I Love This Bar (10 page)

   She got out of the truck, crossed the yard, and propped her elbows on the porch rail. "Hot today, ain't it?"

   "You need to wear more clothes. You ain't decent," Emmett said.

   "That's my business, isn't it?"

   "Woman oughtn't to go around naked. It'll cause talk."

   "Still my business."

   "I'm tellin' you, my boy in there, he ain't blind. You dress like that you're askin' for stuff."

   "What stuff?" Daisy asked.

   Emmett's face turned splotchy red. "You are a vet, girl. Don't you play dumb with me. You know what I'm talkin' about."

   "I was mowing the yard and Chigger said we were going fishin'. I didn't know your boy was going to be anywhere around," she said quickly. "Don't be havin' a heart attack because I'm not covered from head to toe."

   Emmett pointed at her. "Is he takin' you home? If he is, you put on a robe."

   "We're going to Jim Bob's place to fry fish. You come with us and you can make sure
your boy
don't get the wrong ideas about me."

   "You tell Jim Bob to give you a robe or a sheet and you wrap up in it," Emmett said. "You ain't decent. I'm not going anywhere. If there's leftovers you make Jarod bring me some for dinner tomorrow. You put on something other than your underwear when you come and vaccinate my herd."

   "I'll wear my jeans and shirt. That make you happy?"

   "I don't care if you wear long handles, long as your skin is covered. And bring the cheesecake?"

   "I'll do it."

   Emmett leaned forward and whispered, "Is my nephew courtin' you? If he is, he'll think you are a loose woman in them duds."

   "Hell, no. We just wound up at the same fishin' pond together. Chigger invited me and Jim Bob invited him."

   Emmett leaned back and rubbed his chin. "Better watch them two. They'll hoodwink you."

   "I don't doubt it a minute."

   "Still runnin' all over hell and half this part of Texas fixin' broke animals?"

   "Pretty much," Daisy said. Damn, she hadn't even thought to check her phone for missed calls, and it was tangled up in the quilt with all the fishing gear and her purse full of worms. She'd have to dig it out at Jim Bob's place and see if anyone had an emergency.

   Emmett shook a finger at her. "You ain't getting' no younger, Daisy. It's time you gave up that damned old beer joint and that vet stuff and settled down. You could do worse than my nephew."

   "Not interested," Daisy said.

   "You better listen to me."

   "Why?"

   "Because I said so."

   Jarod carried a ten-pound bag of potatoes out the door. He'd taken time to change clothes and water droplets hung to his dark hair testifying that he'd even showered. His jeans were worn and soft. All three of his shirt buttons were undone, giving a peek at enough chest hair to make Daisy's breath catch in her chest.

   She felt even more frumpy.

   "You want to go with us over to Jim Bob's for a fish supper?" Jarod asked Emmett.

   "Hell no. I already told Daisy, I'm not going anywhere."

   Jarod stopped at the edge of Emmett's chair. "Let me help you back inside where it's cool then."

   "I got myself out here and I'll damn sure get myself back inside. Get out of here before Daisy changes her mind and stays here with me," he snapped.

   "I'll see you later then." Jarod didn't want to fight or joke with Emmett. The day had been the best he'd had since he'd arrived in Texas. He damn sure didn't want to spoil it.

   "Don't make a lot of noise when you come in tonight. You wake me up and I'm going to gripe about it," Emmett said.

   Jarod let him have the last word and followed Daisy back out to the truck. She opened the door and was in the passenger's side with her seat belt on by the time he got there.

   "So you're bringing potatoes after all?" she asked.

   "Sure, but I'm not peeling them."

   "Why not? You're going to help clean the fish. What's the difference?"

   "Matter of honor. I caught the biggest fish. Peeling potatoes is grunt work," he told her.

   "Since when?"

   "It's a contest from when we were kids. I fished a lot with the Walkers. Aunt Mavis had a rule. Whoever brought in the smallest catch peeled the potatoes."

   "I didn't catch anything so I'll peel the potatoes," she said.

