But, you just saved me from looking like an even bigger ass.
You just got a bonus!
Ms. Donovan looks at me. She glances over me from my toes, in my grey Asics, to my hair. She shakes her head. “No, unfortunately, the closest town is about sixty miles away and it’s pretty small. We don’t have malls or outlets. There’s a General Store, a Feed Store, and a few other things, but for what you’re wanting, you’d need to head back to San Antonio… where you flew in. It’s a two hour drive…”
Great! Eliza, you really screwed the pooch here.
Now, I have to make two pairs of designer jeans and one pair of tennis shoes work for two weeks.
And, avoid snakes and cow shit!
Why do I think that’s pretty much an impossible feat?
Why the hell didn’t I follow the recommendations on the checklist?
Son of a bitch…
Ms. Donovan stands and angles her head. “I think I can help you. I have some things stored that should work for you. They may not be a perfect fit, but, I bet we can make them work. Why don’t you come with me, Miss McCormick?!”
Rowdy’s head shoots up at this and his eyes widen, but, I see Ms. Donovan shake hers at him. They seem to have a silent conversation before he sits back in his chair with a quick jerky nod.
What the hell?
Interesting. There’s a story here.
He smiles at me in an effort to cover his reaction. I smile back though I’m really curious as to what that was about.
I’m going to find out.
Ms. Donovan holds her hand out to me and waves at me to follow her. We leave everyone in the large, open room, and she leads me back up the stairs I just descended.
I look around as I follow. She talks as we climb. “Crazy thing about places like this is that we always have stuff on hand to handle almost any situation.” She sighs. “We pretty much have to. But, that’s ranch life.” She turns in the direction opposite of the rooms we’re in and after a bit, we take a left turn into a new hallway.
Good, lord. Should I be leaving bread crumbs?
I mutter, “This place is massive. How many rooms do you actually have here, Ms. Donovan?”
She chuckles. “It’s a big place. We have twelve bedrooms in the main house, sixty-nine beds in the bunk houses, three smaller houses, and the hunting bunks have twenty-two beds. It takes a lot of people to keep this place running… and, would you please call me Bessie?”
We’ve been walking for a while and her breath is still even though I’m feeling a bit winded. She keeps chatting before I can gather enough air to respond to her without sounding like I’m about to keel over and die. “Everyone here calls me Momma, Momma Bessie, Ms. Bessie, or just Bessie. I still think of Mrs. Donovan as my mother in law. God rest her soul.”
Damn! That’s a lot of rooms. That’s a lot of people. So, there are four separate houses, several bunk houses, and the designated beds for the people who pay big money to come hunt and kill animals.
Do they eat them?!
I nod. “Wow, that’s a lot of beds. Why do you need four houses?
“I can call you, Bessie.” I smile at her, feeling comfortable. “I’d like it if you’d also call me Eliza.
“So, Bessie, do the hunters bring in the money or does the beef?”
She smiles at me again and nods. “I’d love to call you Eliza.” She chuckles. “You know,Eliza, I love your show. I never miss it. I can’t watch it in real time, but I set my DVR every day and I watch it after dinner every night before I head to bed.
“It’s my way to relax before the sun rises to welcome the next day.” We reach a door and she turns the knob. It swings in and as she flips the light, I follow her into the room. “I’ll answer your other questions, but first, let’s see what we have to work with here.”
She walks to a dresser and I look around the room. It’s obviously a woman’s room. It’s much like the rest of the house I’ve seen, but this room has feminine touches. A light yellow quilt with blue flowers, lacy curtains, and a few knick knacks on the night stand. My eyes widen as I notice the Chanel No. 5 bottle next to the ornate hairbrush on a lovely vanity.
Chanel No. 5?!
