Catch Me a Cowboy (24 page)

She jerked down the visor and examined herself in the tiny mirror. Nothing had improved since that morning. She still had two pimples on her chin, ugly glasses,
and limp hair. She pulled the glasses off before tugging out the ponytail holder. She might’ve kept primping if Shirlene hadn’t spoken.

“Since Bubba’s a little too old, I’m guessin’ you’ve got a thing for Austin.”

Mia slapped up the visor and released her breath in a huff. “As if.”

Shirlene flashed a grin. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, honey. Star quarterbacks are hard to resist. When I was younger, all the girls had a crush on Slate Calhoun.”

“Well, I don’t have a crush on Austin,” Mia stated. But Jesse ruined her reply by leaning up as far as his seatbelt would allow.

“Austin and Mia sittin’ in a tree—K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Mia with the baby carriage—”

Without hesitation, Mia reached back and smacked him right in the mouth. “Shut up! Do you hear me? If you embarrass me in front of Austin, I swear I’ll beat the tar out of you, Jesse Rutledge!”

Since Mia never hit the kids, the entire car grew quiet as Jesse fell back against the seat in stunned shock. Adeline stopped babbling and Brody quit mid-hum. Only Shirlene seemed to take the outburst in stride and calmly pulled over to the side of the road.

“Well, of course, Jesse won’t say anything, Mia. As much as he likes to tease you, he’d never do anything to hurt you. Isn’t that right, Jesse?” When Jesse didn’t answer, Shirlene looked back at him. “Just like Mia didn’t mean to hit you. Girls just get a little crazy where boys are concerned—Lord only knows, I’ve done my share of crazy things over men.” She frowned and glanced out the
windshield. Bubba and Austin had finished loading the sofa and were now staring down the road at them.

“Now apologize to each other and let’s move on,” she said.

As much as Shirlene’s interference annoyed her, Mia couldn’t help feeling guilty over Jesse’s tear-filled eyes. “I’m sorry, Jesse. Are you okay?”

Jesse tested his bottom lip with his tongue. “Yeah. You don’t hit as hard as Uncle Mickey.”

Shirlene’s gaze snapped over to Mia, but Mia refused to look at her. And after only a moment, she popped the SUV into drive and headed back down the road. As soon as they pulled in behind Austin’s old pickup, Jesse jumped out of the SUV and raced over to greet Bubba and Austin.

But before Mia could reach for the door handle, Shirlene stopped her. “Remember, honey, it’s not about the package as much as how you present it.” She picked up the glasses off the console and handed them to her.

“Huh?” Mia said.

Shirlene plastered on one of her smiles. “Smile, honey, smile.”

But Mia wasn’t good at smiling. She was much better at frowning. Which is why she settled somewhere in the middle—no facial expression whatsoever. She got out of the car, and then opened the back door to get Adeline.

“Well, if it isn’t the star quarterback of the Bramble High Bulldogs,” Shirlene said as she helped Brody down, then walked to the back to let Sherman out. Austin dusted his hands off and strutted over with a big smile of his own. Obviously, he was much better at presenting himself than Mia.

“If you’re nice, I might give you an autograph,” he said,
his pretty brown eyes twinkling in a way that made Mia’s stomach ache. His gaze swept over to her for only a second before it returned to Shirlene. Mia couldn’t really blame him. Why would you look at a skinny girl with glasses and acne when you had someone as dazzling as Shirlene to look at? Which didn’t explain why Bubba Wilkes was looking at Mia. And not just looking, but studying her with an intensity that made her palms start to sweat.

Mia hadn’t paid too much attention to Bubba so far. After meeting him, she had placed him in the category of dumb ol’ country boy—the type of man who was more concerned with his big truck and hunting rifle than a bunch of runny-nosed kids. She appreciated him trying to fix their air conditioner and the ice cream he’d bought them at the Dairy Treat, but she figured that had more to do with his “hots” for Shirlene than them. Still, Mia had viewed him as harmless enough. Until now. With those intense dark eyes pinned on her, he didn’t look harmless as much as calculating.

“So just what brings you out to Grover Road, Austin Reeves?” Shirlene asked.

