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Abby tried to protest when the delivery boy arrived and Tex insisted on paying for the food. He silenced her with a look and told her to go get a towel. She did and came back with it. They spread it on her living room carpet and set out the food.
“I’m sorry I don’t have any furniture. It’s on my list,” she told him while he gathered napkins from her kitchen.
He chuckled. “From what I’ve seen, there’s probably an actual list.”
Abby was chewing a dumpling and pointed to the fridge. He turned to see a shopping list pad stuck to it with a magnet. He moved closer to examine it. “What are Jimmy Choos?” he asked.
Abby swallowed. “Shoes. Like the Harley Davidson of shoes.”
He picked up the utensils and carried them over. “So, you don’t have furniture or a TV, but you’re buying fifteen hundred dollars worth of car parts?” He settled down on the other side of towel, facing her.
“A girl’s gotta have priorities,” Abby insisted. “Besides, I need the stress relief. I was really excited about this job, but so far, it’s been shit. My boss is kind of a dick.”
Tex considered this. “Hmm. Well, my boss was my L.T. so I knew what to expect going in. Why’s your boss a dick?”
She glowered. “Because I’m supposed to be the Assistant Manager. Emphasis on assistant. But I’m doing way more than my fair share of the work. Plus, I’m not getting paid extra for it or getting kudos from the owner.”
Tex frowned. He didn’t like the idea of her being used. “You gonna do anything about that?”
Abby shook her head. “No. Not right now. I just got hired. I can’t go around bitching about the job nanoseconds after I started. Something will give. Plus, I don’t want to make waves at the moment. My boss gives off kind of a weirdo vibe and until I know why, I’m just going to fly under the radar.”
Tex’s mouth twitched. “Weirdo vibe?”
She nodded. “I’m from Vegas. My weirdo vibe is finely tuned and something about that guy isn’t kosher. I just don’t know what it is.”
Tex grinned. “I could be a weirdo.”
Abby looked up at him, unconcerned. “My neighbor likes the Price is Right. And Days of our Lives. And the News at Eleven.”
“Ah,” he said with understanding. “Thin walls.”
“Yep. So, if I scream for help…”
“Neighbor will come running,” he finished.
“Well, no. She’s 75 and uses a walker. But I’m sure she’ll hobble right over.”
Tex smiled. “A lot could happen in the time it takes an old lady to hobble over here.”
She surprised him by muttering, “Yeah, but not the fun stuff.”
They ate and talked about Abby’s plan of attack for the Camaro and she came back from the kitchen with a new list of parts. “Have your boss call me and I’ll give him my credit card number,” she said. “And…you don’t have to deliver them next time. I mean…if you’re busy or whatever. I could come in. Save you the trouble.”
Tex smiled. She was being polite, but the look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. He took the list from her and pocketed it. “Told you, Vegas, delivery’s free.”
True to his word her part order came in early at the beginning of the following week and he pulled outside her condo again after work. Her garage door was slightly ajar again. He handed her some boxes and immediately picked up a wrench.
“So what does your mom do?” he asked.
Abby paused for a second. “She’s not around anymore, but she was a showgirl.”
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
“Huh. I can see where you get it from, then.” He, watched, pleased, as she blushed a little but kept her eyes on the electrical line she was disconnecting. He took pity on her and changed the subject. “My dad was on the rodeo circuit for most of his life.”
Abby glanced at him. “Really? Rodeo’s pretty tough.”
Tex nodded. “My mom ran the farm when he was on the road or injured. Which was a lot of the time. She’s retired now. My sisters didn’t want the farm and neither did I, so they sold it, and divided it equally among all of us, plus a little something for them to live on.”
“How many sisters do you have?” she asked.
He grinned. “Four. All of them older.”
She laughed. “I bet they tortured you a lot.”
“Well, thankfully they tended to just take swipes at each other and leave me alone for the most part. But my mama does have a fair number of pictures of me at about three years old wearing a cowboy hat and a hoop skirt.”
Abby laughed so hard she had to a wipe a tear from her eye.
He laughed, too. “I’m pretty sure it didn’t do any permanent damage.”
When it started getting late they headed inside to wash up and Tex asked if she wanted to order Chinese again.
