Well, what did you think of Emily?” Gloria asked that evening when she and Justin were alone in the living room.
“What did you think of her, Mama?” Justin fired right back.
“She’s good with those old folks,” Gloria said.
“Do I hear a but?”
“Of course not.” Gloria’s answer didn’t convince him. “Walk with me out to the trailer. I’ll make us a cup of coffee.”
“I’m way too full from that supper to drink a cup of coffee. I need to go visit with Larry about these house plans for Levi and Claire. I’ll walk you out there, but I’m not going inside.”
“Get my coat for me. I’m going to wrap up two pieces of the leftover pie for your dad’s bedtime snack,” Gloria said.
“Yes, ma’am.” Justin followed her to the kitchen and went on through to the utility room for both their coats. His mother had always been independent as hell and spoke her mind without a second thought about how it might sound. She’d never been clingy, so why had she had a personality change that day? Did the older folks being underfoot during meals make her realize that she wasn’t far from their age?
“You never did answer me about Emily,” Gloria said on the way across the backyard to where the RV was parked.
“She reminds me a little of you,” Justin answered.
“Oh?” Gloria turned around at the door.
“Outspoken and funny. The way the old folks banter with her is downright entertaining.” He chuckled.
“And her looks?” Gloria asked.
“Beautiful woman,” Justin said. “See you at breakfast. North wind is pickin’ up. You and Dad stay warm.”
“Good night, son,” Gloria said as she slipped in the RV.
Justin tucked the house plans into his coat and buttoned it. With his mind on the last details of the house, he started toward the guys’ bunkhouse. Getting Larry’s opinion wasn’t just to make him feel good. Justin really wanted to talk to him about a few of the finer points.
“Well, good evening.” Emily’s voice startled him.
He whipped around to find her sitting back in the shadows on the porch of the ladies’ bunkhouse. Light flowing from the window lit up half her face, leaving the other part in darkness. Had he been an artist instead of a draftsman, he would have asked her to pose for him, just like that. The picture would be one of those immortals that lived on for decades.
“Evenin’ to you. It’s pretty cold to be sittin’ outside,” he said.
“Probably, but I like the sounds and the smell of the night,” she answered. “It’s different on a ranch than it is in the city, even a small one like Bowie. What are you doin’ out this evening?”
“I was just going down to talk to Larry about those house plans. Sounds pretty quiet around here. Are the ladies already asleep?”
“They’re all down at the boys’ place. Said they were going to play cards and didn’t invite me, so I’m trying to give them their space. Want something to drink? They keep a pot of coffee going. Patsy is addicted to it.”
Justin shook his head. “Naw, I don’t usually drink it after supper. Can’t sleep if I do. See you at breakfast.”
“Reckon Retta could use some help? Or how about you? Need someone to do more chores with y’all? I’m an early riser,” she said.
“I don’t imagine that she or Mama would turn down help, but if they do, we sure don’t. Things start hoppin’ around six o’clock,” he answered. “You always been one to get up and around early?”
If Retta and his mother didn’t want her in the kitchen, he’d sure take her with him to help feed. After the way she’d handled those suitcases that morning, he didn’t have a doubt that she could take care of fifty-pound bags of feed with no trouble.
“Oh, yeah. My older brother is an old bear until he gets at least two cups of coffee, but my younger ones and I are bright eyed and bushy tailed, as the old saying goes. I’ll be up at the kitchen at six and y’all can put me wherever you want. The Fab Five will show up for breakfast at seven, right?”
He sat down on the porch step. “Seven is breakfast time, but it’s always on the bar, but if they’re a little late it’s no problem. So do your brothers live in Bowie?”
“No, they’re still out in West Texas,” she answered.
“How long have you lived in Bowie?”
“Five years. Have you always lived on the ranch?”
Five years within twenty minutes of the ranch—and he’d never seen her before. Surely he would’ve noticed someone that pretty if he’d run into her in the Rusty Spur on Saturday night, or even at the ice cream shop some evening.
He rose to his feet. “Born and raised right here.”
“Except when you went to college?”
“Didn’t go to college.” For the first time, it made him uncomfortable to admit that. “Levi and I graduated one Friday night and the next Monday we went on a full-time payroll right here on the ranch. It’s all either of us ever wanted to do.”
“But you’re a draftsman,” she said.
He shrugged. “I had a couple of classes in high school. It’s more like a hobby. I’ve designed a couple of barns, but this is my first house. They’d have to fit me with a straitjacket if I had to sit in an office all day long.”
Emily shivered and pushed up out of the rocking chair. “Me too. I like to be out or at least doing something. I’m not a paperwork person. The night wind is getting colder. Want to come inside?”
“Better go on and talk to Larry. Want to go with me?”
