Cowboy Seeks Bride (28 page)

“Want to go to the sugar plantation with me?” Haley asked.

“I’m not that mad, yet.” Jenny’s laugh always made Haley happy.

But not that day.

“Am I fired?”

“Hell no! I’ll fight them all on that.
I’ll
quit and go to the plantation if he fires you for real,” Jenny said.

“Thanks, Momma.”

“You’ll be all right once you think about things. Now tell me about this trail boss that you spent so much time with,” Jenny said.

“See you later, Momma.”

Granny opened the door before she knocked. Her hair was as black as Jenny’s, but it had help from the beautician she visited on a weekly basis. Her eyes were dark brown and she was only two inches taller than Haley.

“Come on in here,
chere
. I understand there’s a war goin’ on in Texas.”

Haley hugged her grandmother. “Little bit. I love the way this house smells.”

Mahalia’s smile was like a candle in the back of a dark cave, instantly telling Haley that she’d done the right thing in coming to see her grandmother even if she had done it in the middle of a hissy fit.

“Like jambalaya?” Mahalia asked.

“Well, there is that. But down here everything is so much slower and it smells different and it’s peaceful.”

“Of course it’s slower. If we flopped around like gators with their heads cut off like y’all do in the big city, we’d all drop dead in this kind of heat. Movin’ slow is preservation down in our part of the swamp. And what you are smellin’ really is jambalaya. I remembered it was your favorite so I made it when your mom called. I got boiled shrimp, too. That war make you hungry, did it?”

Haley put her purse on the credenza in the foyer and looped her arm around Mahalia’s shoulders. “Fighting always makes a good Cajun hungry. You told me that.”

“It’s the truth,
chere
. Now come in here and tell me about the trail boss.”

“Momma’s been tellin’ tales.”

“She did but I see something different about you,
chere
. Something only a man can cause. You might as well tell me because I’ll pester the shit out of you until you do,” Mahalia said.

Haley sat down at the small table centered in the big country kitchen. There was a formal dining room, parlor, and an enormous living room, but Haley’s favorite room had always been the kitchen with its delicious aromas and intimacy.

“His name is Dewar O’Donnell and he lives in Ringgold, Texas. He comes from this big family but the town itself is tiny. Only a hundred or so people, Granny, and he lives on and operates a horse ranch.”

“Glorious Danny Boy and Major Jack,” Mahalia said.

“Who?”

“Maddie O’Donnell is one of the most prominent horsewoman on the face of this earth right now. Dewar is her son, so I expect he’s quite a cowboy.”

“But who is this Danny Boy and Jack?”

“The most famous racing horses in history. They don’t race anymore, but their offspring bring the big bucks. I bet on Danny Boy one time up in Mississippi when I went to place a little money on the ponies. Came home with enough to buy this diamond ring right here.” She pointed to a two-carat solitaire on her right pinky finger.

“But he said he was just a cowboy,” Haley said.

“Oh, yeah,
chere
! Does he look like Cash?”

“Who?”

“His father, Cash O’Donnell. Lord, honey, that man is so sexy he’d make a holy woman take up hookin’ just to get him in bed.” Mahalia filled a bowl with jambalaya and stuck it in the microwave oven.

Haley blushed.

“Guess he does,” Mahalia said. “Well, I’m glad you’ve come to visit and get out of the war zone. Let them fight it out. Your momma, she don’t lose many battles. Now let’s talk about what we’re going to do. Tomorrow we’ll go into New Iberia and eat at Victor’s and do a little shopping. The next day is the party, and Sunday we’ll go out to the island and spend the day reading, maybe take some sleeping bags, do a little fishin’, and spend the night in the old home place.”

The microwave dinged at the same time her phone rang.

“Hello, Dewar. I’m here,” she said.

Her grandmother went for the microwave, took the food out, and set it before her, then busied herself in the kitchen whipping up a Cajun dessert while she listened with one ear to her granddaughter’s conversation.

“Good. Still pissed?” Dewar asked.

“Not nearly as bad but yes,” she said.

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too. We need to talk when I get back.”

“Yes, we do. But what I’ve got to say can’t be said over a telephone. But you
could
tell me what color your panties are,” he teased.

“Good Lord!”

“Does that mean you aren’t wearing any?”

