One Lucky Cowboy Read Online Free PDF Page B

She's crazy. Boyfriends are for big girls, not little girls like us. My daddy said so."
       Jane tried to put on her serious adult face. "Your daddy is right."
       "I might be your friend if you don't tell them I'm hiding from them."
       "It's a deal."
       Kayla, a freckle-faced, brown-haired child, yelled from the back door. "Hey, maid lady, have you seen Lizzy? She's got hair like a skunk and we can't find her."
       Jane dropped her hand down beside the chair and Lizzy grabbed it. "Why are you looking for her?"
       "Because…" Kayla searched for a lie.
       "Because she was mean to us and we told our mother and she's going to tell Slade and he's going to tell her daddy and she's going to be in big trouble," Keely gushed.
       "What did she do that was so mean?" Jane asked.
       "She…" Kayla started again.
       "She took our friends away from us and said if they were her friends they couldn't be ours." Keely was evidently much more experienced at the game than her younger sister.
       "Are you sure she said that to you, or did you say that to her?"
       Kristy walked up behind the girls. "What is going on? I told you to go play and here you are pestering the maid."
       "We're hunting for Lizzy. Remember Mommy, we told you she was a mean little girl who looks like a skunk. Her daddy looks like one too, and I bet her mother does too. She's weird and we don't want to play with her but we have to find her even if she's not our friend. What if she went off somewhere and died like a skunk on the road?" Keely said.
       Lizzy squeezed Jane's hand.
       "That isn't nice to call Lizzy that name. I think her hair is beautiful. It's like she's been kissed by the lepre chauns and that's really a lucky streak in her hair. I bet wherever she goes she brings good luck to her friends. Maybe she ran off to play with Tim and…" Jane couldn't remember the other name.
       "Richie," Lizzy barely whispered.
       "Richie," Jane said. "They probably are hunting for a black kettle of gold, which only a little girl with a white streak in her hair can find."
       Kristy grabbed each of them by an arm. "Come on, you two. I don't have time to listen to nonsense from the hired help. Go play with someone else and stay out of my hair. One more ounce of trouble out of you and you'll wish you'd been good. I'll take away your television, video games, and the trampoline for a month. You'd better listen to me. If you embarrass me in front of Slade again, you'll be washing dishes until your hands wither up like prunes." She was still hissing out threats when her voice faded and blended in with the buzz of the rest of the party.
       Lizzy poked her head up over the edge of the chair. "I don't want a mommy after all. I thought I did, but that lady scares me. I feel sorry for Kayla and Keely even if they are sorry bastards."
       Jane covered her mouth but it didn't stop the laughter.
       "What's so funny?" A little snaggle-toothed boy asked as he made his way through the breakfast nook and into the den. "Hi, Lizzy. Kayla said you could help us find a pot of gold. She said because of the white in your hair you are special and you can find gold. Want to go on a treasure hunt with us?"
       Lizzy grinned. "Where's Richie?"
       Tim hung his head. "He's keeping Kayla and Keely out there. I'm supposed to beg you to play with us. He says you might if I ask."
       Suddenly the little girl who'd been the ugly duck ling had a use. Weren't kids a total hoot? She wanted a dozen of them, starting with a little girl exactly like Lizzy. She wouldn't even care if she had a white streak in her hair.
    "Okay, but no more calling me names," Lizzy said.
       Tim crossed his heart with his fingers and held up two in a serious gesture. "We promise."
       "I'm sorry you all don't have a lucky streak and I can't promise there's a pot of gold out there. Sometimes the little elves hide it on a ranch and sometimes in a castle,