he opens his mouth, and I want to slap him. Or he does something, and I want to kill him. Truly, I don’t think he’s the good influence you think he is.”
Jerry and Delilah laughed.
“Isn’t love grand?” Delilah said to Jerry. They shared a conspiratorial wink.
“Love?” Cissy backed away from the table. “Um, I have to take one of Marvella’s guests around town for a quick tour. Thank you for letting me talk to you, Delilah. I guess we’ll see each other tonight.”
She left in a hurry. Love? No, love was not what she felt for that quixotic cowboy. Okay, so maybe at one time she might have confused herself on that point, but ever since he’d shown his true colors by saying he couldn’t handle her squadron of children, she’d known she would never love a man like him.
Conspirators, that’s what they were. She was in conspiracy, but she wasn’t in love.
The way she felt about Tex, it was every conspirator for themselves.
“S HE POISONED ME !” Tex told Navarro, Last and Archer as they hovered around him in one of Delilah’s upstairs bedrooms. He lay in a bed, feeling real green around the gills.
He heard a sigh of impatience from his brothers.
“Oh, yeah, Cissy Kisserton is the kind of woman who would put a lot of thought into poisoning a man,” Archer said. “I sensed she was that kind of girl last month when we were on the road trip with Hannah and Ranger. Hell, Tex, practically the only thing she did on the whole ride was read those, you know, ladies’ mags with the recipes and columns to the lovelorn. She’s into cooking and womanly stuff, not poisoning freaky garden gnomes.”
Tex closed his eyes. “Laxatives. The chocolate kiss of death. She probably has her own special recipe.”
“Yeah, she’s got those black widow sensibilities,” Navarro said. “I bet she even calls that recipe her Love Potion for Sad Sacks.”
“No, Tex,” Last said impatiently. “You’re just once again thinking of a way out of intimacy with a woman. Every female knows that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Of course, that’s what their mothers tell them so they won’t realize the real way to our hearts. But I digress. So she baked for you. And you pay back her kindness by developinga phantom gut ache. You know, Tex, you are so uncomfortable around women that it’s annoying!”
“Women!” Tex tried to sit up and then fell back with a groan, the cramping in his stomach too intense. “I’ve got a date with ten women in a few minutes!”
“Well, there you have it,” Navarro said with disgust. “Once again, you are right, little Jefferson therapist. I wish I’d put money on the fact that he’d figure a way out of going out with ten beautiful women. I’da made a fortune.”
“I didn’t do this on purpose!” Tex said, clutching his stomach. “She poisoned me so I wouldn’t win tonight.”
“How you gonna ride a bounty bull when you can’t stop moaning and groaning?” Archer demanded. “None of us are prepared to do this for you, I can tell you. We’re here to have a good time.”
“Well,” Last said philosophically as he glanced into the mirror. He checked his hair, tucking it behind his ears, and then borrowed some mouthwash from the medicine chest in the bathroom. “I, for one, do not intend to let down ten women, who are friends of ours, who helped us out during one of the worst floods ever to befall Union Junction. No, I don’t.”
“Me, neither,” Navarro said, copying his brother’s penchant for the mouthwash. “I’m positive they won’t be too disappointed to get three strong, whole Jeffersons instead of one puny one.”
Archer looked at him with shame. “You’re on your own, sickly one. We’ll see you later, bro.”
“Don’t worry,” Last said as they walked out thedoor. “Once again, we don’t mind taking up your responsibilities.”
“Why?” Tex asked on a groan. “Why was I born into this family? Never again do I want a big
Jerry and Delilah laughed.
“Isn’t love grand?” Delilah said to Jerry. They shared a conspiratorial wink.
“Love?” Cissy backed away from the table. “Um, I have to take one of Marvella’s guests around town for a quick tour. Thank you for letting me talk to you, Delilah. I guess we’ll see each other tonight.”
She left in a hurry. Love? No, love was not what she felt for that quixotic cowboy. Okay, so maybe at one time she might have confused herself on that point, but ever since he’d shown his true colors by saying he couldn’t handle her squadron of children, she’d known she would never love a man like him.
Conspirators, that’s what they were. She was in conspiracy, but she wasn’t in love.
The way she felt about Tex, it was every conspirator for themselves.
“S HE POISONED ME !” Tex told Navarro, Last and Archer as they hovered around him in one of Delilah’s upstairs bedrooms. He lay in a bed, feeling real green around the gills.
He heard a sigh of impatience from his brothers.
“Oh, yeah, Cissy Kisserton is the kind of woman who would put a lot of thought into poisoning a man,” Archer said. “I sensed she was that kind of girl last month when we were on the road trip with Hannah and Ranger. Hell, Tex, practically the only thing she did on the whole ride was read those, you know, ladies’ mags with the recipes and columns to the lovelorn. She’s into cooking and womanly stuff, not poisoning freaky garden gnomes.”
Tex closed his eyes. “Laxatives. The chocolate kiss of death. She probably has her own special recipe.”
“Yeah, she’s got those black widow sensibilities,” Navarro said. “I bet she even calls that recipe her Love Potion for Sad Sacks.”
“No, Tex,” Last said impatiently. “You’re just once again thinking of a way out of intimacy with a woman. Every female knows that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Of course, that’s what their mothers tell them so they won’t realize the real way to our hearts. But I digress. So she baked for you. And you pay back her kindness by developinga phantom gut ache. You know, Tex, you are so uncomfortable around women that it’s annoying!”
“Women!” Tex tried to sit up and then fell back with a groan, the cramping in his stomach too intense. “I’ve got a date with ten women in a few minutes!”
“Well, there you have it,” Navarro said with disgust. “Once again, you are right, little Jefferson therapist. I wish I’d put money on the fact that he’d figure a way out of going out with ten beautiful women. I’da made a fortune.”
“I didn’t do this on purpose!” Tex said, clutching his stomach. “She poisoned me so I wouldn’t win tonight.”
“How you gonna ride a bounty bull when you can’t stop moaning and groaning?” Archer demanded. “None of us are prepared to do this for you, I can tell you. We’re here to have a good time.”
“Well,” Last said philosophically as he glanced into the mirror. He checked his hair, tucking it behind his ears, and then borrowed some mouthwash from the medicine chest in the bathroom. “I, for one, do not intend to let down ten women, who are friends of ours, who helped us out during one of the worst floods ever to befall Union Junction. No, I don’t.”
“Me, neither,” Navarro said, copying his brother’s penchant for the mouthwash. “I’m positive they won’t be too disappointed to get three strong, whole Jeffersons instead of one puny one.”
Archer looked at him with shame. “You’re on your own, sickly one. We’ll see you later, bro.”
“Don’t worry,” Last said as they walked out thedoor. “Once again, we don’t mind taking up your responsibilities.”
“Why?” Tex asked on a groan. “Why was I born into this family? Never again do I want a big
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