Darn Good Cowboy Christmas (20 page)

“I asked Aunt Tressa that back before he came to live with us. She said Mary Lou didn't want him to have a common name. She was going to name him Phoenix like the bird that rose from the ashes. But when she was in labor she said it was like blazing fire, so that's what she named him. And there's no middle name. Just Blaze McIntire.”

Gemma dropped the spoon she'd been fiddling with. “He's Irish?”

“To the bone. Mary Lou was an O'Riley and Jamey was a McIntire.”

“Imagine that.” Colleen smiled.

Liz felt like she'd gone home when she walked onto the grounds. Everyone waved, yelled, or came out to hug her, tell her how much they'd missed her and/or ask when she was coming back. It was half an hour before she reached the middle of the concession row where Tressa helped Joe and Linda, a couple that had been with the carnival for twenty years, set up the awning to the side of the funnel cake wagon.

Liz hugged all three and asked, “Where's Momma?”

“She just headed into the Porta-Potty. She'll be out in a minute. Hold up this pole,” Tressa said.

Tressa had flaming red hair and aqua-colored eyes. She was taller than Liz but at fifty-six, she still had the same slim build. She wore jeans, a denim jacket, and lace-up work boots with steel toes. Joe was a tall, lanky man with a crop of gray hair that always needed cutting. Linda was a short woman with mousy brown hair and big green eyes.

Liz held up the poles while they stretched the awning. When they finished, they all headed to a semitrailer to bring folding tables and chairs to set up under the awning. Rain or shine, folks liked to sit and visit while they ate, and it brought more sales.

Liz leaned on the funnel wagon and watched for her mother.

“Hey, kid!” Marva Jo said.

Liz turned and wrapped her arms around her mother. “I was lookin' the wrong way. You snuck up on me. I missed you so bad.”

She hugged Liz close to her and then stepped back to give a thorough once-over. “You have put on five pounds. Much more, and your belly dancing belt will be too tight.”

Blaze appeared out of nowhere. “Is she tellin' you about that cowboy who won't let her out of his sight and all her new girlfriends? She doesn't miss us a bit. Don't let her lie to you.”

Liz shot daggers at him. “You will always be in my life even if you are not in my sight and even if I'm mad at you.”

“Mad at me! I came all the way up to Podunk, Texas, to see you and you're mad at
me
?” Blaze asked.

“I'm mad at you for saying that about not missin' my momma. I'm so mad at you that I might even stomp on your hat,” she said.

“You never did tell me what happened about that. See, she doesn't even confide in me anymore, Marva Jo. She doesn't love any of us,” Blaze teased.

“Children, this is no time to fight. We've got work to do and lots of it,” Tressa said. “Blaze, get back to the Ferris wheel. And you, young lady, come help your momma work on the fortune wagon so we can visit. We've got to have this show up and ready before we go to bed tomorrow night, because the people will arrive at ten o'clock on Thursday.”

Liz took a deep breath. She'd missed the smells of setting up, the oil and the dust. She'd missed the sounds of the drills and hammers, the horses complaining about being cooped up in a truck, and the people all talking at once as they worked. But most of all, she'd missed her mother. She looped her arm through Marva Jo's and they headed off toward the brightly colored fortune telling wagon together.

“All we have to do is check the electricity and snap down the wires,” Marva Jo said. “Blaze couldn't wait to see you. He says your friends are okay, that one named Colleen is knock-down gorgeous, and that Raylen is not what he expected.”

Liz waved at everyone they passed: vendors, hawkers, ride managers, and the maintenance crews. She knew them all by name. Knew their kids' and grandkids' names. Knew where they went home to winter after they had parked their wagons in Claude the week before Thanksgiving. And she'd missed every one of them.

“Did you hear me, Lizelle?” Marva Jo asked.

“Why did you full-name me? I was listenin'. I just want to see everything and everyone and can't do that and talk, too. What did Blaze expect out of Raylen?”

Marva Jo was six inches taller than her daughter, had strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. She was heavier than her sister but still looked damn fine in tight jeans and a fitted Levi's jacket.

“The way you've talked about him, Blaze said he thought he'd be six feet tall, bulletproof, and sitting on a big white horse.” Marva Jo threw an arm around Liz's shoulders.

