Part 24 (1/2)
”Too tall, I'd say,” Kent growled.
She glanced over at him and saw the jealousy in his eyes. She stepped close to him, lifted up on her toes, and placed a kiss on his lips. ”Way too tall. You're just right.”
”I better be.” He gave her a sizzling kiss before he stepped back. ”I hate to say it, but we better go. Hannah's waiting.”
She smiled as she wiped away the hint of lip gloss she'd left on his mouth, thinking how much she liked a man who put her child first. ”Let's see how she likes her new pony.”
Lauren quickly got into her SUV and glanced at the empty booster seat. She wasn't used to being separated from her daughter, but Hannah needed to grow and develop friends.h.i.+ps so that she felt comfortable in a larger world. If not for the fires, Lauren would think Wildcat Bluff was the perfect safe place for that to happen. But the fires gave her pause, so until the firebug was caught she'd stay cautious.
She drove to the Bluebonnet with Kent right behind her. She parked in front and he nestled his pickup beside her. She got out of her SUV, not bothering to lock it as she was relearning to do in Wildcat Bluff County. Kent joined her in front of the cafe and clasped her hand as Billye Jo rode up with Spot.
”I can't wait to see Hannah's face,” Kent said in a low voice, squeezing Lauren's hand.
”Me too. I'm so excited to make her dream a reality.” She let go of his hand and opened the door to the cafe. ”If y'all will wait here, I'll get Hannah.”
She took a deep breath before she stepped inside the Bluebonnet, feeling concerned that Hannah wouldn't like her pony. Maybe the pony would appear too small or not the right color or some other reason she couldn't imagine right now. She shut down those thoughts. She'd come all the way from Houston to give Hannah the opportunity to expand and grow and experience a bigger world. And that included becoming a cowgirl.
Lauren glanced around to see if anything had changed while she'd been gone from the county. Earlier she'd been too distracted with Hannah to notice. Now she was happy to see the cafe looked much the same as when it'd been updated and upgraded in the fifties. The interior was still all chrome, red vinyl booths and barstools, gray linoleum floor, and rough wood walls decorated with framed photos of veterans and rodeo winners, both considered defenders of Sure-Shot values.
A few folks sat at several of the chrome-framed tables with laminate surfaces and matching chrome chairs with red vinyl seats. A glossy black-and-white poster of Annie Oakley in a fancy cowgirl costume with a smoking Colt .45 in each hand graced the wall behind the long counter. On a round stool with a tall gla.s.s in front of her sat Hannah gazing up at the photo in rapt attention.
Lauren smiled at the sight of her contented daughter and nodded at Elsie, who stood with her hip c.o.c.ked at one table while she took an order on a pad with a pencil. She wore cat-eye, rhinestone eyegla.s.ses and her bright-red hair was pulled back in a curly ponytail. She'd squeezed her long-limbed body into a lilac tunic matched with hot-pink leggings and purple cowgirl boots.
Elsie grinned at Lauren, revealing bright-white teeth. ”Your little darlin' is still sitting safely right where you left her.” She laughed in a deep, husky tone. ”All that sugar today and she probably won't sleep for a week. Just warning you.”
”Thanks, Elsie. I'll take over now.”
”Bring her back any time. We've talked cowgirls nonstop.”
”Mommy,” Hannah called as she swiveled around on the barstool. ”Look at that lady!” She pointed at Annie Oakley. ”She can ride standing on the back of a horse and shoot targets at the same time.”
”That's right,” Elsie agreed. ”Annie wasn't called Little Miss Sure Shot' for nothing. She wowed the Queen of England and others in Europe back in her day.”
Hannah giggled at Elsie's words.
Elsie gave a sharp nod. ”One look at Annie's can-do American spirit and those folks knew they'd met a real, honest-to-goodness queen of the Wild West.”
”That's me!” Hannah clapped her small hands together. ”Only, may I be a princess?”
Elsie adjusted her snazzy gla.s.ses. ”Darlin', you're a United States of America citizen, and that means you can be anything you want to be. Princess. Queen. President. You name it.”
When Elsie received a round of applause from her diners, she raised her chin. ”That goes for all of you. I'm here in Sure-Shot because it's the best place in the world for me. And I'm putting my MBA to work by running my very own business.”
”And we're mighty grateful for that fact,” one of diners called, ”but do you think we could get our burgers and fries anytime soon?”
Elsie threw back her head and laughed till she wiped tears from her eyes. ”Now that's one of the things I love about Sure-Shot. n.o.body's allowed to get the big head around here.”
Lauren couldn't keep from chuckling along with Elsie, smelling onions and fries and grilled meat in a place that might be considered small on a bigger stage but was as big as the heart of Texas. She knew she'd done exactly right to come home as she looked at her adorable daughter. Hannah was perfectly content sitting at a counter with strangers all around her while drinking lemonade and deciding to be a princess.
She'd been worried for so long that Hannah would never come out of her sh.e.l.l from the loss of her father. Now that worry was slowly but surely being put to rest. Her daughter was blossoming in Wildcat Bluff. And nothing could suit her better.
”Mommy, do you want some lemonade? Elsie makes the very best.”
”That's right,” Elsie agreed, walking behind the counter. ”And I'm serving Slade Steele pies made special for the Bluebonnet Cafe.”
”How'd you manage that?” Lauren walked over, leaned down, and kissed Hannah's soft cheek. ”I thought he was strictly working for Granny at the Chuckwagon Cafe.”
Elsie flipped her long ponytail with one hand. ”I have my ways.”
”I'm sure you do,” Lauren said with a smile.
”Honestly.” Elsie turned serious. ”Slade's reputation for pie-baking is growing far and wide. If he doesn't watch it, he's going to have a business take off out from under him.”
”Like a mad bull?”
”If he can ride a bull, and that cowboy surely can, he can ride a business.” Elsie picked up Hannah's empty gla.s.s. ”I've already told him I'll help him any way I can to get his biz off the ground. You know, there's overnight s.h.i.+pping all over this great country. I might even be willing to throw in with him and add some items of my own.”
”Sounds wonderful,” Lauren said to encourage her.
”Truth of the matter, I want us to cater to the hipster market.”
”What is that?”
”Hip millennials like quality over quant.i.ty. They'll pay extra for craft beer, gin, and vodka. Organic food and drinks.”
”They aren't the only ones who like all that,” Lauren agreed. ”Folks such as Morning Glory got that ball rolling, didn't they?”
”Sure. But hipsters are expanding it now.” She set down Hannah's gla.s.s behind the counter. ”Slade's already making muscadine wine from his vineyard. We've been talking about him expanding his product and marketing it as craft. What do you think?”
”Sounds great.”
”Thanks. We're just getting started here. Serena is going to get the Sure-Shot Beauty Station up and running pretty quick. It'll be fun for all of us.”
”I'm thinking of starting something in our county, too.”
”Really!” Elsie grinned in delight. ”Great minds think alike. What are you going to do?”
”I'll let you know later.” She glanced down at Hannah who was beginning to squirm impatiently. ”Right now I've got a little girl who wants to see her first pony.”
”All right!” Elsie leaned down and looked into Hannah's eyes. ”Now, once you get your pony, you'd better get a tiara since you're going to be a cowgirl princess.”
”Yeah!” Hannah leaped off the stool.
”Stop by and see me soon so we can talk business,” Elsie said. ”Folks used to leave our county to find work. Now we're creating it in our own backyard.”
”That's great to hear. I'll be back to chat.”