Читать книгу Lone Star Bride - Linda Varner - Страница 10

Chapter Two

An awkward silence followed Ruby Smythe’s question. Tony Mason felt the tension in the room and looked from Ruby’s sister, Opal, to Mariah, waiting for someone—anyone—to speak.

Finally Opal, looking decidedly uneasy, did. “That room should be fine.”

“Good...good.” Ruby turned to Tony. “Get your bag, then we’ll let Mariah take you upstairs.” The petite senior citizen, who reminded him of one of his many elderly aunts, smiled sweetly. “Opal and I have bedrooms on this floor. Those steps get harder for us to climb every year.”

“I don’t know,” Tony answered. “You look pretty spry to me. In fact, I’ll bet you could outdance any of the sweet young things in the Southern Revue at the Abilene carnival earlier this year.”

“Southern Revue?” echoed Ruby.

“You know,” Tony teased. “The traveling dance show.”

Ruby gasped, then bubbled with laughter. “For shame! My papa would’ve tanned my hide if he’d caught me talking about such things, much less performing in one.”

“Is your papa still around?” he asked.

“Heavens no,” Ruby told him. “He died years ago.”

“Then he won’t know, will he?” Tony loved teasing Ruby, who seemed to enjoy it as much as the aunts he so badly missed. He also loved the way her bright eyes danced with mischief even as she feigned shock at his bold words.

“I did have nice legs at one time,” she said, easing her soft, floral print skirt up to mid-calf and glancing down at limbs past their prime.

“Ruby Rose Miller!” Opal scolded, swatting her sister’s skirt back down. Tony guessed that Miller must be their maiden name.

“I was just teasing,” Ruby responded, pouting. “And I’m sure he was, too.”

“Actually, I’m thinking you’re right about those legs.”

Tony could see that even Opal struggled not to laugh at his flattery, though she cast a worried glance in Mariah’s direction. His own gaze found the brunette, who didn’t look a bit amused by his tomfoolery.

What’s her problem? he asked himself for the umpteenth time since she refused his request for a ride into town. Beyond an unmistakably positive—maybe even sexual—first reaction to him, Mariah had been aloof, almost surly. Surely it was time to get past the hitchhiker thing. He didn’t break down on purpose, nor did he hurt anyone once they gave him a lift.

Mariah returned his stare coolly for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Ruby. “The room next to mine, you say?” Her tone chilled him as effectively as the box fan, whirling softly in the window.

Ruby nodded.

“This way, Mr. Mason,” Mariah then murmured, exiting the kitchen through the swing door.

Following Mariah down the hall and up the stairs gave Tony a chance to get a good look at her without being caught doing it. So look he did—beginning at her bare feet, traveling up to her jeans that hugged her shapely bottom the ways jeans should, ending at her straight brown hair, which hung past her shoulders and looked healthy enough for a shampoo commercial.

She stood about five foot six or seven, he decided, wishing it were his hands checking her out instead of his eyes. That height was just about right for his own five eleven. He liked the way she moved—gracefully—and the way she carried herself—with pride. Though he couldn’t see her face at the moment, he knew he liked everything about it, too, from her dark blue eyes to her straight nose, rosy cheeks and wide smile.

Not that he’d seen that smile or the dimples he suspected she might have. He hadn’t yet, but would. Oh, yes, he would. Mariah’s current dislike of him rankled and challenged since he excelled at attracting and entertaining strangers...especially women...talents on which his living depended.

Worse, he sensed that she feared him for some reason, and he suspected her fear went beyond that of bodily harm or loss of belongings, though she probably worried about both of those, too. Lovely Mariah was a puzzle for sure—a puzzle Tony intended to solve before he left Pleasant Rest. Luckily his antique truck had provided an excuse for staying in town a bit longer, just as it had provided him the opportunity to meet her in the first place.

Mariah halted her trek down the carpeted hallway so suddenly that Tony nearly ran into her. “Here’s where you’ll sleep.” She reached through a doorway and flipped on a light, illuminating a spacious bedroom complete with king-size bed, double dresser, sturdy bureau and leather recliner.

