Cowboy Charming

by Dylann Crush

  Dixie stomped down the steps behind them.“You’ll see.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dixie scooted closer to the corner of the backseat. With Gram calling the front and Mrs. Mitchell taking up more than her fair share of the back with those ridiculous waders, Dixie could barely draw in a breath. She caught tidbits of conversation from the front seat. The general gist was that Presley had turned on the charm and was flat-out flirting with her dear old gram.

  Finally, they reached the gate to Kermit’s property.

  “Hold onto something, it’s liable to get a little bumpy here.” Presley turned onto the long gravel driveway. The Jeep bounced and shimmied through ruts the size of drainage ditches before coming to a stop in front of a modest cabin.

  “Well, that was exciting.” Gram passed the bowl to Dixie while she climbed down. “I don’t think I’ve had that big of a thrill since that one time we took the Women’s Guild to the appliance store to test out all the spin cycles.”

  Dixie let her head fall back against the seat. “Gram!”

  Mrs. Mitchell touched her arm. “Your grandmother’s just playing with you. If you don’t react, she won’t bother.”

  “I wish that were the case,” Dixie muttered to herself. Gram was Gram, it was as simple as that.

  “Oh, I can’t wait to show Kermit what we’ve got.” Gram took the bowl back and scurried toward the door.

  “I never did see what’s in the bowl.” Presley flipped the seat forward and held out a hand to Mrs. Mitchell.

  She held tight and, with his help, made her way to solid ground. “Such a gentleman,” she said, casting a knowing glance back at Dixie.

  “Need a hand?” Presley offered to help her out as well.

  “I’ve got it.” Dixie pushed past him and met Gram and Mrs. Mitchell on the small stoop.

  Gram raised a hand to knock. The bowl tipped in her arm. Mrs. Mitchell made a grab for it, but instead of saving it from tipping, she accidentally knocked it over.

  “Oh no!” Gram tried to right it, but it was too late. The tiny lizard free-fell into a tight-knit patch of ground cover three feet below.

  Mrs. Mitchell scrambled off the stoop to try to locate the lizard among the leaves and flowers. Gram followed. Presley shrugged then joined in the hunt, leaving Dixie standing in front of the door all by herself. As she vacillated between waiting to greet Kermit and helping them find Fernando, the door opened. Kermit’s brow creased as he took in the scene, and Dixie tried to imagine seeing things through his eyes. Gram and Mrs. Mitchell crawled around in the brush next to the stoop. Presley had taken off his boots and tiptoed around the yard.

  Kermit brought his gaze back to Dixie, no hint of surprise evident in the kind gray eyes. “So nice of you to come calling this morning, Miss Dixie. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m so sorry. Gram found a baby horned toad and insisted we run it over here. Now she’s dropped it, and they can’t seem to find it.”

  “Fernando! Oh, Fernando, where can you be?” Gram peered over the top of her glasses, separating blades of grass like she was inching around a field of explosives.

  “I see.” Kermit reached behind him for something inside. “Let me see if I can give y’all some assistance.” He emerged onto the stoop with an oversized magnifying glass in hand. “The young’uns are tiny little buggers. See if this gives you an advantage.”

  Dixie took the magnifying glass he offered then joined her gram in the foundation plantings. It took a moment to get used to the mega-magnification, but before long she was peering into the bushes along with the rest of them. Movement caught her eye near a small clump of dirt. A tail flicked.

  “I see him!” Dixie almost fell over with excitement. “He’s there, see?” She pointed, expecting someone else, someone who didn’t have an aversion to things with scales, to step in and nab the little guy.

  “Get him!” Gram tried to tiptoe closer. “Before we scare him away, grab him.”

  “I don’t know.” Dixie waffled. The lizard peered up at her, his beady little eyes seeming to dare her to make a move.

  “Go for it, Dix.” Presley watched from a few feet away.

  “Feels like sandpaper.” Kermit nudged her a wee bit closer. “He’s more scared of you than you are of him.”

