Page 41 of The Cowboy's Country Charm

Ariel sighed. “Nope. Doesn’t seem interested. Maybe you could get your boyfriend to dish on what’s up with him.”

“Mel’s not a candidate?”

Ariel shook her head. “The man has no ambition. Content to be a ranch hand. Nice guy, but hasn’t a clue what he wants to do when he grows up.”

“Ranch hand could be a nice life.”

“For a single guy with no responsibilities. I want a family in my future.”

“Says the free spirit of the group.”

Ariel sniffed. “Only one free spirit in a relationship. If I’m going to survive in this adult world, I need a man who takes responsibility seriously… so I don’t have to.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Yours or mine?” Kristy checked her watch. It was just past six thirty, but maybe Rusty was the anxious type.

Chapter 12

Ariel scurried to the door, with Kristy right behind her, and flung it open.

Standing before them were both their mothers, smiles broad on their faces as the Kristy and Ariel yelled surprise.

“Mom?” Kristy and Ariel gasped the word in unison.

“What are you doing here?” Kristy asked when she found her voice.

“Visiting, of course. Aren’t you going to ask us in?” Her mom shook her head.

“Oh, Button, it’s so good to see you.” Kristy’s aunt Betty held out her arms to Ariel. Aunt Betty was the epitome of casual domesticity, in contrast to Kristy’s mother’s more formal client-centric style. Though sisters, they didn’t look like each other, except around the eyes. Her mother took after Kristy’s grandfather, her aunt after her grandmother. Aunt Betty, with her round face and petite body, wore a gingham pink skort and pink polo shirt, with her hair tied back in a ponytail and her feet clad in walking shoes. She looked ready to play a round of golf.

Kristy’s mother, on the other hand, wore a white sleeveless sheath accented with heeled sandals and costume jewelry.

Kristy gave Ariel a nudge and then embraced her own mother. “Of course. We just weren’t expecting you.” Per usual, her mother’s floral perfume overwhelmed the senses.

“Well, you were saying how you aren’t going out much, and clearly you both are working too hard, so your aunt Betty and I just decided we’d jump in the car and come for a visit.”

“It’s a four-hour drive.” Kristy moved out of the doorway so the two mothers could enter. Her mom swept in, dragging a suitcase, and Aunt Betty followed. The apartment instantly felt cramped.

“That’s why we’re staying for a few days. I figured I could sleep with you and Betty can sleep with Ariel and we’re good.” Her mother’s gaze floated around the apartment.

Kristy could only imagine what she was thinking. Small, cluttered, dark with the blinds shut, and no curtains on the windows yet. Neither she nor Ariel had taken time to do more than make the place functional.

Her mother placed her purse on the counter, cluttered with dirty dishes. “I see we arrived just in time. We’ll have this place looking like home in no time.” Then her mother’s gaze fell on her. “You’re all dressed up. Are you going out? You told me you haven’t been doing anything since you got here.”

Kristy sighed. How much to tell her mother? She wanted to say nothing, but Rusty and Mel would be showing up at any moment. There was no getting around it. “I actually have a date. The first one since I’ve been here.”

Her mother beamed. “I knew it. But have we ruined everything with our arrival?”

“Do you have a date too, Ariel?” Aunt Betty said, her tone hopeful.

“I do. But I’ve been out with him a few times already.”

“Serious, dear?”

Ariel laughed. “No. But fun.”

“Well, now what do we do, sister? I told you we should have given them a heads-up,” Aunt Betty said

---