“Thanks,” Tony murmured, brushing past her into what had to have been a man’s bedroom. The colors of hunter green and rich maroon abounded, from the curtains to the mallard-print bedspread to the leather in the chair. “Wow,” he murmured, perusing the room, feeling instantly at home. “This is way better than any motel.” He gave her a smile. “It’ll be great to wake up in the same bed for a morning or two.”

She started, then swallowed audibly, almost as if something he’d said disturbed her. “Um...Ruby and Opal usually save this room for visiting relatives.”

“Then why’d they put me in here?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea,” answered Mariah, though she looked as if she might really have several and didn’t like a one of them any more than she liked Tony.

Seeing her as she appeared now—downright angry about his presence in the house—he had to wonder if the sun had fried his brain earlier that day when he’d imagined their initial instantaneous chemistry. All hints of physical attraction, at least on her part, had long since vanished. As for himself...well, at the moment all he could think of was that big ol’ bed and how nice it would be to cozy up with Miss Mariah Ashe on it.

“I get the feeling you wish I wasn’t here,” Tony said, stepping closer, testing her current frame of mind.

She didn’t take a matching step back, but then didn’t need to, since her gaze nailed him to the spot, preventing further advance. That left a yard or so still between them.

“I think my friends are foolish to take you in.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you’re a smooth talker who doesn’t mean a word he says.”

Mariah’s blunt answer surprised and insulted Tony. “Those are mighty strong words, considering we laid eyes on each other for the first time less than an hour ago.”

“Tell me you really remember your first meeting with Opal and Ruby, and I’ll take every word back.”

He couldn’t, so he felt his face flush. “Look, Mariah. I’m just an ordinary guy who’s a little down on his luck.”

“Meaning you’re as broke as your truck is broken?”

“Now what makes you say that?” he asked, insulted again. He’d managed his mobile business for years and always turned a healthy profit, most of which was tucked away in an Amarillo savings and loan, drawing interest.

“Just a guess,” Mariah told him. “So tell me...what’s Ruby accepting in trade for the room?”

Tony’s jaw dropped. How on earth could she possibly know he preferred bartering services to a cash exchange in delicate situations such as this? Or had she simply assumed he was a destitute, no-good drifter, out for what he could get?

Her expression suggested the latter.

“Actually, I am a little strapped for cash at the moment,” he murmured instead of setting her straight. Throwing up a hand to ward off the insults certain to tumble off Mariah’s lips, which still weren’t smiling, he quickly uttered the words she undoubtedly expected to hear. “But only until I know what this truck repair is going to cost me. Ruby’s agreed to accept pastel portraits in payment for one night’s lodging.”

“I see.”

Mariah’s cold tone said what he’d guessed—she thought he was a loser and a user. She turned on her heel and walked to the next doorway. Suddenly irritated with the way the conversation had gone, Tony caught up with her in three strides and grabbed her by the arm before she could vanish into what must be her bedroom.

“Look,” he said when she turned to glare at him. “I’m sorry that artist hurt you—” her shocked expression told him he could guess as well as she could “—but he wasn’t me. I really am a nice guy. I really will do the portraits, and the twins really will be thrilled with them.”

“Oh, I believe you,” Mariah murmured, shaking off his touch. Her tone said the twins would love crayon portraits of stick men if he drew them. “And for your information, they weren’t artists, but they were footloose charmers just like you.”

They? “Sounds like you’ve got my number,” Tony commented with sarcasm.

“Oh, I’ve got it.”

“And you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to save Opal and Ruby?”

“You’d better believe it.”

Inordinately bothered by Mariah’s low opinion of him, Tony leaned close and looked her straight in the eye. “I’d sooner hurt my own mother than either of those sweet little old ladies. So relax, will you? They’re safe...you’re all safe...from me.”

“Really?” She put her splayed fingers to his chest and gave him a little shove. “Well, remember this, Tony Mason. If either of my friends gets hurt in any way while you’re in this house, you’ll never be safe from me.”

Tony didn’t see Mariah again that night after she stepped into her bedroom and shut the door, but thought about their confrontation while he visited with the twins downstairs and consumed a peanut butter sandwich and the best sugar cookies in the state of Texas, maybe the world.

Curious about Mariah’s fierce defense, he did his best to get them to talk about her. “Mariah seems very nice.”

