Texas Bossa Nova (Texas Montgomery Mavericks Book 5) (15 page)

Magda would place money on his abdomen being as tight and rippled as Reno’s, and yet she had no real desire to see him. There was only one Montgomery she had fantasies about.

“You didn’t have to wait on us,” Magda said. “Everything’s in the oven ready to eat.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to hear about Reno’s ride.”

The two men began an animated conversation about Magda’s Fat Boy. She got out the leftover roast, potatoes and carrots from last night. She added some green beans and fresh rolls and put everything on the table.

“Dig in, guys.”

That night, as Reno had said he would, he slipped into Magda’s room and into her bed. Their love making was gentle. Reno’s touches and strokes fanned the fire Magda had growing in her heart. When he kissed her stomach and laid his head there, tears backed up in her eyes. But what killed her was when he looked up from there and said, “If there is a baby in here, I mean to do the right thing. A baby needs both parents.”

She didn’t answer…couldn’t answer. Her power of speech was gone.

Chapter Eighteen

“Hey, Magda,” Darren said over breakfast Monday morning.

“Hey, Darren.”

He grinned. “I just remembered that I have a doctor’s appointment today. Can you drive me in?”

“I can get you there, but bringing you home might be a problem. I’m going shopping.”

“You? Shopping?” Reno looked aghast. “Is the end of the world near?”

Reno was keenly aware of Magda’s aversion to shopping. Maybe aversion wasn’t the right word. It was more like she had an abhorrence to clothes shopping for herself. He’d seen her in a dress before, just not that often.

She laughed. “It might be but I’m going with Blanche. She wants me in the wedding and I have nothing to wear.” She held up a hand. “And before you make some joke about how women say they have nothing to wear, in this case it’s the truth. What time is your appointment, Darren?”

“Ten.”

“No problem, if I can borrow Reno’s truck? I’m meeting Blanche in town. I can drop you off, but you’ll have to get yourself home or wait until Blanche and I are done. Why don’t you just call me when you’re done and I can see how the shopping is going.” She gave a dramatic shiver. “I think I’d rather have my teeth cleaned than go clothes shopping.”

“You are so not normal,” Reno said. He nodded to the key rack. “Help yourself to my truck, but be sure to leave your motorcycle key here, you know, just in case.”

She gave him a squinty glare. “If you take Fat Boy anywhere, it’d better be an emergency.”

Darren laughed.

Reno gave her a wide-eyed stare of innocence. “Of course,” he said, and they all knew he was lying.

She left the key there, fingers crossed that he wouldn’t wreck her bike while she was gone because she knew he was taking it out the minute his truck’s taillights were out of sight.

After dropping Darren at his doctor’s office, she met Blanche at Porchia’s Heavenly Delights, the new bakery in town. A sweet cinnamon aroma met them at the door.

“Smells so yummy in here,” Magda said. “I don’t think I’d ever get tired of the scent.”

A blonde head popped around the corner from the back. “Be right with you.”

Magda and Blanche studied the case of goodies.

“I really shouldn’t,” Blanche said. “I need to watch my weight.”

“Obviously, Zeb doesn’t agree,” Magda said. “You look wonderful.”

The tall blonde hurried from kitchen. “Sorry. I was tied up in the back.” When she looked up, a smile bloomed on her face. “Magda. What a nice surprise.”

“Hi, Porchia. This place smells like the best dream I ever had.”

Porchia laughed. “Sad thing is, after a while I no longer smell all the goodness.”

“Well, that sucks,” Magda replied.

“Our sense of smell adjusts when bombarded with the same odor over and over.”

“That’s probably a good thing,” Blanche said. “Otherwise Zeb would never get anyone to clean out the stalls.”

Magda chuckled. “True. Blanche, this is Porchia Summers. Porchia, this is Blanche Jenkins. She and my dad are getting married this weekend.”

“Nice to see you again.” She looked at Magda. “I’m making the cake for Blanche’s wedding.”

“Really? That’s great. You’re a lucky lady, Blanche. Porchia’s a heck of a baker.”

“Thank you. What can I get for you ladies?”

“Coffee and one of those cinnamon rolls,” Magda said, pointing to a tray inside the case.

“Oh, I just don’t know,” Blanche said studying the tray after tray of sweets. “How about a small coffee and a cannoli?”

“Sure thing. And it’s on me. Consider it a wedding gift.”

“I don’t know how you do all this,” Magda said. “Develop the recipes, bake everything and run the shop. When do you sleep?”

Porchia sighed as she reached inside the case and retrieved a cinnamon roll. “Truthfully, it’s more than I expected. I love the shop and all my customers. I have some part-time help, but I’m thinking about taking on a partner.”

“Really? Anyone I met the other evening at Leo’s?” Magda asked.

