Alana stopped and turned around. “Would you be referring to me or Iris?”
“You, of course,” Rachel said. “You almost broke my ankle, and you can’t even apologize to me.”
Alana took a couple of steps away from Pax and knotted both her hands into fists. “Are you angry because of the ankle or because I’m marrying Pax?”
“Both,” Rachel said. “If you didn’t have money and land, he wouldn’t give a giant like you a second look.”
“Hey, now,” Pax cut in, “I happen to love Alana, and that’s pretty harsh of you to judge us like this,” Pax said.
“Talking or trying to explain anything to someone like you is a waste of time and breath.” Alana relaxed her hands, turned around, and laced her fingers with Pax’s. “Let’s go see Iris now.”
She let her anger smolder silently until she was back in the truck, and then exploded. “I should go back in there and wipe up aisle five with her. Apologize, my ass. She tripped me first, and I’m supposed to tell her that I’m sorry for retaliating? Is she crazy or plain stupid? I need to put someone on Rachel patrol at the wedding. You can bet your sexy cowboy ass that she’ll be there for no other reason than to cause trouble.”
“How about Trudy? I bet she’d do a fine job of keeping Rachel in line. By the end of the day, she might even have Rachel saved, sanctified, and dehorned,” Pax chuckled.
Alana giggled, then laughed, and then guffawed until she got the hiccups. “I don’t doubt that Trudy could save and sanctify her, but she’ll have a helluva time trying to dehorn her.”
Pax laughed right along with her. “I’m not sure even Lucifer could dehorn Rachel Freeman. She’s had an itch that no cowboy could satisfy since she was thirteen.”
“Sweet Jesus!” Alana threw a hand over her mouth. “How’d you know that?”
“It wasn’t me, and I don’t tattle on my friends,” Pax said as he drove out of the parking lot. “I guess we’ll get flowers at the Dollar Store.”
Paxton Callahan really was a fantastic friend, Alana began to realize. All anger was gone now, and he’d already taken care of future problems. Putting Trudy in charge of Rachel at the wedding was a brilliant suggestion.
“That sounds great, but if Rachel follows us there...” She hesitated.
Pax butted in before she could finish the sentence. “I keep two good sharp shovels out in our tack room.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “They’ll never find the body.”
Alana laid a hand on his thigh. “You are so good for me, Pax.”
“Not nearly as much as you are for me.” He squeezed her hand.
* * *
A soft breeze ruffled the leaves on the big pecan tree that shaded Joy and Matt’s gray granite tombstone. The spring flowers that Alana had put out at Easter were faded. Recent storms had caused dirt to settle into the petals of the pastel-colored lilies and gladioli. Pecan tree pollen had settled on the tombstone, turning it a dirty orange in spots.
“You go on to see your granddad and your father,” she told Pax. “I’d like to be alone for this.”
“I understand,” he said. “I’ll be back in a little while. I’ve got a lot to discuss with Grandpa anyway, and their plots are on the other end of the cemetery.”
“Thanks…” she said and then added, “…for everything.”
“You are so welcome.” He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
She set her tote bag of cleaning supplies and the bag of silk roses on the bench. “He’s such an amazing man,” she whispered to her mother as she began to polish the tombstone.
When Pax had driven away, she raised her voice. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here last week,” she said. “And speaking of sorry, Rachel Freeman’s mama should have drowned her at birth.” She went on to tell what all had happened that weekend as she cleaned. “She’s been a bully to me ever since we started to kindergarten. I remember when you told me that I should pray for her.”
When her mother had suggested that, Alana had protested quite loudly. “Pray for her! I want to kick her in the shins until she cries and then pull all her hair out for crying.”
“Thanks for that memory, Mama,” Alana said. “I’ll try to pray for her, but I won’t promise that it’ll be nice. It’ll be more like, ‘Please God, send her a man from Russia to fall in love with and to take her back to