Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Jess Bryant Read Free Book Online

second was that nobody seemed to be
around. Some things never changed.
    She crossed down the hallway, through the
large family room and back towards the kitchen. The worn-in brown
leather sofas were in the same place. The same landscape paintings
were on the walls. In the kitchen, the sink still dripped one
solemn drop every thirty seconds just as it had for decades.
    When she was a little girl, there would have
been a cook here in the kitchen and a maid somewhere else in the
house cleaning up. She’d never gone without female companionship,
her father had seen to that. She had three meals a day prepared by
Arlene Evans and her daughter Alice had made her bed, done her
laundry and played dolls with her.
    Years ago she heard Alice married and moved
to Ft. Worth. Arlene was still employed by her father to cook for
him and the ranch hands and had taken over some of the household
chores as well. Blue set off to find her and wasn’t surprised when
she heard a crash come from the pantry.
    Arlene was picking up an assortment of dented
cans when she rounded the corner. The older woman was in her
sixties now, her dark hair starting to pepper with gray. Her curves
had always overpowered her petite frame and her sense of style
hadn’t changed. She was donning a pair of purple wranglers with a
fluttering pink top meant for women half her age.
    Blue grinned, “Hey there.”
    Arlene squealed and dropped the cans all over
again, “Oh sweet baby Jesus… don’t you do that to an old lady
Bluebell Montgomery Carter. You bout gave me a heart attack!”
    Blue’s heart warmed in her chest. This woman
had helped raise her. She was the closest thing to a mother she’d
had since she was five years old and it was good to see her. She
hadn’t realized she missed more than just her father all this time
and tears warmed the back of her lids before she could stamp them
down.
    “Sorry.”
    “Oh my… look at you. Come give me a hug.”
Arlene was already enveloping her in a tight squeeze.
    She worked to keep the tears back and hugged
the other woman. With her height and the added heels, Arlene’s face
got buried in her chest but she didn’t seem to mind and held her
for a good long minute. Blue didn’t mind either.
    “It’s good to see you.”
    “Oh it’s good to see you too Bluebell.”
Arlene held her at arms length and did a quick scan from head to
toe before focusing back on her face, “My, my, if you don’t look
more and more like your mama all the time.”
    Yeah if only she had the grace and charm and
manners to go along with it. She’d never live up to the impossible
standards Liza Beth Montgomery Carter had left behind. She never
had and she’d stopped trying a long time ago.
    “Thank you.” She said instead.
    “We’ve missed you.”
    “I missed you too.” She admitted, not missing
the fact Arlene had used the plural and she hadn’t. “Where’s Daddy
at?”
    “Last I saw him he was in the bunkhouse with
the rest of the guys eating dinner.”
    “Of course he is.”
    He always ate dinner with the ranch hands out
there. Even when she was a little girl, if she’d wanted to eat with
him she’d have to carry her plate out there. She’d known it even
before she’d bothered to call. Oh speaking of calls…
    “Arlene, I left a message on the machine
earlier. Have you checked it recently?”
    “I didn’t hear the machine ring. I must have
been out serving dinner.” Arlene shook her head, “Did you need
something?”
    “Nah, I’ll just erase it and then I’ll go say
hi to Daddy.”
    “Go right ahead. I’ll bring you out some
fresh tea.”
    “Thanks.”
    Blue went back into the living room where the
machine was blinking and hit play. Her voice came through with the
message and she grinned at the memory of the look on Zachary West’s
face when she’d accused him of being an ax murderer. Priceless.
    She hit delete and put the man out of her
mind. The only man she could deal with right now was her father.
Lord