Porchia shook her head and pulled out a couple of cannoli. “Haven’t even looked. I’m putting an extra cannoli on here. Let me know what you think. These are new to me.”

Over coffee and pastries, Blanche suggested they go to Tina Marie’s. Tina Marie’s was a well-known ladies’ clothing store that’d been in Whispering Springs forever. Magda had always heard they had nice clothes, but she’d never had a reason to go there until now.

A bell chimed when Magda pushed open the door to Tina Marie’s. The store had an elegance usually found in much larger cities with more elite clientele. The hardwood floors and special lighting had been designed to flatter. Racks of colorful women’s clothing filled the space. Eucalyptus aroma scented the air. Magda loved eucalyptus. She inhaled the scent deeply and felt calmer.

“Love that scent,” she whispered to Blanche, who nodded.

“How can I help you ladies?” said a petite brunette with thick-rimmed glasses. “Oh, hi. Magda. Right?” The girl walked out from behind the counter. “We met the other night at Leo’s.”

“Right. Tina. Nice to see you again.”

“What can I do for you?”

“This is Blanche Jenkins. She’s my father’s fiancée. They are getting married this weekend and I really need something to wear.”

“Congratulations, Blanche.”

Blanche’s cheeks were flushed. “Thank you.”

It was then that Magda realized that there’d been no wedding showers, nor—heaven forbid—a bachelorette party planned. And that just wasn’t right. Every first bride deserved the whole works, especially when she’d waited until her late forties to marry like Blanche had. And since Blanche’s sister was in her late fifties, she’d probably never thought about a bachelorette party for her younger sister.

“So long or short?”

The question jerked Magda’s attention back to the present. “Excuse me?”

“Long dress or short dress?” Tina asked.

“No idea.” Magda looked at Blanche. “Long or short?”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter.”

“Sure it does,” Magda insisted. “What are you wearing? What is your sister wearing?”

“Oh, I have a suit I’m thinking of wearing. Polly’s got a pink dress. Short but kind of dressy, I guess.”

“What color?” Tina asked.

“Well, something that’ll go with Polly’s pink, I guess.”

“And it’s Valentine’s Day,” Magda added.

Tina snapped her fingers. “I’ve got the perfect thing.” She hurried over to a rack of extravagant-looking dresses, and just when Magda was going to say that those were too fancy, Tina pulled out a grape-purple strapless dress. The hem in the front was short but it got progressively longer toward the back. “Try this.”

“It’s a mullet dress.”

“What?” Tina asked, her brow wrinkled with a frown.

“You know. Long in the back and short in the front. A mullet.”

Tina shook her head. “Just try it. With your figure and hair color, it will look great. I’m guessing on your size. Six?”

“You’re sweet. Try an eight.”

Tina beamed. “Just what I have in my hand.”

Magda looked at Blanche, who nodded. “Yes, dear. Try that one on. It’s lovely.”

“You’re going to need a strapless bra with this.”

“I’m going to need a body girdle to hold all me in,” Magda muttered.

She took the dress and headed to a changing room. Just as she was pushing her pants down, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s Tina. I’ve got a bra for you.”

Magda opened the door. “How do you know what size I am?”

Tina chuckled. “My mom inherited this store from her mother. I’ve been working here since I was ten. I knew you were a size eight the minute you walked in the door. Bra sizes are even easier.”

“Sneaky asking if I was a six.”

Tina shrugged. “Some women lie. If you’d said you were a six, I would have told you the dress ran small so you’d need to try an eight.” She grinned. “Clever, huh?”

The dress fit like it’d been tailor-made for Magda. The hem in the front hit about five inches above her knee. The back flowed down to the top of her ankles. When she walked, the dress seemed to float.

“Oh, Magda. That’s lovely on you,” Blanche said.

“It is but…” She looked at Tina. “It’s dadgum February. I can’t go strapless. I’ll feel naked.”

“Ah, but there’s more.”

Tina pulled a matching wrap from the rack. Same material. Same color. The wrap stood high on Magda’s neck, looped over her arms and draped from her elbows to mid-calf. Magda turned in front of the three-way mirror, looking at herself from all angles.

“I love it. I really do, but I don’t have any shoes that will go with this.”

“What size? Eight?”

“Nine or nine and a half.”

Tina grinned, “I knew that. Hold on.” Tina picked up the phone and made a call. When she hung up, she said, “Got you covered. Delene is running a pair over from Double D’s Shoes.”

Magda shook her head. “I guess running into Darren at Leo’s was the best luck ever, huh? I got to meet all you ladies.” She leaned in and in a stage whisper said, “Tell me that all of you don’t date Darren.”

