Page 27 of Hard Rain Coming
“Doubt it. I’d have to find a woman brave enough to handle me full-time.”
“Oh,” Scarlett said with a chuckle. “I don’t think you’d have a problem with that.” She nudged him again. “Merry St. Germain and her crew are looking at you like you’re a feature menu item. And they’re all married.”
“So are you, peaches,” Taz said, giving her the side-eye as he wrangled his girls close to his side.
“Yes, I am,” she replied, reaching up to kiss her husband.
Dallas stood back and gave them some room.
“Don’t you forget it.” Taz cracked a grin, then looked at his girls. “Let’s get you home.”
“We have to clean my dress, Daddy.”
“Yep.”
“Do you have the extra-special soap?”
Taz glanced at Dallas and laughed. “About ten gallons, darlin’.”
He watched the family walk to their truck, which in turn brought him in line with Merry St. Germain, who was waving at him. She was an attractive lady, he’d give her that. But Dallas had rules. Married women were off-limits. He gave her a polite nod and was relieved when he spied Nora.
“Uncle Dallas!”
“Hey, you,” he said as she stopped in front of him. “I’m your bus today.”
Nora skipped ahead. He followed her and helped her into the truck, trying to keep up as the little chatterbox filled him in on her day. Damn kid barely took a breath between sentences. He planned to get the hell out of the school parking lot before any of the women, single or married, approached him, so he kept his head down, hopped in, and pointed the truck toward the other side of town. “I just have one more stop, and then we can go home.”
“Can we get some sweets from Auntie Millie? Pretty please with sprinkles on top?”
He looked at the girl and winked. “I don’t know if we’ll see her, but I’m headed to the Sundowner anyway, so I suppose your dad won’t mind if we fill up on some sugar while we’re there.”
Looking pleased, Nora settled back in her seat. The ride across town was relatively quiet. The Sundowner didn’t seem to be all that busy when he pulled up, which was fine by Dallas. He wasn’t in the mood to be polite. He’d already had his daily quota of talking to folks and was looking forward to a quiet evening at home.
They walked inside, and he spied Mick, an old-timer, at the bar chatting with his lady friend, Bernice. A few booths were occupied by locals, but other than that the place was empty. Millie Sue Bridgestone was talking with her cousin Zach, behind the bar, and she grinned widely when she spied her niece. Zach said a quick hello before he headed toward the back.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said, hugging Nora before flashing a grin at Dallas. “Fancy meeting you two here. I stopped in to grab food for the boys.”
“Cal recording?”
She nodded. “We’ve been writing up a storm.”
“How’s the little guy?” Cal Bridgestone, a bona fide country superstar and the pride of Big Bend, and his wife, Millie Sue, had had their first baby a few months back.
“He’s great.” Millie’s entire demeanor changed. Her eyes softened, and her voice filled with warmth. “He’s so great. He’s starting to smile, and he makes these funny and cute expressions, and I just…” She blushed. “Shit, I sound like a lovesick fool.”
“No,” he replied wryly. “You sound like a mother.”
“Can I pick out some sweets?” Nora asked, yanking on her aunt’s arm. “And do you have soup?”
“You can have whatever you want.” She lifted her chin to Dallas. “I’ll check on your food.”
“No worries. I’ll grab a beer while I wait.” When he’d called in his order, he’d been told it wouldn’t be ready until nearly four.
Dallas slid onto the closest stool, and the barkeep, a new girl who introduced herself as Kelli with an ‘i,’ grabbed up a frosty mug and filled it to the brim. She was new to town, a pretty girl who liked to flirt, which in this line of work generally meant good tips. She smiled and bent so close, her breasts nearly spilled onto the bar top.
She was also too young for him. Still had the shine of a new penny and the yearning for a relationship in her eyes. Definitely off-limits. He ignored her flirtation, accepted his drink with thanks, then swore silently when Brad Aldridge and Sam Binkley claimed the seats beside him. What the hell? There were at least ten empty stools they could have chosen.
“Henhawk,” Brad said as he ordered a couple of mugs of beer.