  “Doubtful.” Dixie glanced at Kermit. His calm, unflustered demeanor settled her nerves. She handed off the magnifying glass then reached out with both hands and scooped up the lizard. His claws scrabbled on her palms. “Okay, I got him. Where do I put him?”

  “Let’s take him back with the others.” Kermit led the way around the back of the house to a huge wooden structure nestled under the trees. He opened the large barn-style door to reveal what looked like the back of the bait shop out on County Road 182.

  “What the hell is this?” Presley caught up to them. Rows and rows of shallow bins lined the interior. Many of them held bigger horned toads.

  “Welcome to the conservation effort.” Kermit spread his arms out. “This is headquarters of the Save the Horned Toad project.”

  “I had no idea you had such a large operation going back here.” Gram stepped to Kermit’s side. “What a kind heart you have.”

  He glanced down at her, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes. “It’s the least I can do. They’re endangered.”

  “I know.” Gram started down one of the aisles. “Tell me more.”

  “Can you show me where to put this guy first?” Dixie asked.

  “Let’s put him over here for now.” Kermit held out a clear shoebox-sized bin. “I’ll want to keep him quarantined until I know he can mix in safely with the others.”

  “Yeah, we wouldn’t want the regulars to gang up on the newbie.” Presley hitched his thumbs in his front pockets.

  Kermit turned to him with a serious look. “We have no idea what he might be carrying. I can’t afford to let him get the others sick, so we’ll keep him off by himself until I make sure he’s clean.”

  Dixie rubbed her palms over her jeans. What he might be carrying? Great, could she have been exposed to some horrible contagious horned-toad ailment?

  Kermit must have read her mind. “There’s a bottle of hand sanitizer over on my workbench. When you get where you’re going, I suggest you wash your hands with soap and hot water, just in case.”

  Dixie nodded then retreated to where the giant bottle of germ-proofing goodness sat on the edge of a huge wooden bench. “All right, we’ve delivered the critter.”

  “Fernando,” Gram corrected.

  “Fine, Fernando. Now, can we go? I have to get ready to go to work.”

  “I’d love to learn more about your efforts here, Kermit.” Gram ignored Dixie and turned to Kermit with a curious eye. “It’s fascinating how much time and effort you devote to the cause.”

  “It’s something I believe in.” Kermit crossed his arms over his chest. The faded denim shirt stretched tight over his shoulders. “When those folks from California came sniffin’ around about buying me out, why, I gave them a fair piece of my mind.”

  Dixie’s ears perked. “What folks?” How could they have missed out on this piece of news?

  “Some hoity-toity good-for-nothing kid in a giant blue Caddy rolled in the other day. Said he was prepared to make me a cash offer on my land.”

  Oh my gosh. Her heart sunk into her shoes, bouncing over every nerve ending she had along the way. Chandler.

  “You don’t say?” Presley’s casual interest didn’t fool Dixie. “What did he want to do with the place?”

  Kermit turned to face him. “Wouldn’t say. But he told me if I accepted his offer I’d have to sign a nondisclosure and wouldn’t be able to talk about it for six months until they took possession. He sure as hell was pissed when I turned him down flat.” He let out a bit of a laugh. “It’s not every day I get a visitor with a huge checkbook
. Heck, not every day I get a visitor at all.”

  Presley shot her that smug look she’d been getting accustomed to. So he’d been right. Chandler was up to no good. “Anything more you can tell us about what happened?”

  “Nope. Although he did give me a card. Told me when I changed my mind to give him a call. I told him if he ever came onto my private property again he’d meet the business end of my twelve-gauge. He sure skedaddled out of here in a hurry.”

  “I bet he did.” Presley raised his eyebrows in her direction. “What do you make of this?”

  “I don’t know. I need coffee. I need to wash my hands. I need to get to the Rose, for crying out loud. We have a competition starting in”—she grabbed for Presley’s wrist and flipped it over to check his watch—“less than two hours.”

