Page 60 of Dusty Spur Ranch Cowboys
The explanation begins with Annie, gets hijacked by Dakota, corrected by Betty Lou, interrupted twice by Cody, and ends with Arizona laughing harder than anybody else.
“I’m gonna need a family tree,” she says.
Silas takes a sip of his coffee. “Good luck.”
That earns another round of laughter, because if the quietest man in the room thinks it’s hopeless, the rest of us don’t stand a chance.
What surprises me isn’t how quickly Arizona adapts. It’s how naturally she slips into the group afterward.
Within half an hour she’s talking songwriting with Dakota, who gestures so enthusiastically she nearly knocks over two glasses of tea.
She’s swapping travel stories with Abilene, comparing rodeo disasters with Annie, and somehow convincing Clint to tell a story he’d clearly intended to keep to himself.
Even Silas joins the conversation, offering a comment so dry it catches Arizona off guard.
She laughs, and I catch the smallest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth before he goes back to eating.
“Well,” Dakota says, “look at that.”
Silas glances her way. “What?”
“You made a joke.”
“I answered a question.”
Dakota grins. “Whatever helps you sleep.”
Silas shakes his head and reaches for another roll, leaving the rest of us to enjoy ourselves at his expense.
As food starts making its rounds, somebody mentions music. The instant the word leaves their mouth, I know Arizona’s in trouble.
She knows it too. I watch realization cross her face while half the room turns toward her.
“No.”
That’s her opening statement.
Dakota leans forward. “Counterpoint.”
“No.”
“I think the lady should play,” Reid joins in.
Arizona points at him. “You are the problem.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
Betty Lou joins in. “Several times, actually.”
The room erupts.
Arizona tries resisting for another few minutes, but she’s hopelessly outnumbered. Every person who walks by seems to add their vote to the campaign.
Eventually she drops her head into her hands. “You people are relentless.”
Betty Lou straightens with all the dignity of a woman preparing to deliver an official proclamation. “We’re not relentless.”
Arizona raises an eyebrow.
