her makeup and hair in the mirror as she washed her hands, and was walking back toward the door when she overheard two women talking. One asked the other if she was taking her kids to the rattlesnake festival and said that the armbands were twenty dollars this year.

“Well, when you consider how many rides my kids will whine about that’s a pretty good deal.”

Austin made her way out to the pickup where Rye had finished filling the gas tank and waited in the cab. That’s when she saw the sign that said “Rattlesnake Hunt.”

“What’s that all about?”

“This is the weekend for the big Waurika Rattlesnake Festival. It kicks off tonight. They rope off three or four blocks of Main Street and have a big foo-rah.”

“Do they have food?”

“Just about any kind you can think of.”

“Can we go there rather than Duncan?”

He grinned. “It’s noisy, loud, and there’s lots of people. It won’t be as intimate as dinner and a movie but we can do whatever you like. Ever been to a rattlesnake festival?”

“No, do they have real snakes or what’s the deal?”

“For weeks locals hunt the snakes and bring them to the festival. There are prizes for the biggest snake, the most pounds, and the most rattlers. There’ll be pens of them so you can see them and vendors where you can buy fried snake. Want to taste it or change your mind and go for Chinese?”

“I want to go to see the snakes. Is it like a circus?”

“More like a miniature state fair. Ever been to one of those?”

She shook her head. “Rides?”

“Lots of them. Think very small amusement park.”

“Ferris wheel?”

He started the engine and turned the truck around. “Yes, ma’am.”

They passed several city blocks of garage sales before they turned right onto the street that had been barricaded off for the festival.

One woman’s junk is another woman’s treasure.

She’d heard her grandmother say that lots of times and wondered if Verline’s treasures came out of places just like she was seeing. The woman had enough money to build a brand new fancy house and have a decorator flown in from New York. She must have loved her little house with all its junk because that’s where she wanted to finish her life and that’s exactly what she did.

Rye nosed the truck into a scarce parking spot. “Look like something you’d be interested in?”

“No, thank you. There’s twice as much in Granny’s house as whatever they are selling in their garage sales.”

“I wasn’t talking about that. Look out ahead of you at all the vendors. You said you were hungry.”

She pointed as she crawled out of the truck. “Oh, yes, yes, yes! I want one of everything. Gyro. Turkey leg.”

“Before or after you ride on the zipper?”

Her mind plummeted into the gutter. Ride on the zipper? Well, she’d like a ride on the cowboy after the zipper was undone. She quickly turned her head toward the Ferris wheel so he couldn’t see high color filling her cheeks. “Not me. I’d throw up. I want two rides on the Ferris wheel.”

He grabbed her hand and started up through the vendors and games. “Then let’s get started. Gyro to start with, complete with onions?”

“Yes and sometime this evening you can win me one of those big teddy bears.”

“Have you never been to a carnival?”

She shook her head. “I watched Steel Magnolias three times in one day last year and cried my eyes out every time. I loved the scene where they were at the Christmas festival. This reminds me of that only in the spring rather than winter.”

“Are you going to eat snake too?”

She nodded, turned, and looked right into his eyes, not a foot from her face. “Yes, I am. What does it taste like?”

He let go of her hand and put his arm around her waist, tucking his fingers into her belt loops. “Something between fish and chicken. It’s white meat. Tastes a little like frog legs.”

“Never ate them either. Do they have them here?”

“Never know. The vendors change from one time to the next.” He steered her toward a wagon painted in bright colors and advertising gyro sandwiches. He ordered two deluxe sandwiches and two Cokes at the window then led the way to an empty table at the north end of the wagon. He pulled out her folding metal chair and moved his closer to her, leaving room for other folks if they wanted to sit while they ate. That put his thigh tight against hers and their shoulders touching.

She bit into the pita bread filled with meat, onions, and sauce and moaned. “This beats Chinese all to hell and I love good Chinese.”

She wasn’t sure if it was the food or the sensation of his body next to hers. She would have given up the food in a heartbeat rather than move her leg, though, so the food did take second place.

Kent appeared from behind the wagon with two gyros in his hand. “Hey, Rye, I thought you were on your way to Duncan. Hello, Austin.” He pulled out a chair and sat down at the same table with them.

“Evenin’, Kent. Where’s your family?”

