Lily’s Cowboys

Chapter 2-1

Chapter Two

Maggie pulled into the parking space in front of The Flats Grill. The old diner was a favorite among the locals. If you needed news or wanted to find someone to help you out, this was the place to go. Any news in Boulder Flats, Wyoming would pass through the diner at some point.

Getting out of the truck, Maggie felt every minute of her seventy-two years. She pushed open the door and moved to a booth near the back of the diner. She would ask Gladys if she knew of anyone looking for a housekeeping job. She would have to let whoever interviewed know it would be in a combat zone.

Dropping her scarf and purse on the seat next to her, she removed her heavy coat and hung it on the coat rack next to the corridor leading to the bathrooms. Sitting down heavily, she smiled when she saw Gladys coming with two cups of steaming coffee. Gladys’ slim body and head of silver hair barely showed her seventy years as she moved with a spry step in her walk toward the booth. She carried the two cups with the experience of years of serving.

“Hey, Maggie,” a pair of voices called out behind Gladys.

Carl and Earl Ganders were Gladys’ husbands. Tall and thin, they were still handsome as sin. In a time when it was considered unusual, Gladys had fallen in love with the twin brothers, and they had fallen in love with her.

The men had advertised for brides, but only Gladys had arrived on the bus. They had taken one look at her, and knew she was it for both of them. They had recently celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

“The boys giving you fits again?” Gladys asked with a knowing smile, sliding into the seat across from Maggie.

There had been a lot of disgruntled ex-housekeepers flowing through the diner in recent months. She had heard all about some of the more colorful fights at the ranch, including Ethan and Caleb’s attempt to hire a hooker for Allen. Seemed Caleb figured if Allen had s*x, he would be in a better mood, as it had helped in the past. He had talked Ethan into talking to a friend of a friend who knew a woman from Nevada who was willing to come in.

In the end, Allen had not been appreciative, and the woman had left in a huff—but not before threatening to tell the sheriff about what the brothers had tried to do if they didn’t pay her a six-figure sum to keep quiet. Of course, the sheriff, Matt Holden—who was a childhood friend of the boys—had threatened to arrest the woman for blackmail and prostitution. According to the housekeeper at the time, the woman left with her promised two hundred and fifty dollars and a bus ticket out of town.

“I just don’t know what to do. Ethan took off for two weeks on the excuse he needed to go to an auction. Caleb would rather spend a week out on the range in freezing weather than be in the house. And Allen—” Shaking her head, Maggie took a drink of the hot coffee before continuing. “The boy is going to drink himself to death if something isn’t done. I can’t do any more. I need a miracle, Gladys.”

Gladys sat quietly, wishing she could help her friend out. She was at her wits’ end too. She didn’t know a single person who was willing to take on the Cunnings men, no matter how rich or good-looking they were.

Sighing, she reached over and placed a supportive hand over Maggie’s as she shook her head in sympathy. “I wish I could help you out.”

Maggie spent the next hour talking with Gladys and her husbands. She enjoyed their company and missed them since she had moved to Florida. If the weather in Wyoming wasn’t so damn cold in the winter, she would have stayed just to be near them. Her old bones just couldn’t seem to handle it anymore, plus she had met a really nice widower with whom she enjoyed spending time.

Just as she was resigning herself to returning to the ranch empty-handed, the bell over the door chimed. Maggie looked up and inhaled a deep breath. Standing just inside the door was a young girl. She had on a thin patchwork jacket and was wearing a pair of faded jeans and scuffed-up boots. What caught Maggie’s eye was the light streaming in behind her. She didn’t know if it was the play of light through the ice-coated window or what, but the girl looked like she had a halo around her head.

“Gladys, Earl, Carl—look behind you,” Maggie whispered excitedly. “I believe my angel just walked into your diner.”

All three of them turned as one to look at the new arrival. Their eyes widened as they noticed the play of light surrounding her.