Don’t cry.” Emily choked up at Nikki’s sobs. “Did someone die?”
“No, and I passed the test, and now I’m a full-fledged RN, and I can give my notice at the center, and I’m going to miss you.” Nikki backed away from Emily and sat down in the booth. She pulled a dozen napkins from the dispenser and wiped her eyes. “It’s that son of a bitch I’ve been dating.”
“Whoa!” Emily gasped. “You didn’t tell me about a boyfriend.”
“I didn’t want to jinx it.” Nikki folded her arms on the table and hid her face. “Every time I tell you about a boyfriend, it jinxes it and we break up. It’s not your fault, and besides I knew you wouldn’t like him.”
Emily patted Nikki on the head and shoulders. “Why wouldn’t I like him?”
“He’s a cow—cow—” Nikki hiccupped. “Boy.”
“But you like cowboys,” Emily said, soothingly.
“I did, but I’m never dating one again. You’ve got my word. And you shouldn’t date Justin ever again, either.” Nikki straightened up and blew her nose into another fistful of napkins.
Emily gathered up the soggy napkins and took them to the trash. “This isn’t about me today. It’s about you. What happened between you and the cowboy, anyway?” She returned and pulled more out to hand to Nikki, who still had tears streaming down her face.
Emily’s phone rang. She started to ignore it but Nikki nodded and pointed.
“Answer it and I’ll try to stop this cryin’. My sides hurt from it,” she said.
“Hello, Hudson. Is this important? I’m in the middle of something,” she said.
“I’m just callin’ to say if you don’t come for the family gatherin’ in two weeks that me and Tag are comin’ to Bowie for a whole week, and we’re crashin’ in your apartment. You want that?” he asked.
“I’ll be there. I promise.” She sighed.
Her two brothers in her small apartment would be like putting two grown grizzly bears in a two-hole outhouse. They’d tear it down and there’d be nothing left but a stinky mess.
“Pinky swear?” Hudson asked.
“Absolutely,” Emily sighed.
“Well, you don’t have to get excited or anything. It’s just the whole family who wants to see you,” Hudson said, sarcastically. “You could bring a boyfriend to make Granny happy. She’s not gettin’ any younger you know.”
“I’m not havin’ this conversation today,” Emily said. “I’ll see you in two weeks. Give Mama and Granny a hug for me.”
“Remember what I said. We’ll be there if you aren’t here,” Hudson told her.
She hit the END button and turned back to Nikki. “Family!”
“I know. The other F word.” Nikki tried to smile, but it didn’t work.
“You didn’t answer me,” Emily said. “Why did you break up with your cowboy? You’ve always been drawn to boots, a swagger, and a big belt buckle.”
Nikki’s lower lip quivered. “He was married! His wife came to see me and she’s huge pregnant. He told me he was divorced.”
“Where’s this sumbitch from?” Emily patted her purse where her cute little .38 special had a home in a zippered side pocket. “Me and Cora will take care of him. I’ve got two shovels in the garage, or we can just leave his sorry carcass out in a mesquite thicket for the coyotes.”
“I’m glad I don’t have a concealed weapon carry license or we might have had to use those shovels,” Nikki said. “I’m even glad you weren’t close enough for me to borrow your sweet little Cora because that poor baby wouldn’t have a father. Why’d you name that gun Cora anyway?”
Emily smiled. “I had an old great-aunt named Cora. She could shoot the eye out of a rattlesnake at fifty yards with her old Colt .45. She never missed, and she didn’t take shit off nobody.” Emily giggled. “But enough about my gun. You look like hell. Have you even eaten today?”
Nikki dabbed at her swollen eyes. “I’ve cried ever since his wife left. That poor baby havin’ a sorry, cheatin’ daddy for a role model. I hope she kicks him out, and he can’t find anyone to take him in. He should have to sleep on the street in a cardboard box for treating her like that.”
“How about the way he treated you?” Emily asked.
“For that, I hope he can’t find a cardboard box,” Nikki declared.
“Did you pack a bag for tomorrow?” Emily asked.
Another nod. “Can I stay at your place tonight? I’m afraid he’ll come around and try to explain. I don’t want to see him.”
“Of course you can, and we’re goin’ home right now. I’ll fix you something to eat, and we’ll watch movies until our eyes won’t stay open.”
