Tumbleweed Weddings (34 page)

The broom swished as Aggie swept up after their last customer. Tonya stepped back so she wouldn’t inhale the tiny curls that were flying through the air. When Aggie said nothing, Tonya made another attempt to appeal to her reason.

“Don’t you think Bruce is worth it, Aggie? I mean, look at him—such a handsome, dignified man. I’m sure you’d love to be hanging on his arm at some sophisticated restaurant. And you’ll want to look like you belong in the twenty-first century, cultured and refined—”

“Instead of looking like the hick that I am.” Aggie’s eyes spit fire as she stared at Tonya.

“That’s not what I meant.” Tonya sank down on a chair. “But Bruce has very particular tastes. You, of all people, should know that.”

The broom handle hit the floor as Aggie dropped into the other chair. “Oh, I suppose you’re right.” Her shoulders drooped. “Maybe it ain’t gonna work out between us after all. We just come from two different worlds.”

“It can work, Aggie.” Tonya leaned forward. “Bruce only wants you to tone down your makeup a bit, and … and step out of the ‘60s with your hairstyle. He’s a very reserved gentleman, and he doesn’t want to be noticed.” She thought on that a moment. “Although he’s so dignified and good-looking, people notice him anyway.”

“Don’t I know it!” Aggie paused. “I suppose I could change for him.” The stubborn glint returned to her eyes. “But only for one date, mind you.”

“That’s all he’s asking.” Tonya gave an inward sigh of relief.

Now to talk to Murray.

A
t the Valentine’s party on Saturday, Murray unwrapped his gift as the Single Servings watched. They were taking turns opening their gifts, and after the gift was opened, the secret pal would reveal his or her identity.

Derek had told Murray that he wanted a comfortable place to have the Valentine’s party, but he didn’t want to move all the furniture to the church again. So here they were, crowded into the Brandts’ living room. Murray sat on the same blue chair as before. Most of the men sat on straight chairs they had dragged in from the dining room. Across from Murray, Tonya sat on the sofa between Cheyenne and Laurie Smullens. Laurie and Reed had recently broken up as a couple, and Reed seemed to be scouting out other possibilities. Near the fireplace, he sat beside Gretchen Hughes, the quietest woman ever born, and tried to engage her in conversation.

Murray finally pulled the gift wrap off his present, revealing an atomic watch. “Wow, this is nice!” Raising his eyebrows, he glanced around the room.

Tonya smiled. “It’s from me, Murray. I was your secret pal.”

His lips parted. Tonya was his secret pal, and he was hers? “Thanks for the watch, Tonya. This is great. I really like it.”

Nodding, she looked down and her face tinged pink.

Murray gazed at her.
Tonya—embarrassed?
Or was it humility? She didn’t realize how much humility complemented her beauty.

Derek sat on a straight chair near the fireplace. “Okay, Tonya. Why don’t you open your gift now?”

As Tonya savagely tore the paper from the gift Murray had painstakingly wrapped, he glanced at Derek. Had Tonya’s brother purposely set them up as each other’s secret pal? Murray would ask Derek later how that came about. He couldn’t picture Derek trying to play matchmaker.

“Oh!” Tonya’s pretty eyes widened. “It’s a book of hymn arrangements for the piano. Oh, I love it!” She glanced around, her eyes landing on the men near the dining room. “Horace, did you give this to me?”

Horace?
Murray looked across the room at the man in question.

Horace looked just as surprised. “No, my secret pal is, um, well, he didn’t open his gift yet, so I can’t say.”

Tonya’s face reddened once more. “Sorry, I was just guessing, but evidently I guessed wrong.” She looked around the room. “Anyone?”

Trying to hide his grin, Murray wished he could make her squirm a few more minutes, but he spoke up. “It’s from me, Tonya.”

“You?” Tonya’s mouth dropped open. Then she clamped it shut and looked at her brother. “Derek! How come I was Murray’s secret pal and he was mine? Did you do that on purpose?”

Derek raised his hands as if trying to fend her off. “Hey, don’t blame me! The identity of everyone’s secret pal is a surprise to me, too. Mom put all the secret pals together, and she was the only one who knew who they were.”

“Mom, huh? Okay.”

Tonya looked back at Murray, and he could almost read her mind. He wouldn’t put it past Mrs. Brandt to play the matchmaker role either.

Tonya sighed. “Well, thanks for the piano book, Murray.” She smiled, and her entire demeanor changed. “This looks like a great book. I can’t wait to play these songs.”

He nodded. “You’re welcome.”

As someone else took a turn unwrapping a gift, Murray kept his eyes on Tonya. She opened the piano book and studied the table of contents, then spoke to Cheyenne in low tones.

Murray thought about the letters they had e-mailed each other, about their own matchmaking efforts for Aggie and Bruce, about working with her on her computer, and the instant messaging they had done that week.

A strange realization hit him.
I really care for her
. He wasn’t sure if it was love, but his feelings for her were definitely changing.

On Monday morning, Tonya wielded her shears on seven-year-old Kylie Ewing’s long blond hair. She smiled, thinking how cute Kylie would look once her hair was cut to frame her heart-shaped face.

Aggie stood at the other chair, working on Kylie’s mom’s hair. The bell above the door jingled, and both Tonya and Aggie looked up as Murray entered. He was dressed in his uniform, so Tonya knew he hadn’t come in for a haircut.

“Hey, Murray,” Aggie called. “What can we do for you?”

He hesitated. “I see you’re both busy. I’ll come back.”

“Just a minute.” Leaving her station, Tonya joined Murray, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Is this about Aggie and Bruce?”