“I probably should check on them. They’ve been gone a couple of hours now.” She made her way down the three porch steps and started that way.
He walked along beside her. “So do you live at the retirement center?”
“No, it’s an eight-to-five job,” she answered.
“But you do live in Bowie, right?”
She nodded. “Yep. Got a little garage apartment that’s real private. It works well for one person.”
“Pets?” he asked when Beau greeted them from the other bunkhouse porch.
“Nope. I like cats and dogs but…” It was her turn to shrug.
He knocked on the door. “Pets need room, right?”
“And lots of care,” she answered.
“Come on in and join us,” Otis yelled out.
Justin opened the door and let Emily go in before him. His focus was on the way her waist cinched in from those well-rounded hips, and he didn’t realize that she’d stopped walking until he ran into her backside.
“Sweet Jesus!” She gasped.
Sarah giggled. “I don’t think Jesus would want to play strip poker with us, but y’all are welcome.”
Justin peeked over Emily’s shoulder. Like watching a car wreck, he couldn’t take his eyes off the sight before him. Patsy was down to white cotton panties and a bra; Sarah still wore a shirt and her underwear; Otis was wearing red satin boxers, and Larry had on tighty-whities. Evidently Bess was winning because other than being barefoot, she was fully dressed.
“What in the hell…” Emily blurted out.
“Don’t be a prissy butt,” Bess said.
“We play all the time. We got rules, and they say that we don’t take off our underwear,” Patsy said. “If we was younger we might, but it’s just downright depressin’ how everything hangs when you get to be our age.”
“It don’t raise our blood pressure, and it don’t hurt my hip or Otis’s knee,” Larry put in his opinion.
Emily turned around so quick that she had to throw up her hands to keep from falling. They flattened out right on Justin’s chest and he put his arms around her to maintain his own balance.
“We’re all over twenty-one,” Otis said. “And, Justin, if you’ll pick up a bottle of tequila next time you are in town, I’ll pay you double for it. We want to play with shots instead of money while we’re here.”
“I’m going to win that game. I can hold my liquor better than any of you,” Sarah said.
“In your dreams,” Patsy told her.
Emily was so embarrassed that an ice water bath wouldn’t take the crimson out of her cheeks. She dropped her hands and raced outside with Justin right behind her. She expected him to tell her that if she couldn’t control her residents better than this, then they’d better just go on back to the center.
Justin chuckled. “Lord, I hope I’m that ornery when I’m their age. They’re a hoot.”
“I had no…” she started.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Like Larry said, all of them are of age, so it’s their business what they do. I thought all they’d want to do is sleep and eat and maybe pet the dog. Boy was I wrong.”
“I need a drink,” she muttered.
“What kind and how much? Come up to the house with me, and I’ll pour us both up a shot of something strong. We deserve it after that, and don’t go all bossy mama on them. They’re adults, and they do this all the time at the center,” Justin said.
“See you at breakfast.” She went inside the bunkhouse and slid down the back of the door. She blinked several times, but she couldn’t unsee what her eyes had taken in. She shouldn’t have been so rude to Justin and left him standing on the porch after he’d been so sweet to offer her a drink, but she couldn’t look at him without blushing.
A soft giggle escaped and quickly turned into full-fledged laughter. Justin was right—she wanted to be that full of life when she was in her seventies. She looked down at her double-D’s and laughed even harder. “When gravity gets you, girls, I certainly won’t be losin’ my bra in a game of poker with the boys, either.”
She finally rose to her feet, removed her jacket on the way across the floor, and tossed it on her bed. She’d barely gotten turned around when she heard a soft knock on the door.
“Come on in,” she called out, expecting to see one of the ladies returning for another piece of clothing from their stash. She just hoped whoever it was had the good sense to put on a coat and wasn’t out wearing nothing but her underwear in the cold night air.
“Everyone decent?” Justin’s deep drawl preceded him into the room.
“Yes,” Emily said. “Did you reconsider and decide to send us all packin’ tonight?”
“Not one bit. You said you needed a drink. I didn’t know if you were a wine or whiskey girl, so I brought both.” He kicked the door shut with the heel of his boot and held up two bottles.
“Wine, please. I don’t even care what kind it is.” She answered at the same time a big yellow cat jumped into her lap. “I owe you an apology. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I was blushing, and I didn’t want you to see my red face.”
“Apology accepted, but I have a confession. It took several splashes of cold water to cool down my face. I can’t remember the last time I blushed.” He chuckled.
“Me, either.” Gussie sniffed at the wine bottle.
“Does she drink?” Emily asked.
“No, but she’s never met a stranger.” Justin fished two stemmed glasses from his pockets and set them on the coffee table before removing his coat and tossing it over the back of a recliner.