“And we’ll eat a quart of ice cream right out of the carton?” Nikki asked.
“Rocky road with extra chocolate syrup. Now let’s go buy a cup of coffee so we won’t feel guilty about taking up the booth for the past half hour.” Emily headed toward the counter.
Nikki grabbed her purse and followed. The lady behind the counter gave them two empty cups, pointed toward the coffee machine beside the soft drink fountain, and made change for the bill that Emily handed her.
“I need high octane,” Nikki said as she filled her cup from the dark roast container.
“Me too.” Emily came in right behind her. “Now let’s go home and make omelets, then we’ll have ice cream, and if that don’t do the trick, I’ve got some Jack Daniel’s in the freezer.”
“Freezer?” Nikki asked.
“That’s right. Whiskey don’t freeze and it’s better ice cold,” Emily answered.
It was well past midnight when Nikki finally fell asleep curled up on the sofa. Emily yawned, stretched, and worked the kinks out of her neck before she turned off the movie they’d been watching. She picked up the dirty dishes and glasses and put them in the kitchen sink and then tiptoed into her bedroom.
She didn’t remember to check her messages until she had slipped beneath the covers. Raising up on an elbow, she didn’t even pick the phone up from the nightstand. There were three messages: one from Tag reminding her of the same thing that Hudson had earlier; one from her mother sending a guilt trip because Emily hadn’t called like she usually did on Sunday; and the last one was from Justin, which simply said: Sweet dreams. She ignored the first two and sent a sleeping smiley face emoji back to him.
She was rudely awakened at six o’clock by the ring tone she’d assigned to her mother. It was either answer it or Anne would bug her all day with texts while she was at work.
“Good mornin’, Mama,” she said.
“Did I wake you?” Anne asked. “I was afraid something was wrong since you didn’t call for our usual Sunday afternoon chat yesterday.”
“Nothing is wrong.” Emily yawned.
“I’m pouring my second cup of coffee. Want to do FaceTime or just talk?”
“Talk is fine. I’m barely awake and look like hell.” Emily had avoided letting her mother see her picture for a couple of weeks, afraid that Anne would see something that would make her ask more questions than Emily wanted to answer.
“So what’s happened this week?” Anne asked.
Well, I had lots of sex and went on a date with a cowboy.
“Nothing much, but my friend, Nikki. You remember her, don’t you? She came home with me last year for a weekend,” Emily answered.
“Of course I remember Nikki. If Hudson hadn’t been dating Courtney, I believe he would have made a play for her. On that note, I have bad news. Courtney broke up with your brother, and he’s devastated. I’m glad you’re coming home in a few days. Seeing you might cheer him up. Now what about Nikki?” Anne asked.
Emily started with when Nikki called her—but left out where she was at that time, and went into great detail with the story, ending with that it was time to wake Nikki up so they could get ready for work.
“The poor darlin’, but she shouldn’t judge all cowboys by that rotten apple. You should bring her home with you. Who knows? Maybe she’ll be the one for Hudson after all,” Anne said.
“Can’t. She’s starting a new job at the hospital since she passed her RN test and she can’t take off.” Emily crossed her fingers.
“Too bad.” Anne sighed. “It pains me to see him like this, but at least I get to see him.”
Guilt trip on the way. Pack your bags.
“Love you, Mama. See you in a few days.”
“Almost two weeks is not a few days,” Anne said. “You and I are getting our hair and nails done on Saturday, and don’t argue with me.”
Can we stop by a lingerie shop so I can buy something sexy to wear for Justin when I get back to Bowie?
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Mama. Looking forward to it. Give my brothers and Daddy a hug for me,” Emily said.
“I will, but you can save mine until you get here,” Anne said.
The called ended, and Emily tossed the phone over on the other side of the bed.
The aroma of coffee and bacon preceded Nikki into the room. She set a tray bearing two mugs of coffee and half a dozen biscuits stuffed with bacon on the edge of the bed.
“Everything looks better this morning.”
“You didn’t have to do this. We could have grabbed something on the way to work.” Emily smiled and sipped the coffee.
“You gave up your time with Justin to get me through a rough night. Biscuits and bacon is the least I can do,” Nikki said.
On Monday morning Justin stopped by the center on his way out of town to see Emily one more time. The recreation room was empty so he headed on down to Larry’s room, only to find that he wasn’t there. He met Nikki as he was headed up the hallway.