“They had to stop at the turkey leg wagon and get one each for the boys. Me and Malee like gyros so she sent me to get these and have them ready. Here they come now.”

Austin looked over at Rye.

He raised an eyebrow.

The older boy pointed at Austin. “Hi, Rye. Who’s that?”

Rye made introductions. “This is Austin Lanier. You remember Granny Lanier. This is her granddaughter. And Austin, this is Malee, Kent’s better half, and his sons, Creed and Mason.”

Austin looked at the turkey legs. “Pleased to meet you all. Are those turkey legs any good?”

“Best in the world. Mine’s bigger than Mason’s,” Creed said.

Mason drew his back like a club. “Is not. You take that back or I’ll whip you all over this place with my turkey leg.”

“You two stop fighting or you won’t ride a single ride,” Malee said.

Creed glared at Mason, who shook his turkey leg at his brother.

“I heard you was workin’ out at Granny’s house. How’s it going? Need some help?” Malee asked.

“Thanks but I’m getting it under control,” Austin answered.

Malee was a short, thin woman with stringy light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore jeans and a knit shirt with a picture of Betty Boop on the front. Her brown eyes were too big for the rest of her face and her lips were thin.

“Well, you need any help you just call me. Boys are in school and I work but I’m free in the evenings and on Saturdays.”

“Thank you.”

Austin had never seen two huge turkey legs turn into nothing but bones so quickly. The minute Creed and Mason had swallowed their last bite they began to run around the table begging their parents to hurry so they could go ride the round-up.

The two boys put their heads together behind hands and Austin could see orneriness flowing like hot lava from their glittering brown eyes. It was the smiles on their faces as they discussed what they were about to get into that convinced her they were every bit as feisty as she’d heard.

Malee turned to Austin and said, “It was nice meeting you. I was serious about coming around to help. Call me if you need me.”

Austin smiled at Rye as Malee and Kent walked away, Creed and Mason running off ahead. “They are going to give Kent and Malee fits when they are teenagers.”

“Wouldn’t be no different than now. I told you they were a couple of stinkers.”

“I believe you!” Austin giggled. “And you want children. What if they turn out like that?”

“They won’t.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because I wasn’t like that. Verline was Pearlita’s friend. She and Kent’s momma are distant cousins even though there’s a lot of age difference. So Verline knew Kent and Oma Fay, his mother, all their lives and Pearlita was kin so she really knew them. I’m not making myself clear but what I’m trying to say is that Kent was just like those boys. Oma Fay let him do anything he wanted and never used a bit of discipline. I don’t know how he turned out to be the man he is. Verline said that Malee straightened him out. Anyway, Oma Fay keeps the boys for Malee and Kent to work and she’s doing the same with them that she did with Kent. My mother had three boys in four years. I was four and Raylen was two when Dewar was born. She didn’t have time or patience to let us run wild. So I intend to raise my kids like I was raised, not like Kent was.”

Austin wasn’t sure she understood the whole line of thought but she did like to listen to his deep Texas drawl. That and his hard muscles right next to her was enough to stay right there all night and forfeit the rest of the festival.

“I see.” She polished off the last of her gyro.

“What next?” Rye asked.

Please tell me you’ve had a change of heart and I’ll find the nearest motel.

“I want to see all of it. Let’s start right here and walk slow all the way down one side and come up the other one. Where are the snakes?”

“They usually keep them down by the courthouse in pens. They throw up a temporary goat fence pen for protection but I guarantee you can hear them rattling even from that distance.”

She stopped at a wine tasting booth and they tasted several kinds of wines, none of which came close to Granny Lanier’s watermelon wine. The next booth offered Indian tacos.

“Remind me before we leave to get a couple of those to take home for a midnight snack,” she said.

Rye slipped an arm around her waist. “You have plans of working up an appetite before midnight?”

She wanted to weep. She would have loved to work up an appetite with a good bout of sex but Gemma was at her house. She had been thinking of her and the fact that Gemma’s anger and sadness would be gone by the time Austin returned to the house and she’d be hungry.

“Person never knows what the evening might hold.”

The next place displayed all kinds of costume jewelry. Austin’s eye was drawn to a necklace made of big silver beads with a pendant of two crossed pistols over angel wings.