“Oh, she is,” said Ruby. “All her customers love her.”

Tony finished off his cookie before speaking again. “You said she’s single?”

Bright-eyed Opal nodded. “For the moment. She really wants a family, though, and I sometimes think if Willard Reynolds asked her to marry him, she might say yes in a weak moment.” Her expression told Tony she didn’t approve of this Reynolds guy.

“He’s the superintendent of schools,” added Ruby, looking equally disapproving.

“He has a house and a good job,” Opal further explained, as if that would make everything clear.

“What does this Willard guy look like?” Tony asked, naturally curious about a man who could attract a woman as lovely as Mariah.

Ruby spoke first. “He’s balding, with a ruddy complexion. Not too tall, a little pudgy. Opal? Can you add anything?”

“He’s a mama’s boy.”

Tony bit back a smile at their unflattering description. “I get the feeling you don’t care for Mr. Willard Reynolds.”

“Well, we do think she could do better for herself,” said Ruby. “In fact, just this evening we offered to find her a—”

“Ruby!” Opal’s sharp reprimand abruptly halted her sister’s exposé. “Let’s just say Mariah prefers flying solo.”

Flying solo, huh? Well, he understood that desire. Divorced and the wiser for it, Tony preferred flying solo, too.

Sometime later, when Tony lay alone in his borrowed bed, he realized there were times—usually at night—when going it alone became unbearable. He even admitted that just then he wouldn’t mind a close brush with a warm, female body... especially one with beautiful brown hair and long, shapely legs.

Suddenly raising himself up to punch his pillow, Tony successfully distracted himself from thoughts of just such a female, Mariah, sleeping alone in her bed just next door. Such thoughts didn’t surprise him. There’d been that initial power surge between them, after all, and the dark, of late, did things to his will. Luckily, daylight wasn’t many hours away, and with it would come the common sense that had kept him single and mobile the past few years.

And when he hit the road again, hopefully tomorrow afternoon or, at the latest, on Wednesday, he wouldn’t dream of a mystery woman, whose lips said “beat it” even as her sapphire eyes said “on second thought....”

Tony woke to the smell of coffee. He made short work of showering in the bathroom down the hall, then followed his nose downstairs to the kitchen, where Opal and Ruby sat eating breakfast. Mariah was nowhere to be seen.

“Good morning, Tony,” said Ruby. Her gaze avoided his, and Tony had to wonder what had happened during the night to make her appear so ill at ease.

“Good morning, ladies,” he answered. “Would you share a cup of that great-smelling coffee?”

“Of course.” Opal rose from her chair.

“Keep your seat,” Tony quickly said. He moved to the counter on which sat a dish drainer with a man-size mug in it. “May I?”

Ruby nodded and gave Tony a smile that made him feel much better... until she glanced at her sister. At once Ruby’s smile slipped and she sighed as if the weight of the world were suddenly on her shoulders.

What gives? Tony had to wonder. He asked no questions, but filled his cup with hot, black coffee and immediately sipped on it. Though he scalded the inside of his mouth, his resulting sense of rightness with the world made the burn worthwhile.

Tony joined the ladies at the table. “Has Mariah already gone to work?” He’d hoped to catch a ride into town.

“I haven’t seen her this morning,” answered Opal.

“Me, either,” said Ruby, adding, “She could’ve had an early appointment, I suppose. Do you see her car, sister?”

Opal pushed a blue-checkered curtain aside and peered through the window. “It’s still there.”

So Mariah went her own way, Tony realized, and didn’t tell her landladies every move she made. Interesting. Last night he’d gotten the feeling that the three of them were closer than that.

“How do bacon and eggs sound?” asked Ruby. “Or we have frozen waffles we can heat up for you.”

“This coffee is all I need.” Tony had no intention of causing extra work for his gracious hostesses or accumulating more debt than he could barter his way out of. The part for his truck would be hard to locate and would cost a bundle—the main disadvantages of driving a classic vehicle—and Micah worked on a cash-only basis just as Tony, himself, did.

