“Happens to all of us. Anything else?”
“Yes, please add half a dozen burritos and maybe a dozen cheese sticks from the deli.” Kate pulled out her credit card.
She toted her bags out to the car and put them in the backseat, got inside, and in a few minutes realized she was on her way back to the ranch instead of the cabin. She braked hard, leaving a trail of dust behind her from the dirt road.
“Get your head on straight, Kate!” Her voice bounced around in the car like marbles in a tin can, echoing from every surface to remind her that she should think about what she was doing.
Amanda waved from the front door when she finally pulled up in front of the cabin for the second time that evening. “Hey, we’re all fishing from the dock. We’re having a picnic supper down there in a little while. Come join us. Did you bring beer and soda pop?”
“Yes, I did. I’ll just haul it all down there instead of unloading in the house,” Kate said.
“Need some help? I came up to go to the bathroom. Whoever built this place should have put a toilet in the boat shed.”
“Got a couple of bags of chips and burritos that you can carry. I’ll take the heavy stuff,” Kate answered. “I probably should wash up.”
“You look like hell, but so do the rest of us.” Amanda smiled. “We’ll all smell like fish before dark anyway.”
“Kate, come and see the fishes that I caught. One is big enough to eat for dinner tomorrow,” Gracie hollered as Amanda and Kate made their way down the steps to the boat dock.
Just seeing her put a smile on Kate’s face. “You are quite a fisherman, Miss Gracie!”
“And I got four,” Hattie called. “We’ll have enough for a fish fry before the sun sets.”
“Hey, Hattie and Victor. We haven’t seen you two in a while.” Kate set her bags beside the picnic basket over toward one side and sat down in the only empty chair left.
“Been busy with the festival planning board,” Victor said.
“We hit a snag and had to make arrangements for a different kind of carnival, so we’ve both been up to our eyeballs in finding another one. Long as we have a Ferris wheel, I’m happy.” Hattie watched the red-and-white fishing bobble dance out there in the water. “I hear you’ve taken on a job with Waylon. How’s that going?”
“I drove a hay wagon on Tuesday, took Wednesday off because of the rain, and then went in today. It’s quite a change from what I’m used to doing,” Kate answered. “Waylon has police things to do tomorrow in Dallas instead.”
“Here.” Victor handed her a fishing rod and reel. “I baited the hook for you. Reel it in easy if your cork goes under.”
Kate had never been fishing in her entire life, but she held the rod and watched the red-and-white ball at the end of the line. “How many fish would it take for us to have a fish fry?”
“Ten if they are good size,” Hattie answered. “When we get enough, I’ll make hush puppies and baked beans. Victor, you can bring your famous coleslaw.”
“Hattie makes the best fried catfish in the whole universe,” Victor said. “I’d marry her just to get the recipe.”
“You old coot.” Hattie giggled. “No woman in her right mind would marry you. I don’t know how Lorraine put up with you all those years.”
“Love, darlin’.” His grin erased a few of the wrinkles lining his face. “She loved me, and truth be told, I’d never remarry, not even for your damned old recipe.”
“Then don’t tease me about it. I had my heart set on a big white dress and wedding cake.” Hattie sighed.
“You are full of horse crap.” Victor chuckled and stared straight at Kate. “But wedding cake does sound good. We haven’t had a wedding in Bootleg in years.”
“Get thee behind me, Satan!” Kate made the sign of the cross over her chest. “I’m only here until my vacation time runs out, then I’ve got a company to run.”
“Well, rats!” Victor huffed. “I just knew from the way Waylon was stealing them long looks at you in church that something might be going on.”
“It’s only been two weeks since Conrad died,” Amanda said.
“Oh, honey, that scoundrel died years ago for Kate. Now you might need to wear widow’s weeds a year, but not her,” Hattie said. “Look, I’ve got another fish, and this is a big one. Help me bring him in, Victor. My arthritis has been acting up all day.”
“Well, so has mine, woman, and I’ve got a bite on my line. You are on your own,” Victor said.
Jamie handed her rod and reel off to Amanda and hurried over to Hattie’s side. She deftly slid the grip from the older woman’s hands and worked the reel until she had a nice three-pound catfish lying on the dock. “Now that’s going to taste really good.”
“Would it be a winner in the contest?” Gracie asked.
“It could be, depending on the age category. For yours, Gracie, it would be big enough to get you those tickets to Six Flags you want for sure,” Victor answered as he brought in a smaller bass. “I’ll get what we’ve got cleaned and filleted and put in the ice chest while y’all go on and catch some more.”
“When you get that done, we’ll spread out our picnic and take a break.” Hattie glanced over her shoulder.
“Who are you looking for?” Kate asked.
“Oh, I just mentioned a picnic on the lake and kind of invited Paul and Lisa to join us. He said if he could get away early enough, he just might,” Hattie answered.
“Nothing like sandwiches and beer on a hot summer night,” Victor said.
“Or fried chicken,” Jamie said from the other end of the dock.
“If you fry up a good chicken, I’ll throw Hattie in the lake and marry you instead,” Victor teased.
“Not me.” Jamie shook her head slowly. “I’m never getting involved with another man.”
“Me, either, so don’t ask,” Amanda said with a grimace.
“Guess that leaves me with no one, since we all know Waylon will sweet-talk Kate into becoming a rancher before the end of the summer.” Victor removed a long, thin-bladed knife from a leather sheath on his belt and began cleaning fish.
“Oh, hush,” Kate fussed at him. “We can buy a wedding cake at Walmart and you can eat the whole thing, Victor, but I’m going back to Fort Worth when summer ends.”
Were these people insane? Trying to fix Jamie up with Paul was one thing. She planned to stay in Bootleg if she got a teaching job, and they were both teachers, they had kids the same age, and it was plain that there was chemistry. Kate and Waylon had little if anything in common, and a few hot kisses and a little flirting would not turn her from an oil heiress into a rancher’s wife.
She shuddered at the idea of being anyone’s wife again. Lover, maybe. Wife never.
“You drank of the Bootleg water, my dear,” Victor said.
“And that means?” she asked.
“Anyone who drinks the water in Bootleg ain’t satisfied to live anywhere else,” Hattie answered.
Kate rolled her eyes toward the blue sky. “That’s a crock of horse pucky if I’ve ever heard one. I’m changing the subject. Was there something that any of you wanted to be other than what you are right now?”