“You like that one?” Rye picked it up and fastened it around her neck. The cold metal and his ultra hot hands combined to create a hot sizzling desire that started a fire in the pit of her heart and radiated out to the rest of her body.

Damn it, if I don’t get my hormones in check, I’m going to have to find a booth that sells panties! They really should have one with this many sexy cowboys running around without wedding rings on their fingers.

She looked in the tiny mirror on the side of the display and nodded. “I’m buying it. I love it.”

She would probably never wear it again after that night. Monday… Tulsa!

That thought almost put a damper on her mood but she quickly put it out of her mind. She still had Saturday and until noon Sunday.

“Let me,” Rye said. “It’ll remind you of us at your first rattlesnake festival.”

“Thank you but I think I’ll remember tonight forever.”

I don’t want to leave, she admitted to herself silently.

He removed the sticker price tag on the back of the crossed guns and paid the lady and they continued on down the block, hand in hand. Little children were riding ponies in a circular pen not far from the courthouse. They passed hair bow vendors that made Austin’s biological clock set up a loud tick wanting a daughter so she could put big fancy satin bows in her hair.

Now where in the hell did that idea come from? I’ve never thought about children. Barely even gave the idea of a husband a second thought. It’s this place and all this family around me.

The next vendor sold sunglasses. To take her mind off the pretty pink satin bows she tried on big buggy orange glasses that made Rye laugh out loud.

She loved his deep laugh. It reminded her of her father’s laugh when he was really tickled and not just chuckling at a joke. The last time she’d heard him laugh like that had been the day before he died. She couldn’t even remember what had amused him but something had sure set him off and it was her last memory of him.

When they reached the Ferris wheel the line was short and the previous riders were getting out of their seats. Rye looked at her and she nodded. He handed the man the money and suddenly they were side by side in the rocking seat. She grabbed Rye’s hand when the caretaker pushed the button and the wheel creaked to life. At the very top she could see a swarm of people milling about at the festival. Did they look forward to this all year? Was this their big event of the spring?

Rye let go of her hand, slung his arm around her shoulder, and picked up her hand with his left one. “So what do you think, Miss Austin Lanier?”

“I love it. I might come back to Terral every summer just to do this. Look over there. You can see forever in this flat country.”

When they reached the top he kissed her with so much passion that she could’ve sworn several stars melted and fell from the sky.

His voice was husky when he said, “Grows good cattle and watermelons. Hell on wheels when it comes to tornadoes. There’s nothing but mesquite and scrub oak to stop them and they don’t stand up too hot under that kind of wind.”

“There isn’t much that could stand up under a tornado. I’ve seen them uproot pecan trees that were three feet across the base,” she said.

And those big major class-five storms were nothing compared to the storm I’ve had in my heart since I came to Terral.

A helium balloon with ribbons tied to the end floated up so close to them that Austin reached out to grab it and rocked the seat even more. If the belt hadn’t held her tight she might have gotten a hold on the ribbon but it was just inches beyond her grasp. The wind carried a little girl’s wails and Austin looked down to see a mother taking a little red-haired girl back to the vendor for another balloon. This time the mother tied it firmly to her wrist and the child bounced around happily.

“It doesn’t take much to excite a child, does it?” Rye said.

“Nor an adult woman who’s never been to a local festival. Thank you for bringing me, Rye. I love it!”

She smiled at him and he returned the favor, their eyes melting the distance between them and their lips brushing in a sweet kiss as the ride came to an end.

“Now I want to go eat one of those fried pickles. They sound absolutely horrid.”

He laughed and kept her hand in his as they stepped off the Ferris wheel platform. “And you want to eat one.”

“Yes, I do. I’ve got a friend in Tulsa who’ll never believe it when I tell her I ate fried pickles and rattlesnake.”

Rye’s mood changed instantly.

Austin had no idea what she’d said that chilled the evening. They went to the pickle stand and she was amazed at the flavor of dill pickle rolled in batter and deep fried. It was so good she wished she hadn’t eaten the gyro. She could get those in Tulsa any old time but she didn’t know of a single place where she could buy a fried pickle.

He led her to the rattlesnake pens and she shivered at the sight of long diamond back rattlers shaking their tails and standing up, looking at her with their beady little eyes.

“They look evil,” she whispered.

He let go of her hand and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not so much. They’re just snakes.”

