Page 3 of Cowboy of Convenience
Evelyn cranked herself back into place, putting her back to the uniformed man making her escape to Moss Creek way less fruitful than she’d hoped. “Maybe one.”
Muriel cackled, the sound wicked and wild. “That’s my girl.” She shoved a small glass across the table. “I knew you’d get into the swing of things.”
Evelyn grabbed the glass and lifted it. Managed to get it all the way to her lips before stopping.
And setting it back on the table.
Alcohol had served as an escape and an excuse for so long, which was technically what she was hoping for now. But using that crutch was a slippery slope, and she’d already wasted too much of her limited time. She needed to stay the course. To keep plotting. Keep brainstorming.
Keep devising a plan that might save her from spending the rest of her life miserable.
Evelyn pushed the drink away. "I probably shouldn't have come out tonight."
She'd been hoping an evening out with the girls would elevate the foul mood she’d been struggling with lately, but things only seemed to be headed downhill. Not because the girls weren't good company. They were. She was the problem.
To be fair, she'd always been the problem. But before it was by design.
Abandoning her seat and her intentions to stick it out, Evelyn grabbed her purse, swinging it over one shoulder. "I'm going to go get some work done at the studio. You girls have fun and I'll be back in a couple hours to take you home." She leaned over the table, trying to look stern. "Behave."
Gertrude had the balls to look offended. "What do you mean?" She rested one bony hand at the center of her chest. "We're just a bunch of old women. How much trouble can we really get into?"
Evelyn cocked one brow. She already knew the answer to that. All of Moss Creek already knew the answer to that. "Do you want me to bring up the bar brawl you started two months ago?" Shifting her eyes around the table, she made eye contact with each of her friends. "Or what about the street fight right after the spring festival?"
Both situations had gotten very out of hand very quickly, and, while she would never admit this to them, the girls’ behavior wasn't entirely unwarranted. They'd grown up in a generation where women were still being suppressed and slotted into the spaces society decided they belonged in, so it was no surprise they were having one hell of a time helping the younger generations break free.
It would just be great if that good time didn't frequently involve violence.
Only Muriel had the decency to look guilty. "I warned that young man not to raise his voice at his girlfriend."
Gertrude nodded. "You did warn him."
Muriel continued on. "And, to be fair, I did not shove my cane all the way up his ass the way I said I would." She smiled, like she’d done a good thing. "See? We're learning restraint."
"Is that what you're calling it?" Evelyn squeezed her temples, easing the headache she'd been fighting since speaking with her grandmother earlier in the day. "Just do me a favor and please don't end up in the middle of anything tonight, okay?"
"We’ll do our best." Muriel sounded sincere, and it was probably the best anyone could hope for.
Evelyn sighed again. "Call me if you want me to come get you sooner."
Gertrude gave her a wink. "What if we want you to come get us later?"
Muriel leaned across the table. "What if one of us hooks up with one of those cowboys and we don't need you to come get us at all?"
Evelyn pointed at Gertrude. "I can't come get you later. I need to get up early tomorrow. I have a class in the morning." She turned to Muriel. "If you convince one of those cowboys to take you home you better be safe because I'm not dealing with an unplanned pregnancy."
Muriel was still cackling behind her as she made her way across the bar, the sound of her friend’s laughter bringing a hint of a smile to her lips.
Maybe they'd managed to perk her up a little bit after all.
The night got even better when there was no sign of Grady as she left the bar. Whatever brought him there must not have been too serious.
Or he decided to do a little taking home of his own.
The thought of Grady spending an evening with another woman sat uncomfortably in her gut, and she scanned the bar once more, just in case she’d missed him the first time. But there was no sign of him and that twist in her middle tightened, turning to something she hadn’t really grappled with before.
Jealousy was a foreign sensation. One she didn’t like and would prefer never to have again.
Maybe it was time to move on. Jump to the west coast and hope to buy a little more freedom before the cold bell of responsibility and familial guilt started to toll.
