Page 111 of The Cowboy's Unshakeable Love

“Yeah,” said Tanner, “but you still would have met her at some point, since she’s Callie’s mom.”

“True, but I don’t know that just meeting her would have been enough.” He chuckled. “It took me a long while to wear her down and bring her around to seeing things my way.”

Ty laughed. “But to see you guys together now, it’s obvious that you were always meant to be.”

Travis nodded happily. “Glad you think so. That’s the way I see it.”

~ ~ ~

Retta was somewhat in awe of Frankie and Laney. She wassitting with them and Janey, whom she also adored but who had a very different personality from her sister and cousin. While Janey was quieter and more thoughtful, Laney and Frankie were outgoing, loud, and confident. They’d had her in stitches while they told her stories about their antics as teenagers.

They used to race horses – she still wasn’t exactly sure what ‘barrel racing’ was, but from what they said, it sounded as though they went to different rodeos every weekend and competed. It sounded like they used to win a lot, too. Retta almost felt sorry for the young cowboys they talked about – she imagined that the two of them had left a trail of broken hearts in their wake.

She looked around for Sierra; Janey had said that she and Wade had taken the children over to Bozeman this morning, but they’d be here when they got back. It made sense to her that Janey seemed to be the closest to Sierra – she was another one who was quieter and more introverted.

Shayna was around somewhere – she was the one who Callie was closest to, and that made sense as well. The two of them fell somewhere in the middle – they weren’t as outgoing as Frankie and Laney or as quiet as Janey and Sierra.

“Oh! I’ve been meaning to ask you about your dress,” said Laney. “I saw Libby yesterday and she said that you ladies had a great time shopping in Bozeman on Friday. She showed me the dress that she bought, and it’s a knockout, but she said that as much as she loves it, the dress you bought was the nicest of all of them – she said it’s a real showstopper.”

Retta smiled. “I don’t know about that. I love it, and it’s very flattering, but we all did well.”

Laney laughed. “Libb said that the guys aren’t going to know what hit them.”

“What’s your dress like?” asked Frankie.

“It’s deep blue, fitted, with a square neck.”

Laney waggled her eyebrows. “A low-cut square neck, from the way Libby tells it.”

“It’s not that low. And besides, since I’m mostly going to be sitting, the neckline had to be the most important feature.”

Laney grinned. “See, you’re the kind of woman who knows all about that kind of thing, aren’t you? That would never have occurred to me.”

“Or me,” added Janey.

Frankie nodded. “You’re the reason why Callie’s always so well put together, aren’t you? You know how to look like a woman, and she learned just by being around you.” She looked at the others. “We never had that – and I’m going to stick with that as my excuse for why we look like a bunch of cowboys most of the time.”

Laney laughed. “And scarecrows the rest of the time.”

“That’s not true!” Retta protested. “You girls are beautiful – all three of you.” She wanted to make sure that Janey knew she was including her in that statement. Travis had told her that Janey didn’t think much of herself before she met Rocket – and from what Retta could tell, she still had no idea just how lovely she was.

Frankie made a face. “Yeah, we’re alright-looking in our own ways, but none of us knows how to do all the girly stuff. I’m not putting us down, just saying that it’s never been a priority to look good, you know?”

“You could teach us,” said Laney.

Retta raised her eyebrows. “I’d be happy to help you with anything you want me to. But what exactly do you want to learn?”

“The kind of stuff that we wouldn’t even think of – like you knew that the most important thing about your dress for this dinner you’re all going to, was the neckline because you’ll mostly be sitting down. That wouldn’t have occurred to me. I don’t know that you really can teach us to instinctively know stuff like that, but I bet there’s a bunch of basic guidelines that some women know, and we just don’t.”

Retta thought about it. “I suppose I could think of a few things. You know that I’m used to working with cheerleaders. This might be a sweeping generalization, but I think it mostly holds true. The girls who want to be on cheer teams tend to be the kind of girls who are interested in how they look – their hair, and clothes, and makeup are important to them, so they take the time to learn about what works for them.”

Janey nodded. “It’s true, and saying that isn’t like making a judgment. It’s just pointing out that different people have different priorities. We put our time and attention into animals and riding and working on the ranch. I wouldn’t expect a cheerleader to know anything about any of that because none of it’s important or even relevant in their lives.”

“Exactly,” said Frankie. “Just like hair, and clothes, and makeup haven’t been relevant in our lives.”

“But we can learn,” said Laney. “If you want to teach us.”

“I’d be happy to.”

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