Tony, who’d recently laid out a lot of money for family Christmas presents, needed every cent he had in his wallet at the moment and probably more. He half wished for a checkbook, something he didn’t bother with, since so many places didn’t take out-of state checks—exactly what traveling Tony usually had. As for a credit card...in his experience, those were nothing but trouble. Hadn’t he labored three whole years to pay off his ex-wife’s debts, thanks to a divorce court judge?

He had, indeed, and so now paid as he went—by cash or services—and saved the rest. More important, he didn’t owe anyone a cent.

“But you have to eat.” Ruby looked decidedly distressed. “A good breakfast makes for a good day.”

“And I could sure use one of those,” Tony answered. He glanced toward the kitchen counter and spotted a toaster. “Got any bread?”

“White wheat or homemade sourdough?” asked Ruby, jumping up to dig in a wooden bread box and produce both.

“Sourdough.” Rising from the table, Tony took the bread from Ruby and motioned for her to sit back down. “You don’t have to wait on me.”

“Oh, let her,” Opal told him with an airy wave of her hand. “She misses that. We both do. Ruby has two grown sons, and I have one. I also have two daughters and four grandchildren. We sometimes long for the days when we had our hands full with doing for them.”

“You both sound like my mother. I’m the next to youngest of five kids, and the only son.”

“What do they think of your being on the road all the time?” This question didn’t come from either of the twins, but from Mariah, who now stood in the doorway.

“They’re used to it,” he answered, noting that she looked brighter than the morning sun in her coral top and black pants. Mariah also wore a coral-and-black, geometric-print overshirt, which she had not buttoned, but simply knotted at the waist. To artist Tony’s eye, she appeared symmetrical and coordinated. The man in him simply appreciated her feminine style.

“Even your mother?” Mariah questioned, walking over to the refrigerator. From it she took a jug of orange juice. She then walked to the cabinet and retrieved a small glass.

“Even her. She knows I smother when there’s too much family around. Besides, I’ve been on the road since I was twenty-six. That’s eight years.” Tony let Ruby put the bread into the toaster and push down the spring lever, then motioned for her to let him take over.

Mariah leaned against the counter and sipped on her beverage. “Where do you travel?”

“All over. I prefer the northwestern states, but I’ve done spring break in Florida, July Fourth in Boston, the Jazz Festival in Memphis, and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.”

“Mariah was born and raised in New Orleans,” Ruby said.

Tony smiled. “I love the French Quarter. Always do my best work there. I don’t know if it’s the atmosphere, the music or what.”

For just a moment Mariah’s features softened. Tony guessed his words had brought back fond memories. Obviously she missed Louisiana.

“What made you move to Texas?” he asked, as his now-toasted bread popped into view.

“I like bluebonnets.” Mariah said, referring to the state flower. That answer, of course, told Tony nothing. Finishing her drink, Mariah set the glass in the sink. “I have to run, ladies. I’ll see you both tonight, okay?” Turning she headed for the door.

Tony tensed. “Mariah, wait!”

She paused, a look of irritation on her face.

“Can I bum a ride to the garage?”

Mariah’s gaze shifted to the unbuttered toast in his hand. “I’m ready to go now.”

“Oh, surely you’ll give him time to butter his bread,” said Ruby.

Mariah sighed. “I’ll be outside. Please hurry. I have a nine o’clock perm.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tony answered.

The moment Mariah vanished from view, Opal grabbed a paper towel and then motioned for Tony to put his toast on it. “I’ll do the buttering. You get on some shoes.”

Since he’d forgotten his bare feet, Tony groaned, nodded and dashed up the stairs. Barely three minutes later he bounded back down them, sneakers now on his feet, grabbed the buttered toast from Opal and, with a jaunty wave, ran out the front door.

Mariah, her forehead already beaded in sweat, flashed him a look of impatience, but said nothing as they got into her sensible white sedan. The drive to the garage took maybe five or six minutes. By then Tony had consumed his toast. Muttering thanks, he got out of the car and shut the door. She drove away at once without a backward glance.

For several seconds Tony stared down the street after the car. Never had he met a woman who tried so hard to dislike him. And never had he met a woman who so intrigued him. He wanted to find out what made her tick. He wanted to find out what turned her on.

Too bad she wanted him to drop dead.

