“You’re strong. You can do it. After all you’re marrying me, and you know what the gossip hounds say, don’t you?” she asked.
“That I’m a lucky man?” he ventured.
“Nope, they say it’ll take a strong cowboy to marry Alana Joy Carey, because she’s taller than most men and she’s more stubborn than all of them.” She sighed.
* * *
Pax had heard that said before, and he agreed with it wholeheartedly. Alana could out-ride, out-shoot and out-ranch nearly every cowboy in the state, but not one of those other men had held her when she sobbed because her daddy was dying. That didn’t make him so strong—it made him a good friend that she trusted enough to let him see her at her most vulnerable.
“It used to hurt my feelings and make me feel ugly,” she went on, “but then I figured that if I was gonna have the name, then by damn, I’d have the game. I’d beat out all the cowboys at whatever game they were playing. Did you know that I even tried to go out for football, but the school and my daddy said no?”
“Didn’t know that, but can’t say as I’m surprised,” Pax answered as he drove past the WELCOME TO AMARILLO sign. “Do you like football that much, or were you on a mission?”
“Love to watch it on TV with Daddy, but at that time I was pretty much trying to live up to what folks said about me,” she admitted.
“Darlin’, you might not realize it, but when you walk into a room or a bar, every man in the place can’t take his eyes off you. I’ve considered selling bibs at the door of the Wild Cowboy so the drool don’t ruin their shirts,” he said.
“I don’t believe a word of that bullshit, but thank you.” She smiled at him as they pulled into Iris’s parking lot. Iris waved from the bench by the front door and stood up. The second the vehicle came to a stop, Alana hopped out and met Iris halfway. She bent and gave Iris a hug, and then held out her hand so Iris could see the engagement ring. When they’d finished talking about the ring, Alana helped Iris into the backseat.
“Happy Mother’s Day, Mam,” Pax said. “You’ve got a present back there somewhere.”
She fastened her seat belt and then dug into the gift bag. “Oh. My. Goodness. There’s enough little chocolate bars in here to keep me happy for a month, and this card is lovely. You always pick out the prettiest Mother’s Day cards.” She reached between the seats and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you. I love you kids so much.”
“You deserve a truckload of candy for raising Maverick and Pax,” Alana said.
“I can’t think of a better Mother’s Day than spending the afternoon with y’all. I’m so glad y’all came to your senses and realized you were made for each other. I’ve known for years that you would wind up together. It was written in the stars when you were little kids.”
“I looked at the stars every night, and I didn’t see anything like that,” Alana said.
“Me, neither,” Pax agreed.
“Well, y’all didn’t have my binoculars,” Iris smarted off.
Pax drove out of the parking lot and back toward town while the two ladies chattered about the wedding details. His mind was on pizza, not the wedding.
“I’m going to come home for a week or two before the wedding so I don’t miss out on anything.” Iris’s voice took Pax’s mind off food. “Besides, I want to spend some time with Bridget and Laela. Living at the center is great, and I love it there. I’ve settled in, and I’ve made lots of friends, but nothing beats spending time with family.”
“Call me whenever you’re ready, and I’ll be here to pick you up.” Pax looked in the rearview and smiled at his grandmother.
Iris opened up a miniature candy bar and popped it into her mouth. “A couple of these will be my little appetizers before my pizza. I love that you’re getting married in the barn. You’re both ranchers, so that’s perfect. I guess you’ll be living at the Bar C?”
“Yep, but I’ll still help run our ranch.” Pax drove right up to the front door of the pizza place. “You ladies can get out here. I’ll park and be right in.”
“That’s wonderful. Thank you,” Iris said as she slid out of the backseat.
Pax had been worrying that Mam would see right through