The Delivery of Decor (Shiloh Ridge Ranch in Three Rivers #7) - Liz Isaacson Page 0,119

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“I’m trying to loosen up,” she said, the one thing she hadn’t told anyone yet coming to her mind.

Marshall Redmond.

“In fact, I’m getting so loose that I’m going to meet a man for a date that I met on Cowboy Connection.”

Ida opened her mouth to respond, then only sucked in breath. “What?” exploded out of her mouth as she exhaled. Her eyes rounded and held only shock. “You’re using Cowboy Connection?” Ida actually leaned forward. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be—and I quote—caught dead with that app on your phone? That it was too kitchy with that alliterative name?”

Ida’s expression harbored delight now, and Etta held her head high and rolled her eyes as if this conversation was ridiculous. “I’m aware of what I said.”

“Where’s your phone?” Ida got ot her feet, searching the couch near Etta, and then the end table.

“Don’t you dare look at my phone,” Etta said as Ida made a dash for Etta’s purse by the door. “Ida.” She tried to get up, but two tiny humans severely restricted her.

A cry of triumph filled the air, and Etta heaved a great sigh of frustration. It was too late; Ida had the phone, and only an act of God would stop her from looking at it now.

“Listen,” Etta said. “It’s a dating app, okay? You’re supposed to flirt on it. You say things you wouldn’t normally.”

“I can’t wait to see what you said,” Ida said, plenty of glee in her tone.

“Ida,” Etta pleaded, and that got her twin to slow down and stop. Their eyes met, and Etta could see the moment Ida came back to reality. She lowered the phone to her lap. “Tell me about him.”

Relief filled Etta. Ida had always respected Etta’s privacy, and she knew her better than anyone else on the planet. “You have to promise not to let your eyes get all big like they just did.”

“I won’t,” Ida promised.

“And I don’t want you to interrupt me a thousand times.” Etta glanced down at her niece and nephew. “No questions until the end. And if you ever find yourself starting a sentence with ‘you should’ or ‘you should have,’ stop. Instantly.”

Ida made a crisscrossing motion over her heart and nodded soberly. “You got it.”

Etta took a moment to decide if she needed any more rules for Ida. Satisfied, she said, “I started talking to him on Christmas. He’s got a nice profile picture, with a big, black cowboy hat. So I tapped on the heart. He responded within five seconds, and we’ve been talking here and there.”

“Can I call a lie when I hear it?” Ida asked.

“Is that a question?” Etta fired back.

“I’m just saying that you just lied,” Ida said, settling back into the recliner and folding her arms. Etta noted that she still had the phone secured in her hand.

“Fine,” Etta said. “We chat quite a lot these days.”

“Every day,” Ida said.

“Yes, every day. Happy now?”

“Multiple times?”

“You’re asking questions.”

“They’re valid questions.”

“Yes, multiple times. He’s up early because he’s got a small farm on the highway going toward Amarillo. I’m up early because I can’t sleep. So we talk in the morning. I usually send him a little picture of what I’ve made for lunch.”

Embarrassment flooded Etta, though she did love to cook, and she loved to make her dishes prettier than they tasted.

Ida’s eyes sparkled like blue diamonds. “So exciting.”

“He responds to that, and usually asks me a couple of questions about what I like to eat, what’s the worst thing I’ve ever cooked, my favorite candy, that kind of thing.”

“So he’s not just some creep. He’s trying to get to know you.”

“Seems that way,” Etta said. “So it’s been a few weeks, and he asked me if I’d like to go to dinner this weekend, and I said yes.” She lifted her chin again, feeling the need to defend herself. “We’re going casual. Pizza and salad at The Pepperoni Garden.”

Ida squealed, and Etta realized she should’ve made that a rule. No squealing. “I haven’t even been out with him yet,” she said. “He could show up and be twenty years younger than he said he was. He could have six kids I don’t know about.”

“You love kids.”

“I don’t want six from the moment I say I-do,” Etta argued.

“Would you date a single dad?” Ida asked, in classic Ida style.

Etta had the thought to tell her that she’d said no questions, but she didn’t really mind it. “I’d date a single dad, yes,” she said. Noah had children. She