“Must be losing my touch,” Tony murmured with a shake of his head. He turned and walked slowly to the garage, which appeared to be closed. Spying a note taped to the door, he stepped closer to read it and learned that the shop would be closed today.

Suddenly faced with a free day, Tony set off toward town on foot, searching for a pay phone. He found one at a gas station two blocks away and called home. His mother answered on the second ring.

“Hi, Mom,” he said when she answered. “It’s your prodigal son.”

“Well, hello, prodigal son,” Margaret Mason answered, clearly pleased to hear his voice. “Where are you?”

“A little town called Pleasant Rest.”

“And are you having one?”

Tony laughed dutifully at her little joke. “Actually I’m here because my truck broke down yesterday. Hopefully the mechanic will get it repaired pretty soon and I’ll be home in a day or two, as planned.”

“You’d better. Aunt Irene is already making plans for a big Christmas dinner.”

Tony’s mouth watered at the thought. “I’ll be there if I have to take the bus.”

“I consider that a promise.”

“It is. Will you tell everyone hi?”

“Of course,” she answered.

“And if you get mail for me from any junior colleges, will you put it somewhere safe?” Safe being anyplace his nieces and nephews couldn’t get hold of it.

“Actually you got something from Amarillo Junior College last week. I wanted to steam it open but your dad wouldn’t let me, so I put it on top of the refrigerator.”

Tony chuckled. “It’s a job application. I’m thinking about teaching art again.”

“Why, Tony, that’s wonderful.” She sounded honestly pleased—no surprise. An art teacher herself, Margaret Mason had never really understood how he could give up his career, though she had graciously accepted his decision.

“Yeah, well, it won’t be at a high school and probably not in Amarillo, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“I won’t,” she told him, no doubt a lie. In spite of any and all warnings, she would continue to hope he’d move back to their neck of the woods and build a house within spitting distance of theirs. And why shouldn’t she? All his sisters had done exactly that, thanks to a gift of land from their dad. Beyond one foolish lapse, Tony had resisted the bait.

“Well, I’d better go, I guess. Love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, son,” his mother responded, words that warmed him as much today as they had the first time he’d ever heard them.

At five-thirty that afternoon, Mariah waved goodbye to her last customer, a teenage boy in for his biweekly buzz cut, then heaved a sigh of relief. For a day that should have been easy—according to her appointment book, that is—this one had turned out mighty tough. Only part of the problem stemmed from walk-ins and the unseasonable heat, she decided, as she swept up and then locked up. The other stemmed from her tumultuous state of mind and a resulting stress.

Did Tony Mason get his truck repaired? she wondered as she walked to her car and got in. Was he safely on the road now, headed to Amarillo and out of her sight?

She sincerely hoped so. The man did a number on her sense of security, for sure, and as a result she snapped his head off every time he spoke, and otherwise played the role of big bad witch. Mariah, who worked with the public every day and knew how to be charming, especially regretted having been that way, since she could tell her rude behavior distressed Ruby and Opal.

But Tony hadn’t gone, she discovered a short time later, when she stepped on the front porch and saw him sitting there, under a spinning ceiling fan, sketching Ruby. Mariah now saw what the oleander bushes had hidden from the driveway—Ruby posing in a flared-back wicker chair, looking every bit the southern belle, while Tony sat several feet in front of her, working at an easel he must have brought over from his truck.

One peek at the sketch as Mariah waved and waltzed by, revealed him to be an artist of considerable talent. Dismayed instead of impressed—she desperately needed reasons to hate him—Mariah stepped into the kitchen to say hello to Opal, whom she found at the stove. The smell of a pork roast and baking cookies filled the air.

“Oatmeal raisin?” Mariah asked hopefully by way of greeting. That was her favorite cookie. Opal, looking a bit flushed from the heat of the oven and numerous pots and pans gave her a nod.

“They’re Tony’s favorite,” she answered, belatedly adding, “and since they’re yours, too, I’m making a double batch. I also have a roast in the oven. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes.” She nodded toward the table, which looked picture-perfect with a bold, checkered cloth that matched the ruffled curtains, pristine white plates and the best silver. There was even a red rose in a bud vase, serving as the centerpiece.

