It was time for Fiona to go to work, but she lingered over her coffee that morning. “Mama, I need one more hug before I leave. You will call when y’all settle into the hotel for the night, right?”
“I will.” Katy wrapped her arms around her youngest daughter. “I’ll make sure to have time to hear all about your first day on the job.”
“I love you. Please be careful.” Fiona’s voice almost cracked.
“No tears,” Katy whispered. “This is an adventure for both of us. I get a vacation and you get to run the store all by yourself.”
Fiona took a deep breath and hugged her mother even tighter before she let go and stepped back. “Wish me luck. I’ve never been the boss.”
“You’ll be a wonderful boss. Call one of Herman’s granddaughters to help you if things start to get overwhelming. But I have faith in you.” Fiona kissed her on the forehead. “That’s your kiss on the forehead. You gave them to us when we were little girls and we thought they were magic.”
“They were and I’m sure this one is, too,” Katy said. “Now go before you make me cry. I can be on the next flight home if you need me or if anything happens with your grandmother.”
“Go and don’t worry,” Fiona urged her.
“Get on out of here. I bet the old guys are fuming because the store isn’t open so they can catch up on the gossip and eat doughnuts,” Katy said. “I’m looking forward to warm weather, a little sunshine, and the beach.”
“Without a single guilt trip, right?” Fiona opened the door and waved.
She’d been home almost a whole week. This was her third day at the store but her first one without her mother there. She made sure the coffee was brewing, but the pastry guy had left a message on the store’s answering machine saying the roads were too slick, so he wouldn’t see her until Monday. The guys weren’t going to like that one bit. They’d have to eat the prepackaged things off the shelf if they wanted their snacks today.
Sleet fell sporadically. The tiny pellets beat against the windowpane for five or ten minutes, put down enough ice to lay a coat on the snow that had already fallen; then it stopped. But it was just teasing. In ten minutes it would start all over again and the roads would be even greasier.
Fiona shut her eyes and imagined sitting on the beach with a book in her hands, watching the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico. In her imagination, she could hear the children laughing and making sand castles, see their parents walking hand in hand across the beach, all with the sounds of Christmas music in the background.
How often had she wished for a chill in the air to make it seem like Christmas? How many parties had she attended when they’d turned down the air-conditioning so the ladies wouldn’t sweat in their cute little velvet cocktail dresses? Now she had real Christmas weather and she was dreaming of the beach.
She could not have her cake and eat it, too, but that morning she was determined to worry about nothing other than her old guys who wouldn’t have their morning doughnuts.
The phone her mother gave her as an early Christmas present rang. She fished it out of her pocket and smiled when she saw Katy’s picture appear. “Yes, Mama,” she answered.
“I just wanted to tell you that Trudy has snow tires on the van and that we’re heading due south all the way down to Interstate 10. Fifty miles south of us the roads are completely dry. But the main reason I called is that you need to put the snow tires on the car. They are in the storage shed out back. I haven’t used them since last year, so get Jud to check the air in them.”
“I’ll do that. Now go on and have a great time,” Fiona said.
“I’ll call when we check into a hotel so you can give me an update on the store. Bye, now!”
“Bye, Mama.”
“Hey, Fiona!” Sharlene shook snow from her blond hair and fluffed it back away from her face. “Is the coffee ready? The electricity is out at our house this morning. Can you believe this weather? We’ve still got another day left in November and it’s snowing and sleeting. It’s downright crazy.”
“Y’all need a place to stay?” Fiona asked.
Sharlene hung her coat on the back of a chair. “No, we’ll be fine. We’ve got a gas hot water tank and gas heat, so we aren’t going to freeze, but the cookstove is electric and so is the coffeepot.”
Fiona picked up the biggest cup and filled it. “Here you go.”
Sharlene grabbed two honey buns on the way to the back table. She set the coffee and the pastry on the table. “I’m starving and really glad I don’t have any kids arriving at the day care this morning until nine. You got any of your Christmas shopping done?”
Fiona couldn’t do a lot of shopping on less than three dollars, but she didn’t tell Sharlene that. On Friday she would have a paycheck and she planned to buy a few gifts each week until Christmas arrived.
“Not yet but Lizzy, Allie, and I are going with Dora June after church on Sunday to do a little bit.” Fiona left the counter, pulled out a chair, and sat across from Sharlene.
The cellophane paper around the honey bun crinkled as Sharlene pushed it across the table. “Want a honey bun?”
Fiona sent it sliding back across the table. “No, thanks. Dora June made a big breakfast this morning.”
“I envy you for having Dora June’s cooking, but I still wouldn’t want to live with either of those old farts. Do you miss the city?”
