Bubba had both the other puppies up close to his chest. “No, ma’am. I’m taking them to the ranch with me. Turbo needs company, and a ranch can’t have too many dogs. You won’t mind riding in the truck with puppies, will you? As much as I like fried chicken, I’d be willing to share my supper with them.”
“You’ll have to be easy with that. Too much, too fast will make them sick. And no, I will not mind riding with puppies.”
“You could keep one if you want,” he offered.
“I travel too much to have a pet,” she answered.
“Then you can name the yellow one and come see it anytime you want,” he said.
“Butter,” she said. “That’s her name.”
“I like that,” Bubba said.
“What are you naming the others?”
“I’ll have to think about it. Elijah might want to help me.”
“Are you serious about me coming to see Butter anytime I want?”
“Absolutely. I’ll even give you the key to the house so if I’m in the north forty acres, you can get inside,” he offered.
Miles thought he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but that did not happen. The whole evening with Lula Ann kept playing through his head like a movie—in color. He was about ready to tell her the truth about his name. In this day and age, that shouldn’t matter at all. They would laugh and say that it would be one of those stories that they told friends and family in the future.
There is the little white lie that I’m a hired hand on the ranch. That is no laughing matter.
“Why did I do that?” he moaned, and tossed and turned for another hour. He told himself that a nice woman like Lula Ann deserved more than a playboy. She needed a good man who would be committed to her and only her. He wasn’t sure he could ever be that person, but if he could, it would definitely be for her.
Finally, he got out of bed, went to the kitchen, and poured a glass of milk. He carried it out to the back porch and noticed that the light was still on in the bunkhouse. A back-and-forth movement and a shadowy figure told him that Elijah was sittingin one of the half dozen rocking chairs on the porch. He got a bottle of beer from the fridge and carried it out across the backyard.
“You havin’ trouble sleepin, too?” Elijah asked, and reached for the beer.
Miles put it in his hands and sat down in the rocker next to him. “What makes you think that?”
Elijah pointed to his faded chambray pajama bottoms. “You got on your sleepin’ britches, and you are barefoot. You tried to fall asleep, but it wasn’t happenin’ for you any more than it was for me. Want to talk about it or spend the night in the bunkhouse? Havin’ trouble sleepin’ in the boss’s house?”
“It’s not the house,” Miles admitted. “I did a stupid thing, and I can’t get it off my mind or figure out how to fix it.”
“Does it involve buying this ranch? Do you want to resell it and go home?” Elijah asked.
“No.”
“Then is it what’s her name?”
“What makes you think it’s a woman?” Miles’s question was followed by a long sigh.
“You left before supper, and from your attitude, tonight wasn’t the first time you’ve seen her, is it?”
“I met her last Saturday night at one of those speed-dating events,” Miles answered.
Elijah twisted the cap off the bottle and had a long drink. “Explain to me what that thing is.”
Bubba told him the short version of the event. “She passed me in the hallway, and I felt something even before I knew her name, which is Lula Ann Smith, and …” He paused. “I’ve had so many women only interested in Miles Chapman for his money that I lied on the application and said my name was Bubba Jones.”
“Well, it was only half a lie. Maribelle called you Bubba when y’all were kids, and Jones was your mama’s maiden name.” Elijah laughed. “But that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of. What happened to meeting women in a bar, or even church if you’re inclined to go on Sunday to pray that your wild oats from the night before don’t take root? You can’t figure out jack squat about a woman in five minutes.”
“Well, I’ve had three dates with her now, and I really like her,” Miles said. Although he knew it was much more than “like” at this point.
“What makes her different than all the other women you’ve been out with since you were about sixteen? And what makes you think that she still isn’t a gold digger who’s seen your picture on that damned social media thing all you kids are so taken up with?” Elijah asked.