He grinned, lowering his voice as well. “He agreed to take her out.”

“Really?” She bit back a smile.

“I’ll call you later about the details.” Murray backed toward the door, now speaking in a normal voice. “Say, a half hour?”

Tonya nodded. “That would be fine.”

He left, and she went back to Kylie’s hair. Aggie kept glancing at her but didn’t ask any questions. Tonya just smiled.

By the time the Ewing ladies left, Aggie had another customer. As Tonya swept the floor, the phone rang.

“I’ll get it, Aggie.” Walking behind the cash register, she picked up the receiver. “The Beauty Spot, this is Tonya.”

“Hey, Tonya, it’s Murray.”

With a wistful sigh, she sank on the stool behind the counter. His voice was amazing. Every time they spoke on the phone, she thought again of how much she loved that baritone. Too bad he didn’t have an ultra-handsome face to go with it. “What’s the news?”

“If Aggie tones down the makeup and changes her hairstyle, Bruce agreed to take her to Phoebe’s.”

“Phoebe’s? In Lusk?” Tonya’s shoulders slumped. “But that’s a diner—with a counter and stools. I wanted him to take her to some sophisticated restaurant in Cheyenne with linen tablecloths and good silverware.”

“It’s a start, okay? You wouldn’t believe how much I had to talk him into this. And we settled on Tuesday night, mainly so he couldn’t change his mind.”

“Tuesday? You mean tomorrow night?”

“Exactly. Do you think she can be ready by then?”

Tonya glanced at Aggie’s green teased-up hair, her green eyelids decorated with silver sparkles, her wrinkled rouged cheeks and orange lips. Dropping her voice, Tonya spoke into the phone. “She’ll be ready. I’ll make sure of that.”

“Good. Uh, Tonya—Bruce has a stipulation for this date. He wants you and me to go along.”

Tonya frowned. “Why? Do they need chaperones?”

Murray chuckled. “Not as chaperones, Tonya—as a double date. You know—Aggie and Bruce, you and me.” He paused. “Would you be willing to be my date tomorrow night?”

Tonya’s lips parted. A date with Murray Twichell?

“It was Bruce’s idea,” he continued. “I think he’s nervous about dating Aggie—or
Agatha
, as he calls her. He probably wants us to be there in case he runs out of things to say.”

Listening to Murray’s smooth baritone voice in her ear, Tonya’s defenses weakened. Why shouldn’t she go on a date with him? They were good friends now. “Sure, Murray, I’ll be your date.”

“Thanks.” He sounded relieved. “Bruce and I already talked about the car situation. At first he wanted to drive his Buick so he’d have something to do while we traveled, but I talked him out of it. Now I’m going to drive my SUV, and Bruce will sit in the back with Aggie.”

“That’s good.” Tonya couldn’t imagine sitting with Murray in the backseat for a half hour with nothing to do.

“Here’s another stipulation Bruce wants—I’m to pick you up first, then we’ll drive to his house to pick him up, and then go to Aggie’s house. So we’ll pick her up last and drop her off first.”

Tonya puffed out a laugh. “Boy, he must be nervous.” But if Bruce had stipulations, why couldn’t she? “Um, Murray, if you want me to go with you, I don’t want to go to Phoebe’s. Let’s go to the Four Seasons in Cheyenne.”

“Are you crazy? That’s the most expensive restaurant in the city.”

“Which is exactly why we should go there.” She took a deep breath. “Bruce needs to show Aggie that she’s worth spending money on.”
And so am I
.

“I don’t know if Bruce will agree to that.”

Tonya raised her eyebrows. “We’ll surprise him. After all, Murray, you’re the driver.”

“A surprise, huh?” She heard the smile in his voice. “All right, Tonya. We’ll do it. Could I pick you up at five?”

“How about five thirty? I have to work until five, although I have a feeling I’ll spend most of the day working on Aggie’s hair and makeup.”

“Five thirty, then, at your house. Be sure to tell Aggie.”

“I’ll give her the message. Uh, Murray, now I have a question for you.”

“What’s up?”

“It’s about the secret pal thing. You sent me a card last week with very wavery handwriting.” She gave a little laugh. “I thought it was from Horace Frankenberg, but it must have been from you.”

“So that’s why you thought Horace was your secret pal.”

“Did you write that card, Murray?”

“No, I was visiting my mom in the nursing home, and I asked her to sign it.”

“Oh.” No wonder it looked like it was written by an eighty-year-old person. Mrs. Twichell must not be eighty yet, but she had Parkinson’s, which made her hands shake.

A strong desire came over Tonya to see Mrs. Twichell again. Perhaps she could talk Derek into letting the Single Servings visit the nursing home in Douglas one of these days. “That was nice of your mom to write the card. Thank her for me.”

“I’ll do that.” He paused. “Well, I’ll pick you up at five thirty tomorrow, and you don’t have to change a thing for me. I mean—don’t whip your hair up into a honeycomb.”

She laughed. “It’s a
beehive
, but don’t worry. I would never tease up my hair like that.”

He chuckled. “Until tomorrow then.”

Bidding him good-bye, Tonya hung up and glanced at Aggie. She already knew how she would change Aggie’s hairstyle and makeup. This date with Bruce was so important. It might even be a turning point for them.

Tonya was glad she would be along. Now she could witness Bruce’s reaction to the new and improved Aggie firsthand. And she and Murray hadn’t argued for weeks.

It would be an interesting evening.

T
hat evening Tonya stood to stretch in front of her computer as she waited for Poe’s next comment to pop up. They had been IMing for an hour already.