“He's five feet ten inches tall, has dark hair with red highlights when he gets in the sun, the clearest blue eyes you've ever seen, even lighter than yours, and he fell off his pedestal the first time we had a big fight,” Liz said.

“And what was that over?” Marva asked.

“Blaze. I was talking to him on the phone and ignored Raylen who was putting up my Christmas lawn things so everything would be beautiful for y'all. And he forgot his hat and I threw it at him. He got mad because of his damned precious hat so I stomped it too!”

Marva Jo laughed. “And I bet you dropped down on your knees and apologized and made nice, didn't you?”

“Hell, no! I plowed right into his house and told him he was a horse's ass. His best friend is this bitchy woman that hates me. At least Blaze didn't act like he was better than Raylen like Becca does me.”

Marva Jo laughed even harder. “How'd he react to a woman calling him names?”

Liz had backed herself into a corner. She took a deep breath and spit it out. “When I went into his house I saw that damned precious hat so I slapped it on my head and plowed right into the bathroom like a bulldozer. He was in the shower, so I jerked the curtain back and we had our fight right there. When I got my piece said, he jerked me in the shower, clothes and all, and kissed me.”

Marva Jo really guffawed. “Now that's a man I could like. He'll keep you on your toes. What happened to the hat?”

“He pitched it on the vanity before he jerked me in the shower.”

Marva Jo couldn't stop laughing.

“What did Blaze tell you about Colleen?” Liz asked.

Marva Jo swiped at her eyes with the cuff of her jacket. “He is smitten. Something I never thought I'd say about him, but after he told us about where you work, that girl was all he wanted to talk about. Here we are. I'll run the cord out to the main box and plug it in. You check the inside and out for burned bulbs. If it's all good, we'll snap it down.”

Liz knew exactly what to do, and when she'd made sure everything worked, she yelled out across the lawn where Marva Jo was talking to Tressa, “It's all good. Where we goin' next?”

“To the midway. Fred needs someone to unpack and hang stuffed animals,” Marva Jo said.

Liz hopped down from the porch where she'd danced at least twice a week for the past decade and walked with her mother toward the middle of the grounds. She'd always liked the Bowie gig. They had lots of room, and the grass was nice. She didn't like playing in Denton where they set up on concrete. Spilled drinks and food were messier to clean up on concrete than grass so they had to hose it down every morning. When they set up on dirt and grass there was little cleanup except for picking up paper. The birds ate what food was dropped, and the ground soaked up the liquids.

Marva Jo hopped up into the back of a semi and handed Liz a cardboard box. “Are you smitten with Raylen?”

“Maybe. Stack another one on top.”

“What are you going to do about it? You've got to be honest with him, Lizelle.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “See what happens. Right now I'm just happy where we are. We're having fun being together. I'm not in a hurry.”

“That's good. Maybe you'll decide to come home. I'm thinkin' about shooting my brother.” Marva Jo dragged three boxes to the edge of the truck and jumped down. She added another one to Liz's and then picked up the remaining two and led the way to the gallery.

“Stock is getting low,” Liz said.

“It's right where I want it for the last gig of the year. We've got a couple of extra backup boxes, but I think we ordered supplies just about right last spring. We're going home with trucks that are almost empty. You going to dance and cover the wagon on Thursday and Friday to give Tressa a rest?”

Liz nodded. “I'm not going to dance, but I'm lookin' forward to tellin' fortunes. Did I tell you that I told fortunes at Gemma's Halloween party? And I saw a blond-haired cowboy in Colleen's future.”

“Well, glory be! You did say cowboy?”

Liz gasped. “Oh no! He had blond hair and…”

“He didn't have boots or a hat,” Marva Jo whispered.

“It's just a reading,” Liz whispered.

“What?” Tressa ripped the tape from the top of a box and handed Liz small stuffed animals to hang on the wire at the back of the gallery.

“She saw a blond-haired man in Colleen's future,” Marva Jo said.

“Well, shit!”

“It's probably not Blaze. Lord, he won't ever settle down. You said it yourself,” Liz said.

“I read his cards last night just for fun. I saw a redheaded girl in his future and I turned over the wedding card,” Tressa said.

“Dammit!” Liz said.

“Hurt yourself?” Raylen poked his head around the end of the gallery.

“Raylen! What are you doing here?”

