“I just might do that.” Anna Rose could feel his eyes on her as she walked past him and up to the bar.
She claimed the last barstool, ordered a beer, and listened to a couple of songs while she drank. When the music stopped and everyone seemed to be ordering drinks, she gave up her seat and went over to the vintage jukebox. She was amazed to see that it still only took quarters, but not so much when she realized that she only got two plays for her money. She dug four coins from her pocket and plugged them into the machine.
“Eight,” she muttered. “Do I want to do some line dancing or two-steppin’?”
She chose four for two-stepping and two for line dancing, starting with Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and ending with Tim McGraw’s “I Like It, I Love It.”
“May I have this dance?” A good-looking guy held out his hand to her.
The bright lights around the jukebox lit up his gold wedding band like a neon sign that told her to step away. “Darlin’, I don’t dance with married men. Go find your wife.”
“It’s just a dance,” he protested.
Hank stepped up from behind the guy. “There you are, my sweet Anna Rose. I believe this is our song.”
He wrapped his arms around her and began a slow country waltz around the dance floor. “You don’t want to dance with that guy. His wife will come in here in about thirty minutes. There will be an argument, and whoever he is dancing with will wind up with a bloody nose. When they have a big fight, which is about once a week, he comes in here. She comes in after him and blames whoever he’s flirting with for whatever they were arguing about.”
“Oh, really? And where is your wife?” Anna Rose asked.
“Don’t have one. Don’t want one.” Hank held up his hand to show there wasn’t even a white mark where a ring had been. “I’m too big of a flirt to settle down.”
Just my kind of guy,Anna Rose thought. “Thanks for rescuing me. I wouldn’t want to explain a broken nose to my roommates.”
“Anytime, darlin’.” He tipped his hat when the song ended. “I’ve got your back, sweet Anna Rose. You really should let me buy you a drink since I saved your life.”
Anna Rose held up a forefinger. “One drink—but you saved my nose, not my life.”
She drank only half the beer that Hank bought for her, then left when he went to the men’s room. The clock above the bar read nine o’clock when she slid off the stool. “Boredom this early means no hangover in the morning,” she whispered as she made her way across the parking lot and unlocked her truck.
Darkness had settled in when she got back to Shamrock, but she didn’t want to go home—not just yet. She headed straight to the Dairy Queen and was the last customer of the evening. She ordered a chocolate milkshake and was home before ten. She found Goldie sitting on the rocking chair, so she picked her up and held her in her lap while she drank her shake.
The lights were on, but she didn’t hear anything until the door opened and Clinton came out, carrying the baby. He nodded toward her and almost tiptoed across the parking area and up the steps.
Taryn brought out a tall glass of sweet tea and sat down on the top porch step. “You’re home earlier than I figured you would be—and you’re alone.”
“Yep, I am,” Anna Rose said with a sigh. “I met a cowboy named Hank, and he was sexy. But ...”
“You mean there’s abutwhen it comes to you and a sexy cowboy?” Taryn asked.
Anna Rose raised her shoulders in a shrug. “Maybe there’s something in the water around here that makes us want to have something permanent in our lives.”
“Or maybe Jorja is rubbing off on you,” Taryn teased.
“God, I hope not!” Anna Rose declared.
“Did I hear my name?” Jorja asked as she came out onto the porch. She wore pajama pants with crosses printed on them and a T-shirt with “Love Thy Neighbor” on the front.
“How did Bible school go?” Taryn asked.
Jorja sat down on the step beside her. “I could say just wonderful, but that would be a lie. I was glad when it was over—and truthfully, I dread having to go back.”
“Then don’t go,” Anna Rose said. “You could be too tired for tomorrow night since we’ll be swamped with last-minute Memorial Day orders. If that’s not enough, we might have to run errands for Nana Irene and Ruby after we have lunch tomorrow.”
“I couldn’t do that to Ora Mae. She’s depending on me,” Jorja said. “And besides, why are you trying to help me out? I figured you’d be glad to get rid of me on Saturday night so you could bring home a one-night stand.”
“If you don’t want to do Bible school, then you shouldn’t do it,” Anna Rose told her. “That’s hours of your time that you can never get back. Go do something fun or read a good, juicy novel during that time. And for your information, I could have brought a guy home with me tonight.”
“Why didn’t you?”
