it’s our birthday,” Lily said.
“And they are your goats. I don’t want to sleep with them in my room, and I don’t want to clean up after them tomorrow morning or listen to them whine all night. So you have a choice. Calf pen or playpens,” Annie Rose said.
Gabby and Lily put their heads together and whispered, gestured, frowned, and Annie Rose’s sharp ears picked up a couple of swear words. She finished cleaning the patio, tied another plastic garbage bag shut, and handed it to Mason.
“How about some cowboy hash and vegetables for supper?” she asked. “The girls have had enough junk food for the day.”
“Corn and green beans?” he asked.
“If you’ll show me around the kitchen enough so that I can find things, I bet that’s doable,” she answered.
Mason slid the glass door open and stood to one side. “Sounds good to me. You girls come on in when you make up your minds.”
“We’ve decided to clean up the playpens, Daddy,” Gabby said seriously.
“But only if you say it’s okay to keep them in the playpens at night for more than one night. They can play in their outside pen in the day, but we don’t want them to get lonesome at night,” Lily declared.
Mason winked at Annie Rose and it slammed right into her heart, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. “The playpens can stay in your rooms as long as you clean them every morning and don’t fuss about having to do it. And it has to be the first thing you do, even before breakfast. And you have to take care of the goats at night. Annie Rose and I aren’t taking that job on.”
“Okay,” Gabby sighed.
“Right now they are going to the calf pen so you can open your present from me and we can have supper. Then when the pens are cleaned, I’ll bring the goats inside and carry them up to your rooms. I don’t want them outside the pens while they are in the house. I catch one in your bed, and he’s going to the auction barn Thursday night.”
“Okay,” Lily agreed. “Now can we open our present from you?”
“Yes, you can.” He handed each of them a card with a note inside.
Lily hugged Mason tightly after she’d opened her envelope containing her birthday present. “Oh, Daddy, this is the best day in my whole life.”
Gabby’s hands trembled as she held the paper to her chest. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe we are really going.”
Annie Rose crumbled hamburger meat into an iron skillet and hoped to hell if those envelopes contained tickets to Six Flags over Texas that she wasn’t expected to go with them. June was one of the biggest months at the amusement park and that many people milling around in the Texas heat was not her idea of a good time. Especially not if she had to ride something that shoved her right up next to Mason Harper.
“Mama-Nanny, we’re going to The Pink Pistol and Daddy is giving us each a hundred dollars to spend in the store and we get to eat at the Dairy Queen in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and I know that Miranda Lambert has bought ice cream in that very Dairy Queen.” Lily danced around, waving the envelope in the air. “This is the best present ever. It’s even better than Jeb, and I love him to pieces. Do you think Miranda will be in The Pink Pistol that day?”
“I’m going to buy a pink cowgirl hat with a diamond hatband and a belt to match.” Gabby’s voice was still only an octave below a complete squeal.
“Mama-Nanny is going too, right, Daddy?” Lily said.
“Of course she is. That’s part of the nanny’s job,” Mason said.
“What is The Pink Pistol?” Annie Rose asked. He’d defined her place with one sentence. That other crazy stuff would disappear in a couple of days. It was all the result of adrenaline, fear, and then finding safety, mixed up together like a margarita in a blender.
“It is a shop in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, that Miranda Lambert owns. People Magazine published an article on it last year. She sells all kinds of Western things. The girls
“And they are your goats. I don’t want to sleep with them in my room, and I don’t want to clean up after them tomorrow morning or listen to them whine all night. So you have a choice. Calf pen or playpens,” Annie Rose said.
Gabby and Lily put their heads together and whispered, gestured, frowned, and Annie Rose’s sharp ears picked up a couple of swear words. She finished cleaning the patio, tied another plastic garbage bag shut, and handed it to Mason.
“How about some cowboy hash and vegetables for supper?” she asked. “The girls have had enough junk food for the day.”
“Corn and green beans?” he asked.
“If you’ll show me around the kitchen enough so that I can find things, I bet that’s doable,” she answered.
Mason slid the glass door open and stood to one side. “Sounds good to me. You girls come on in when you make up your minds.”
“We’ve decided to clean up the playpens, Daddy,” Gabby said seriously.
“But only if you say it’s okay to keep them in the playpens at night for more than one night. They can play in their outside pen in the day, but we don’t want them to get lonesome at night,” Lily declared.
Mason winked at Annie Rose and it slammed right into her heart, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. “The playpens can stay in your rooms as long as you clean them every morning and don’t fuss about having to do it. And it has to be the first thing you do, even before breakfast. And you have to take care of the goats at night. Annie Rose and I aren’t taking that job on.”
“Okay,” Gabby sighed.
“Right now they are going to the calf pen so you can open your present from me and we can have supper. Then when the pens are cleaned, I’ll bring the goats inside and carry them up to your rooms. I don’t want them outside the pens while they are in the house. I catch one in your bed, and he’s going to the auction barn Thursday night.”
“Okay,” Lily agreed. “Now can we open our present from you?”
“Yes, you can.” He handed each of them a card with a note inside.
Lily hugged Mason tightly after she’d opened her envelope containing her birthday present. “Oh, Daddy, this is the best day in my whole life.”
Gabby’s hands trembled as she held the paper to her chest. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe we are really going.”
Annie Rose crumbled hamburger meat into an iron skillet and hoped to hell if those envelopes contained tickets to Six Flags over Texas that she wasn’t expected to go with them. June was one of the biggest months at the amusement park and that many people milling around in the Texas heat was not her idea of a good time. Especially not if she had to ride something that shoved her right up next to Mason Harper.
“Mama-Nanny, we’re going to The Pink Pistol and Daddy is giving us each a hundred dollars to spend in the store and we get to eat at the Dairy Queen in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and I know that Miranda Lambert has bought ice cream in that very Dairy Queen.” Lily danced around, waving the envelope in the air. “This is the best present ever. It’s even better than Jeb, and I love him to pieces. Do you think Miranda will be in The Pink Pistol that day?”
“I’m going to buy a pink cowgirl hat with a diamond hatband and a belt to match.” Gabby’s voice was still only an octave below a complete squeal.
“Mama-Nanny is going too, right, Daddy?” Lily said.
“Of course she is. That’s part of the nanny’s job,” Mason said.
“What is The Pink Pistol?” Annie Rose asked. He’d defined her place with one sentence. That other crazy stuff would disappear in a couple of days. It was all the result of adrenaline, fear, and then finding safety, mixed up together like a margarita in a blender.
“It is a shop in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, that Miranda Lambert owns. People Magazine published an article on it last year. She sells all kinds of Western things. The girls
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