“Ninety-one years. You can’t remember a thing,” Agnes said.

Liz giggled. “See you outside. If you need anything holler at me.”

“Where’s your shepherds?” Raylen asked when she sat back down in her rocking chair.

“The world is a new place this year. They are women”—she lowered her voice to a whisper—“and they’re also the judges for the county decoration prize too, so be very nice to them.”

Chapter 27

Monday morning started off with a bang. The electricity had blinked off during the night, and Liz woke up fifteen minutes late. Raylen had already gone, so she didn’t even get a good morning kiss, and when she got to work that morning, a dozen coffee drinkers followed her inside when she opened the door at exactly six o’clock. That meant she hit the floor in a dead run without even a second to get a cup of coffee.

By midmorning she was wishing she had an energy drink. She finally had time to pour a cup of coffee but barely got a sip before the door opened again.

“That’s Lucy,” Jasmine called out. “She’ll come right back here.”

The woman was tiny, just over five feet tall, and slim built. Her brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail. Her eyes were enormous and reminded Liz of the pictures of those little kids that were popular thirty years before. They were even lighter blue than a summer sky.

“Hi, Jasmine.” Lucy went straight for the coffee pot and poured a cup. “You must be Liz. I’ve heard good things about you.”

“With what I’ve heard about you, I expected you to be six feet tall and able to wrestle an Angus bull to the ground with your bare hands,” Liz said.

Lucy shook her head. “Not me.”

“What brings you out today? I haven’t seen you in a couple of months. I missed you, girl,” Jasmine said.

“Been busy with the new therapy group, and the motel is going really good. I started to call this morning, but we only had five rooms to clean and Tasha said she’d take care of them if I wanted to get out. Thought I’d run down to the used bookstore in Bowie and stock up for a month or so. I’ve got two strays I need to find jobs for.” Lucy sipped her coffee.

“I’m not in the market…” Jasmine started.

“You could be,” Liz said.

“Oh?”

“Remember back when I started to work, I said it was only going to be for a little while. Maddie has offered me a job at the ranch, so…” Liz shrugged and then went on,“I figured out that I want to work with the horses. It’s like fate that Lucy came today. I’ll move over and let one of Lucy’s girls have my waitress job.”

“Thank you,” Lucy said. “Bridget is twenty-one. She’s got waitress experience. She’s living with her folks in Petrolia. I’m afraid if she doesn’t get a job, she’ll fall right back into her abusive husband’s web. If she’s got a routine and her own money, she’ll be fine with our weekly meetings.”