“Yeah, he wants something to put hair on his head,” said Dozer.
“Funny,” said Rhino. “Real funny.”
“Don’t blame me for the light beer,” said Tim as he headed for the kitchen. “Suzie bought it. Said I needed to watch my waistline.”
“Yeah, Deena’s been giving me that old song and dance, too,” said Hammer, the third and smallest of the brothers, although at six-three he was no midget. He was Mac’s age and they’d been in many of the same classes in school. Logically he should have been Mac’s best friend in the family, but Hammer wasn’t a thinker, and Mac had always found more to talk about with Tess. Mac had often suspected Hammer was a little jealous of Mac’s special relationship with his sister. This new development could really set him off.
Hammer glanced at Mac. “You don’t know how good you’ve got it, with no woman to nag you to death about your diet.”
“That’s the truth,” added Dozer. “It’s getting so bad that if I haul out a bag of chips for Monday Night Football, Cindy tries to grab them away.”
“And you let her?” Rhino asked. “You wouldn’t catch that happening in my house. I lay down the law with Joan.”
Mac led the chorus of hooting laughter. “Are you kidding?” he said. “Joan’s got you wrapped around her little finger!”
Rhino grinned sheepishly.
“In fact,” Mac continued, “I’ve never seen guys crazier about marriage than you four. You could hardly wait to march down that aisle. Don’t give me this bull about nagging wives. You love every minute of it.” And he envied them, he realized. They’d all found happiness.
Rhino took the beer Tim handed him and popped the tab. “So when are you gonna round out this ugly bunch and make it five for five?” He watched Mac over the rim of the can as he took a drink.
Mac gave his standard answer. “When I find the right woman.”
“Hell, you’ve had a passel of right women.” Dozer brushed back a lock of red hair from his forehead. “Jenny was great. I dated Jenny, and there was nothing wrong with her.”
“So why did you end up with Cindy?” Mac asked.
“Cindy knows how to handle my temper. But you don’t have much of a temper, Mac. Jenny would’ve been fine for you.”
“Yeah, she would,” said Hammer. “Cute figure.”
“Obviously I should have taken a poll before I broke up with her.” Mac picked up his beer.
“And Babs,” Rhino said. “I liked Babs, too.”
Mac swallowed his beer. “Me, too. Just not enough to last forever.”
“Aw, you’re too picky, Mac,” said Tiny Tim. “That’s your problem. Nobody’s gonna be perfect.” He grinned. “Although Suzie’s close.” He ducked a shower of peanut shells.
“The newlywed nerd might have a point, though,” Rhino said. “Maybe you are too damn picky. What kind of standards are you using, if you eliminated two nice girls like Jenny and Babs?”
Mac shelled a peanut and tossed it in his mouth. Then he glanced around the table. “You know, I’m truly touched that you all are so worried about my marriage prospects. Maybe we should hold hands and pray about it. Maybe, if we concentrate real hard, I’ll see the light, and grab the next available female I run across.”
Rhino’s bushy eyebrows lifted and he glanced at Tiny Tim. “Seems to me this apartment complex has a pool.”
“Sure does.” Tim pushed back his chair, as did the other Blakely brothers.
Mac saw the look in their eyes and pushed back his chair, too. “Now don’t get hasty, guys. I was just making a joke.”
“So are we,” said Hammer. “Right, Dozer?”
“Yeah.” Dozer grinned, revealing the tooth he’d chipped in the state championship football game eleven years earlier. “I love jokes.”
As he was carried unceremoniously out to the pool and thrown in, Mac thought he probably deserved a dunking, but not for the reason the guys were doing it.
3
TESS HADN’T SPENT much of her life in dresses, but tonight’s dinner with Mac seemed to require one. She didn’t want to wear anything too fussy, not when the late-afternoon temperature had topped out at a hundred and five. She ended up choosing a sundress with daisies on it because she knew Mac liked daisies.
As she stood in front of the mirror wondering if she needed jewelry, she remembered the single teardrop pearl on a gold chain that Mac had given her as a high school graduation present. She’d been touched that he’d bought something so delicate and feminine, considering the rough-and-tumble nature of their friendship. Because she saved the necklace for special occasions, she seldom took it out of the black velvet box it had come in. Tonight seemed like the perfect time to wear it.
Once she was ready, apprehension hit her again. If Mac had willingly fallen in with her plan, she would have been calmer at this point. Her project was nerve-racking enough even if Mac agreed to help. If he continued to drag his heels, she’d need to gather her self-confidence to stay on track.
Her rented bungalow wasn’t far from the center of town, so she decided to walk the two blocks to the Nugget and work off some of her anxiety. She slipped on her sunglasses, hooked the strap of her purse over her shoulder and started out. A block into the walk, she knew she’d made a mistake. She’d arrive at the restaurant more cooked than the meat loaf.
Mac pulled into a parking spot in front of the Nugget as she passed the drugstore two doors down from the café. As she walked, she watched him climb out of his white pickup. Although the truck was dusty from a day spent on ranch work, Mac wasn’t. He’d obviously changed into a clean shirt and jeans, and he was wearing a dove-gray Stetson she’d never seen on him before.
He looked damn good, with his cowboy-slim legs encased in crisp denim and his broad shoulders emphasized by the cut of his gray plaid western shirt. Every so often in the years they’d known each other, she’d paused to notice that her best friend was a hunk, but she hadn’t done that lately. She was noticing it now.
Maybe all her reading was affecting her. She suddenly wondered what sort of lover Mac would be. Then she quickly put the thought out of her mind. Mac was like a fifth brother to her. She shouldn’t be having such thoughts about him. He’d be horrified if he knew.
As if sensing her eyes on him, he glanced in her direction before going into the Nugget. He paused. “Did your car break down?”
“I decided to walk.”
He scratched the back of his head as he stared at her. “But it’s June.”
“So I discovered. I have to admit I’m a little warm.” Up close she could smell his aftershave and noticed there was no stubble on his square jaw. For some reason the fact that he’d showered and shaved for this dinner made her stomach fluttery.
He looked her up and down from behind his sunglasses and then shook his head. “I thought I taught you better than this. Now after that hot walk you’ll hit that cold air-conditioning. It’s not good for your system.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. You sound like my mother. Could you at least mention that my dress looks nice? I wore it because you like daisies.”
“Your dress looks nice. And you’re going to catch your death of cold in that restaurant.”
It wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. As her irritation grew, she realized she’d secretly hoped he’d be dazed and delighted by her appearance, the way guys in movies reacted when a tomboy type like her showed up in a dress. “Let me