“I came to meet your carnie family and to help,” he said.

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to surprise her like that. But dammit! Tomorrow night was the night she was going to dance for him again. He'd wanted so many times to ask her not to prolong it but to do it sooner.

Every time he thought about her promise, his mouth went dry, his heart beat fast, and he had to fight down an arousal. If they ever got together on a permanent basis, she'd have to burn that damn costume or they'd never leave the house.

Liz leaned out the booth window and kissed him, quickly putting his fears to an end.

“Well, you got here at just the right time. You can meet Momma and Aunt Tressa at the same time. This is my mother, Marva Jo.”

Raylen shook her hand. “Where did Liz get black hair and dark eyes?”

“From her father who was Latino. His name was Eddie Garcia. I gave her our family name when she was born because he was already dead, and it simplified matters,” Marva Jo answered.

“And Aunt Tressa,” Liz said.

He dropped Marva Jo's hand and held it out to Tressa. “My sister, Colleen, has red hair. Not the same shade as yours but still red. It's a pleasure to meet you both.”

Tressa started at his scuffed up work boots, slowly took in his clean but faded jeans and chambray shirt, up to his eyes and hair. “You said you'd come to help? Why?”

“Thought you could use it and I'm caught up on my plowing for today,” he said.

“Good. I like a man who's willin' to work. Come with me and I'll show you what to do. I expect you can use a drill and hammer, right?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Raylen said.

“Good, you can help Blaze put up the Ferris wheel.”

“But…” Liz stammered. Raylen hadn't come to the carnival to help Blaze. He'd come to spend time with her. Was Aunt Tressa just plain stupid?

Marva Jo laid a hand on Liz's and shook her head. “Let it be,” she whispered.

“Why?”

“If he survives tonight, he'll pass the test.”

***

Blaze had just busted a knuckle when a stubby screwdriver bounced off the platform leading up to the Ferris wheel. He was cussing a blue streak and holding one hand with the other when Raylen and Tressa walked up.

Tressa grabbed his hand and pulled a tissue from her jacket pocket. “Hold it tight and shut up the caterwaulin'. That won't make it stop hurtin' or bleedin'.”

“It'll damn sure make me feel better.” Blaze clamped it down on his knuckle tightly. He glared at Raylen who glared right back. He wanted to tell the cowboy to go back to his dirt and leave him the hell alone but he couldn't. Not when Colleen had been on his mind all afternoon, and the man standing there in front of him was her brother.

“Raylen came to see Liz, but I stole him. He's going to help you. Looks like you need it if you can't even get the ramp up,” Tressa said.

Blaze gritted his teeth. “The screwdriver slipped.”

“Well, be careful. Raylen, do whatever he says. Two strappin' fellows like you ought to have this Ferris wheel up and runnin' by bedtime,” Tressa said as she walked away.

“You any good with mechanics?” Blaze asked.

“I can tear down a tractor and put it back together.”

“Then I reckon you'll do. Right now we just got to get this ramp put together and then bring the seats out of the truck and fasten them into place. Motor is runnin' good. I'll do maintenance on it when we get to Claude, but it's run good this year.”

Raylen was surprised after the dirty looks that Blaze would talk so much. “Got an extra screwdriver? I didn't bring my toolbox.”

Blaze nodded toward a red metal box sitting about three feet from Raylen. “I'll hold this end up if you'll get that one fastened down. After this board, we can use the electric drill and it'll go faster. I'm determined to figure out a way to build a ramp that won't require teardown for next year. But right now it's got to be dismantled, or else we'd have to buy a forklift to get it from here to the semi.”

Raylen leaned on the screwdriver and the three-inch screw went right into the place. “I can see where that one would be a real bitch, up underneath like that.”

Blaze chuckled. “You got that right. Rest will go fast and easy, then we'll start on the…” He stopped dead in the middle of the sentence.

Raylen looked up to see him staring and frowned. Dammit to hell and back on a silver poker! They said they were going to Walmart, but he didn't think they'd show up at the carnival.

“They want to see Liz's house all lit up. Maybe they came to get a key so they can see the tree in the barn,” Raylen said.

Colleen and Gemma stopped at the shooting gallery and met Marva Jo, then she disappeared and they started handing toys to Liz. When that job was done, they all three trooped over to the Ferris wheel.