Red's Hot Cowboy (15 page)

“You are horrible! How do you know that’s what I was thinking?”

Wil chuckled.

Pearl wondered how in the devil a man could even have a deep Texas drawl when he laughed. “You didn’t know. You were fishin’ and I let you catch me.”

“Now what do I do with you now that I caught you? Throw you back or keep you?”

“You got to ask, you don’t deserve an answer.”

“Well, crap!” he said.

“What?” she asked.

“Sorry, darlin’, but my dad is callin’ on the house phone. He’s been to a sale to look at a tractor for me. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Wil.”

She held the phone to her chest. Damn, but it was good to have someone to flirt with again.

***

On Thursday he sent a text message in the morning that said:
8725 has to be in town at lunchtime. DQ at noon?

She sent one back that said:
3407 says ok.

The sun was out but it was bitter cold when she finished her deposit at the Legends Bank and walked across the street to the Dairy Queen. Wil met her at the door, threw an arm around her shoulder, and led her to a booth on the west side. “Tell me what you want and I’ll order for us before the school kids get here.”

“Burger, fries, and chocolate malt,” she said. She’d hoped that among all the flirtatious phone calls that she’d built him up to be hotter and sexier than he really was. That when she saw him again, his touch wouldn’t turn her insides to hot, whining butter. Hope was only a minor part of Aunt Pearlita’s saying about life being faith, hope, and chaos, and it damn sure didn’t hold much power that day. If anything his butt was ever sexier as he swaggered toward the counter to put in their order. And his arm around her shoulders had come near to causing a major fire right there in the Dairy Queen.

When he returned he slid into the booth across from her, reached over, and took both her hands in his. “I like looking at your eyes when we talk.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” She wished she’d taken time to at least take her hair down from its working ponytail and maybe smear on a little makeup. His face was freshly shaven and whatever shaving lotion he’d used was about to send her into orbit. His thumb caressed her hand like a lover and his eyes never left hers.

“No, just to the ones who talk dirty to me on the phone.”

She blushed and every freckle popped out like stars in a moonless sky.

He laughed. “You are cute when you are embarrassed.”

“I’m not—”

He brought her fingertips to his lips and kissed them one by one. “Yes, you are, Red.”

The waitress brought their food on a tray and set it down in the middle of the table. “Anything else I can get you?”

How about a room?
Pearl thought but she shook her head.

Flirting was okay. Rooms and sex were out of the question no matter how hot he was or how hot he made her.

She pulled her hands back before they scorched all the way to the bones and said, “I did not say one dirty word to you on the phone.”

He dipped a fry in ketchup. She barely had time to open her mouth when she realized he was putting it in her mouth. She grabbed his wrist and held it while she licked the ketchup from his fingertips. She’d show him that two could play the flirting game and that she could make him almost as hot as he’d made her. Almost! Nothing could come close to the way he’d made her body hum.

He sucked air when she wrapped her tongue around his finger to remove every smidgen of ketchup.

She smiled when she finally reached up and pulled his finger out of her mouth with a pop. “Good French fries. Better fingers.”

“You
are
wicked!”

“Goose and gander, Wil. Don’t forget it.”

“Okay, okay!” He picked up his burger and bit into it.

She did the same.

“Are you really not going to let me take you to the party Sunday night?” he asked between bites.

She shook her head. “I want to have my own car there because Lucy will be minding the store for the first time all alone. If she panics I want to be able to get back to the motel quickly.”

“Then I guess you going with me to Waco tomorrow is out of the question?”

“Why are you going to Waco?”

“I bought six cows from a rancher down there. I’m driving down tomorrow and back on Saturday morning with them. If I pay for them before the end of the year it’ll be a tax break,” he answered.

“I can’t. Lucy’s only been with me a few days. She’s catching on to everything fast but I can’t leave her alone that long.”

“Then it’s back to phone sex?” His eyes twinkled.

“You are crazy!”

