Divine Charity(Divine Creek Ranch 18)(100)
Val said, “She has to budget to afford clothing. I think maybe we need to give our girl a raise so she can get what she needs when she needs it and not have to wait to save up.”
“You won’t hear me arguing.”
Five minutes later, she reappeared, dressed in a sexy red burnout T-shirt and the sparkly jeans, only now they were cuffed up and she wore sandals instead of the fancy cowboy boots she normally wore with them. She still looked pissed off.
“Enjoy your day off shopping with your sister, angel,” Ransome said as he kissed her. “Sorry.”
She nodded, looking morose. “I’m sorry I blew a gasket.”
“That was more like blowing an engine, baby,” Val said before she turned to him and he wisely shut up.
“My budget is still recovering from Justine’s prom dress and all of her accessories, and shopping for you guys last time we were in Stigall’s.”
Yeah, it’s possible to feel even worse about this.
“Just bring me the receipts, baby,” Val said.
Charity nailed them both with a serious gaze. “Just so you know, I won’t demand much from you, but this one thing. The next time you get a wild hair up your butts and decide to do my laundry, what are you going to do?”
“Lie down until the urge passes?”
“Run the vacuum?”
“Dust?”
“Do our own fucking laundry?”
“Mow the grass?”
“Knit a doily?”
“Scrub the toilet?”
“Wash dishes?”
She was smiling by the time they finally wound down and said, “You’re smart guys. You’ll get the hang of living with me eventually.”
She kissed Ransome and then Val pulled her to him and squeezed her tight, enjoying the feel of her soft, plush breasts pressed against his chest. “I love you, woman. Don’t forget to bring me receipts.”
* * * *
Charity helped Grace out of the car and then held the door open for her as they walked into Cheaver’s Western Store. The scent of leather lingered in the air as they headed toward the children’s department.
“What are we shopping for, sis?” Charity asked as she lifted a fancy toddler-sized Western shirt from a rack and looked at the price tag. “Oh, hell no.” She put the garment back while Grace chuckled. There was no way anyone in their right mind would pay that kind of money for something a child would outgrow in one month.
“The guys instructed me to shop only for basics for Rose Marie. Blue jeans. A belt. And a cowboy hat. Nothing fancy.” Grace showed her the list of Rose Marie’s sizes and measurements and they searched the racks for the proper sizes.
“So I take it she’s getting acquainted with things on the working side of the ranch now?”
Grace nodded. “Jack, Ethan, and Adam thought it might help. They want to take the pressure off of me. They were overprotective in the beginning, not wanting her to get hurt or get in the way of the workers or the horses but now it’s time she started learning. Angel and Joaquin are completely on board with her helping with small chores and want to help teach her riding and handling skills. Michael is going to help her learn how to clean hooves and brush out tails, he said.”
“Seriously? Like she’s going to be doing some grunt work? Cleaning out stalls?”
Grace nodded. “The guys won’t let her hurt herself and they said they all started when they were young, too. Ethan suggested she might have less of an attitude about it later if she grew up accepting that mucking out stalls was part of the job. I’ll admit I was resistant at first about that. But they convinced me they’d watch out for her. And I know they love her and want only the best experiences for her. The bottom line is she needs an outlet for all that sass.”
Charity nodded, knowing that for a certainty. She found another pair of jeans in the right size and then helped Grace look through the belts. Grace said, “We need to find her a couple of good pairs of kid’s work gloves, too.”
“How are things at Teresa’s?” Charity asked, having a pretty good idea after Justine had told her about the condition of their house the previous weekend.
“I think the more pertinent question is how is Teresa? When I found out what had happened, I talked them into staying with us. They had to rush home in the middle of the night, with the kids and the baby. And once Luka and Matthias’s parents found out, they came, too. It was a mess.”
“I know how I’d react under the circumstances. So how is Teresa?”
“She’s quiet, you know? But I’ve never seen her that quiet. She walked through the house and then she asked to go see the guys at the jail.” Grace shivered. “Ethan told me she didn’t say a word to them. I don’t think she could. They promised they would clean the house up for her and fix everything and she finally told them that she would no longer welcome them in her home. When the two of them asked if Angel had come to bail them out, he laughed. He told them they were safer where they were for the time being. Then their mother walked in.”