“Sometimes, but being home for a few months isn’t a bad thing, especially during the holidays. How about you?”
One of Sharlene’s shoulders inched up toward her ear. “Remember, I had both. I commuted from here to work. So I got all the fun of the small-town gossip and close-knit community and then when I was in the city I got Starbucks and lunch specials at all the restaurants.”
“Does Mary Jo miss it?” Fiona asked.
“She loves having her own beauty shop and not having to commute an hour to work every day. Sounds like the coffee bunch is here,” Sharlene said as truck doors slammed outside. She slipped on her coat, then picked up the extra pastry in one hand and the coffee in the other. “Figure up my bill and I’ll give them the table and scoot across the street. I need to get ready for my first batch of kiddos. Who would have ever thought I’d enjoy a day care so much, but I do.”
“Having a day care and having kids of your own are two different things,” Fiona said.
“I know, but I just love them all. Someday I’m going to run that family that has nineteen kids some competition. Oh, look. It might be snowing but I’d know that swagger anywhere. That’s Jud Dawson going into Mary Jo’s place.” Sharlene pointed to the salon across the street. “I’d love to get my hands all tangled up in that blond hair of his.”
Fiona had no right to be jealous, but she was.
“You forgot to ring up the coffee,” Sharlene said.
Fiona fought against the crimson filling her cheeks, but it didn’t do a bit of good. “Coffee’s on me today. You’ll need it since the kids can’t go out in the backyard and play.”
“You got that right, darlin’,” Sharlene said. “But don’t think that blush escaped me.” She leaned across the counter. “And don’t worry. If you didn’t have the hots for him, I’d worry about you. What you do or don’t do about it, that is your business, but if you ever decide to act on that attraction y’all have for each other, I will expect a full report.”
Three men, including Truman and Herman, pushed through the door and stomped the snow from their feet on the coarse welcome mat. “Mornin’, Sharlene. How’s that babysittin’ business goin’?” Herman asked.
“It’s keepin’ the bills paid and food on my table and it sure beats commuting in this weather,” she answered. “Y’all boys have a good day now.”
The door shut behind her at the same time Fiona picked up the coffeepot and three mugs to carry to the table. By the time the old guys had hung their coats on the backs of their chairs, she had filled their cups. “You boys are late today. I expected you to be waiting for me.”
“Took us longer to get the chores done in this weather. Where’s the doughnuts?” Herman asked.
“Y’all are out of luck today. You’ll have to eat the prepackaged stuff on the shelf if you want a midmorning snack or go up to Nadine’s. I hear she’s making apple pies this morning.”
“Just bring us a dozen of those things up there on the rack. If we go to Nadine’s, the wives will get upset because we didn’t invite them. This is just a convenience store. That’s a real restaurant,” Herman said.
Fiona picked up a red plastic basket, put a paper in it as if she were serving doughnuts, and filled it with honey buns, chocolate cupcakes, and powdered doughnuts. When she set it in the table, they were cussing the insurance companies. According to them, Truman’s company should have already settled with him and a new house should be built right where the old one stood.
Fiona really had no right to watch the clock and conveniently be at the front of the store when Jud hunched his shoulders against the cold as he left Mary Jo’s Beauty Shop. Hoping he might swagger on across the street, she held her breath, but he got into his truck and drove away.
“Hey, if y’all need anything else, yell right loud. I’m going into the back room to do some book work,” she yelled.
Herman waved to let her know that he’d heard her and went back to listening to the next rant about insurance. She whipped around and went to her desk, opened up Nadine’s files on the computer, and started inputting data.
Fifteen minutes later, Truman hollered that they were leaving. “Put what we had today on my bill.”
“Will do. Y’all be careful out there in that mess,” she shouted back.
“Hey, Fiona, your sister’s comin’,” Herman yelled as he left the store.
Fiona set her work aside and in seconds, Lizzy carried two cups of hot chocolate to the back room. Fiona had always envied her for knowing exactly what her path was in life and never looking back once she made a decision. She’d known in junior high that she would inherit the feed store, and she never looked to one side or the other. She strapped on the harness and took care of business.
“I just saw Jud leave Mary Jo’s. Guess he got a haircut this morning.” Lizzy handed off one cup of hot chocolate and sat down in the chair facing the desk. “How are things really going in the house? Last night was all Walton wonderful, but still waters run deep. Are you going to be all right with Mama gone and having to be in that house with Dora June, Truman, and Jud?”
Fiona chuckled. “Remember when Granny used to watch reruns of that television show and tell us no one in the world was that perfect?”
