Her Baby Dreams. Debra Clopton

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СКАЧАТЬ 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. You know we have a rodeo coming up in a couple of weeks, and we’ve been racking our brains for a new fund-raiser. The proceeds are going into the emergency fund for the shelter.”

      Ashby looked at them with leery eyes. “It doesn’t involve me, bikes or Dan Dawson, does it?”

      “Only if you want it to.” Lacy chuckled. “It’s a pig scramble.”

      Everyone but Ashby squealed in obvious delight at the very thought of such a thing.

      She slowly scanned the room. “Could you elaborate on the term ‘pig scramble’? Remember, I’m not a country girl.”

      Lacy’s expertly shagged hair did a jig with her laughter. “It’s where we grease up a small pig, let it loose in the arena, and whoever catches it wins the scramble. Doesn’t that sound like a hoot and a half?”

      Oh, Ashby got it. They were playing a joke on her; that’s what this was all about. They were all waiting to see her reaction, before telling her their real idea. But a closer look at their expressions confirmed that they weren’t joking.

      Mule Hollow was about to have itself a pig scramble.

      The expectant expressions surrounding her gave Ashby a bad feeling. “Oh no! Don’t even think about conning me into this like you did that bike race,” she said. “The day I scramble for a pig will be the day pigs fly!”

      That killed them. Lacy and Sheri especially got so tickled that Ashby felt insulted. “Why the hysterical laughter?” she asked.

      Sheri fanned herself. “Don’t be silly. We knew you wouldn’t scramble for a pig. The very idea is hilarious. We just wanted you to help us raise the donations. You have such a mind for business, we thought we’d run it by you, is all.”

      Ashby vaguely heard the last part of what Sheri said. “How did you know I wouldn’t scramble for a pig?”

      Sheri didn’t even bat an eye. “I told them you wouldn’t ride on the handlebars of a bike, and I was right. If you won’t join the rest of us when we look silly doing something like that, then it doesn’t take a genius to know you’re not going to get down and dirty in the mud with a pig. No matter how much of a blast it’ll be.”

      Lacy winced almost apologetically. “Especially since it is going to be a spectator sport. You know none of the guys would miss something like this.”

      There was actually a hint of a dare in Lacy’s words. Trap ahead was ringing in Ashby’s brain, but she ignored it. Why? Because nothing bothered her nearly as much as what Sheri had just said. Ashby had an instant visual of the smug little group of cowboys, including Dan Dawson, discussing who would and who wouldn’t get in the pen with a pig.

      Even a lonesome cowboy isn’t desperate enough to marry a gal so knotted up she can’t have fun. Dan’s words had been playing in her head like a broken record over the last couple of weeks. Knotted up… Yes, she knew she was. She also knew that this was her chance to get unknotted once and for all. Her mother would cringe at her word choice. “So what does one have to do to get in this pig scramble?” Did she just ask that?

      “Well, this is what we thought,” Lacy said. “There’s going to be so many gals wanting to get in that arena they won’t all fit. We think it would be great to make the entry a competition. The ten gals who sell the most tickets and raise the most money get the privilege of scrambling for the pig. What do you think?”

      “I’m determined to be one,” Sheri said, with a gleam in her eyes. “I’ve never done it, but me and piggy have a date, and he’s going down for the count.”

      “I’m with you, sister!” Lacy slapped palms with Sheri.

      Ashby bit her lip and watched their display of enthusiasm. Ashby had never in her life high-fived anyone, and honestly, she wasn’t feeling the urge at the moment.

      “Pig scrambles are fun,” Norma Sue said. “Me and Esther Mae tackled a few in our time.”

      “They’re rough little cooters, though,” Esther said.

      Ashby’s stomach felt sort of sick, but she knew she had to speak up. “Can I ask all of you something?”

      “Shoot,” Lacy said, fists on her hips.

      This would be embarrassing, but she needed to know the truth. “Dan said that I couldn’t get a date because the cowboys think I’m…well, knotted up was the phrase he used.”

      It was as if someone hit the mute button. Everyone in the room instantly clammed up and wouldn’t look her in the eye. That was her clue—they knew something about this.

      “Well,” Lacy hedged. “We had heard something to that effect.”

      “This is horrible.” Ashby wrung her hands. “And you didn’t say anything. All this time—”

      “No, now don’t get all upset,” Lacy said, crossing the room to place a comforting hand on her arm. “They just don’t know you, Ashby. They don’t know the caring and wonderful person you are, because all they can see is the perfect package that God put you in.”

      A chorus of agreement rang out around the room.

      “I hate it when someone tells me how perfect I am,” Ashby groaned. “I’m horrible at physical things. I’m like a gangly giraffe.” And that was only appearancewise.

      “Now, that is not true,” Adela said, finally speaking up. “When you arrived here last year for the first spring festival, I seem to recall that you and the sheriff won the three-legged race.”

      “Only because Sheriff Brady was strong enough to haul me across the finish line. It had nothing at all to do with me.”

      “It’s okay. Don’t sweat it,” Sheri said. “There is a guy out there for you, and when it’s time for the two of you to meet, you will.”

      “Yes, but then it might be too late.”

      “Too late for what?” Adela asked.

      “For me to have a baby.”

      Lacy cocked her head to the side. “Ashby, for goodness’ sake, you’re not even thirty.”

      “You’re just a babe in the woods,” Norma Sue said.

      “Ha. At the pace I’m going…”

      Lacy grinned. “Relax, СКАЧАТЬ