Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Hello! I hope you’re having a fantastic Saturday. I’ve skipped Short Snippet Saturday for the past two weeks, but now I’m back with another short snippet.

Today’s snippet was inspired from a post I read the other day on the Myths of the Mirror Blog. I commented on “Those Darn Cussing Characters” while there. You can read the post for yourselves.

It got me to thinking about my own books. Readers know my people curse when the need arises. People who know me personally are probably shocked that I write curse words. 0_o When I started writing, I worked in education, so I had to be careful what I wrote because I didn’t use a pen name.

Judy Carlson–the mom on the Double Dutch Ranch has a cussin’ jar. Well, it finally caught up to her in her own kitchen surrounded by two of her boys who have themselves contributed to their kids’ college fund via the jar. They don’t slip too often in front of Mom or their ladies, but for those occasions they do…Judy is prepared.

I mentioned in a comment on the blog that I didn’t curse on my blog except in an excerpt, but would probably only use hell or damn. Well, let’s say I’ll use curse words within limits in an excerpt. Apparently, a$$ is within limits…

This comes from Of the Cowboy’s Own Accord. Dane, an Army Ranger, had recently been made to pay up on his first night home after a long deployment. He tossed in ten dollars worth of “pay up” because he knew it would happen again.

But, what goes around, comes around. It’s Mom’s turn…

Slightly modified from its original version:

Jase pulled on his leather gloves. “I brought a horse for you to ride, Dane. It’s the other palomino I bought. Brenna brushed him up real good for you. She’s a good old girl.”

“Who’s a good old girl, the horse or Brenna?” Dane snickered. Teasing Jase was too much fun and he had walked right into that one.

Jase laughed. “I’ll send Brenna over here to kick your ass if you wanna call her old to her face. She’s pretty touchy about that.”

“Yeah, okay.” Dane grabbed his hat from the rack and glared at Jase in a brotherly love kind of way. “Let’s ride.”

Judy placed her hands on her hips. “You boys stop right there. Must everything you talk about center around kicking somebody’s ass?”

Dane had waited a long time for this. He nudged Jase, then he grabbed the cussin’ jar off the counter and held it out. “Your turn, Ma. Put in the money.” He almost jumped out the back door when she smacked his right arm. Apparently, good old Mom had forgotten about the pins in his arm.

Tristan came in the back door in a rush. “Got my horse ready. Dane, I pulled your saddle out of storage. Let’s get going so we can get back.”

“Going so we can get back. Take a break, Tristan. Live a little for Pete’s sake.” Dane turned to his mom. “See you later. I’ll be counting the money in that jar. At least a buck for your cussin’. Stick one in there for Jase, too.” With a wink her way, he went out the door after his brothers.

Yep, even “good old Mom” can’t get away with a slip of the tongue on this ranch. Do you know anyone who has a cussin’ jar? I have two boys but I never had one in my house. Judy, my ranch mom told me she needed one.

Enjoy your weekend. Thanks for your visit today.

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(Modified) Cussin’ Jar image credit: Pixabay