“But I’m not boring.”

She shook her head while she slurped the malt. “No, Wil, no one could ever say you are boring.”

When they finished eating and started outside he reached down and laced his fingers in hers. “I’ll walk you to the car.”

They crossed the street. He opened the door for her and let her get settled into the big old vintage Caddy before leaning down and cupping her face in his hands. The kiss was soft at first and then deepened into passion. From there it sent flashes of heat from her lips to her ankle bones. She couldn’t have stopped him if he’d crawled inside the vehicle and made wild love to her right there in broad daylight.

He finally kissed her closed eyes and said, “That’ll have to hold me until Saturday. I’ll call you soon as I get home.”

“So you aren’t calling for two days?”

He smiled. “I’ve got your number, darlin’. Now I can call anytime day or night.”

He waved over his shoulder after he shut the door.

Pearl was completely dressed and ready to go to the New Year’s Eve party, checked her reflection in the floor-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, and went back to the bedroom to start all over—six times she did the same thing. The bed was covered with clothes and the floor with high-heeled shoes before she finally threw up her hands and donned the first outfit she’d chosen.

She’d loved dressing up for dates ever since she was sixteen and left the house with Vince to go to a movie. But she’d never wanted to impress anyone as much as she did Wil that night. It had to be because he was the only man she’d flirted with or dated since she left Durant.

She looked in the mirror at the olive green lacy blouse trimmed in darker green velvet around the neckline and the ruffles at her wrists, with a muted floral velvet skirt that skimmed her ankles in the same shade of dark green and a long duster length coat with gold buttons to match. Now what shoes would set it off? She settled on a pair of spike-heeled dress boots in black kid leather. Then she flipped her hair up in a loose French twist, roping it down with a rhinestone clip and leaving the ends to poke out anyway they wanted as long as they gave her some height. She applied a touch of perfume with a name she couldn’t pronounce that her mother had given her for her birthday last February.

Wil had called three times on Friday. Once on his way to Waco; once when he was getting out of the truck to talk to the rancher about the cows; and then again that night before he went to sleep. Hearing his deep drawl and sexual innuendos made her pant, but she was able to give tit for tat even though her heart was pounding so hard it was about to bust her boobs right out of her bra.

On Saturday, he’d gotten a late start because of rain, then traffic was held up in Dallas because of a wreck. It was dark when he got home and he and his foreman had to unload the cows into barn stalls because it was raining too hard to do anything else.

He’d been apologetic that he couldn’t talk longer. Now it was time to go to the party, and she was more nervous than she’d been on that first date more than ten years before.

The motorcycle made so much noise that Momma fussed and fumed, said she would have never thought little Vince would grow up to be so rebellious. But he did, we were, and then it was over.

“Whooo-weee!” Lucy looked up from the counter.

“Am I overdressed?” Pearl asked. “It’s just a house party, not a ball.”

“You’d look good at either one. You goin’ to tell some poor old lonesome cowboy that your name is Minnie Pearl tonight or are you going to spend all your time with Wil?” Lucy grinned.

Pearl giggled. “I don’t know, Lucy, but I intend to have a good time. You sure you can handle the motel?”

Lucy nodded. “I can do this, Pearl. I need to do it. I can rent rooms and listen to folks bellyache. As long as possible I’ll leave rooms between customers so that they don’t gripe as much. You sure you don’t mind me lookin’ up a few things on the computer in between?”

“Of course not. Internet is hooked up to wireless. I don’t know why Aunt Pearl put that in the rooms but I’m glad she did. It’s like she started to modernize then changed her mind. I was goin’ to put in card locks but I think I’ll just keep the old keys since if I make changes next spring I’ve decided to go with quaint and romantic,” Pearl said.

“I like the keys. Makes it more old timey-like, especially since we… I mean you’ve decided to go with that idea. But you know what, I like the motel just like it is. When I was on the bus goin’ through towns I saw a lot of new hotels and motels but not many like this with an old cowboy up there on the sign, pointing down at the lobby. I think it’s kind of quaint and romantic just like it is.”