She wanted to bury her face in his chest but his pretty green eyes were veiled and she couldn’t see inside his soul anymore. She popped both hands on her hips and stepped right up into his face. “What’s wrong with you? And don’t be all chivalrous and tell me nothing because there is something wrong. You went silent and your jaws are working like you are chewing gum but you aren’t. I know anger when I see it.”

“Is this just a go-to-the-boondocks and go-home-and-laugh-about-it thing, Austin?”

She met him glare for glare. “What in the hell makes you think that?”

“You said that you wanted to eat awful fried pickles so you could go brag about it to your friend.”

She took a step back. “And you got that boondocks shit out of that sentence?”

“Well?”

“That’s a deep subject for such a shallow mind.”

“Very funny. What did you mean by your comment?”

“I’m having a wonderful evening. I can’t wait to go home and brag about it to my co-workers because they were all giving me shit about having to spend my vacation in the boonies. So yes, I want to go back and brag and say that they were wrong and that I’ve had the time of my life. And you aren’t going to spoil my evening by reading wrong into what I said. I’ve loved this date and you can pout if you want but I’m going to have a good time. So where to next?” The gut that was never wrong said that Rye was a cowboy worth fighting for and with.

“I’m not pouting. Men don’t pout.”

“Bullshit is bullshit. You can call it rose petals and put perfume on it but it will still be bullshit.”

He chuckled. The anger left his eyes and he dropped his arms. “I can’t believe you even know what bullshit is.”

She took two steps forward and laced her fingers in his. “Granny had a hog lot and a pasture with steers for slaughter. I know very well what it is. I’ve stepped in it, had to wipe it off my shoes with a stick, and I’ve smelled it. And my sexy cowboy neighbor has bulls. When they shit in the pasture the wind whips it across the road and I get a fresh smell. And you were pouting so don’t change the subject.”

The chuckle turned into laughter. “You are cute when you are mad. Your blue eyes flash.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, the only thing that cures mad is more food. Now where is this rattlesnake?”

“How much can you eat? And I happen to know something else that cures mad.”

“But you can’t do it in the middle of a festival, can you? I want a plateful of rattlesnake and then I want a funnel cake when we pass that booth.”

The grin stayed plastered to his face and his eyes twinkled again. “You don’t have funnel cakes in rich-cat world?”

She pointed at him with her free hand. “That is enough.”

He liked the way the other men looked at him with envy in their eyes when he walked down the sidewalks with Austin’s fingers laced in his. He was suddenly ten feet tall and bulletproof and his chest was as big as King Kong’s. But she wouldn’t be staying and it wrecked his whole imaginary world. She’d said it was a great date. Maybe he’d beat out those hotshot corporate fellers’ time yet. If only he hadn’t had to be gone so much of the time she was there he might have convinced her to stay.

She smiled back. “All settled then. Let’s eat snake. And that is a sentence I never thought I’d say in my lifetime.”

Her cell phone rang and she dug it out of her hip pocket without letting go of his hand. “Hello.”

“Austin? Where are you? I hear horrible music in the background. Do you have the radio on the country music station?”

“I’m at the rattlesnake festival in Waurika with Rye. He’s buying us some snake to taste. We’ve already tasted wine and it wasn’t as good as Granny’s watermelon wine, but the gyros were wonderful and you should try a fried pickle. It’s hot and crispy and dilly. Reckon you could get our cook to make them? Wait just a minute.” She reluctantly unlaced her fingers from his and motioned for him to bring a plate of snake over to her.

There wasn’t a line so he paid for a plate and turned around to find her right behind him. She picked up a chunk of snake and popped it into her mouth.

“God, this is good! Mother, you should fly down here tomorrow and we’ll come back tomorrow night so you can eat some of this stuff. It puts shrimp to shame.”

Barbara gasped. “They are making a redneck out of you!”

“I’m afraid they are, Mother.”

Barbara’s voice went from shrill enough to call feral dogs down from the Canadian border to flatter than the Oklahoma countryside in Terral. “Leave it down there when you come home. It has no place in your field.”

“It has a big place in my watermelon field. Oh, you meant my job in Tulsa field. I thought about dirt and you were talking about broad spectrum. Mother, you really should take a weekend and come down here so you can taste this and a fried pickle.”