  “Okay, I’ll run you back home. Anyone else need a ride?” Presley turned to Gram and Mrs. Mitchell.

  “I’d love to stick around and learn more about your good deeds.” Gram sidled up to Kermit. “Would you be able to give us a ride back to town a little later on?”

  Kermit flushed, a nice shade of pink showed through his snowy-white beard. “I’d love to, Eugenia.”

  “Please call me Genie.”

  Dixie couldn’t stand to waste any additional time watching the romance blossom between her gram and Kermit. Her parents would really flip out if Gram ended up with a new boyfriend under her watch. But right now her obligation to the Rose took precedence. “I’ve got to go. Presley, you ready?”

  “Yep.”

  “Thank you for making sure my grandmother and Mrs. Mitchell get home.” Dixie nodded toward Kermit as she made her way to the large opening in the barn.

  Presley jogged to catch up to her. “So that was an interesting conversation, huh?”

  Focused on getting to the Jeep, she didn’t bother to turn around. “I just can’t believe Chandler would have been so brash with Kermit. He doesn’t strike me as the type.”

  “Well, that’s what these slick investor people are like. Are you ready to try things my way now?”

  Dixie battled the wave of resistance, forcing it down enough that she could agree. “Okay. But on two conditions.”

  “Hit me, Fireball.”

  “Number one, you stop calling me Fireball.”

  “Aw. Seriously? Don’t you find it the least bit charming?”

  “No.”

  “Okay.” He raised his hands in surrender. “What’s number two?”

  “It’s tricky. I’m not sure I want to say it out loud.”

  “Hey, I’m a no-holds-barred kind of guy. Anything goes around here, you ought to know that by now.”

  Too embarrassed to make eye contact, she mumbled into the space between them. “I need to know how to flirt.”

  “What?” He cupped a hand to his ear. “Couldn’t hear you there.”

  She sighed, shifting her shoulders around, trying to shake off the thick coat of shame. “I said, ‘I need to know how to flirt.’”

  “Aw, you got it. Let’s head back to your gram’s, and I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”

  Great, working with Presley on this would probably make her feel like a complete and utter loser. She should have kept her trap shut and tried to figure things out on her own. Liza could help her. Heck, even Gram seemed to know a few tricks Dixie had never been privy to.

  With a sense of impending failure clouding her vision, she traced Presley’s steps toward the chariot of doom. The sooner she got to the Rose, the sooner she could get this whole sordid business over with.

  * * *

  Presley caught an eyeful of Dixie from across the bar. He’d been trying to talk to her all day, but she was always one step ahead. Looked like she was headed back to the office. He followed her down the hall, catching up to her as she pushed the door to Charlie’s office open.

  “Have you been avoiding me today?” he asked her back.

  “Avoiding you? I’ve been running around like a crazy person since I got here this morning.” She settled into Charlie’s chair and set her clipboard on the desk.

  “We need to talk about what you asked me about on the way back to your gram’s this morning.” He set his palms on the desk and leaned toward her.

  She let out a sigh that sounded like the weight of the world rested on her sun-kissed shoulders. “I changed my mind.”

  “You can’t change your mind. I canceled plans tonight to take you out.” He didn’t need to tell her that the plans he canceled consisted of going home and watching an Astros game on TV by himself.

  “I don’t think we ought to go through with this.” She scribbled something on the sheet in front of her.

  Presley sunk into the chair across from the desk. “So what’s changed? Earlier today you asked me for help. Now all of a sudden you don’t need my assistance to prepare for your big date tomorrow night?”

  Dixie looked up but didn’t bother to make eye contact. “I thought about it, and I think the less time we spend together, the better off we’ll both be.”

  Presley grunted out a half laugh. “It was the kiss, wasn’t it?” Her eyes widened, a dead giveaway he’d hit the mark.

  She didn’t respond.

  “Aw, come on, Dixie. I know you won’t lie about it. So you’re just not going to answer me?” Presley stood and walked around the office, trying to shake the tightness that began to radiate out from his chest. “It was a damn good kiss.”

