“We’d like to surprise her like we did you,” Marsha said.
“I promise that I won’t say a word.” Bernie took a long drink of her root beer.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t ask Clara to do it for me,she thought.
Chapter 15
“Come on in and make yourself at home,” Darlene said when Nash and Clara entered the house through the back door.
Clara stopped and took a deep breath. “Something smells delicious. What can I do to help?”
“Nothing like the aroma of fresh baked bread,” Darlene said with a smile. “Thanks for offering. I never turn down help. You can set the table while I whip up some cream to go on the peach cobbler that we’re having for dessert.”
“Fresh bread and cobbler in one meal?”
“I told you that you wouldn’t be sorry you agreed to come have dinner with us.” Nash grinned and then kissed her on the cheek. “Need my help, Granny?”
“No, Son, I don’t. You can go on in the living room with your grandpa and let us women talk about you.” Darlene chuckled.
“Yes, ma’am.” Nash smiled again. “But don’t believe all the stories that she’s going to tell you, Clara.”
Darlene popped a dish towel toward him. “Get onout of here, or I’ll tell her some tales that will have her runnin’ for the hills.”
“I’m going.” Nash laughed out loud and dropped another kiss on Clara’s cheek. “Don’t believe everything she tells you. I wasn’t that bad.”
“Was he?” Clara asked when he had cleared the room.
“No, honey, just a little on the ornery side like most boys are,” she answered. “He was a fairly good boy, and he grew up to be a really wonderful man. We were hoping he would study business and agriculture in college, but his father swayed him over to the law field. But he’s found out that’s not where his heart is, and we’re right happy to have him back here in Ratliff City.” She stopped to take down a stack of four plates and hand them to Clara. “Silverware is in that drawer.” She nodded in the direction of the sink. “Tell you the truth, we’ve been wanting to size down the ranch since we are getting up in years. I guess if the good Lord opens a door, we’ll be ready to walk through it, but for now, we’ll just stick close to our boy.”
“He really likes working at the bar,” Clara said.
Darlene pulled the hot rolls out of the oven and turned it off, then slid the cobbler inside. “That will warm it up right nice just in time for dessert. And you? Do you enjoy working at the Chicken Coop, too?”
“Yes, ma’am, I really do. Coming to Ratliff City might be the wisest decision I’ve ever made.” Clara wished she could be impolite and ask for a roll while they were steaming hot.
“That’s good. I’ve always enjoyed being a rancher’s wife. Enjoying what you do is called success,” Darlene told her.
“You sound a lot like Aunt Bernie,” Clara said.
Darlene turned on a hand mixer to whip thick cream and talked above it. “That is one good woman right there.”
“I think so.” Clara smiled. “She’s been like a savior to me.”
Darlene turned off the mixer and put the bowl of whipped cream in the refrigerator. “Honey, you ain’t the only one Bernie has given a helping hand. There’s lots of folks in the town that has needed a little something through the years, and she was right there with advice or maybe a handout to pay a utility bill, or lots of other things. A few years back, I told her that the church’s old piano was past the days when it could even be tuned. A brand-new baby grand showed up the next week. When I asked her about it, she told me that she had no idea how it got there. She might not be sitting on a pew every Sunday, but she’s a fine example of what a true Christian should be. You are lucky to have her in your life.”
“Don’t I know it,” Clara agreed.
***
After dinner, Clara helped with cleaning up, and then the two older people walked Nash and Clara all the way out to his truck. The sweetest memory that Clara filed awayin the back of her mind was the way that the Darlene and Hoot held hands. If she was ever in a committed relationship, she hoped it would last as long as theirs had and that she would still be in love with her partner.
“I would invite you to stick around longer, but Grandpa baled hay yesterday and we really want to get it all in the barn before it rains again.” Nash started up the truck and left a trail of gray dust behind the vehicle as he drove down the dirt road toward the bar.
“I’ve never hauled hay, but I’m willing to learn. Next time you need a hand on a Sunday afternoon, just let me know,” she said.
“Thanks,” Nash said. “Grandpa still likes to use the small rectangular bales and keep them in the barn. I bet you could drive the truck and trailer really good, so yes, ma’am, I will definitely call you if we get another cutting this year.”
The way the time passed when she was with Nash seemed to go in warp speed. Before she could even think to ask about whatanother cuttingmeant, he had parked his vehicle at the Chicken Coop.