“Dewar!”

“I see a red glow in the southern sky. Is that you blushing?”

“You are horrible.”

“Hanging up now. Call me tomorrow and let me know what is going on,” he said.

Mahalia sat down beside her. “You are in love,
chere.
Your daddy is going to shit little green apples.”

“Then Momma can make apple pie.”

Mahalia laughed until tears streamed down her face. “You are my granddaughter for sure. You act just like my mother, even if you do look like the Irish side. Irish and Cajun mix. That boy hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell,
chere
.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about, Granny. It’s me. I’ve lived in the city my whole life. I’ve always had people around me. What would I do on a ranch?”

“I’d lived on a little island in the bayou my whole life with only my family around me. I looked at the son of the owner of this plantation and asked myself, ‘Can I live in such a big place?’ and you know what my answer was,
chere
?”

Haley shook her head.

“The heart wants what it wants and I wanted your grandfather. So I learned to live in a town with five thousand people and I thought it was huge. Love conquers time and space and size. You think about that for a few days. Now let’s gossip about all your cousins. I’ve already put out the word that there’ll be a party here Saturday night. I called Bubba and the Gators to come play for us so there’ll be dancin’ and lots of food. Ain’t nothin’ a Cajun likes better than music and eatin’.”

***

Dewar had supper with his folks that night and begged off going to midweek church services. When he went home to his empty, lonely house he wished he had gone with them. He showered and watched television until he realized he’d watched a whole episode of
Justified
and didn’t even know what had happened. He picked up the remote and pushed the power button, wandered into the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator. He took out a beer and twisted the top off.

The first sip reminded him of Haley at the campsite the first time Coosie went for supplies and brought back candy bars and beer. She’d been so pretty sitting there in the moonlight in her little short braids. He dug his phone out of his shirt pocket and had his finger on the speed dial button when he stopped.

She needed time. She damn sure didn’t need to feel pressured, or worse yet, stalked. He picked up a book from the coffee table and carried it and his beer to the bedroom. The beer went on his nightstand and the book got tossed onto the bed while he removed his jeans, shirt, and boots and donned a pair of soft cotton plaid pajama bottoms. He took another sip of beer before he stretched out on the bed and picked up the book.

When the alarm went off the next morning he was hugging the pillow, the beer was lukewarm, and the book was thrown on the floor. He groaned and slapped the snooze button. He didn’t want to leave the dream about Haley. They were back on the trail and she was arguing with him about making Eeyore into cat food.

He grabbed the phone and sent her a text message: Is Sleeping Beauty awake?

Instantly he received one back: Not until the prince kisses her.

He poked the buttons with his big thumbs: Is that an invitation?

He fidgeted while he waited: Party Saturday night. Cajun music and food.

He was typing when the phone rang.

“Do you always get up this early in Louisiana?” he asked.

“When you are staying with Granny you do. She’s says folks can sleep when they are dead and you need to get all you can done by noon because it’ll be so hot after that you can’t work.”

Dewar propped up against the pillows. He could listen to her voice all day.

“So what’s this about a party?”

“Granny is throwing one for the family so I can see all of them. It’s been more than a year since I’ve been here. Last Christmas we didn’t get to come for the holidays. Want to come?”

“It could be arranged. Tell me the truth. Were you just joking and now you can’t back out of the invitation?” he asked.

“Hell, no!”

“Then you are serious? Just tell me what time to be there.”

“In twenty minutes,” she said.

“How about Friday night?”

“How about Thursday night?” she countered.

“If he comes on Thursday night you two can take a picnic to the island on Friday,” Mahalia yelled from the kitchen.

“Granny, you’re eavesdropping,” she yelled back.

“Yes, I am and it would help a hell of a lot if you’d talk louder,” she said.

Dewar chuckled. “I can’t wait to meet her. I’ll be there Thursday evening.”

“I… can’t wait to see you,” she said in a rush.

“Me too.”

***

Haley had packed jeans, shirts, and even her old boots in case her grandmother insisted they take a walking tour through the sugarcane. That’s what she was wearing when Dewar pulled up into the drive at dusk that evening. She’d been talking to him for fifteen minutes, ever since he got to Jeanerette, giving him directions about how to navigate the back roads and get to the sugar plantation.

