Page 9 of Bred By the Cowboy

“Dolly, don’t you take that tone with me, young lady. I’m your mother, you should do what I say.”

“Oh, you’re playing that card after ditching me? Is that what you’re going to do, Mom?”

“This is different, Dolly. You need to...”

“Don’t you tell me what I need to do. I’ll decide what I need to do, Mom. You should have thought about this first before telling me I was on my own.” I slam the receiver down onto the phone, my teeth grinding.

I turn around and see that my yelling through the phone has attracted an audience. Angus. Angus is there, looking on, wide-eyed and shocked about what he sees. “Uh... my mother and I, uh... we don’t get along.”

“You don’t say.”

“I... I...” I don’t know what to say. A little part of me feels guilty, like I should do what she said. At least then I would be properly supporting myself, even if I had to support her and her deadbeat boyfriend too. Instead of leeching off such a kind and sweet family.

“Listen, I...”

The front door to the ranch house flies open and Annie bursts through it. “Oh, Dolly, guess what?!”

With my friend’s interruption, Angus turns and slinks back upstairs, back to work on business stuff.

“What?” I say, legitimately surprised by her sudden appearance.

“Red asked me to go to his cabin on the lake next weekend. And he asked me there alone.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Things are getting pretty serious, aren’t they?”

“Oh yes. The best kind of serious.”

I cross my arms and let out a sigh. Something has been building in my mind about how Angus acts, and I’m not sure what to make of it. Maybe his sister will. “Hey, Annie, not to take away from your hot-and-heavy seriousness with Red, but I have a question about Angus. Have you ever seen him with a girlfriend? Has he ever brought any home to meet the family or whatever?”

Annie laughs. “No. He keeps to himself too much. Always gotta be the lone wolf, all growly and grumpy and super serious, too. He was like that before college and I don’t think much has changed since then.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to hear that.”

“Why? Are you interested in him?” She slyly raises an eyebrow my way. She pokes me in the shoulder before laughing. “I’ll grill you later, I gotta head out again. Busy day, I told Ms. Nancy I’d help her sew her son’s Scout uniforms and I know it means a lot to her.”

I smile. “Have fun, try not to prick yourself too much.”

“I’m awful at sewing, but hey, I said I’d help and I keep my word.” She darts back out the door as fast as she came in.

At least she’s keeping busy. It’s more than I can say about myself. The house is clean and every other chore I can think of is done. I don’t have to make dinner for a few more hours. Instead of struggling with my thoughts, I decide to bake a cake instead, singing a song as I go. A bit of Loretta Lynn this time, a little ditty about working hard and coming from those who work hard. Singing has always kept my spirits up, even through the most awful of times. The cake, when it is all finished and baked, will definitely help too.

As the timer winds down, a shadow appears in the kitchen doorway. It’s Angus. He’s leaning on the doorframe, listening to my singing. “Hey Dolly,” he says with a tinge of uncertainty.

“Hey Angus.”

“What do you say about me and you heading to the Burly Bar tonight? After dealing with all these numbers I think I could use a drink.”

Is... is he asking me out? I freeze a moment before regaining my composure. “I’m not twenty-one and I don’t have a fake ID, Angus.”

“Fake ID won’t do shit in a small town like this anyway. Besides, you’ll be with me. The Rowdys are still respected around these parts, and no one’s going to give you any trouble just because you’re a little short of the age requirement.”

I nibble on my lip and relent. Maybe I need a drink too. “Okay, fine. I’ll go. Guess I’ll need to change before then, huh?”

I’m looking at the apron I put on to bake, thinking that and the jean shorts and T-shirt I’ve got on under them won’t do if I’m going out with Angus. Going out… is this a date? I’m panicking a bit again. Maybe he does want me? Maybe he doesn’t know how to express it?

“Can’t wait to see what you come up with,” he says before leaving me alone.

It’s all so confusing and I don’t know what to think. But sometimes you gotta take life as it comes, and this feels like one of those times.

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