Sparks Fly(Divine Creek Ranch 11)
Chapter One
July 3rd …
Jayne stared up at her determined cousins, Grace Warner and Charity Connors, from behind the checkout desk at the Divine Memorial Library. She recognized the tenacious looks in their eyes. Her mind raced, looking for any reasonable excuse. “I wasn’t planning on going to the Fourth of July parade. I have car trouble. One of my tires was low this morning.” Yeah…that’s it!
Charity Connors rolled her eyes. “Pfft! That is so lame. Take it by Torvel’s Tire Center before you go home tonight. It’s time to rejoin the land of the living, Jayne.” Jayne knew they’d never give up. Too many times she’d felt like giving up, and it was nice that her cousins never did.
“Come on, Jayne. This would be easier if you’d just agree to come. You know you want to,” Charity said, then snickered. “It’s just a question of how much pestering it takes to get you there. It’s only one day.” The blonde bombshell had a reputation for being stubborn, which Jayne could attest to, having known her and her sister for her whole life. They’d lost touch for a few years, but some things never changed.
Grace gave her the puppy-dog eyes and then used the magic bullet. Ten-month-old baby Rose Marie. She lifted the precious, blonde-haired baby from her stroller to her hip, and in a baby-talk voice, Grace said, “Come on, Cousin Jayney. Don’t you wanna come with me to the parade?”
Rose Marie had green eyes like her father but bore a striking resemblance to her mother. Jayne did her best to ignore the little pang in her heart as she smiled at Rose Marie and held out her finger, which the baby grabbed and tried to gum before Grace handed her a teething ring. It would be nice to spend some time with them.
Jayne scoffed and rolled her eyes, trying to hide her amusement without much success. “Oh, all right. But only the parade and only because you used baby guilt. Evil wench.”
Charity giggled and said, “We have lunch planned afterward at the ranch, and swimming, and then the fireworks out at Bowie Lake. You might as well bring your swimsuit because you know you’ll want to be there for all of it.”
Swimsuit? Crap! What have I gotten myself into? “Um…I don’t own one. Oh, well. I guess I’ll—”
“Just have to borrow one of mine,” Charity chirped, looking positively victorious. “You’ve lost so much weight, you can fit into one of them, no problem.”
Jayne’s mind swirled back to the last time she’d been swimming with Charity. As a rule, Charity went with the more daring suits.
Grace looked askance at her sister. “Charity, you’re scaring her, telling her that. Don’t worry, Jayne. Between the two of us, we’ve got you covered. Just bring sunscreen and a hat, and we’ll take care of the rest. Isn’t that right?” she asked her baby daughter. Rose Marie chortled when her mom blew a raspberry on her chubby little neck.
Charity elbowed her sister. “We’re in a library. You’re being disruptive, heifer.”
Grace snorted as she put the baby back in her stroller and she and Charity prepared to leave. “Heifer? I’m not a heifer, but that gal who was flirting with your husband at O’Reilley’s last night, now she was a heifer,” Grace said as they waved good-bye to Jayne and made their way through the metal detectors to the exit.
“Nah. Skank ho is more like it. Heifer would be almost complimentary…”
Jayne bit her lip to keep from laughing. She loved her cousin Charity, despite her lack of filter, and enjoyed that Grace seemed to take whatever she said in stride.
The library was going to be closed the following day for the Independence Day holiday, along with all the other city and county offices. She’d hoped to have a quiet day to herself to work on her project. Looking around the tranquil solemnity of the library, she realized she had quiet pretty much all day, every day, except for Friday afternoons, which was Kookie Kid’s Club at the library. Those afternoons were anything but quiet. Still, she might manage to sneak away after the parade and accomplish something at home. She was sorting a stack of books on a cart when she felt the tap of a small hand on her elbow.
“Mizz Librarian?” said a young boy of about nine years old.
“What can I do for you, sweetie?”
“Er, um. Um. We was…Er, um—um.” The little blond-haired boy swung his arms back and forth as he kicked the toe of his sneaker into the carpeting.
Oh, Lord. What now? “It’s okay. You can tell me.”
Ten minutes later, when she was done cleaning up vomit and felt nauseated herself, it was nearly time to close the library. She flipped the first two light switches, extinguishing lights in the far corners of the library, the traditional signal that they would be closing soon.