“I was looking for Mia,” he said.

For a second, Mia thought she might choke to death on her own saliva, which was weird when she didn’t have any left in her mouth. With all eyes on her, she swallowed hard and tried to speak. “Me?”

“Yeah.” He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and walked over to her. “You dropped this the other night.” He handed her the driver’s license, a driver’s license she hadn’t used in over a year. Which was probably why she stared down at the picture for so long. The dark-headed girl who stared back at her didn’t even look familiar.

“I like your hair better that way,” Austin said.

Mia wasn’t worried about what the quarterback of Bramble High thought about her hair. She was worried that he’d noticed her name. A name she hadn’t even given to Shirlene because it was all anyone needed to have the sheriff knocking on their door. Just the thought had Mia panicking, and she shot a glance over at Bubba. But he appeared to be busy instructing Jesse on how to tie down the sofa in the back of Austin’s truck.

“Thanks.” She slipped the license in the back pocket of her jeans and tried to smile brightly. She must’ve sucked at it because Austin looked a little scared. Fortunately, Shirlene came to her rescue.

“Well, that was mighty nice of you, Austin. But that doesn’t explain why you’re taking off with my best couch.”

Austin’s eyes swept over to dilapidated sofa in the back of his truck. “Your sofa?” He looked at Shirlene. “You live here?”

“I sure do.”

“Yeah, right.” Austin laughed. “And I’m Troy Aikman.”

“Then I might just have to get your autograph, after all,” Shirlene said as she directed Brody away from a pile of rusty nails. “Because the truth is that I’ve decided that house of mine is too big for just one person. So I moved in here until I find another place to live.”

“Here? With Mia’s family?”

“That’s right,” Shirlene said.

Austin looked confused, and Mia grew even more freaked out. She’d thought that Shirlene wanted to keep the information about where she was living a secret. But
it seemed the woman no longer cared about tarnishing her image. Or about making people suspicious.

“So whose idea was it to do a little spring cleanin’?” Shirlene asked.

“I was headed to the dump anyway.” Bubba shrugged as he tossed Jesse the end of the rope. “I figured you wouldn’t mind if I cleared out some of your garbage.”

“And just who gave you permission to go poking around in my yard, Bubba Wilkes?” Shirlene asked.

“You want me to put it all back, Sugar Buns?”

She slapped a hand on her hip. “What I want is for you to leave me alone. But I can’t seem to get that through your thick, hillbilly skull.”

While they continued to bicker, Mia tried to find out if Austin had noticed her last name. As much as she hated the idea, she needed to get him alone. Any embarrassment she might suffer was nothing when compared to the safety of the kids.

“Austin, would you like something cold to drink?” she blurted out.

Bubba and Shirlene stopped bickering and looked at her as if she’d grown horns. Even Adeline looked up at her with curious blue eyes.

“Umm, thanks,” Austin said as he placed his crumpled straw cowboy hat back on his head. “But after I drop this load off at the dump, I need to get back to town.”

“I’ll come with you!” The words rushed out, and she quickly tried to soften the desperation in her voice. “I mean, you can’t be expected to unload this stuff by yourself.”

“I planned on helpin’—” Bubba started, but Shirlene cut him off.

“You can’t help anyone, Bubba Wilkes. Not when I’ve got an air conditioner that still needs fixin’.” She hurried over and took Adeline from Mia. The baby only whimpered for a second before she cuddled up to Shirlene’s big boobs. “Mia’s right, Austin. You’ll need some help.”

Austin glanced over at Mia’s wimpy arms. “Uhh, okay, I guess. It shouldn’t take us long.”

“Take your time,” Shirlene said. “In fact, why don’t you take Mia back in town with you? She hasn’t gotten to meet a lot of young folks.”

Austin’s eyes narrowed on Shirlene for only a brief second before he nodded. “Yeah, okay.” He started toward the driver’s side, but stopped and came back around to the passenger’s door. As he held it open, Mia got that funny feeling in her stomach again and wondered if she’d made a big mistake. There was no way she would get through this without making a complete idiot of herself. But before she could back out, Shirlene gave her a nudge toward the door.

