Page 27 of Overdue for a Cowboy

He swallowed, his expression a little dazed then he turned his head toward the front door as the ring was followed up by a knock and a loud “Yoo hoo!” that Maisie recognized as Gertrude Henderson. Gertie was her neighbor on the opposite side of the frog and popsicle gift-bearing Jacob.

Maisie had just yanked her shirt back down when she saw Gertie’s face appear in her kitchen window. The woman had one of her hands cupped around her eyes as she squinted into the house. Catching sight of Maisie, she waved and pointed to the door.

“Do you always get this many visitors?” Dodge asked. He sounded a little winded, and Maisie smiled as she hurried toward the door, loving the idea that their fervent kissing had affected his ability to catch his breath as well.

She paused to draw in a calming breath before she opened the door to her neighbor. “Hi Gertie.”

Maisie wasn’t sure how old her neighbor was, but she was a fixture in the town—famous for her pecan crumble-topped sweet potato casserole and her skills in the Presbyterian church’s hand bell choir—and Maisie had known her most of her life. Gertie had on a pair of denim capri’s, white sneakers, and a sunny yellow T-shirt that read, “Too blessed to be stressed”. Her silvery hair formed a curly cloud around her head and always made Maisie think of white cotton candy.

“Hello honey,” Gertie said, striding into the house without waiting for an invitation. “I heard you were in an accident and wanted to bring you over a meal. I didn’t have time to make anything, but I stopped by the store and grabbed a lasagna and some salad. It’s frozen and the salad is in a bag, so you can have it whenever it works for you.” The older lady set the bag on thekitchen island then bent to scratch the neck of Moose, who had run over to greet and sniff her. “Aww. What a good doggie.”

Moose wagged his fluffy black tail and let out a low groan as Gertie rubbed behind his ears.

The older woman chuckled, but the laughter died on her lips and her eyes widened as she turned and got a real look at Maisie. “Goodness dear, your poor face. That eye looks painful.” She took a few steps closer. “You’re awfully flushed. I hope you’re not running a fever. Or did I make you run for the door?”

“No, neither one. I…” Heck, she had zero ideas for a way to explain why her face was red. She couldn’t very well tell her eighty-something year old neighbor that she was flushed from a crazy-hot make out session she’d just been having while being pressed against her coat-closet door.

“We went for a walk, and she must have gotten a little too much sun,” Dodge offered, stepping forward.

Smartandsexy.

“Yes, that must be it.” Maisie nodded at Gertie then snuck a quick glance at Dodge. A slight grin tugged at the corner of his lips. That little smile and knowing they shared a secret—a secret that involved himkissingher—sent her heart racing like it was in the Indy 500.

Gertie narrowed her eyes as she studied first Dodge then Maisie, then seemed to accept the excuse as she returned her attention to Maisie’s injuries. “What happened to your arm? Did you break it?”

“No. Thankfully. I just sprained my wrist,” Maisie told her. “Although, I don’t know why I said thankfully, because having asprained wrist and being bound by this dumb sling is no picnic. At least a cast would let me move my arm around.”

“Yes, but a sprain will hopefully heal faster. I heard that they’ve got your car over at Hal’s, but I didn’t hear how the accident happened.”

Maisie explained how she’d swerved to avoid an animal in the road—she didn’t mention the llama since her brain was still a little fuzzy on that detail—and lost control of the car. “I think the weight of the bookmobile contributed to the accident, and when I went into the ditch, I slammed into a big rock.” She pointed to her face. “The black eye is from the airbag hitting me in the face.”

“You poor thing.” Gertie glanced over at Dodge again. “Although, it seems like you’re being well taken care of.”

“Oh yes, well…” Maisie wasn’t sure how to respond to that either, but hoped Gertie didn’t notice the flame of heat that just flared in her cheeks again. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you. This is a friend of mine. Have you met Dodge Lassiter?” She thrilled at the idea of calling him her friend. Although, her heart had always wished to call him something more. Maybe, after this weekend, and all those kisses…

“Of course I know Dodge,” Gertie responded with a huff. “I recognized your pickup,” she told him. “And I noticed it was sitting out thereallnight.”

“Miss Gertie was my Sunday school teacher when I was kid,” Dodge explained to Maisie, deftly ignoring the mention of his truck parked in front of her house. “She taught me and my brothers.”

“I surely did,” Gertie said, puffing up her chest. “All three of you tried my patience at times, but I’m awfully proud of the fine men you all turned out to be.”

Dodge dipped his head in response.

“Speaking of church, I’d better get going,” Gertie said. “I’ve got choir practice starting in twenty minutes.” She gave Maisie a gentle squeeze. “You take care of yourself, and let me know if you need anything, honey.”

“I will,” Maisie assured her. “Thanks again for the meal.”

“Anytime. You know I’d been feeling guilty that I didn’t think to pick you up anything sweet. But now that I’ve been here, it looks like you might already have something for dessert.” She cut her eyes to Dodge then gave Maisie a saucy wink before slipping out the front door.

Maisie’s mouth dropped open as the older woman’s voice called, “I’ll check in on you tomorrow,” before Dodge shut the door behind her.

He grinned as he turned back to Maisie. “She always has been a sassy little thing. I remember one Sunday morning when I was in high school, I walked into the church kitchen and caught her and another little old lady swigging the wine they were using to prepare for communion. She didn’t even look embarrassed. She just raised the wine bottle at me and grinned as she proclaimed that she loved Jesus, but she still drank a little.”

Maisie barked out a laugh then covered her mouth, embarrassed by the loud sound, but also not able to stop laughing. “I would swear you made that story up, but since I know Gertie, I believe every word.”

“It’s the God’s honest truth,” Dodge said, laughing with her. “I don’t have the imagination to make up the kind of trouble that woman gets into. Duke told me that one summer he was running fence and caught her, Ida Johnson, my grandma,and yoursdrinking homemade strawberry wine and skinny-dipping in the ranch’s west pond.”

Maisie’s mouth dropped open again. She had to stop doing that—she was going to catch flies. “Wait.Mygrandmother? Ruby Foster? Drinking wine and skinny-dipping?”

---