“Really? Rodeo’s pretty tough.”
Tex nodded. “My mom ran the farm when he was on the road or injured. Which was a lot of the time. She’s retired now. My sisters didn’t want the farm and neither did I, so they sold it, and divided it equally among all of us, plus a little something for them to live on.”
“How many sisters do you have?” she asked.
He grinned. “Four. All of them older.”
She laughed. “I bet they tortured you a lot.”
“Well, thankfully they tended to just take swipes at each other and leave me alone for the most part. But my mama does have a fair number of pictures of me at about three years old wearing a cowboy hat and a hoop skirt.”
Abby laughed so hard she had to a wipe a tear from her eye.
He laughed, too. “I’m pretty sure it didn’t do any permanent damage.”
When it started getting late they headed inside to wash up and Tex asked if she wanted to order Chinese again.
“Yeah, but I’m paying this time,” she demanded.
“Okay, sounds fair.”
She headed off to the bedroom to change out of her dirty t-shirt and the doorbell rang.
“Could you get it?” she called out from behind the closed door. “My purse is on the counter.”
“No problem,” he called out, picking up her purse. He opened it and reached in, but didn’t come up with her wallet on the first try. Instead he found a snub nose .38. He turned it over and examined it. The doorbell rang again. “Just a second!” he called loudly. He put it back, opened her wallet, and took out some cash.
He paid the boy and set the food and the change on the counter. Abby came back out in a new, slightly better fitting shirt. “What did we get this time?” she asked. “It smells awesome!” She laid out a towel on the floor.
Tex brought over the bags. “What do you need a gun for?”
Abby looked up at him. “You didn’t rob the delivery boy with it, did you? Because I love that place and I’m pretty sure they won’t deliver here anymore if you point a gun at them.”
“Nah. I put it back. But why do you need it?”
“I probably don’t here. But Vegas is Vegas and I’m used to carrying it around.”
“You take a class?”
She gave him a pointed look. “Yes, Dad. And I practice every month at a range. And I keep the safety on. And I don’t talk to strangers even when they have candy or puppies, which are two of my really big weaknesses, I’ll have you know. So if a guy has both, I’m fucked.”
Tex laughed and took a bite of Kung Pao. “There’s a good range off Catron boulevard.”
She nodded. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll check it out over the weekend.”
“Do you have a bed?” he asked her suddenly. Her eyes widened in surprised. “I mean, you don’t have anything else and I don’t know if you sleeping on the floor to feed your classic car addiction is going to be a great idea long term.” Frankly, he did find it a little odd that she’d choose a project car over, well, anything.
“Yeah,” she said, shifting a little uncomfortably. “I’m not that crazy. The bedroom’s actually totally done,” she said, sounding a little defensive. “It’s the room I spend the most time in so I started with that one. I just want to finish one room at a time.”
He nodded remembering she was ‘vigilantly organized.’ “Are you gonna paint?”
“No. It’s just a rental. Only for six months. I wanted to get a feel for the city before I chose a permanent neighborhood.”
“Good thinking,” he told her, and it was. It was exactly what he would do. Choose a short term place and look around.
“I don’t want to go crazy buying a bunch of stuff for this place just to move it all out again. Especially since I don’t know the layout of whatever place I might get in the future. I’m just sticking to the basics, here. I only need a bed, a dresser, a couch, and a garage for
Tex nodded. “My mom ran the farm when he was on the road or injured. Which was a lot of the time. She’s retired now. My sisters didn’t want the farm and neither did I, so they sold it, and divided it equally among all of us, plus a little something for them to live on.”
“How many sisters do you have?” she asked.
He grinned. “Four. All of them older.”
She laughed. “I bet they tortured you a lot.”
“Well, thankfully they tended to just take swipes at each other and leave me alone for the most part. But my mama does have a fair number of pictures of me at about three years old wearing a cowboy hat and a hoop skirt.”
Abby laughed so hard she had to a wipe a tear from her eye.
He laughed, too. “I’m pretty sure it didn’t do any permanent damage.”
When it started getting late they headed inside to wash up and Tex asked if she wanted to order Chinese again.
“Yeah, but I’m paying this time,” she demanded.
“Okay, sounds fair.”
She headed off to the bedroom to change out of her dirty t-shirt and the doorbell rang.
“Could you get it?” she called out from behind the closed door. “My purse is on the counter.”
“No problem,” he called out, picking up her purse. He opened it and reached in, but didn’t come up with her wallet on the first try. Instead he found a snub nose .38. He turned it over and examined it. The doorbell rang again. “Just a second!” he called loudly. He put it back, opened her wallet, and took out some cash.
He paid the boy and set the food and the change on the counter. Abby came back out in a new, slightly better fitting shirt. “What did we get this time?” she asked. “It smells awesome!” She laid out a towel on the floor.
Tex brought over the bags. “What do you need a gun for?”
Abby looked up at him. “You didn’t rob the delivery boy with it, did you? Because I love that place and I’m pretty sure they won’t deliver here anymore if you point a gun at them.”
“Nah. I put it back. But why do you need it?”
“I probably don’t here. But Vegas is Vegas and I’m used to carrying it around.”
“You take a class?”
She gave him a pointed look. “Yes, Dad. And I practice every month at a range. And I keep the safety on. And I don’t talk to strangers even when they have candy or puppies, which are two of my really big weaknesses, I’ll have you know. So if a guy has both, I’m fucked.”
Tex laughed and took a bite of Kung Pao. “There’s a good range off Catron boulevard.”
She nodded. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll check it out over the weekend.”
“Do you have a bed?” he asked her suddenly. Her eyes widened in surprised. “I mean, you don’t have anything else and I don’t know if you sleeping on the floor to feed your classic car addiction is going to be a great idea long term.” Frankly, he did find it a little odd that she’d choose a project car over, well, anything.
“Yeah,” she said, shifting a little uncomfortably. “I’m not that crazy. The bedroom’s actually totally done,” she said, sounding a little defensive. “It’s the room I spend the most time in so I started with that one. I just want to finish one room at a time.”
He nodded remembering she was ‘vigilantly organized.’ “Are you gonna paint?”
“No. It’s just a rental. Only for six months. I wanted to get a feel for the city before I chose a permanent neighborhood.”
“Good thinking,” he told her, and it was. It was exactly what he would do. Choose a short term place and look around.
“I don’t want to go crazy buying a bunch of stuff for this place just to move it all out again. Especially since I don’t know the layout of whatever place I might get in the future. I’m just sticking to the basics, here. I only need a bed, a dresser, a couch, and a garage for
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