“No, thank you. I don’t ever intend to set foot in that backwoods place again. Haven’t been there since you were a baby. If I’d had my way, you wouldn’t have ever gone down there either. Verline could have come off her high horse and come to Tulsa if she wanted to see you and her son.”

“I’m going now. We’re going to ride in the tea cups like little kids.” She was having way too much fun to let Barbara spoil it.

“We are?” Rye asked.

She shoved the phone into her pocket. “Yes, we are. I saw them on television when I was a kid and always wanted to ride in them and on the ponies of a carousel. I don’t see a carousel so it’ll have to be the tea cups.”

“Then tea cups it is.”

He’d stand on his head and spin around if it would keep her in Terral.

The line was a little longer than it had been at the Ferris wheel. The cups were filled to capacity, and about halfway through the ride Rye and Austin took their place at the end of a row of a dozen mothers waiting with rambunctious preschoolers.

“Why are they looking at me funny?” Austin whispered to Rye.

“They’re looking for your kids.”

“Can’t adults ride?”

“Yes, but those with reasonable intelligence don’t usually.”

“You know any of these people?”

“About half of them. Why?”

“Is it going to embarrass you to ride kiddy rides?” she asked.

“Not if I can ride beside you.”

The mother in front of them with two little girls who wouldn’t be still finally said, “You’d better enjoy this because as soon as it’s over we are going home. I’m tired of your fighting and arguing.”

“That’s probably why I never went to a carnival. Mother would have been crazy with boredom in fifteen minutes,” Austin whispered.

“Really? I can’t remember a year when we didn’t come to the snake festival. Daddy even had a booth selling tack for several years. Handmade bridles and usually at least one hand-tooled saddle. They’re probably here tonight but I haven’t seen them.”

“Haven’t seen who?” Maddie asked from a few feet away.

Rye nodded at his mother. “Hello, Momma. I was just telling Austin that we came to this thing every year. I can’t remember ever missing a snake festival except the year I had chicken pox and had to stay home.”

Maddie touched Austin’s arm. “Hi, Austin. That year he pouted like a bitchy little girl for a week. Then the other kids came down with the pox and he got to go with his dad to the Mesquite rodeo and they all had to stay home. So don’t let him make you feel all sorry for him. This your first time at this thing?”

Austin nodded.

Maddie was dressed in tight jeans, pink cowboy boots, and a pink shirt with a western cut yoke of white lace. Her hair was dressed high on her head and held there with a comb shaped like a horseshoe. “Rye, have you seen Gemma? I thought she might come over tonight but I haven’t seen her and can’t raise her on the phone. I’m getting worried. She usually returns my calls in an hour.”

Austin felt the blush creeping from her neck to her cheeks. She couldn’t say anything but she wanted to relieve Maddie’s worries so bad she had to bite her tongue to keep silent.

“Gemma’s probably out with her friends. They may be up at the casino pestering Colleen,” Rye said.

Maddie shook her head. “No, I called Colleen and she hasn’t seen her either.”

“I’m sure she’ll call you soon,” Austin said.

Her brow furrowed in a frown. “A mother worries no matter how old or young they are. Why are you in this line?”

“Austin never has ridden the cups and…” Rye shrugged.

“How did you talk him into riddin’ a kiddy ride? Damn! I wish I had my camera. Gemma won’t ever believe it without proof. Y’all comin’ around for Sunday dinner? I had a mind to break a couple of horses in the afternoon. Raylen says he’s better at it than Rye, but Rye has a touch with them.”

“You tell Raylen to put his spurs on and we’ll see who can do the job best,” Rye said.

“Sibling rivalry! It’s very useful,” Maddie whispered when she hugged Austin.

“I’ll tell him and you be sure to bring Austin along. Strawberries are ready this week. You like shortcake?”

“I do,” Rye said.

Maddie patted him on the back. “I wasn’t askin’ you, son. I know you can eat your weight in shortcake.”

Austin’s blue eyes were big as the full moon hanging right above the Ferris wheel. “That’s a bunch of strawberries. But yes, ma’am, I love shortcake.”

“Good. I’m off to find your father. I was seeing if there was any snake left when I saw y’all over here.”

Maddie had disappeared into the crowd when Austin remembered that she’d be driving toward Tulsa on Sunday afternoon. Suddenly, she began to crave strawberry shortcake.

