Chapter 41Peggy Warner
Chapter 41
Dinner Interruption
Peggy Warner
P eggy rushed around her small apartment over the garage, checking for the third time that everything was nice and tidy. She fluffed the pillows on her couch. Refolded the blanket resting on her ottoman. Straightened the green and pink rug in front of her door that read W ELCOME Y’ ALL . She pushed her dining room chairs that she’d just pulled out back under her little table. And then did it all again.
She wanted everything to be perfect for her date with Duke.
It was the first time he was visiting her here. She’d seen his folks’ house and now she wanted to show him her space. Wanted to give him an idea of what their married life might be like. She’d keep the house picked up, take care of the kids and the animals, and keep running her egg business at the farmers market every Saturday.
Duke wanted to stay on at the Double K while they fixed up the place his parents left him. They would go to the big rodeos and travel around the states until the kids started coming. Then, they would settle down in Crossroads, and Duke would look to become the foreman on one of the other spreads in the area.
She smiled. She couldn’t wait to start their life together. It may not be like the fairy tales most girls dreamed of, but it sure was magical to her.
Peggy stepped back into her little kitchen the size of a utility closet and checked on the rump roast resting on the stove. It smelled delicious. Her sisters had always said the fastest way to secure a man’s heart was by feeding him. She already knew her cowboy loved her, but some good home cooking couldn’t hurt.
The phone on the wall next to the fridge broke through the quiet, and she rushed to answer the call. Butterflies fluttered in her belly at the thought of hearing Duke’s voice.
“Hello.”
“Peggy?”
Staten Kirkland’s frantic voice sounded through the phone, and a cold fear settled over her. She tried to squeeze out the words around the lump forming in her throat. “Is everything okay, Staten? Is it Duke? Is he all right?”
“Yeah, he’s . . . Wait, you mean Duke isn’t there with you? The guys in the bunkhouse said he was headed to your place.”
“He was. We’re having dinner together. But he hasn’t made it here yet.”
Staten groaned.
“What’s going on?”
“Okay, look. There’s trouble out here on the ranch, and I need all hands on deck. I’m sorry to interrupt your date night, but when Duke gets out there, I need you to send him on back as soon as possible.”
A knock broke through the worry clouding her brain. “Hold on, Staten. I think he just got here.”
She dropped the receiver before the new boss of the Double K could respond and ran to the door. The air left her in a whoosh as she threw her arms around her cowboy. She held him tight, letting her heartbeat slow to match his.
Duke chuckled. “I like this greeting. I hope you’re this happy to see me every day for the rest of our lives.”
He leaned in to kiss her.
She met his lips in a too-short kiss and then grabbed his hand, pulling him to the kitchen. “I am happy to see you. But right now, there’s someone who needs your help.”
Peggy pointed to the phone hanging a few inches above the bright orange tile coloring her floor.
Immediately he straightened like an Old West cowboy ready to face a pack of rustlers. She could see his thoughts racing behind his gray eyes as he placed the receiver to his ear. “This is Duke.”
Adrenaline raced through Peggy’s veins as she watched her cowboy’s eyes widen. One stiff nod was enough to tell her that whatever the problem, Duke was on board.
Finally, he said, “Yes, sir. On my way.” Then he hung up the phone and gathered Peggy in his arms. “I’ve got to go, blue eyes. It seems two people are lost out on the Kirklands’ land and need to be found quick.”
She grasped his shoulders hard as panic bubbled in her gut. “But it’s storming out there. You won’t be able to see, let alone find anyone. It’s dangerous.”
Duke kissed the tip of her nose. “We’re not going out into the pastures just yet. You’re right. It would just cause more problems than we already have. We’re meeting at the bunkhouse to set up a game plan, so we’ll be ready at dawn. As soon as the sun climbs up over the horizon, we’ll head out.”
Peggy laid her cheek against the rough, worn cotton of his shirt. “How long have they been missing out there?”
She felt his shoulders lift in a shrug. “Not sure. A few hours at least. Jake says they were out riding before the storm hit. But then the horses came back in the rain with no riders. No one’s sure what happened. All we know is we’ve got to find them and just hope no one is hurt.”
“Okay.” Peggy pushed off his chest, turned off her oven, and moved to the front door. She grabbed her brown jacket off a hook on the wall. “Let’s go then. I’m ready.”
Duke’s hands grasped hers as she went to put her coat on. “You’re not going out there, Peggy. It’s too dangerous.”
Squaring her hands on her hips, she stared up at him like her mom did to her dad when she was upset about something. “Are you telling me I can’t go?”
He didn’t say anything, but his eyebrows knit together like he was trying to find the words. Finally, he just shook his head. “All right. Let’s go then.”
As Peggy rushed down the stairs to Duke’s truck, the rain seemed to find its way into her jacket. The cold settled around her like a blanket, covering her from head to toe. As she reached for the truck’s heater, turning it on full blast, she hoped the folks out on the Kirklands’ land had found some way to stay warm.