Page 15 of Brett and Rowdy
“Are you kidding? I mean if the two of you were a story, then four of us? We are a fucking headline.”
Rowdy barked out a sound that was sort of like somebody stepping on a catfish. “You know, I could use a beer. I mean… unless y’all want me to be the designated driver…”
There was a silence, and then the entire table cracked up.
Ashley giggled madly. “No, no, we’ll make Barney do it.”
“Oh, man. He looks like a very capable fellow.” Brett hooted, and Rowdy remembered that sound, just a little wild and a lot hilarious.
“Y’all rock,” Crystal said. “Seriously. I can brave the crowd by myself tomorrow night for the dance, but I would love to set tongues wagging.”
“Well, let’s lay it down, then,” Rowdy murmured. A beer would make it worth going to Timbers tonight. And if Brett was willing to be decent… “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Crystal. I get defensive.”
“And I babble when I’m nervous,” she murmured. “No big.”
“Well, now we can all eat without getting indigestion,” Ashley put in. “So, Crystal, I hear your Etsy shop is really taking off.”
“Yes. I mean, it’s doing well. I hope I can quit the one job by the end of the year.”
Shit. That had to suck. He had no idea how many jobs she was working, but he knew from having many friends in New Mexico who were artists that it could be a hard row to hoe.
“What all do you make?”
“I do dollhouse miniatures.”
“No shit? That’s cool.”
“Thanks. I mean, I make the most driving the bookmobile, but I would love to quit working at the Ingles. The bakery is fine, but if I have to pipe one moreHappy Birthday, Oliver, I might explode.”
Ashley chuckled. “You probably did Madison’s graduation cupcakes.”
“Oh my God, I might have.” Crystal giggled again, and they all munched on their apps until their food arrived. He breathed in deep, happy to have breakfast from a restaurant. It was a hike into town from his ranch, and while the Elk Horn in Chama was yummy, he loved to go out for breakfast food when he traveled, no matter what time of day.
“Mmm.” Brett chuckled. “Waffle. You need a hand with where things are, man?”
“Yeah.” He was curious to see how Brett did.
“You do the clock method?”
“I do.”
“Cool. So your waffle is on the right at three. On your main plate, which is front and center, the grits are at nine in a little bowl, the eggs in the center, the sausage is up at twelve, and your butter and toast are down at six.”
“Nice. You’ve done this before.”
“My dad’s cousin, Jake, is legally blind, and he does the clock thing. I meet him for breakfast once a quarter or so.”
“Well, that works for me. No, down, Barney.” Barney did like grits. A lot.
“He’s a food hound compared to Wilma, huh?” That was Ashley, who always seemed fascinated by a dog in a restaurant, no matter how many times she dealt with it.
“He can be, yeah.” Rowdy grinned, reaching down to rub his good boy’s ears. “But he’s pretty well-behaved.”
“Is it weird?” Brett asked.
“What?” He wasn’t sure what the man meant.
“Having a dog everywhere. Do people give you shit like we always see in the TikTok videos?”
