Pants on Fire by Maggie Alderson

Author:Maggie Alderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2010-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“Is this a rodeo or a festival or erotica?” I asked Debbie the next morning, as we sat on the fence by the corral watching the cowboys strut around in their jeans and boots, all bandy-legged and lanky. “Why do you think cowboys are so attractive?”

“I think it’s the hats,” said Debbie. “They’re like dinner jackets—they make all men look gorgeous. If you saw one of these blokes walk into Wine Banc without his hat on you wouldn’t give him a second look.”

“I guess you’re right. It only works in their natural habitat, which I must say feels very much like my natural habitat. Do you think the hat does it for me?” I tipped my old straw Stetson at her.

“Ten-four, rubber duck. You look like you were born wearing it. Do you have rodeos in England?”

“Not that I know of, although I believe boot-scooting is very popular. I suppose the closest thing would be point-to-points, or Pony Club. Not quite the same.”

“Did you do all that?”

“No, too hearty for me. Hamish, as you’ll have gathered, is horse mad, but I got thrown off one when I was ten and never really fancied it after that. I can ride and I like horses, but it’s not a big passion for me.”

“I love it. Not as much as Dad, though. These days I just do it to make him happy, really.” She paused. “Drew and I used to ride a lot. We’d go out for a couple of nights and sleep under the stars. The Stewart property joins ours, so we could ride for miles and miles and never see a soul. Heaven.”

It was the first time I’d ever heard her mention him.

“Do you miss him terribly?” I asked her.

“When I’m up here I miss him almost more than I can bear. That’s why I don’t come home very often—and it’s really nice to have you with me, let me tell you. Anything that makes it different from the past is good. I would have been to this rodeo maybe twelve times with Drew. We started out in the kiddies’ rodeo, where Dad is helping right now. We grew up together.”

“Did you always think you’d marry him?”

“I think so. I did have other boyfriends and I went out with all of his brothers over the years, and of course we went through those stages where boys and girls just taunt each other, but he was always special to me. I’m pretty sure he sent me a Valentine’s Day card every year from the age of ten until he died. He’d never have admitted it and they were never signed—and of course I always got so many—but I could always tell which one was from Drew. I have twenty-two of them.”

I nodded, swallowing.

“You see, there was always one card with a rabbit on it. He used to call me Bunny—he said I had buck teeth and big ears and looked like a rabbit. The first Valentine’s Day after he died I got fifteen cards and not one of them had a rabbit on it.

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