Lizzy warmed her hands around the mug. “But she’d watch them over and over again, wouldn’t she? I miss her.”
“Me too. I still expect to hear her cussin’ down the foyer before she even appears in the kitchen or living room.”
“It got bad there at the end. She ran away and it was awful the way she dressed. Either in sequins and mismatched shoes or else she’d run away in her nightgown and a robe with rubber boots on her feet. But I wasn’t asking about Granny. How are things with you?”
“It will be fine. It’s not forever and I enjoy Jud being there. It’s nice to have someone to talk to in the evenings but…”
Lizzy set the mug on the desk. “But what?”
Fiona shrugged.
“But he’s putting down roots and you still want to fly, so you aren’t going to start anything, but he’s a damn fine-lookin’ cowboy and you haven’t had time for a romp in the bed since your divorce.” Lizzy stopped to catch her breath and then went on. “How close am I?”
“I’ve only been home a week.”
Lizzy blew across the top of the steaming hot chocolate. “What’s that got to do with my question?”
Fiona sighed. “Yes, you’re right on all counts. We’re going to the Rusty Spur Friday night, but it’s not a date. Besides, what can we do with Dora June and Truman in the house? You know how the bed springs squeak.”
“Oh, honey.” Lizzy’s grin said that she could tell tales that would make a sailor blush. “If that’s the only thing holding you back, it can be arranged that they will be out of the house any evening of the week.”
“That is a lovely sweater. I believe it belonged in my closet at one time,” Fiona said.
“Nice way to change the subject. I can totally see you blushing, you know,” Lizzy told her.
“Quit playing matchmaker with the hopes that if I fall for Jud Dawson I’ll stay in Dry Creek.”
Lizzy’s head bobbed up and down several times. “I only do it because I love you and this is where you belong. You just don’t know it yet. I should probably get back to the store, though everyone is holed up in this kind of weather and no one needs anything. I hope I don’t die of boredom. Toby, Blake, and Jud are even painting the inside of my house because they can’t do anything on the ranch until this clears up.”
Fiona went back to her bookkeeping work when Lizzy left but she couldn’t keep her mind on her work. Finally, she saved what she had done, drew up another cup of hot chocolate from the machine, and picked up a six-pack of miniature powdered sugar doughnuts on the way to the table. She propped up her scuffed cowboy boots on an empty chair and tried hard not to think of Jud, his kisses, that cute little crooked smile when he was amused, the sexy strut, or his drawl.
But it didn’t work…
Deke was the tallest of the four men, so he got the job of rolling the white paint on the ceiling. Toby and Blake were already working on the walls when Jud arrived, and as luck would have it, the last one to the party got the worst job. He had to paint the woodwork. He opened the gallon can of semigloss trim paint, dipped the brush, sat down on the floor, and started painting baseboards.
“So, Deke, I heard you were out with a hot redhead over the weekend,” Jud said.
Deke laughed. “So hot that butter would melt right off her naked body.”
“Hot enough to melt an Eskimo’s igloo?” Toby asked.
“Are we going to get into so hot stories?” Blake chuckled.
“You used to tell them better than anyone,” Deke answered.
“You’ll be reformed someday. When your baby daughter wraps her fist around your little finger and smiles at you for the first time, all those hot women stories will disappear,” Blake said.
“Now that would take magic or miracles. I’m not ever settling down to one woman. There’s too many out there all lined up for a little Deke love for that kind of nonsense.” Deke grinned. “How about you, Jud?”
“Don’t get me to tellin’ lies.” Jud dipped his paintbrush into the bucket and kept working.
“So you’re ready to settle down?” Deke’s hazel eyes popped wide open. “And here I thought I’d have one bar buddy for a long time.”
“I didn’t say a word about settling down,” Jud said. “But changing the subject. I’m glad we’re all here because I’ve got something I want to talk to y’all about.” Jud went on to tell them about the old well and what Truman had told him.
“If there was oil on the Lucky Penny, don’t you think someone would have discovered it?” Deke said.
“This ranch has been grown up in mesquite for years. No one even thought to look past the unlucky reputation that it has had all this time.” Jud had a steady hand and was almost to the corner.
“In other words, no one looked beneath the surface and everyone thought that well had water in it. I was looking forward to using it this spring after we cleared the land around it,” Toby said. “I got to admit, I’m a little disappointed. But if it yields a gusher, it would sure turn our five-year plan around.”
“Well, I’d like to keep it under our hats until spring. I can have all the paperwork done for what we need in the meantime, and if it’s got the potential I think it does, the Lucky Penny will finally live up to its name instead of its reputation.”
