“Come out and let me see it.”

Celia kicked off her socks and headed toward the mirror. “See? The hem is nowhere near my knee.”

Tierney rolled her eyes. “I swear the Mud Lilies show more skin than you, Celia.”

“I’m modest! It’s the way I was raised.”

“Sugar, you ain’t ten no more. But you are straight up a ten in that dress,” Harper said. “Take a look.”

She wondered when she’d stepped into an alternate reality. The sleeveless rust-colored dress didn’t boast a deep neckline, but the fabric was shirred through the bust area. At the waist, the shirring vanished and the cut became tight to where the dress ended five inches above her knee. Not only did the color bring out the burnished gold strands in her hair, but it gave her normally pale skin a glow. “Well, hell. I don’t look like a little girl playing dress-up in Mommy’s clothes, do I?”

“Cele, honey,” Harper started, “you’ve seen yourself as that girl for far too long. But look at yourself. That’s not a little girl. That beautiful woman staring back at you in the mirror? That is you.”

Although buoyed by their compliments, Celia remained unsure. “The outfits are great. But honestly, where would I wear them? I don’t have a job outside of the ranch. Even if I was still on the road, competing in barrel racing, I don’t know that I’d wear them. Which is sort of pathetic when you think about it. And this is a reminder of why I don’t go shopping. It makes me feel even more inadequate.”

“But, sweetie, don’t you think you and Kyle will go out on the town? If only out for dinner?”

“We haven’t talked about it. We’ve been so busy working.”

“Here’s my take,” Tierney said. “When Kyle says, Hey, baby, let’s go out for supper tonight, you can slip on one of these outfits and blow his mind.”

Maybe he hadn’t taken her out because he didn’t want anyone to know he’d married her. That depressed her even more.

“Or…” Harper stared at her with that devious look Celia had always loved. “Tomorrow night is poker night at our place. Did Kyle mention it?”

“He said he was going. Why?”

“Usually Tierney and I head to Rawlins on poker night and see a movie or eat someplace the guys don’t like. But tomorrow night, let’s have a girls’ night out.”

“I don’t wanna butt in on your plans.”

“Butt in? Wrong. Buck up, little camper,” Tierney said. “That was not a request. You’re going out with us tomorrow night, getting wild and having fun, even if we have to drag your ass behind Harper’s Jeep.”

“Show up here at the Split Rock at six o’clock. Have Kyle drop you off on his way to our house and we’ll get you all glammed up,” Harper said. “But first, I have one more outfit for you to try on. I think it’ll be perfect for tomorrow night.”

Celia left all her purchases at Wild West Clothiers. She couldn’t tell Harper the purchases had drained her bank account. Drained it to the point that she’d have to ask her husband for money.

Which set her teeth on edge. She hated asking for money. She’d paid for everything herself since she’d stopped living at home. Since Kyle now had funds from Marshall’s account, he’d insisted that all their living expenses be paid from that account.

The problem was, Celia wasn’t on the account, so every time she needed to run to town, she had to ask Kyle for money. Or he’d write her a check and she’d have to cash it at the bank before she could go to the grocery store. A couple times she’d just used her bank card to make purchases, but she’d been too embarrassed to ask Kyle to reimburse her. Which meant she had less than fifty bucks to her name.

Her phone buzzed with a text message from Abe. We welcomed Tyler Alan Lawson to the world an hour ago. Eight pounds of perfection. Mama Janie is doing fine. I’m scared shitless. I’d love for you to meet the newest member of our family, sis.

Feeling more morose than before she left for the Split Rock, she took the long way back. It was dark when she returned to the ranch, but Kyle had left the porch light on. Not a sweet thought, a practical one. Don’t go assigning romantic meanings to every damn thing he does or you’ll spend the next few months looking for other signs to stick around for the long haul that aren’t there.

Kyle came to help her take off her duster right after she walked in the door. “You’ve been gone a while.”

“I was at the Split Rock with Harper and Tierney. We’ve got catching up to do, so we’re going to Rawlins tomorrow night during the poker game.” She toed off her boots. “Got a text from Abe. Janie had a boy a little while ago.”

“I got a text too. So did you go anywhere else? Like to the hospital?”

“No. Why?”

“A phone call would’ve been nice.”

“I’m not used to answering to anybody.” Celia grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and noticed Kyle hadn’t started supper. Might be petty, but if he wanted something to eat he could fix it himself.

“Celia, we need—”

“To talk, right? Wrong. I’m sick of talking. I need to take a shower.” She shut the bathroom door in his face and locked it. Sipped her beer while unbraiding her hair. The day had left her with a bone-deep sadness she couldn’t shake. New clothes hadn’t helped. Spending time with her friends hadn’t helped. She looked at the empty beer can; booze hadn’t helped either. Just when she’d thought she found a place she fit, she’d been given another reminder that she didn’t fit anywhere. Even temporarily.