Tina laughed. “Oh, hell, no. Darren’s great. I really adore him, but I’m not moving out on a ranch. So not my scene. Give me the city. If I didn’t have this store and I didn’t love Whispering Springs so much, I’d be in Dallas or Austin or somewhere larger. But I’m here for life, I think.”

The doorbell chimed as Delene entered carrying six shoe boxes. “I wasn’t sure about some of these, but let’s give it a try. Hi, Magda. Nice to see you. What’s the occasion?”

All of Delene’s words were like one long run-on sentence.

“Hi, Delene. Thank you so much for doing this.”

“Love the dress,” Delene said. “Heavy date?”

“Wedding. Blanche, this is Delene… Gosh. I’m sorry. I don’t know your last name. I’m sure it was shouted to me last Friday, but I was lucky to catch all the first names.”

“That’s okay.” Delene set the boxes on the floor and extended her hand to Blanche. “I’m Delene Younger.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Blanche Jenkins.”

“Blanche is my father’s fiancée,” Magda said as she opened the lids on the boxes.

“How nice,” Delene said. “When’s the big day?”

“This Friday,” Magda said, pulling out a pair of gold, sparkly pumps. “These are pretty.”

“Congratulations, Blanche.” Delene looked at Magda. “Stand up so I can see the dress.”

When she did, Tina Marie straightened the wrap hanging off Magda’s arms. “I was thinking maybe a two-inch heel. No higher than three, I think.”

Delene studied Magda. “Put those heels on and let me see.”

She did and Tina Marie whistled. “I like.”

Delene nodded. “Me too. What do you think, Blanche?”

Magda could have hugged Delene for remembering to include Blanche in the discussion.

“Well, my biggest concern is that you’ll outshine the bride.”

“Doubtful, but thank you for saying that.” Magda hugged Blanche. She had to admit, her dad’s future wife was growing on her.

“Okay then. I think we’re done. Thank you both for all your help. I am the worst clothes shopper in the world. You’ve made this so painless.”

Delene spread her arms. “That’s what we’re here for.”

“I’ll get changed. Thank you. Thank you. Thank. You.”

Tina Marie followed Magda to the back and took the clothes and shoes as Magda removed them.

“Tina. You’re going to think this is nuts, but I realized a little while ago that nobody has planned any type of shower or bachelorette party for Blanche. It’s her first wedding. I don’t know the first thing about how to go about doing anything like that. What do I do? Surely you’ve had other friends who’ve gotten married.”

“I know exactly what to do. Tell you what. I’ll book the private party room at Leo’s. I’ll round up the gang. You handle all the Montgomery women. Frankly, those chicks scare the crap out of me. Can you get Blanche to Leo’s on Thursday night? About seven?”

“Sure. I’ll call you after I talk to Olivia, Caroline, KC, Lydia and Paige. I’ll call them as soon as I get home.”

“Give me your cell phone.”

Magda handed it over and Tina Marie punched on the keys. “There. I’ve programmed in my cell number. Call me.”

“Thanks. Again.”

“No problem. I’m always up for a good party.”

By the time Magda was back in her own clothes, Tina had the dress and wrap back on the hanger in a protective bag.

“You can put your money away,” Blanche said. “Zeb’s paying.”

“Seriously? This day just gets better and better.”

As they were leaving Tina Marie’s to head to the Double D Shoe Store, Magda’s phone rang.

“Darren. I’ll be right with you,” she told Blanche.

“No problem. I’ll go pay for the shoes and meet you back here.”

“Hello?” Magda unlocked the truck and carefully stored the dress.

“I’m done. Do I need to start making pity calls for a ride?”

Chuckling, she said, “No. I think we’re about done. I thought I’d take Blanche to lunch before we headed home. You want to come along?”

“Really? You have to ask if I want to eat?”

“Yeah. Silly me. I’ll pick you up in about ten minutes?”

On the drive home after lunch, Magda called Olivia. When she explained her thoughts about a lingerie shower and bachelorette party for Blanche, Olivia loved the idea and was a tad mad at herself for not thinking of it. She volunteered to call the rest of the Montgomery women and to get Blanche to the party.

“A bachelorette party, huh?” Darren said. “I might have to go hang around Leo’s that night.”

“Why?”

“Well, you know. All those single women drinking and then getting depressed that they aren’t the ones getting married. They’ll be needing some tender lovin’ care that night.”

A loud laugh burst out of Magda. “Oh good Lord. Do men really think like that?”

The grin Darren gave as his reply made her laugh more.

She was glad for his company on the drive to and from town. The only downside was there was no way for her to stop at a drugstore for a pregnancy test with him along. She knew she kept putting it off because she was sure her period would come just any day now.

Except it hadn’t.

The opportunity to run private errands did not present itself until Thursday morning.