July 3rd …
Jayne stared up at her determined cousins, Grace Warner and Charity Connors, from behind the checkout desk at the Divine Memorial Library. She recognized the tenacious looks in their eyes. Her mind raced, looking for any reasonable excuse. “I wasn’t planning on going to the Fourth of July parade. I have car trouble. One of my tires was low this morning.” Yeah…that’s it!
Charity Connors rolled her eyes. “Pfft! That is so lame. Take it by Torvel’s Tire Center before you go home tonight. It’s time to rejoin the land of the living, Jayne.” Jayne knew they’d never give up. Too many times she’d felt like giving up, and it was nice that her cousins never did.
“Come on, Jayne. This would be easier if you’d just agree to come. You know you want to,” Charity said, then snickered. “It’s just a question of how much pestering it takes to get you there. It’s only one day.” The blonde bombshell had a reputation for being stubborn, which Jayne could attest to, having known her and her sister for her whole life. They’d lost touch for a few years, but some things never changed.
Grace gave her the puppy-dog eyes and then used the magic bullet. Ten-month-old baby Rose Marie. She lifted the precious, blonde-haired baby from her stroller to her hip, and in a baby-talk voice, Grace said, “Come on, Cousin Jayney. Don’t you wanna come with me to the parade?”
Rose Marie had green eyes like her father but bore a striking resemblance to her mother. Jayne did her best to ignore the little pang in her heart as she smiled at Rose Marie and held out her finger, which the baby grabbed and tried to gum before Grace handed her a teething ring. It would be nice to spend some time with them.
Jayne scoffed and rolled her eyes, trying to hide her amusement without much success. “Oh, all right. But only the parade and only because you used baby guilt. Evil wench.”
Charity giggled and said, “We have lunch planned afterward at the ranch, and swimming, and then the fireworks out at Bowie Lake. You might as well bring your swimsuit because you know you’ll want to be there for all of it.”
Swimsuit? Crap! What have I gotten myself into? “Um…I don’t own one. Oh, well. I guess I’ll—”
“Just have to borrow one of mine,” Charity chirped, looking positively victorious. “You’ve lost so much weight, you can fit into one of them, no problem.”
Jayne’s mind swirled back to the last time she’d been swimming with Charity. As a rule, Charity went with the more daring suits.
Grace looked askance at her sister. “Charity, you’re scaring her, telling her that. Don’t worry, Jayne. Between the two of us, we’ve got you covered. Just bring sunscreen and a hat, and we’ll take care of the rest. Isn’t that right?” she asked her baby daughter. Rose Marie chortled when her mom blew a raspberry on her chubby little neck.
Charity elbowed her sister. “We’re in a library. You’re being disruptive, heifer.”
Grace snorted as she put the baby back in her stroller and she and Charity prepared to leave. “Heifer? I’m not a heifer, but that gal who was flirting with your husband at O’Reilley’s last night, now she was a heifer,” Grace said as they waved good-bye to Jayne and made their way through the metal detectors to the exit.
“Nah. Skank ho is more like it. Heifer would be almost complimentary…”
Jayne bit her lip to keep from laughing. She loved her cousin Charity, despite her lack of filter, and enjoyed that Grace seemed to take whatever she said in stride.
The library was going to be closed the following day for the Independence Day holiday, along with all the other city and county offices. She’d hoped to have a quiet day to herself to work on her project. Looking around the tranquil solemnity of the library, she realized she had quiet pretty much all day, every day, except for Friday afternoons, which was Kookie Kid’s Club at the library. Those afternoons were anything but quiet. Still, she might manage to sneak away after the parade and accomplish something at home. She was sorting a stack of books on a cart when she felt the tap of a small hand on her elbow.
“Mizz Librarian?” said a young boy of about nine years old.
“What can I do for you, sweetie?”
“Er, um. Um. We was…Er, um—um.” The little blond-haired boy swung his arms back and forth as he kicked the toe of his sneaker into the carpeting.
Oh, Lord. What now? “It’s okay. You can tell me.”
Ten minutes later, when she was done cleaning up vomit and felt nauseated herself, it was nearly time to close the library. She flipped the first two light switches, extinguishing lights in the far corners of the library, the traditional signal that they would be closing soon.