But even as she thought it, she knew that probably wasn’t going to happen.
“Pick out as many pairs as you think you’ll need,” he said, ushering her over to a wall with large cubbyholes filled with folded pairs of women’s jeans. He pointed to a couple of racks holding T-shirts and blouses. “And don’t forget to get some shirts and something special to wear to the barbecue.”
Before she could tell him that she wouldn’t be needing clothes because she was going to leave the next morning to drive back to Washington State, a middle-age woman walked over to them. “It’s good to see you, Blake,” she said, smiling. She shot a curious glance toward Karly, as if wondering who she was. “How are things going at the Wolf Creek?”
“I can’t complain, Mary Ann,” he answered. “The hay crop was good this year and we should have more than enough to make it through the winter.”
“That’s always a relief,” she said, nodding. “Eli Laughlin was in the other day and said pretty much the same thing about the Rusty Spur.”
While Blake and the woman discussed what was going on at some of the other ranches in the area, Karly gave up on the idea of driving back to file the divorce papers. For one thing, she wasn’t all that fond of spending so many hours in the car. And for another, sitting in a hotel room for a couple of days with nothing to do while she waited for the courthouse to open wasn’t her idea of a good time, either.
Just as Blake had said, she’d be better off waiting here and looking for a way home after the holiday weekend. Most likely the strike would be done, and the courthouse would definitely be open. She didn’t want to consider why the decision to stay here, with Blake, made her feel so warm inside.
By the time she found jeans and a few shirts that weren’t too pricey, Blake joined her. “Are you ready to try on boots?”
“I hadn’t even thought about footwear,” she said, wondering how long it would take for her budget to recover from all of her unplanned purchases. She glanced down at her feet. “I know I can’t wear these heels and I don’t suppose flip-flops are suitable for helping you feed the orphaned calves, are they?”
He shook his head as he led her toward the back of the store, where boxes of boots were stacked on shelves from the floor all the way to the ceiling. “Not unless you want to risk a nasty cut or broken toes when one of them steps on your foot.”
“Not hardly,” she said, deciding that a financial headache was preferable to physical pain. Since she’d decided to stay the long weekend at Blake’s ranch, she supposed she had to go all in and as he so eloquently put it, “get her cowgirl on.”
A half hour later as she and Blake walked out of the store, Karly frowned at all the bags and boxes he carried. She knew she couldn’t really afford all the things she’d bought, but she hadn’t expected Blake to pay for her shopping spree. This was probably another obligation for him, because he was her husband. And the only reason she’d said yes was because her bank account wouldn’t let her reject his kind offer. But she seemed to be getting deeper into the role of a wife even though the whole point of this trip had been to finalize their divorce.
“You should have let me pay for all of this,” Karly said. If he had, she would have definitely gone with fewer and more economical selections. “I doubt the owner of the ranch will be all that happy about you putting my clothes on his charge account.”
“Don’t worry about it. He doesn’t mind me charging things on the ranch account. And, like I said, you’re my wife. If you lived with me, you’d be charging things all the time.” Grinning, he shrugged as he put the purchases onto the backseat of the club cab truck. “It’s one of the perks of being the boss.”
“There’s a difference between charging one or two items and loading up the account.” She pointed to the two boxes he added to the pile. “That hat was outrageously expensive and those boots alone cost more than I’ve ever paid for a pair of shoes in my entire life.”
“A good hat and a comfortable pair of boots are worth whatever price you have to pay for them,” he stated as he helped her up into the passenger seat.