“Good luck,” Deke said. “Now, what’s this I hear about you helping Truman? Did y’all see him peeking around the corner last night while we were decorating? What do you figure that was all about?”
“He’s a lonely old coot,” Jud answered. “Y’all remember Mr. Henry?”
“Who?” Deke started back to work.
Blake laid his roller down and gulped down a third of his beer. “Mr. Henry was the scrooge in Muenster for years.”
“Like in the movies?” Deke asked.
“Exactly. He didn’t give out candy on Halloween. He would call the police if a kid walked on his grass on the way home from school. Truman reminds me of him. He’s even about the size Mr. Henry was and he’s got that mean look in his eye,” Toby said. “I was terrified of him when I was a little kid.”
Deke stopped long enough to wipe a blob of white paint from his cheek. “What happened to him?”
“He died a couple of years ago,” Blake answered.
“But a grandson that he didn’t even know he had came to live with him about ten years before that,” Jud said. “The kid was probably twelve that year because he was a few years younger than me. Anyway, that boy turned Mr. Henry’s life around. I intend to turn Truman’s around. Mr. Scrooge is going to be Santa Claus on Christmas morning.”
“I’ll bet you fifty dollars that won’t happen,” Deke laughed.
“I’d rather bet a case of beer. If he’s wearing a red suit on Christmas morning, you owe me a case of beer. If not, I’ll buy you one,” Jud said.
“That’s a deal. Is our word good enough or do we need to shake on it?”
“Deke Sullivan’s word is good enough for me any day of the week.”
Jud had lots of things he wanted to share with Fiona, starting with a couple of beers he’d talked Deke out of after they’d finished the painting. She was sitting in one of the chairs in the hall outside her door, and when she looked up, his heart kicked in an extra beat.
“I’m returning last night’s treat.” He held the beers up. “Did Lizzy and Allie call you? If not, I’m supposed to tell you that we’re expected at Lizzy’s tomorrow night to help with Christmas decorations and supper. When we get done there, we’re supposed to go to Allie’s and help put up her stuff.”
“They called already.” Fiona headed to her spot on the bed. “Nice haircut.”
“Thanks. Mary Jo does a good job.” He grinned as he handed her a beer.
Jud sat down on the edge of the bed instead of in his chair. “I need a huge favor, Fiona.”
“Which is?” she asked.
“I’ve talked to my cousins and Deke knows, too, about this oil business, but I don’t want anyone else to know, including your sisters, until it’s a done deal.”
“Blake and Toby are good with not telling them?”
Jud nodded.
“Then I’ll keep mum about it, too. No problem. I’m sure if the gossip gets loose that there’s oil on the Lucky Penny, everyone will be clamoring, wanting to know if it’s on their property.”
Jud flipped around until he was sitting beside her, his back braced against the headboard. “And every oil company in the state would flock up here to get a piece of the pie. Everyone will think I’m crazy for drilling because of the Lucky Penny’s reputation, but if I hit oil, I plan to reinvest my original money into equipment and start my own company with Josie as a partner. It will be a sideline business because ranchin’ is my first love and we won’t ever go big with it. But it would be a good moneymaker and could even bring some business to Dry Creek. We could give these folks a bigger cut of the profits than the big companies and still make a lot of money for us.”
“What makes you think your sister will want to live in Dry Creek?” Fiona sipped at her beer.
“She came to Blake and Allie’s wedding and loved the place. Said it had lots of potential. Who knows, if you stick around, you might have a city built around you in a few years.”
“After living here the first eighteen years of my life, that’s really hard to imagine, Jud.”
“Nothing is impossible. It might all take time but sometimes even miracles still happen. Hey, I wanted to come by the store after my haircut, but the guys were painting and wanted me to help,” he said. “How was your day?”
“I finished getting Mama’s books in order. Now it’s just a matter of a little weekly maintenance. Oh, and Mama called and told me to put the snow tires on the car because of this weather.”
“I could do that for you,” Jud said.
“I know how to change tires. Daddy made sure that all of us girls could do that and change oil.”
“Then we could do it together.”
“With any luck, we won’t even need them since the latest report says the bad stuff will end at midnight and the sun is supposed to shine tomorrow. It’ll be slushy by noon but not as slick. I’m just glad it’s going to be cleared off by Friday night. I’m ready for a night away from Dry Creek,” Fiona said.
“Me too. That reminds me. Deke wants to go with us. And Sharlene’s boyfriend is out of the state for a few days, so she and Mary Jo are going along, too.”
Well, damn it to hell on a rusty poker, Fiona thought. I’d rather call it a date as be stuck between those two after they’ve been drinking all night.