“Go on, honey,” she whispered. “Just remember that the rooster only crows for the hen he has to chase.”

T
HE DESIRE TO SEE
M
IA
have a little fun wasn’t the only reason Shirlene had pushed her off on Austin. She also had a strong desire to get Adeline all to herself. But the fantasy of cute, cuddly babies was soon wiped out by the harsh reality of bodily functions. Not more than ten minutes after Bubba and Jesse left to get parts for the air conditioner in town, Adeline turned as ripe as an outhouse in late August.

“Phew-wee, honey.” Shirlene crinkled her nose. “You smell worse than Sherman after he got into the garbage.”

Adeline’s blue eyes studied Shirlene for a moment before rosy lips tipped up in a smile that showed off her eight tiny teeth. She looked so darned cute; the stench didn’t seem quite so bad.

“Okay, then.” Shirlene gave her a quick kiss on her downy soft curls. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” She held out her hand to Brody. “Come on, honey, you can help.”

But Brody had dug a deep hole in the ground and buried Barbie up to her neck, and he wasn’t about to leave his damsel in distress. Scooting away from her hand, he crossed his pudgy arms over his chest and shook his head.

“Now don’t get all out of sorts,” Shirlene said. “We won’t leave Barbie.” She reached down to grab the doll out of her burial site, but Brody wasn’t having it.

“Mine,” he yelled in his deep voice as he jerked the doll out of the dirt and scrambled to his feet, racing off before Shirlene could grab him.

Bubba had cleared away a lot of the garbage, but there was still plenty for a little boy to hide in. And Brody seemed to know all the best hiding places. Shirlene had no more discovered him in one place, then he would streak off and hide in another. The game had the little boy giggling with glee while Shirlene grew more frustrated and Baby Adeline more odorous. It might’ve gone on forever if Sherman hadn’t taken pity on her. When Brody raced out from behind an oil drum, Sherman was waiting for him. He squealed and chased after the kid, sending him straight into Shirlene, who latched on to his hand and didn’t let go until they were inside the house.

Things only went downhill from there.

Shirlene had watched Hope, Faith, and Mia change diapers. But seeing and doing turned out to be two different things. Especially when she opened up the diaper and the wave of stink made her eyes water. And the smell wasn’t near as bad as the sight. For the second time in a week, Shirlene thought she might toss her cookies.

How could a child so tiny make a mess so big? A mess so big that Shirlene would need an entire box of those wipey things to clean it up. Her eyes widened as her gaze snapped over to the container of diaper wipes on the floor a good eight feet away. She tried to close the diaper back up but the little Velcro tabs had stuck together and refused to come unstuck.

She glanced over at Brody who stood sulking in the doorway. “Brody, honey, could you help Shirlene get the wipeys?”

Brody sent her the evil eye and didn’t move a muscle.

“Please, honey,” she pleaded as she tried to keep the diaper on while Adeline wiggled like a worm on a hook. “I’ll give you some chocolate.”

Sherman squealed at the word, but Brody was more stubborn. With a shake of his Barbie, the kid turned and ran into the other room.

With no one else to ask, Shirlene looked at Sherman. “I’ll give you an entire case of Snickers if you can push that box of wipeys over here.”

The pig was smart, but he wasn’t that smart. Or maybe the stench had finally gotten to him. With a toss of his head, he trotted out the door after Brody. When he was gone, Shirlene looked back at Adeline.

“Just sit tight, honey.” She made a dive for the container and, within seconds, had it in her hands.

But it turned out that seconds was all a baby needed to make a king-sized mess.

Shirlene didn’t care about the bedspread or Adeline’s clothes—as far as she was concerned, those needed to be thrown away. Adeline, on the other hand, wasn’t that disposable. When the entire container of wipeys failed to do the job, Shirlene held the baby out in front of her and carried her to the bathroom.

Washing a baby was even harder than changing one. Adeline’s little chubby body was as slick as a seal’s and twice as hard to control. She splashed and kicked so much there was more water out of the tub then there was in it. Becoming aware of the fun his sister was having, Brody
raced into the bathroom and started stripping off his clothes.