   "Honey, a fish fry is a man thing. You ladies will not lift a finger. We'll do the cooking tonight. All you and Chigger have to do is tell us how wonderful it tastes and look pretty."

   Her heart caught in her chest when he used an endearment whether he meant it as such or not. Why couldn't she have such a reaction when Billy Bob called her the same thing? Why couldn't she look into
his
eyes and have the desire to drag him off to bed? Not one blasted thing was right in her world anymore.

Jim Bob lived in a trailer set back in a copse of pecan trees, surrounded by a wide porch across the front scattered with rocking chairs of every color and description. The back side sported a deck twice as big as the trailer overlooking a pond as big as a small lake. Angus cattle watered at the pond; two Catahoula dogs lazed on the deck and kept watch on the cattle; five cats, all variations of black and white, slept on the patio furniture.

   It wasn't Daisy's first time at Jim Bob's place. She'd been there often when he had the need for a vet, but she'd never been inside the trailer. She quickly let herself out of the truck, reached into the bed, and dragged the quilt close enough to retrieve her purse. She unzipped the side pocket and turned all the worms loose up next to the porch where Chigger sat in a rocker with two cats in her lap.

   Jarod stood by and watched. "Anything else you need before I go help Jim Bob?"

   
Like maybe a hug or a nice long kiss?

   "No."

   
Why didn't you ask me that before we had an audi
ence of a dozen animals and Chigger and Jim Bob?

   Jarod headed toward a shed south of the trailer where Jim Bob was busy cleaning and filleting the two fish.

   "You two fightin'?" Chigger asked.

   "Nope." Daisy melted into a rocking chair with wide arms. One cat jumped into her lap and purred as she rubbed its head and ears. "It's about time for your shots, old girl."

   "I'm not takin' any shots." Chigger shivered. "Why'd you say something like that?"

   "If there was a shot for deviousness and looseleggedness, I'd hold you down and give it to you. But I was talking to the cat," Daisy said.

   Chigger giggled. "Afraid it might be contagious?"

   Daisy frowned. "What?"

   "Loose-legged. Have you been thinkin' naughty things when you see Jarod lookin' like sex on a stick? Hot damn! And you're afraid it might be contagious, ain't you? Well, it is. I drank out of your water jar you keep behind the bar last week. The very next night you attacked Jarod and made him fall on top of you to see how it felt. Got to hand it to you, it was a wonderful idea. I'll have to try it sometime."

   "You are horrible." Daisy forced herself not to grin.

   "Be careful what you call me. Horrible might be as contagious as loose-legged. Still pouting?"

   Daisy kicked off her boots and drew her feet up under her. "I might pout for a week. Why on earth did you do this?"

   "Wanted to see if I was contagious for real. The fall on the floor might have been an accident so I decided to put you two together outside the bar. It worked and I was right. I can infect any woman I want to with my sexiness. I'll have to be very careful not to drink out of the water fountain in Momma's church. But hey, I can always sell my gift to homely girls. They can give me a sip of their beer or daiquiri and I'll spread sexy all over the place. Besides, you never know if oil and vinegar will mix until you put them together."

   Daisy wondered if maybe Chigger was right. Jarod did look like sex on a stick and the thoughts dancing through her mind sure enough weren't Sunday-school clean. "Oil and vinegar never mix unless you shake them up and then it's only for a little while," she said.

   "Guess today is the shaking process then. Would you stop pouting if I said you could take a shower?"

   "What good would that do? I didn't bring extra clothes."

   Daisy would have promised to never pout again for a change of clothes and a shower, but she didn't want to give Chigger that much satisfaction.

   "I keep clothes here. I got a sundress back there with a stretchy top on it. There's a brand new pack of bikini underwear in the drawer so you can have a pair of them," Chigger said.

   "Are you going to clean up?"

   Chigger nodded. "Hell, yeah. I plan to get all pretty and seduce Jim Bob one more time before I go home tonight. I damn sure don't want him to remember me smelling like pond water and sweat. There's two bedrooms in this place. You want the second one to shake up the oil and vinegar real good?"

