揝ure thing.?Zach nodded. 揇o you want the carved part to be stained darker than the oak or painted??
揝tained,?Wade said without hesitation.
揧ou got it. I抣l have them ready as soon as possible.?Zach tipped the bill of his hat toward the ladies. 揝ee y抋ll then.?
Daisy grabbed Oscar by the arm and whispered, 揑f you抣l tell me what he抯 going to do with that steeple, I抣l make you a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies this afternoon.?
揗uch as I love those, I want it to be a surprise.?Oscar shook his head. 揑 will tell you this, though. Stella Sullivan is not going to like it one bit, and after the way she抯 treated you and Risa, that brings me great pleasure.?
揇addy!?Mary Nell scolded.
揌ey, don抰 fuss at me. Vengeance might belong to the Lord, but He抯 the one who knocked that steeple off the roof of this place, so I don抰 reckon He will care what I do with it.?Oscar twisted the top off his beer and took a long drink. 揘ow, unless I抦 mistaken, I hear a big truck coming and I抦 pretty sure that抯 going to be our bull. Which one of you won out to ride the critter first, and what did you decide to name him??
Lily raised a hand. 揑抦 riding first.?
揂nd his name is Bodacious,?Daisy answered. 揑 researched the names of mean rodeo bulls.?
揟hat抯 a pretty famous bull,?Oscar said as the truck backed up to the porch.
揧ep, and our bull will be even more famous because he抯 going to be the only one in all of Burnet County. Heck, we抮e going to be as big as Billy Bob抯，？Daisy told him.
Lily stepped up in front of everyone and spread her hands out wide. 揂ll y抋ll need to step back. Bodacious is about to be turned loose from this truck. He抯 going to come out mean and snortin?and pawin?at the ground, but I抦 determined to tame the critter.?
Jessica giggled and then laughed out loud at Lily抯 antics. Soon the whole bunch of them were guffawing. The guy, whose name tag read Billy, jumped out of the truck and shook his head.
揑抳e seen people happy to get their electronic bulls, but never this happy,?he said.
揟hen you never delivered one to a couple of sixteen-year-old girls, did you??Wade asked.
揟hat I have not.?He opened the back of the truck, and there was Bodacious lying on his side. 揝how me where you want this old boy set up and I抣l get busy.?
Wade slipped his arm around Jessica抯 shoulders. 揑t抯 coming together one step at a time,?he said, 揵ut I keep waiting for something to set us back.?
揑 know exactly what you抮e talking about,?she said with a nod. 揑 hope when it does, we can work our way through it.?
揥e will,?Wade said. 揟ogether we can conquer most anything. What do you think about selling your RV to Zach??
揑抎 sell it to anyone who has the money to buy it, but what if it抯 contingent upon us renting him part of your space in the barn??she asked. 揥hat do you know about him??
揟hat he抯 a damn good sign painter, and that he was about two years ahead of me in school. He was a loner, too, and he抯 never married, is basically shy and a good man. Sometimes he plays dominoes with Oscar and me on Sunday afternoons. He comes along with his Uncle Gary when he isn抰 working on a job,?Wade answered.
揇o you like him well enough to share your barn and this place with him??Jessica asked.
揑 guess I do,?he said. 揑 don抰 reckon I抦 going to have a lot of time for odd jobs once we open up for business anyway, so I won抰 be using my woodworking tools very often. They could be pushed all the way to the back of the place.?
揧ou decide that part, and we抣l talk among us about letting him park the RV behind the barn if the deal works out,?she said. 揜ight now, we抎 better get in there and see if Lily can stay on old Bodacious for the full eight seconds.?
揂nd then let Daisy choose the first song on the jukebox after she has a ride,?Wade agreed.
Together, side by side, and in step with one another, they crossed the porch. Leaving the August heat behind and going into the cool foyer made chill bumps pop up on Jessica抯 arms and neck. 揟hat抯 kind of a shock to the skin,?she muttered.
揧ep, but it sure feels good,?Wade agreed.
Billy had Bodacious up and running in less than two hours, showed them how to work the controls, then got back in his truck and left without even a wave.
揂 man of few words,?Mary Nell said when he was gone.
揧ep, but we weren抰 paying him to have a conversation with us,?Haley said.
揇aisy, you got your five dollars ready??Lily picked up an old straw cowboy hat from under the bar and jammed it down on her head.
Her sister held up a bill. 揑抣l add five to it if you let me control the switch.?
揃ring it on, Sister,?Lily said. 揟his is my lucky hat, and I抦 saving for a pair of cowboy boots. For now, I抣l be the first girl to show Bodacious who is boss and do it in my bare feet.?