The ride stopped and all the children were turned loose, then the vendor started filling up the big cups again. When Rye and Austin stepped forward to claim the last two seats he looked around for children.

“No kids. We want to ride,” Austin said.

He smiled. “You’ll have to share with those four little girls.”

Austin took a seat on the round bench and patted the spot next to her. Rye hesitated for a second before he sat down and the little girls all giggled.

“Are you a prince?” one asked.

“No, just a big old cowboy.”

“Are you a princess?” another one asked Austin.

“Afraid not, darlin’. I’m just a…” It was her turn to pause. What was she? Tonight she was a watermelon farmer out on a date with a rancher. But soon she’d be back in the rat race working her ass off for a promotion.

The third little girl leaned forward and looked her up and down several times as the cups began to move around in circles. “I bet you are Snow White all dressed up in cowgirl clothes, aren’t you? Is he going to kiss you and wake you up?”

“Yes, he is. And then we’re having strawberry shortcake. What do you think I should wear?”

“A fancy blue and yellow dress and diamonds in your hair.”

Rye had an instant picture of her in fairy-tale attire and thought about how much fun it would be to remove each pin from her hair and unfasten every button on that fancy gown. He’d take his time and enjoy every single minute of watching the costume puddle up at her feet.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Austin told her.

The little girls were so much fun that Austin wished the cup ride would last an hour. When it ended they rushed ahead of Austin and Rye to tell their mothers that they’d ridden with Snow White.

Sucking lemons couldn’t have wiped the smile from Austin’s face. “Kids!”

“Where are you going to find a dress like that?” Rye teased.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m Snow White. I can have the seven dwarves whip up anything I want.”

It was eleven o’clock and the vendors were shutting down when they left the festival and drove south to Terral. He parked outside the house and walked her to the door.

“I had a wonderful evening, Rye. Thank you,” she said. She wanted to invite him inside for a cup of coffee, a cold glass of watermelon wine, or a long session of steaming kisses and whatever they would lead to but Gemma’s truck was still in the backyard.

Rye ran the back of his hand down her cheek and leaned in for a kiss. After his lips touched hers she couldn’t think of anything but throwing Gemma out to the coyotes and taking him to bed. One kiss led to another and that one deepened into a more passionate one that had her panting when it ended. She drew him to the porch swing and sat down in his lap. He wrapped her up in his arms and nuzzled the inside of her neck, his hot breath causing goose bumps the size of mountains all over her body. She pressed closer and closer to him, feeling the hardness and wishing that she had the nerve to make love with him right there. But Gemma could appear at the door any minute.

“This is very nice. Let’s take it inside,” he whispered. It was that or go home to a very cold long shower and she’d been very receptive up to that point.

“Can’t. Too big of a mess in there.”

His fingers made their way up her bare back, unhooked her bra, and made long lazy circles on her back. She thought she’d melt into a pile of aching hormones if he didn’t stop and yet if he had she would have wept. No one had ever sent her into such a sexual tailspin as Rye O’Donnell was doing right then.

His hands slowly made their way around to the front where he cupped a breast. The warmth of his hand on such tender skin made her moan.

“Cold?” he asked.

“No, hot as hell.”

He chuckled. “I like your honesty. I don’t care if it’s messy in Granny’s house. We’ll shove it all to one side.”

“Can’t, Rye, much as I want to, I can’t do it.”

“Why?” He started at her knee and slowly made his way up to her belt buckle.

“Timing is wrong.”

“I understand.” He kissed her firmly, his tongue doing a mating dance with hers. “Then I’ll see you Sunday. I’ll pick you up at… what is that?”

“What?” She looked up at the golden glow coming from the kitchen window out onto the porch not six feet from them.

“Shhh!” He put his finger over her mouth. “Someone is in the house. I’ll take care of it.”

She tried to tell him that it was all right but he was already sneaking across the porch before she could utter a word. He jerked the door open and barged in with her right behind him.

He stopped in his tracks just inside the door. “What in the hell… Gemma?”

She managed a weak smile on her tear-stained face topped off by swollen eyes and an expression of pure misery. “Well, shit! Guess I’m busted.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Don’t throw a fit.”

He sighed. “You promised me.”

“Yep, but the heart wants what it wants and it took awhile for it to change its mind and not want it anymore. I just spent four hours on the phone with him and it’s over this time. He’s bringing all my things to Momma’s tomorrow morning. I called her and she’s not so happy either.”

