“Not that I know of. We’ve got time to finish putting up the lights if you want to,” he offered.

“I’d rather lie here with you, and,” she kissed him on the cheek, “just so you know, I left my cell phone in the truck, but I’m still a little bit mad,” she said.

“And my hat still has its feelings hurt,” he countered. “Reckon we’d better have some more makin’ up?”

Her eyes glittered. “I suppose it might help get rid of some more of our anger.”

“I’d rather you danced for me first,” he said.

“I will dance for you on Thursday,” she said.

“Is that a promise?”

“It is. The carnival will be here, and I’ll be dancing on the stage and you can watch,” she said.

“You promised you wouldn’t dance for another man,” he said.

She raised up on one elbow. “I won’t be. I’ll just be doing a plain old belly dance.”

“Then I won’t be there,” he told her.

“Then I will dance on Thursday, after the carnival, in my living room for you. Is your hat feelin’ better?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he drawled.

“I’m glad. It bothers me when your hat is mad at me,” she teased.

The house phone beside his bed rang.

He kissed her on the end of the nose. “Sorry, darlin’, but I didn’t know you were coming over, and I didn’t leave my phone in the truck.”

He answered it, jumped out of bed, and grabbed a pair of pants from his closet, motioning to her the whole time. When he hung up, he said, “That was Dewar. Glorious Danny Boy has gotten out of the barn again. That horny horse takes off anytime he gets a chance. We’ve got to get him chased down, or Mama will have a heart attack.”

“Call me later?” she said.

“Yes, I will, and you promised to dance for me on the Thursday of the carnival. You won’t forget?” he said as he crammed his hat on his head and shoved his feet down in his boots. “Don’t forget your wet clothes in the bathroom.”

“I’ll be thinking about it every minute. Don’t you forget,” she teased.

“Honey, I won’t be able to keep my mind off it,” he said as he ran out of the bedroom.

Chapter 12

It wasn’t Liz’s first date.

But it was her first date after sex three times as a prelude and she was more jittery than she was the first time she danced before a crowd. Going to the Halloween party had been easy; she’d dressed up in one of her costumes. But going to dinner with Raylen and then shopping…with Raylen…for a Christmas tree and then coming home to after-date kisses with Raylen…that was a whole different matter.

She looked at all the clothes in her closet and threw herself back on the bed. She should have made time for a shopping trip to Bowie. She needed something new and exciting to wear that night on her first date with Raylen. Something that would make his eyes go all dreamy.