Debbi Rawlins - The Swinging R Ranch

Virgil gave a grudging shrug, but he still looked peeved when he slid Mabel another look. “No problem.”

“If it’s not too much of an imposition, and if you have some time tomorrow morning, maybe we could have coffee and you could give me some ideas.”

The way Virgil’s chest suddenly puffed out was almost comical. “Sure, son, I can probably fit you into my schedule.”

“Terrific. I’ll call your office and check with your secretary.”

That startled laughs out of half the audience. Virgil had neither. He had a desk in his garage.

“If I’m not there my wife will know where I am,” he mumbled and went back to his table.

Abby silently shook her head. Amazing. Max had even charmed that old goat Virgil. But she’d eat her day planner if Max had any intention of giving Virgil’s opinion a passing thought. What the heck was he up to?

Maybe she wasn’t giving him enough credit. Maybe he’d just wanted to help defuse the situation. And maybe Candy’s new pet iguana would learn to fly.

“Sorry for the interruption.” Max gave her a slight bow of his head. “Abby.”

The way he’d said her name sent a shiver down her spine. It sounded entirely too familiar, intimate almost. And it wasn’t her imagination, judging by the exchange of knowing glances among the women.

She straightened and gave him a tight smile. “No harm done. We’re through here.” Her smile broadened for the audience. “Thank you all so much for coming.”

“Not so fast.”

Oh, no. Abby briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she watched Mona and her grandmother march toward the podium. Behind them, Mona dragged Herb, who’d slunk off earlier.

“We still want to know why you want to close down the Swinging R.” Mona stopped beside Max, who looked like he’d rather be on the front line of a pie-throwing contest.

Big mistake, Mona, Abby thought with a smug lift of her chin. The townspeople would probably be on Abby’s side…

Her chin came down and her jaw slackened as her gaze bounced from one face to the next. Everyone stared at her in such indignant shock as if she’d suggested they all get naked.

“What?” She turned up her palms. “I didn’t say that,” she muttered, and Mona snorted. “Not exactly, anyway.”

“You mean, you wanna board up the doors and windows?” Mabel Salazar asked in a scandalized voice.

“That’s not—” She got cut off by several people speaking at once.

“You going to tear it down?” someone called out.

“She can’t do that. The place is practically a national landmark.”

“Where would all the ladies go?”

“That’s a horrible idea, Abigail. Your mama and papa would turn over in their graves.”

Everyone kept talking until Abby wanted to clamp her hands over her ears. Instead, she glared at Mona, who had the audacity to grin and wink. Beside her, Gramms shifted from one foot to the other, looking distraught.

Abby felt no pity. This was supposed to be her big night and it was turning into something horrible. How could her grandmother have participated in this calamity? “Would everyone please calm down and listen?” she began. If only they understood…

When the noise only grew louder, Max picked up an empty water glass and hit the side with a spoon. It made enough of an odd tinkling noise that he got most everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said with one of his charming smiles, “perhaps I can help clear up this misunderstanding.” The women all smiled back, and some of them started fanning themselves. The men waited rather patiently for him to continue.

Mixed feelings plagued Abby. She was glad he got them to settle down, but she didn’t want to be rescued by him, or feel obliged to him in any way.

“Yesterday I arrived to a couple of surprises.” He glanced at Mona, and then smiled at all and sundry again. “You see, Aunt Lily’s will wasn’t all that specific.”

He paused, and a brief silence followed, until comprehension dawned and the crowd started laughing. Mona looked a tad put out, and Abby didn’t mind that one bit.

Max gave a good-natured shrug. “To make a long story short, Abby was teasing me when she mentioned something about shutting down the Swinging R.”

His eyes found hers, daring her to contradict him.

Virgil turned to her. “So you don’t really have some foolish idea to close those gals down.”

She hesitated, stewing over the corner Max had backed her into. “Close those gals down? We were talking about a place, a building, not the ladies.”

“Same thing.” Virgil waved a dismissive hand. “The Swinging R is practically an institution and so are them gals.”

A chorus of “yeahs” made her teeth grind together.

“So, what is it, Abigail?” Virgil had gone to stand next to Max and Mona. Wasn’t that just cozy?

She glanced at Gramms. Their eyes met for a second, and then Gramms looked away. That hurt.

Abby sniffed. “Weren’t you all listening to what I said tonight? I have enough on my plate to worry about without expending my energy on the Swinging R.”

Virgil frowned, along with several others. “That means you’re leaving the Swinging R alone?”

She glanced at Max. He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress a grin, and she gave him a look that told him how delighted she was to provide him with all this entertainment.

He let the grin take over, then mouthed, “Just cry uncle.”

That did it. She tapped the microphone, and assured that it still worked, she leaned toward it and said, “Okay, everyone, if you have a few more minutes, let’s talk about the Swinging R. How many of you have been out there lately?”

The men all sat there stone-faced, while some of their wives waited for their answers.

After a long silence, Herb held up a hand, and said, “I have.”

Everyone roared with laughter.

Mona gave his arm a light smack with the back of her hand. “They already know that, Herbie.”

Abby waited until the crowd settled down. “All right, I have a question for you, Herbert. What sort of shape is the place in? Do you think it’s safe?”

He started loosening his bandana again, glancing at Mona and looking as though he wanted to hightail it out of the hall. “Well, I’m not sure.”

“What about the back steps? There were a few rotting boards you had to replace, weren’t there? And didn’t a couple of others come loose. Aren’t you afraid Mona, or one of the other ladies might fall and hurt themselves? Didn’t you ask them to avoid using the back door if possible?”

“For crying out loud, you sound like a prosecutor,” Mona said. “You want to be mayor, or are you looking to take over Chester Southby’s law practice?”

“Sounds to me like she’s the one doing the avoiding—the issue, that is.” Virgil narrowed his gaze on her. “Maybe you need some competition, young lady. Someone besides old Cleghorn.”

Abby couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She waited for someone to come to her defense, to tell Virgil he was crazy, but most of the women were too busy ogling Max, and the men didn’t want the place shut down.

She looked at Gramms for support, but she turned away. Abby sucked in a breath. Geez Louise, if her own grandmother wasn’t on Abby’s side…

Boy, was she screwed.

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