He poured two glasses and handed her one.
“Cowboys don’t drink wine,” she said.
He took a sip and sat down in the soft leather recliner facing the sofa. “This cowboy happens to like blackberry wine.”
Emily had never had that flavor, so she barely tasted it on the first sip, and then took a bigger gulp. “This is some good stuff. I could get used to this in a hurry.”
She sat down in the other recliner and glanced at the full bottle of Jack Daniel’s sitting beside the wine. “That could be a disaster if the ladies found it.”
“Yep, that’s why we’ll either hide it or I’ll take it back with me when I leave,” he told her. “Do they get to drink at the center?”
“No, sir! They all take meds that liquor would interfere with, but now I’m wondering just what they buy when they go to the mall or out shopping for food,” she said.
He finished off his wine and poured more.
Emily tossed back what was left of hers and held her glass out to him. “Just half as much as last time.”
“Can’t hold your liquor?” Justin teased.
“Honey, in case you didn’t notice, I’m a big girl, and I come from good Irish stock. I could drink a cowboy like you under the table,” she said.
“You’ll have to prove that sometime.” He shared the remainder of the bottle between the two of them.
“Not while the Fab Five are around or they’ll want to indulge right along with us.” She smiled.
Justin’s grin looked downright mischievous. “Then after the week is over, we’ll meet up and see if you can outdo me. I’ll bring the liquor. You bring a basket of food, and we’ll have us a picnic.”
“Where’s this contest going to be held?”
“Out in our barn. In a motel room. Right here in this bunkhouse. You call the place and bring a basket of fried chicken, and we’ll just see if your brag holds true. You name the place, and I’ll be there,” he said.
She imagined him all stretched out on a king-size bed in a motel room, his muscular body all tangled up in the sheets.
You’ve only known him one day. Be careful. Nikki’s voice popped into her head.
I can handle him, she argued with her best friend.
“You’re on. In this bunkhouse the weekend after the Fab Five goes back to the center. I’ll meet you here with the fried chicken at eight o’clock on Sunday night.” The minute the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to shove them back inside. But she’d never been able to back down from a challenge.
Comes from having three brothers. Now it was her mother’s voice talking to her.
“I’ll be waiting with the booze,” he said.
“Listen,” she whispered. “I hear them coming back.”
Justin was on his feet in a flash and had his coat on before she could blink. He tucked the empty wine bottle in one pocket and the whiskey in the other, leaving behind the two wineglasses. “You might want to hide those.”
She nodded and carried them to the kitchen. He left by the back door just as the ladies opened the front one. She downed what was left in her glass and quickly rinsed it. She started to pour out the rest of what Justin had left, but she’d always thought it was a sin to waste good wine, so she turned it up and drank that too.
By the time the ladies had removed their coats, Emily had stashed the glasses behind the cereal boxes in the cabinet.
“Are we in trouble?” Patsy giggled.
“Should you be?” Emily asked.
“A cat!” Sarah squealed. “What’s her name? She’s goin’ to have a litter, isn’t she? Come here, you precious thing and let me pet you.”
“Her name is Gussie, and Justin says that she can stay in the bunkhouse anytime she wants,” Emily said.
“She’s mine while we’re here, and she gets to sleep with me.” Sarah picked her up and held her close.
Bess went straight for the refrigerator and opened it. “I’m hungry. Anyone want ice cream before we turn in for the night?” She sniffed the air. “I smell fermented blackberries. Hey, if we find them, we could make some more wine.”
“More?” Emily asked.
“We made a lovely concoction at Christmas in Sarah’s room. We bought blackberry wine at the store. At least that’s what we thought we were buying, but it turned out to be a cordial. It was right good with a little sparkly club soda in it,” Patsy said.
“Good glory!” Emily gasped.
“I wish I had some of it.” Sarah carried Gussie to the kitchen. “A few tablespoons would be real good on ice cream. Do you like ice cream, pretty kitty? Or are you just a plain old milk drinker?”
“How did I not see this side of y’all in five years?” Emily asked.
“We’re really good at hidin’ things from Mama and Daddy.” Sarah grinned. “I found some chocolate syrup and whipped cream.”
“Precious Memories,” Patsy started singing.
“Hush,” Bess scolded. “You’ll make Emily blush.”
“Too late for that. I’m already there,” Emily said. “I’m going to take a shower. See y’all in the morning. Justin says breakfast is at seven, but it’s served buffet style, so if you’re a few minutes late, don’t panic. I’ll have all your morning meds with me. And I’ve put your night pills on the vanity in each of your rooms.”
“Take a cold one to help in case you dream about Justin tonight,” Patsy teased. “I’d like to dream about what I could do with whipped cream and chocolate and a cowboy like that.”