“Thanks,” Mariah murmured, heading on upstairs. Refusing to think about what she’d just seen, she quickly shed her clothes, which reeked of perm solution and hairspray. After donning a terry robe, she walked to the bathroom for a shower. She stayed in the stinging spray longer than usual in hopes it would pound the tension from her body. And when she finally dressed in jeans and an oversize Dallas Cowboys T-shirt, she did feel better, at least physically.

Mentally, however, she remained a wreck. On one hand it bothered her that Opal and Ruby so obviously adored Tony, since he could do them much harm if he wasn’t exactly what he claimed to be. But on the other hand, it bothered her even more that she’d put those dear ladies in the position of feeling guilty for liking him.

This was their house, after all. Tony, an invited guest, and quite possibly as nice a person as he claimed, had as much right to be there as Mariah, an invited boarder. Besides that, he provided a diversion—something they badly wanted, even though it was something she could live without.

Standing before the bathroom mirror, brushing out her hair, Mariah vowed to be friendlier to Tony at dinner so Opal and Ruby could relax and enjoy him. It was time to shake off or at least ignore old prejudices. Time to take the man at face value and give him a chance to prove he didn’t deserve her scorn or fear.

It wasn’t his fault he sent her hormones into a frenzy. And it wasn’t as if she was in danger of getting involved with him, crazed hormones or not. So far he hadn’t done anything to threaten her heart or even her body. In fact, beyond a visual once-over, he didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in either, which suited her fine.

“From now on, I’m judging him only on what he does, not on what some other jerks did,” she promised her reflection, before exiting the bathroom and walking downstairs to the kitchen.

There she found Opal whipping potatoes with the electric mixer. Mariah got to work doing what else had to be done—filling glasses with ice for tea and setting the butter, salt and pepper on the table.

Since that table wasn’t very large, Mariah assumed they would do as always and serve their plates buffetstyle from the pots and pans on the stove. But Opal soon set her straight by handing her china bowls and pointing to the gravy and green beans.

So Tony had earned special guest status.

Mariah shook off her instant alarm and did as Opal wanted. She also set the roast pork planer on the table, too, only then noticing that one of the extra leaves had been inserted to enlarge the table capacity. Those leaves, large and heavy, weren’t easy to maneuver, and Mariah was surprised her landladies had gone to the trouble for a couple of meals.

Keeping her vow to reform, Mariah made no comment, however, but simply helped Opal in any way she could. Finally, everything was ready, and Opal called her sister and Tony in to dinner.

They entered the room laughing. Tony walked immediately to the sink and washed his hands. Mariah noted smears of chalk on his jeans and on his face. He didn’t know about the color on his cheek and chin so didn’t wash it off until she caught his eye and wordlessly tapped a finger to her own face. Then he shook his head, grinned and wiped off the smear before moving to the table.

“Wow,” he murmured, obviously impressed. “This looks like Sunday dinner at the Mason house. Mom cooks a huge roast every week and feeds anyone who shows up—usually a houseful since all my sisters and my dad’s five older sisters live within a mile of my parents’ cattle ranch.”

“How nice for your folks,” murmured Opal, pointing Tony to the chair opposite the one in which Mariah sat. She and Ruby took their usual places across from each other. “My children and grandchildren are scattered all over the United States.”

“Mine, too,” said Ruby, adding, “Would you say grace, Tony?”

He did without hesitation and so sweetly that Mariah felt yet another pang of guilt for judging him so harshly without really knowing him. In truth, he could claim one of the three qualities she admired most in a man—family ties. So when he murmured “amen” she squared her shoulders, opened her eyes and pasted a smile on her face.

He blinked in visible surprise and slowly smiled back. “It sure is great to be having dinner with the same nice folks I had breakfast with.”

So he also appreciated some elements of family living....

“Hard day at the shop?” he asked.

“Harder than expected,” Mariah answered. “But nothing I couldn’t handle.” She passed him the green beans.

“One of my sisters is a hairdresser,” Tony told her as he scooped out a spoonful. “She has a shop in her house. Do you have your own place or are you working on percentage?”

“I have my own, thanks to Emerald Pierson,” Mariah said, quickly explaining about the business loan the twins’ sister had given her. “She’s actually the reason I’m in Texas.”

“Her and the bluebonnets.” His sexy smile now teased.

