Her Baby Dreams. Debra Clopton

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СКАЧАТЬ had been blessed with a playful heart, and God had given him an unlikely path at an early age that he had followed into adulthood.

      Things with Ashby weren’t entirely the same. He couldn’t explain it completely, but he’d unknowingly given her a bad rep, and he felt a need to repair it.

      He’d tried telling the guys she’d been having a bad day but it had not convinced them. So he figured if she’d go out with him, like he’d planned originally, that it would redeem her in the eyes of the other cowboys.

      Not so easy. She wasn’t cooperating for some reason. Despite this, they’d actually developed a relationship based on banter over the months of continued rejection—banter he found entertaining most of the time. Not today.

      This day was going to add to the urban legend she’d become, and try as he might, there was nothing he could do.

      Shaking his head, he pushed the bike forward. She didn’t have a clue this race could very well seal her fate for good.

      Unless she changed her ways, Ashby Templeton would die an old maid here in Mule Hollow, surrounded by cowboys diligently searching for wives. And she wouldn’t even know why.

      

      On Friday, Ashby walked into Heavenly Inspirations Salon knowing that something had to change. She just didn’t know what.

      Was she the reason that her love life was nonexistent?

      She still hadn’t completely forgiven her friends for setting her up in that horrible bike race with Dan Dawson two weeks earlier. What had they been thinking? It would go down in history as one of the worst days of her life. Honestly, they knew he was a thorn in her side. That she’d refused to go out with him several times over the past year. So why had they done it?

      She’d told herself they’d acted with the best of intentions, however misguided they might be. Still, as she entered the salon, she could only shake her head that they were scraping the bottom of the barrel in an attempt to help her find a husband. They must really think her hopeless.

      Lacy had called a meeting of the local ladies to discuss plans to attract more visitors to town.

      “Hi, everyone,” Ashby said, scanning the full room. The matchmakers were all present. Norma Sue Jenkins, robust and good-hearted, grinned at her from where she and redheaded Esther Mae Wilcox were shelling peas in the corner. Adela, their partner in matchmaking, was sitting at the manicure table watching Sheri, co-owner of the salon, paint her own toenails.

      It had been Adela who’d come up with the idea to transform her small town into a place that would attract and hopefully hold a generation of younger women. They’d hatched their “wives wanted” ad campaign, and had been matchmaking ever since. Lacy had come along first and opened her salon; others soon followed. Still more came to the festivals and weekend events held to mingle with the cowboys and enjoy the imaginative, sometimes outrageous things this group came up with for them to participate in. The bike race being a case in point. Today, feeling dread like a lead ball in the pit of her stomach, Ashby wondered what new idea was brewing.

      “Hey, Ashby, you do not look so good,” Lacy said, sitting in the shampoo chair, thumbing through a salon supply brochure.

      “You sure don’t,” Sheri agreed.

      The room grew still as everyone paused and stared. “I’m fine,” Ashby said, and sat down in the chair by the door.

      “You’re not still upset about the spring festival, are you?” Esther Mae asked. “I just can’t believe you didn’t let that cutie-pie Dan give you a ride on the bike. That was the whole reason for the race. Why, me and my Hank used to love to ride around like that.”

      “Leave her be, Esther Mae. She must have had her reasons,” Norma Sue said, adding dryly, “though not any I can figure out.”

      So much for the support, Ashby thought as Norma Sue eyeballed her.

      “On the other hand,” she added, “that was supposed to be an enjoyable adventure. I never in all of my days saw a person look as gloomy as you did when you limped into town.”

      “She had her reasons,” Adela said, and Ashby gave her a grateful smile.

      “I’m sorry I disappointed all of you. But the point is, I should never have been in that race. Especially paired up with Dan—”

      “But the man is perfect for you.”

      Ashby stared at Esther Mae, too mystified by the observation to even gather a coherent defense. Her blood pressure escalated just thinking about him.

      Esther Mae snapped a handful of pea pods in half as if to punctuate her shocking statement. “You should ask Dan out on a date.”

      Ashby’s mouth fell open and chuckles erupted from every corner of the room.

      “First off,” she managed to reply, “I would never ask a man out on a date. And second, if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be Dan.”

      “Well, I just don’t understand you,” Esther Mae said. “He is such a sweet boy.”

      “He’s shallow and irresponsible,” Ashby countered. She wanted to tell them she’d had the misfortune of being drawn to his kind, but she couldn’t bring herself to shine that light on her failures. It wasn’t easy telling others that the man she’d trusted and believed in had betrayed her. It was humiliating enough. Besides, she’d learned her lesson well. Flirts couldn’t be trusted. Men like Steven…She pushed him from her thoughts. She didn’t like thinking back. Instead she focused on Dan. “He flirts with everyone. It’s as if he thinks that flashing that gorgeous smile of his will have women eating out of his hand!”

      “It is a gorgeous smile,” Esther Mae said. “Swashbuckling pirate. That’s what I think when he flashes it.”

      Ashby felt heat flush her cheeks at the picture Esther Mae painted. “Why in the world would all of you think he and I could be more than antagonists? I frustrate him and he irritates me.”

      Esther Mae harrumphed. “You can’t tell me you aren’t attracted to him—”

      “Esther Mae,” Norma Sue said. “Leave the girl be. She just doesn’t see it yet.”

      Ashby could see fine. It appeared they were the ones in need of an eye exam…or maybe a head exam. “Dan Dawson is not husband material,” she said. This was the very group of ladies she’d hoped would help her find a mate, and it was very disconcerting to realize how off base they were. It was a discouraging blow to know that she was on her own, a situation that had never worked out before. She could not trust her own judgment when it came to men. She was afraid to. She’d believed in Steven and she never saw his betrayal coming. She needed help, but even God seemed to have decided to be silent on this issue.

      “You don’t have the right impression of Dan,” Norma Sue said, drawing Ashby back from her morose thoughts.

      “You certainly don’t,” Esther Mae agreed. “Exactly our reasoning behind tweaking the bike race so y’all would be together. Never underestimate the power of sparks.”

      Lacy waved her hands. “Okay, enough picking on Ashby. We called you down here to get your opinion on my new idea. СКАЧАТЬ