   "Hell, no!"

   "It's your call. Now about that pouting?"

   Daisy moaned. "You win. I'll stop pouting for a shower and new underpants and the use of your sundress."

   Chigger stood up and stretched like a wild lioness. The woman had more complex sides than a soap opera heroine. Hollywood was missing a dang good miniseries idea by not coming to Erath County, Texas, and paying her big bucks for her life's story.

   Daisy followed Chigger into the trailer and down a short hallway where she opened the door into a bathroom. "Towels and washcloths are under the sink. I keep a basket on the back of the potty with all my oils and soaps. Use whatever you like. While you shower I'll hang the dress on the hook on the back of the door and put the panties on the countertop. And if you pout again all night, I'll make you give them back right where you stand."

   Daisy's eyes glittered. "You and whose army?"

   Chigger laughed. "You might be mean, but darlin', I'm a helluva lot bigger than you. Push comes to shove, I'll jerk the dress and panties off you and Jarod can take you home naked."

   "Jarod is not taking me home," Daisy said.

   Chigger giggled as she shut the door.

   Daisy adjusted the water in the shower, left her clothing on the floor, and stepped under the cool water. She washed her shoulder-length dark brown hair and conditioned it. Using one of the disposable razors in Chigger's basket, she shaved her legs. When she finished, she wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body. Sure enough, there was a package of new bikini underwear on the counter and what passed for a sundress on the back of the door. As tall as Chigger was, if she'd worn that thing for a dress it would have shown her underpants.

   "Or lack of them," Daisy muttered as she picked up Chigger's hair dryer and worked on her hair. She noticed mascara and blush lying on the countertop and used it too; stopping pouting came at a great price. She dropped the towel and found that the underwear fit fine. The dress was a Hawaiian looking affair with bright yellow flowers on a background of hot pink.

   When she stepped out of the bathroom, Chigger handed her a plastic grocery bag and raised both eyebrows. "That's for your dirty clothes and, honey, in that getup oil and vinegar would mix up just fine for about fifty years and then you'd have to shake it again."

   "Chigger, you've got cow chips for brains."

   "My brain is workin' fine. Why are you fightin' the heat between you and Jarod?"

   Daisy crammed her dirty clothing down into the bag. "Because it's not right."

   "Save that thought. We'll discuss it when I get out. Wait for me on the porch. There's cold sweet tea in the fridge and beer. Help yourself."

   Chigger shut the door.

   It didn't take Daisy long to figure out that Jim Bob was really in love with Chigger. One trip down the hallway and through the living room and kitchen was proof enough. His whole place was a picture gallery of her. She lazed on the deck in a bikini. She wore jeans and a shirt tied up under her big boobs and leaned on a fence. She sat tall in a saddle and was decked out in shorts and a halter top. Then there were the glamour shots. She photographed better than she looked. Another good reason to bring on the Hollywood moguls and not only let her tell her story but star in the television series as well.

   The living room had a flat screen television in one corner, a worn leather recliner facing it, and matching leather sofa with pop out recliners on both ends. Western lamps in the shape of leather saddles sat on heavy end tables. A bar separated the living room from the kitchen where a table for four was shoved under a window overlooking the front porch. Everything was spotless. Either Jim Bob was a neat freak or else Chigger had cleaned before she kidnapped Daisy that afternoon.

   There was a big pitcher of iced tea in the refrigerator and a six-pack of cold Coors in longneck bottles. Daisy took out the tea and scrounged around in the cabinets until she found glasses. She filled a glass with ice and tea and carried it to the front porch where she sat down in the rocker.

   She could hear Jarod and Jim Bob's easy banter out in the shed but couldn't understand the words they exchanged. Was Jarod telling Jim Bob that oil and vinegar didn't mix? Or did men folks even think about things like that?

"So tell me, what you think about Daisy? Chigger is dyin' to get you two together," Jim Bob said.