“Listen, I’ve got an idea,” Prissy said. “Tell that friend of yours about him. Ask her if she’s ever seen him.”
“Who?” Sandi asked.
“Your neighbor. The one who gets around.”
“Fiona? She doesn’t get around. She just—”
“Dates a lot,” Prissy filled in.
“Well, yes, she does date a lot. I’ll ask her, but I’m more concerned about the wrong person taking one of these precious babies. Didn’t you notice how cold he was?”
Prissy’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “Cold? I thought he was hot.”
“He didn’t even hold him,” Sandi said. “What kind of pet owner is he going to be?”
“Not everybody brings their animals into their beds to sleep, Sandi. That doesn’t mean they’re not good owners. Being a cowboy, he’ll probably use the dog to help with cattle.”
“Use. That’s exactly my point. This little guy is a living creature with feelings and love to give. Being used sounds so, so...”
“Normal.” Prissy said. “Honey, we live in cattle country. Lots of dogs are used to help with livestock and, I might add, the dogs love it. I was raised on a ranch myself. Our dogs were important members of our family, but they were working dogs.”
“I guess so,” Sandi grumbled, “but he could have held him.”
“Men don’t warm to the babies the way we girls do. I’ve seen grown men quake in fear at the thought of holding a baby.”
“You’re right, Prissy. I should shut my mouth. But there was just something about him that didn’t sit well with me.”
“Well there was plenty that sat well with me.” She heaved a sigh, her heavy bosom rising and falling. “Good thing I’ve got my sweet ol’ Charlie waiting at home. But I’m still curious. Don’t forget to ask your friend about him.”
“I won’t,” Sandi promised, “Thanks for letting me see the puppies. I’d better get back to Waffle. He’s probably trying to figure out how to open the display cases so he can have more goodies.”
Prissy laughed. “As smart as he is, I’m surprised he hasn’t already done that.”
Stepping outside Sandi was surprised to see Nick Conway again. He sat behind the steering wheel of a beat-up pickup that looked like its next stop might be some wrecking yard. He was talking on a cell phone. He looked directly at her for a few seconds, then looked away again.
“Screw you, buddy,” she mumbled.
She’d had enough of self-centered men to last a lifetime. Tossing back her long hair, she lifted her nose a bit higher and strode toward her store. Still, she was unable to stop thinking about the damn cowboy. She didn’t like him and if those puppies had belonged to her instead of Prissy, she would’ve told him to take a hike.
***
Nick watched the redheaded woman stalking up the sidewalk. His reaction to her had caught him off guard and left him tongue-tied. He hadn’t even asked the questions he wanted to ask about the dog breed. He supposed it didn’t matter because it was obviously a Heinz57.
The redhead was tall, about chin high to him. Her hair was thick and shiny and she smelled flowery and feminine. The sight of her holding that puppy against her breast had washed over him like nothing had in a long time and sent a longing all the way through his system. He had heard the expression “thunderstruck.” That was what he had experienced in those few seconds, but now he was confused. He liked the feeling, but at the same time, he feared it.
A voice on the phone interrupted his thoughts.
“Well, hello, stranger,” his friend Sylvia said. “You in town?”
He visualized Sylvia, with her thick black hair and long tanned legs. “Hi. Yeah. Came to see the pup I told you about. I can’t pick him up for a couple more weeks. You home for the day?”
“Just closed up shop.”
“Okay if I come by?”
She chuckled seductively. “Have I ever said no?”
“Guess not. See you in a little bit.”
The redheaded woman had disappeared from his sight. With his attention focused on his phone conversation, he hadn’t noticed where she had gone. Just as well. He didn’t have time for the foolishness of women who made him think of anything more profound that what he had with Sylvia. A woman like that redhead would leave. They always left. Everything he had ever cared about left, even his dog.
He snapped his phone shut, cranked his old Ford’s engine and backed out, thinking he had better pick up a six-pack and some snacks on his way to Sylvia’s.
Chapter 4
Debbie Sue tossed her purse onto a hair dryer chair and set a Hogg’s Drive-In sack holding a hamburger and fries, two peach fried pies, a Snickers bar and a chocolate milkshake on the payout counter. “Here’s your lunch,” she told her skinny partner, Edwina-Perkins Martin. “If you eat all this, I don’t see how you’ll keep from exploding.”
“Thanks, girlfriend.” Edwina put the final touches on Bervena Mayfield’s carrot-red hairstyle and fogged it with a cloud of hairspray. “What do you think?” she asked Bervena, passing her a hand mirror. She blew a huge bubble and popped it against her vivid red lips, then sucked it in and continued smacking her gum.
“Edwina Perkins-Martin, I swear you’re a genius,” Bervena said. “After the mess that kid at that five-dollar-hairstyle place made of my hair, I thought it would never be the same. I’ll never go up to Odessa to get a haircut again.”
“Just goes to show, Bervena, you get what you pay for. And I’m throwing in the color touch-up for free.”
“Looks good, Ed,” Debbie Sue said, flopping into her own styling chair. She was the one who was full to the point of exploding. She had eaten an Elvis special at Hogg’s, which was far too many calories. That meant