Now he was here and the truck had stopped and he was getting out and her feet were plastered to the ground. She wanted to run to him, jump into his arms, wrap her legs around his waist, and kiss him until she couldn’t breathe, but her feet would not take the first step.

Mahalia was on the porch swing and Haley heard her giggle. “Girl, he’s even sexier than his poppa. What in the hell are you doing just staring at him,
chere
? Get your ass out there and make him welcome.”

Dewar took a step and opened his arms. She wasn’t sure if she’d sprouted wings and flew into them or what happened, but suddenly his lips were on hers and the world was right again.

“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” Dewar whispered. “I’ve been miserable without you.”

“Me too,” she said.

“Y’all goin’ to stand out there in the heat all day or come in the house where it’s cool? Supper is ready,” Mahalia hollered.

Haley made introductions when they reached the porch and Mahalia stuck out her hand. “I’m right glad to meet you. I met your folks years ago at the tracks.”

Dewar took her small hand in his, brought it to his lips, and kissed her fingertips. “It’s so nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“He’s a charmer, Haley.” Mahalia smiled.

“Yes, ma’am, he sure is.” Haley tried to wipe the grin off her face, but she couldn’t. Happiness had settled around her like the afterglow when she and Dewar had sex.

“Come on in here, Dewar O’Donnell. Tonight we’re going to get to know each other over supper. Then tomorrow you two are having a day alone out on the island in Bayou Teche. Saturday we’re having a party so you can know my world and see the other side of Haley’s family. It will start right at noon and last all day, so wear your comfortable blue jeans and boots because you’re going to dance with my granddaughter when dark settles.” Mahalia talked the whole way to the kitchen.

The small foyer had a staircase going up to the second floor on the right side and doors opening on both sides after that.

“Living room.” Haley pointed to the left.

“Parlor.” Her finger swung around to the right.

“Dining room.” The room right after the parlor.

“Kitchen!” Mahalia veered to the left. “It was built this way so it had windows on two sides that could be opened to cool it down back before there was air-conditioning. Got pretty hot in here when we was cooking meals for ten kids.”

Dewar’s eyes twinkled and Haley shook her head.

“Don’t be getting any notions in your head about ten kids,” she said.

“You go ahead, honey, and think like that. Then she’ll think that she’s got it easy with only half a dozen.” Mahalia laughed.

***

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when Dewar awoke the next morning. He reached across the bed for Haley and got an armful of feather pillow. That’s when he remembered where he was and that she’d kissed him on the cheek after a delightful evening with her grandmother and sent him off to bed alone.

He didn’t want to sleep alone ever again. He wanted Haley beside him like they were in the Dodge City hotel. He wanted to wake up with her in his arms and go to sleep with the taste of her kisses on his lips. He was in love with the woman and he was done with seeking all over the state for someone to share his life with. He’d found her! Now the big job in front of him was convincing her.

“Breakfast in fifteen minutes,” Mahalia yelled up the stairs.

He bounded out of bed, got dressed, and made a quick stop in the bathroom to shave and comb his hair. He met Haley coming up the steps when he started down.

“Good morning.” She smiled.

“Yes, it is now that I can see you.” He stopped and kissed her hard and passionately.

“Putting it on the table,” Mahalia hollered. “Quit kissin’ and come on in here and eat before it gets cold.”

“Granny!” Haley said.

“I’m old. I’m not stupid. You can kiss each other all you want out on the island. Right now my breakfast is getting cold,” she said.

They were holding hands when they entered the dining room. The table was laid out with enough food for ten people rather than three. Beignets, eggs, grits, bacon, and ham and a big basket of hot biscuits.

“We expecting an army?” Haley asked.

“Didn’t know if you was still mad.”

“Well, it looks absolutely wonderful,” Dewar said.

Mahalia smiled. “You wait until you see what I got in the picnic basket. Y’all stay out all day and have a good time. Me and the relatives are going to make a big party today and then Saturday the party starts in the middle of the morning and lasts until midnight.”

***

Haley loved her grandmother but she couldn’t wait to get out the door that morning. She wanted time alone with Dewar, and the island was the perfect place. He’d gone on ahead with the picnic basket and she was right behind him. Right up until her grandmother grabbed her arm and hauled her back into the foyer.