“You lookin’ for Larry or Emily?” she asked.
“Emily,” he answered.
“She’s in a meeting with the big bosses. Unless it’s an emergency, I can’t disturb her. They even turn off their phones and put a sign on the door. I’m not sure you can get into heaven if you even knock.” Nikki smiled.
That was disappointing, but he got back on the road and sent her a text: Missing you.
An hour passed and he was on the other side of Wichita Falls before his phone pinged with a return text that simply said: Me too. Sorry I missed you.
It was midafternoon when he pulled his cattle trailer onto the ranch where the new bull was located. Driving up to the long, rambling house, he thought of the place he was planning. Emily had loved the location and even made suggestions. He was still zoned out in his own thoughts when someone startled him by tapping on the window. He quickly hit the button to roll it down.
“Hello, I’m Justin Maguire,” he said.
“I’m Maverick Callahan. I work here on the ranch. I reckon you’re here to see about buying Old Glory?” The man wasn’t as tall as Justin, but he looked like he could uproot a tree with those huge arms. “We been expectin’ you. My brother, Paxton, has got the bull in the corral. If you don’t mind I’ll ride with you, then I’ll guide you back to the right place.”
“Hop right in,” Justin said.
“So you’re from Bowie, Texas? I went through that area once. I liked the rolling hills and trees. Reminded me more of Ireland than this area. Follow the path right there.” Maverick pointed.
“You been to Ireland?” Justin asked.
“Last year. Me and my brother took our Mam back to visit her relatives. Picked up a bit of the accent while we were there, but when we got back home, it all disappeared,” Maverick said.
“Mam? Your mother?”
“No, Mam is what the Irish call their grandmother. She lives up around Pampa. We go see her every chance we get. Now turn right and keep on the trail. In about five miles you’ll see the barn.”
Justin followed the directions. “How’d your Mam get to Texas from Ireland?”
“She fell in love with a rancher that went over to Ireland to buy some fancy cattle,” Maverick explained. “Right there’s the barn. Pull your trailer alongside that fence. You can unhook it until tomorrow mornin’ when you load Old Glory up and take him home—unless you change your mind about buyin’ him. Miz Opal says that you’re to stay in the ranch house tonight. They’ve got everything all ready for you, and the family will be comin’ to supper.”
“I’d planned to stay in a hotel until morning, or else take the bull home tonight.” If he got the animal loaded he could easily be home by bedtime, and maybe even ask Emily to wait for him at the cabin.
“Can’t do that. It’s goin’ to storm real bad here in a couple of hours. Take a look at those black clouds comin’ from the southwest.”
Justin removed his hat and turned around to find a dark sky out there on the horizon. “Guess in this flat land, y’all can see the storm comin’, but what’s the weather got to do with a bull?”
Maverick shook his head slowly from side to side. “Old Glory has one fault. He’s afraid of storms. He’d kick his way out of that trailer if you drove him through thunder and lightning. He’ll do fine if he can hug up to a barn or if he’s inside a stall, but he’d be a handful in a trailer.”
“Hey, are you Justin Maguire? I’m Paxton, Maverick’s younger brother.” He put his hand on a fence post and jumped over it.
Justin shook hands with him. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise. We got Old Glory inside the barn in a stall. Come on in here and look at him.”
Justin followed the brothers inside. The bull looked even better than the pictures and descriptions that they’d gotten at the ranch. “Fertility tested?” he asked.
“Miz Opal’s got the papers for that and everything else at the house. She’ll go over them with you this evening. Some of the family would’ve met you but they’re all tied up today. Bein’ a rancher, you know how that goes,” Maverick told him.
Justin reached between the rails to pet the bull. “I sure do. Never enough hands to get everything done. The old boy seems gentle.”
“Hasn’t got a bit of that wild bull in him to pass on down to the offspring. He’s a big old pet, but he’ll bring new blood to your herd,” Paxton said. “I reckon you’d better let Maverick take you on up to the house now. Marie, the cook, will show you to your room. You’ll have an hour to get changed, if you want to before suppertime. They usually meet about five in the den for drinks and a visit before supper is served.”
There didn’t seem to be a way that Justin could get out of staying on the Big Sky Ranch that night, so he gave up even trying to come up with an excuse.