  He stopped in front of the desk. She continued to make notes on her clipboard. The woman had the ability to focus like a laser beam. “Will you admit it was a good kiss? Stroke my ego a tiny bit?”

  The corner of her mouth quirked. “Your ego does not need stroking.”

  He smiled. “That’s the sass I know and love. How about that kiss, Dixie? Come on, throw a dog a bone.”

  “You’re the dog, right?” Finally, she smiled. The wait had been worth it.

  “Yes, I’ll be the dog.”

  Nodding, Dixie set the pen down and took in a deep breath. “Good.”

  “Wait. Good I’m the dog, or are you saying the kiss was good?”

  She shook her head. “You’re impossible. Good you’re the dog. The kiss wasn’t good, it was…” Her head tilted from side to side like she was trying to figure out the right words. “It was…gosh, you’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”

  He nodded, a grin spreading from one ear to the other.

  “Fine. It was incredible.” Her cheeks colored a shade slightly lighter than her hot-pink T-shirt as she stared at the clipboard in front of her.

  “I knew it.”

  “It doesn’t mean anything though. A kiss is just a kiss, right? All in the name of saving the Rose.”

  He leaned across the desk and put a finger under her chin, nudging it up until her gaze met his. He’d been thinking about things. Things that involved Dixie and his recent blooming desire for a more stable relationship. “A kiss like that could be the start of something more.”

  She turned her head, breaking away from his touch. “We’ve got work to do.”

  “You’re right, we do. So does eight o’clock work for you?”

  She glanced up. “For what?”

  “If you’re still planning on helping me get to the bottom of this investor thing, you’ve got a date with SoCal tomorrow night. I figured we’d go out, have a little fun, and practice what you might say to finagle the info out of him.”

  “Does it have to be tonight? It’s been such a long weekend. I was hoping to go home, get my jammies on, and catch up on some of my shows.”

  “You want to get this done, don’t you?”

  “Fine. Eight will work.” She slid the pen she’d been using behind her ear.

  “Hey, if you want to come in your jammies, that’s fine with me.” What kind of pajamas would Di
xie wear to bed? He could appreciate a nice set of lacy lingerie. Even those knee-length cotton nighties with the graphics on them could turn him on. His favorite thing to see on a woman, though, was nothing. Nothing turned him on like crazy. Then he didn’t need to waste time removing everything standing in his way. He’d be willing to bet Dixie had never slept in nothing in her entire life.

  “Are you ready to make a final round of the competitors and get the judges’ tabulations?” With the pen stuck behind her ear, she reminded him of all those hot-for-teacher fantasies he’d entertained as a kid thanks to his brother’s Van Halen collection.

  “Yeah, let’s do it.” It would be nice to get back to his day job tomorrow. He didn’t mind helping out at the Rose from time to time, but he wasn’t cut out for this round-the-clock deal. Maybe he’d run into Leoni too. He hadn’t had a chance to apologize again for last night and still hadn’t been able to catch up to Cash or figure out how to get even for the chicken.

  Dixie rose from the chair and left the office first. He followed her through the sparse crowd inside the Rose and out into the beer garden. Hundreds of people milled around, tasting the samples of chili that remained, sitting in the shade of the tents strung up between trees, sipping a cold one, and enjoying the tunes from the last band of the weekend. After the winners were announced, there would be a break until everything started back up the following Friday night.

  He stayed with her as she worked the crowd, making sure the competitors had a good time. Charlie had an awesome employee in Dixie. She didn’t miss a thing. As they turned the corner to walk down the next aisle of competitors, he caught sight of a well-executed hair flip out of the corner of his eye. Leoni.

  “Will you excuse me for a minute?” He left Dixie deep in conversation with a guy from Louisiana who’d managed to work crawdads into some sort of soupy concoction he claimed was chili. He caught up to Leoni. “Hey, stranger. You still mad at me about last night?”

  “Oh, I was never mad.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Yeah.” She linked her arm through his. “Did you find your fiddle?”