Mariah blushed, remembering her evasive answer to him earlier, and changed the subject. “What’d you find out on your truck?”

Tony’s smile slipped. “Actually, Micah didn’t order the part until late this afternoon.”

Mariah frowned. “Why not?”

“Lisa had her baby last night,” interjected Opal by way of explanation for Micah’s uncharacteristic lapse of dependability. “Micah was at the hospital in Fort Stockton until after one o’clock this afternoon.

“Is everything okay?” Mariah loved Lisa Patterson, one of her longtime customers, who wasn’t due to deliver for another three weeks.

“Mother and baby are fine,” Ruby answered.

“I can’t believe no one told me at the shop today. Did she have a girl like they expected?”

“She had a boy,” Ruby said with a jubilant laugh.

“Lucky Lisa,” Mariah murmured, wishing she were the one with the new baby boy. She caught Tony’s eye. “Sorry about leaving you at the garage this morning. I never even noticed it wasn’t open. How’d you get back here?”

“I walked, and I enjoyed it. The place is really prettied up for Christmas, and what better way is there to get a look at a town than strolling the sidewalks?”

“None, I guess, though it’s unseasonably humid for much walking.” Mariah helped herself to potatoes, then passed the bowl. “Did Micah give you any idea when he’d get whatever it is you need?”

“He hopes by Friday or Saturday, but it could be as late as Monday if heavy holiday shipping delays things.”

“We told Tony not to worry about it,” Opal said. “He can stay here. We’ll be glad to have someone to visit with.”

Am I so boring? Mariah wondered with a stab of emotion very like jealousy. She immediately chided herself for her childish feelings, the depth of which surprised her. Opal and Ruby just wanted some excitement. And though Mariah didn’t, she couldn’t blame these dear women, who weren’t her property or even her family, though they certainly felt like the latter.

A woman on her own, Mariah appreciated how the twins had opened their hearts and let her be a surrogate daughter. She couldn’t resent their adopting Tony in the same way, just couldn’t...but apparently did. Perhaps because he had family of his own already. It also rankled that he wasn’t paying for his keep, something she’d always taken care to do.

Mariah shifted her attention to Opal. “You did a wonderful job on the roast.”

“Everything else is perfect, too,” added Tony. Opal positively glowed at the compliments.

“Opal has always been handy in the kitchen,” said Ruby, the next moment launching into a tale about the time she talked her twin sister into baking a cake for the football team, then told everyone she’d cooked it herself.

That story triggered the memory of another and then another example of sisterly feuding. Mariah let their words and laughter wash over her, grateful for the shift in focus from the issue of Tony’s housing. By the time the meal ended, she actually regained a little of her good humor.

“Now you ladies get out of this kitchen,” Mariah said, shooing them toward the door. “I’m washing up.”

“I’ll help,” Tony announced, an offer that disconcerted Mariah.

She waited until the twins were out of sight before answering. “This isn’t at all necessary.”

“Sure, it is.” He began to stack the plates.

“No, really. You go visit with the girls. They love having you around.”

“I’ve visited with them all day. It’s time to visit with you.”

Great. “I’m really not in a talkative mood.”

“Tired? Or upset with me for accepting the twins’ hospitality?” Tony asked. Mariah’s unguarded expression evidently told him all he needed to know. “I thought so, and since I intend to pay cash for the rest of my time here, I don’t understand why you feel that way.”

“You’re going to pay cash?”

He nodded. “If I don’t have enough after I pay for my truck repairs, I’ll get the money when I’m in Amarillo for Christmas and either drop it back by or mail it.”

Mariah wondered if he intended to borrow it from his parents or something.

“Meanwhile, Ruby and Opal have my IOU,” he continued, handing her another stack of dishes. “You know I have as much right to rent a room as you do, Mariah.”

“I realize that.”

“Then why don’t you lighten up? Smile? Get over it?”

Not trusting herself to answer without growling, Mariah turned her attention to filling the sink with water, setting the dishes in it, then washing them one by one. She breathed slowly and deeply, all the while reminding herself of her vow to give Tony a chance. Meanwhile Tony ran water over each piece she finished, then tucked them in the drainer as if he’d been helping out in the kitchen for years.