“Lucy, you are a part of this now. It’s we, not me,” Pearl said.

Lucy blushed and pointed at the door. “And that’s enough business for tonight. Go have fun. Kiss Wil at midnight. He’s a good guy.”

“Who are you goin’ to kiss?” Pearl asked.

“I’m done with kissin’. Cleet broke me from suckin’ eggs the first week we was married. That kissin’ business got me in trouble and I ain’t doin’ that again. That don’t mean you can’t though.” Lucy’s head moved back and forth with each word. “Here comes my first customer drivin’ into the lot. Go on and let me do my job. I got the computer, my book, and Delilah says she’ll keep me company.”

Twenty minutes later Pearl rang the doorbell at Austin and Rye’s house.

Austin yelled, “Come in!”

Pearl turned the knob and stepped into the noise and chaos of too many people in too small a space. Small groups were gathered in pockets; eating, drinking and talking, some even managing to gesture with their hands while doing all three.

Austin left her circle and grabbed Pearl by the arm, pulling her past the liquor bar into the kitchen. That’s where the food was laid out and if anyone went away hungry that night it was their own fault. Pearl felt like if she put a single miniature taco in her mouth, she’d upchuck.

Austin was a mixture of country and city that night in a stunning black dress with side slits up to mid-thigh, a pair of black eel cowboy boots, and a Western cut lace jacket that was either vintage or else she had a really close relationship to Miranda Lambert or maybe Dolly Parton and had borrowed it from one of them.

“I’m so glad you are here,” Austin said. “Take off your coat.”

Pearl removed her coat and Austin’s eyebrows shot up. “You look plumb sexy. Is it Wil?”

“I don’t get to get dressed up anymore and I still like to wear pretty things and no, it’s not Wil and dammit, I’m talkin’ too much and I didn’t realize how much I miss a good party and lookin’ at sexy cowboys.”

Austin crooked a finger at her husband. “Rye, darlin’, take Pearl’s coat to the guest bedroom. Thank you, sweetheart.”

“I really didn’t know what to wear and there’s enough clothes thrown around in my bedroom to start a Goodwill store. I must’ve got dressed six or seven times before I decided,” Pearl said.

“It is Wil. I knew it when I saw y’all flirting at Christmas. He looks at you all dreamy. And you said six months ago that you wanted someone who can’t see anyone but you and you wouldn’t settle for anything else. I think you’ve found him, girl. Ain’t Wil just the hottest thing you’ve seen?”

Pearl cut her eyes around the room but didn’t see him anywhere. “Looks like there’s some pretty hot stuff here tonight. Do I have to make up my mind about that ‘ever seen’ thing right now?”

Austin picked up a plate and loaded it. “You are evading the question so that means I’m right. Now, grab a plate of food. Maddie made these crab cakes and they’ll make your mouth water. Get a beer and mingle. Gemma and Colleen are both here. And Raylen and Dewar and Ace, and if you don’t know someone, ask Wil; yes, he is here. He’ll introduce you if I’m not around.”

The living room, dining room, and kitchen were all one big open area with comfortable furniture beckoning to folks to sit and visit. The bar separating the kitchen from the dining room was covered from one end to the other with everything from miniature tacos to barbecue sandwiches. A galvanized washtub filled with ice and beer sat on a fancy cast iron stand. Pearl picked up a longneck Coors from the washtub, twisted the lid off, took a long swig, and came up for air to see Wil standing not two feet from her.

He wore a brown Western cut shirt the same color as his eyes and starched and ironed jeans that stacked just right over his dark brown boots. His black hair was feathered back and he smelled like Stetson aftershave. It wasn’t the most expensive aftershave on the market, not by far, but there was something wild and free about it that turned her into mush anytime she got a whiff of it.