Free 33 The Return of Bowie Bravo by Christine Rimmer Page A

no offense meant.”
    “None taken,” Bowie lied. “Gotta go. You take care of yourself now, Zeb.”
    Zeb was already backing away into the middle of the street. “Yeah, you bet. See you around, man.”
    Bowie started walking again, doubtful that Zeb would be offering to buy him any more tall club sodas.
    Which was a-okay with him.
    He crossed Commerce Lane and went on down past the old theater and a couple of shops. On the other side of the street, Old Tony Dellazola, Glory’s great-granddad, sat on a bench in front of the grocery store. He raised his hand in a wave. Bowie waved back. Two gray-haired women came out of the diner as he approached the glass-topped door. A couple of nice, churchgoing ladies. In days gone by, they would have granted him a wary frown at best.
    They smiled at him and nodded.
    He nodded back. “Ladies…” He caught the door and went in.
    He spotted Sera’s stroller first, by a booth near the back wall—and then he saw Glory. She was sitting with Angie, who gave him a wave. Glory spotted him, too. She pinched up her mouth and then looked away fast.
    What? He should have somehow known she would be here and stayed away today?
    To hell with that. If she didn’t want him in the diner at the same time as she was, she’d damn well have to tell him when she was going and that she didn’t want to see him there. From back in the barn, he couldn’t see when she left the house. And it wasn’t his business anyway to keep track of her comings and goings.
    “Bowie, hi.” Brand’s wife greeted him with a big smile.
    He took a stool at the counter, ordered his chili and flipped his coffee cup up so that Charlene could fill it. She turned to stick his order on the wheel.
    And Sera started fussing. It began with a couple of questioning little cries, and within about sixty seconds had escalated to a full-out wail.
    In the corner of his eye, he watched Glory take her out of the stroller. She patted her back and tried to calm her. Nursing would probably quiet her, but Glory didn’t try that. Maybe she felt uncomfortable about nursing in public.
    The pleasant hum of conversation in the place had ceased. There was only Sera, yowling as though she would never stop.
    Sera wailed on as Bowie slid off the stool and went to the booth. When he got there, Glory didn’t even say a word. She gave him a dirty look and passed him the crying baby.
    He cradled her close and whispered, “Shh, now. It’s okay.”
    She made the cutest little sound, a cry that ended with a contented sigh. And then she laid her head down on his shoulder. He patted her tiny little back and kind of wished he could just hold on to her forever. “Okay if I just rock her a minute or two?” he asked Glory.
    She glared up at him. With Sera quiet, the diner was dead silent now. Everyone in the place seemed to be watching to see if spunky Glory Dellazola Rossi was about to give troublesome Bowie Bravo what for.
    But she only gritted her teeth and made herself smile. “Thanks, Bowie. You go right ahead.” Across the table from her, Angie was grinning. Glory sent her sister an evil glance and Angie wiped that grin right off her face.
    Bowie carried Sera back to the counter. After a minute or two, the buzz of different conversations started up again.
    Charlene put his chili in front of him and rested her hand on the top of her round stomach, the way pregnant women do. “Looks like you got a way with babies,” she said.
    He made sure that Sera was resting securely against him and then used his free hand to pick up his spoon. “Just this one. She and I understand each other.”
    “How’s that?” asked the old guy on the stool next to him.
    He answered loud enough that Glory probably heard him if she happened to be listening. “I’m only here to help. Sera here, she gets that.”
    Glory had heard what Bowie said at the diner.
    And for the rest of the day, it did kind of nag at her—okay, more than kind of. It nagged at her a lot.
    Because