Cowboy Strong - Carolyn Brown Page 0,48

girl, what’s goin’ on?” she asked.

“I’m in a”—Bridget paused—“in a…I’m worried about this thing we’re going to tonight for the class reunion. I don’t want to look like a culchie, but I don’t want to be overdressed, either. I want Maverick to be proud when he introduces me as his wife.”

“Holy crap!” Alana exclaimed. “I’d actually forgotten about the reunion. What’s a culchie?”

“You’d call it a country bumpkin,” Bridget said. “How could you forget? I’ve been fretting over it for a week. What are you wearing?”

“It’s very informal.” Bridget tried to remember what was in her closet, since she hadn’t taken time to shop for anything new. “I’ll probably wear a pair of capris and maybe a sleeveless top.”

“Thank God.” Bridget heaved a sigh that Alana could hear on the phone. “I was afraid I needed a formal dress, and I’ve been kicking my arse because I hadn’t shopped for something nice when we were out looking at bridal and bridesmaids’ dresses.”

“What you wore when we went shopping would be fine,” Alana told her. “I’m sure glad that you called, because I’d forgotten all about the affair, what with all these fast wedding plans and the shower tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thank you so much for sorting that out for me,” Bridget said. “Maverick has gone to get Mam. She’d planned to come to the ranch tomorrow, but we needed a sitter for Laela this evening.”

“You’re very welcome,” Alana told her. “Why don’t we four all ride together?”

“That would be great,” Bridget answered. “I won’t feel like such a stranger if you’re with me when we walk into the room. Meeting all of Maverick’s old school friends is goin’ to be a bit intimidatin’.”

“I’ve always been tall and felt out of place, so Mama used to tell me to walk into a room with my head held high and act like I owned the place.” Alana finished the final round and parked the tractor.

“Sounds like advice my grandmother told me,” Bridget said. “You’ve turned off the engine to whatever machinery you were running, so I guess you’re calling it a day?”

“I guess I’d better,” Alana said. “Right now I look a lot like one of your culchies.”

“Not you.” Bridget laughed with her. “Pax says you look like a model no matter what you’re wearing, and I agree.”

“So he says that, does he?” Alana opened the tractor door and hopped down out of the cab. The sun was setting in the west, taking part of the heat with it, but the slight breeze that ruffled her hair was still hot enough to bake a cake—or so it seemed.

“Yes, he does. He’s very much in love with you, Alana. Now, I’ve got to go start getting dressed for the party. See you later,” Bridget said.

Alana said goodbye, tucked her phone into her hip pocket, and jogged all the way to the house. Matt looked up from the sofa as she passed through the living room. She gave him a smile.

She stopped and kissed him on the top of his head. “How’re you feelin’ today, Daddy?”

“Better than yesterday. Not as good as I hope to be tomorrow when all this medicine gets out of my system. But darlin’, you don’t have time to stop and worry about me. Pax will be here to get you for the reunion in an hour. Quite frankly, you look like hell right now,” Matt told her.

“I always have time to talk to you, and thanks for boosting my ego,” she told him.

He chuckled and pointed toward the stairs. “Get on about makin’ yourself beautiful.”

“Yes, sir!” She saluted smartly and raced up the stairs, started a shower, and shuddered at her reflection in the mirror. Her father was right. She did look like hell. Dirt clung to her sweaty T-shirt and was smeared across her face like war paint. A few blades of straw were stuck in strands of her hair. She’d been in such a hurry to get to the house that she hadn’t even realized she’d stepped in a fresh cow patty until the smell hit her in the nose.

“So Pax is in love with me, is he?” she muttered as she peeled out of her clothing and stepped into the shower. “I bet if he saw me now, he’d run the other way.”

She had finished putting on her lipstick an hour later when the doorbell rang. She heard the sound of two deep voices floating up the stairs, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. After

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