“And you knew?” Rye asked Austin.

“Hey, don’t put me in the middle of the family squabble. I just gave her a place to stay while she sorted it all out.”

“So that’s why the timing wasn’t right?”

Austin blushed when she realized what he’d thought she meant.

“What timing?” Gemma asked.

“You turning on that damned light,” Austin said.

“I didn’t hear y’all drive up. I didn’t know you were out there.”

“Okay, it’s too late to do anything more tonight so let’s all get some sleep. It’ll look different tomorrow,” Austin said.

Rye looked at Gemma.

“I promise I’ll stay here until Momma says he’s come and gone. I don’t want to see him again either and I promise it’s over. He really, really broke my heart this time. I couldn’t go through that twice.”

“It’s not easy to believe you. You promised me the last time he acted up that it was over,” Rye said.

Austin had never had a brother or a sister to give a damn what she did or didn’t do. She made herself a promise right then that if she ever had children she’d have more than one so they could have what Gemma and Rye had.

“Forgive me?” Gemma’s eyes pleaded.

Rye opened his arms and she walked into them. “Want me to go bruise him up a little for you?”

“The answer right now is yes but it won’t be in the morning because he’s not worth you busting a knuckle on,” Gemma answered.

Rye raised an eyebrow at Austin when he stepped back from Gemma. “Okay then, ladies, I’m going home now. Want to go with me, Austin?”

“Like I said, timing’s not right.”

“Don’t let me stop you,” Gemma said.

Austin rolled up on her toes and kissed Rye on the cheek. “Good night and thanks again for a wonderful night. I’ll never forget it.”

“Me either.”

There was an awkward moment when he couldn’t look away.

Her feet were stuck so tight to the kitchen linoleum that she feared she’d be standing there when eternity dawned. Finally, he turned around and walked out without looking back.

Gemma whispered. “I’ll be damned!”

“What?”

“I can’t believe it. Rye O’Donnell is in love.”

“Hell’s bells, Gemma! That is a very serious thing,” Austin argued.

Gemma just grinned. “Let’s make a pot of coffee and talk. I don’t have any appointments tomorrow so I can sleep as late as I want. How about you? You got farmin’ to do or is Saturday free for you too?”

“I’m free,” Austin whispered.

“Where’s the coffee and the filters?”

Austin pointed to the cabinet above the percolator. “I saw your mother at the festival. She was worried about you.”

“I called her after I got things settled with the bastard. No, I shouldn’t call him that. His parents were married when he was born. He could be a son of a bitch though because part of the problem is his mother. She is a bitch with a capital B. Nothing is too good for her precious baby and by damn his way is the only way. A woman is supposed to walk three steps behind him, figure out what he wants before he does, and have it ready thirty seconds before he asks for it, and never cross him.”

“Sounds like he should catch the next plane to the Middle East.”

Gemma made coffee and pulled out a kitchen chair. “Never thought of it like that but that would be a good place for him. Now tell me, what is going on with you and my brother?”

“Nothing. You ever hear that song called ‘Strawberry Wine’?”

Gemma nodded.

“Remember that part where it said something about being caught somewhere between a woman and a child. Well, I’m not in that place. But I’m caught somewhere between watermelon wine and martinis, if that makes a lick of sense.”

“It does.”

“Okay, then let’s talk about you. Where are you going to live?”

“With the folks until I can find an apartment in Wichita Falls. Tell the truth I wish I could just put in a shop in Ringgold.”

“Then why don’t you?”

“Population 100.”

“Terral doesn’t have a beauty shop. Folks have to go to Ryan. Ringgold is closer and then there’s all those people between there and Henrietta and from there to Nocona. You might have more business than you realize.”

Gemma poured two cups of coffee and set them on the table.

“Oh, crap, I forgot,” Austin said.

“What?”

“Out on the porch. I set them on the chair while…”

“While you were making out with my brother?” Gemma’s eyes twinkled.

Austin gave her a mean look. “Indian tacos. If Rascal hasn’t eaten them, I brought you some supper.”

Gemma raced to the door and retrieved the Styrofoam containers, carried them into the house, and pulled out a chair. “You are a darlin’. I’ll marry you if my brother is too stupid to ask you.”