That Wild Texas Swing

by MJ Fredrick

  “Not as long as I have the best interest of the town in mind,” he retorted. “Now come on. I want you to meet the sheriff and his wife.”

  Liz actually knew Suzanne Treviño, the much younger third wife of the sheriff. She came into the salon once a month for highlights and a manicure. She was hard to figure out, that one, a gorgeous young girl who loved bling and pink—and spent her vacations hunting trophy animals. And then she was married to a man almost old enough to be her grandfather, and by all indications, was in love with him. Liz took a moment to watch her with him, the way she touched his arm, leaned in to say something, her eyes shining up at him. The sheriff straightened as Killian and Liz neared.

  “Sheriff, Suzanne,” Killian said, sliding his hand down to capture Liz’s. “This is Liz Salazar. She owns the salon.”

  Suzanne smiled brightly, her beauty queen smile, and popped up to kiss Killian’s cheek, leaving a brighter smear than his mother had.

  “I love Liz!” she proclaimed with her usual enthusiasm. “You look amazing.” She gripped Liz’s bare arm and squeezed. “Where did you get your dress?”

  “In San Antonio. I was taking my sister shopping for a dress for her quinceañera—”

  “Oh, a quinceañera! What fun! Where is she going to have it?” Suzanne frowned. “Not that many choices here in town, are there?”

  “We’re still working it out,” Liz replied, taken aback by Suzanne’s interest.

  “If you need any help, let me know. I love planning parties. I just helped David’s youngest daughter plan her second marriage.”

  Wow. That had to be awkward. She wondered what the woman’s mother had thought of that. Or the woman herself, because Liz was fairly sure she’d heard that Suzanne was younger than all of the sheriff’s kids.

  “We didn’t have much of a party when we got married,” Suzanne said, tucking her hand through her husband’s arm. “He didn’t think anyone would want to come to his third wedding, you know. So I was lucky that Mary let me help with hers.”

  “If you want a party, you can have one any time you want,” David said indulgently.

  She waved a hand. “People like a reason to celebrate, not just a random party.”

  “I tell you what. When I get reelected, we can have a party.”

  “You may be sorry,” she laughed.

  “People keep telling me that, and I haven’t been sorry yet.” His eyes were warm as he looked at his young wife.

  Killian chuckled and leaned on the table, sending Liz a sidelong look. Getting his message, she narrowed her eyes, but he only grinned.

  “I’m so glad Sage opened a place like this,” Suzanne continued. “I mean, the Coyote is nice, but I can see myself coming here a lot. It’s pretty and the drinks are good.” She lifted her glass in a toast.

  Liz hesitated a moment, then clinked her glass.

  “So, Liz. Do you hunt?”

  “I can honestly say I’ve never been.”

  “Oh, well, when dove season comes around, we’ll totally go. What kind of gun do you have?”

  Liz had never held a gun in her life, but felt strange admitting it to this woman for whom guns were a way of life. She had nothing in common with this woman, except for the gossip that swirled around them both.

  She would never have thought she’d be so glad see Sage McKenna float by.

  Sage stopped at the table and placed her hand on David’s arm. “Killian, Sheriff, ladies. I hope you’re having a nice time.”

  Killian made a point of dragging his gaze from Liz to answer. “I am. You did a tremendous job here, Sage.”

  “Now I need you to bring me people to spend their money here,” she said.

  “Working on it.”

  “Have you thought any more about the apartments over the shops?” Liz interjected, though Sage hadn’t looked her way.

  Sage angled her chin so she could look down her nose. “I told you my focus is on the bed and breakfast.”

  Liz nodded. “But it seems to me the apartments will be more profitable in the long-run. If you want renters, you need to have places ready for them to live.”

  Sage opened and closed her mouth and stepped back. “I need to see if the band is ready. Killian, you’ll say a few words before they start to play?”

  “You bet.” But his attention was back on Liz, his grin wide. When Sage strode off, Killian brushed a kiss across Liz’s cheek. “Beauty, brains and guts.”

  “I am a successful businesswoman,” she reminded him.

  “Sure, I know that.”

  “Doesn’t it make sense to have places for new residents to live, outside of motels and man camps, before you have a place for tourists to stay, since they can already stay in some of the existing hotels?”

  “Sure, it makes sense to me,” Suzanne chimed in.

  Liz lifted a shoulder. “She won’t do it, just because I suggested it.”

  “Sage is smarter than that. She won’t let personal feelings get in the way of good business.” Killian pushed away from the table when Sage stepped up on stage to welcome her guests.

  “I want to thank you all for coming tonight. I hope you’re as excited about the grand opening of the Sagebrush Saloon as I am. I think it will be a jewel in the Evansville crown, don’t you?”

  Applause answered her, and Liz fought not to roll her eyes. Sure it was a gorgeous place, and she’d done an excellent job, but geez, let other people say that.

  “I hope you come back often, and bring your friends.” Sage moved aside and motioned for Killian to step up to the microphone.

  “I agree, this is a stunning achievement for Evansville, and a great way for Sage to give us insight into her vision for the rest of the square. What we have here is only the beginning. We have a lot of empty shop space, and a lot of people with money they want to spend. Why not spend it here in Evansville? We have space for a boutique, and a bakery, and a flower shop. We want to make Evansville vibrant again, in a way many of us haven’t seen in our lifetimes. This is our home. We want to make it the best it can be. So here’s to Sage, the first to take a chance on her vision. May many more follow.” He raised his glass in the air, and the rest of the crowd followed. “To Sage.”

  Liz reluctantly participated, because honestly, without Sage, she wouldn't have a shop. Suzanne clinked glasses with her and took a healthy sip of her drink. Liz followed suit.

  “Having fun?”

  Liz jumped a foot when Maggie appeared at her elbow. “Maggie. I didn’t see you come in.”

  “Yes, well, it takes some of us longer to look gorgeous than others.”

  Liz leaned back to inspect her friend, whose navy blue granny dress wasn’t doing her any favors.

  Maggie sighed. “Horrible, I know, but I didn’t decide I was coming until mid-week, so I ordered it online and payed rush shipping and it doesn’t fit just right and Jackson will never look at me while I’m wearing this.”

  “I haven’t even seen Jackson tonight,” Liz realized. Odd, since he’d finished up the place for Sage, and was working on the hospital/hotel. Plus, it was rumored he and Sage were sleeping together. They made a striking couple, with her Viking beauty and his strong jaw, wavy dark hair and blue eyes that had earned him the nickname “Hollywood.”

  “Really?” Maggie’s shoulders slumped in what looked like relief. “I thought they’d be here together, and that’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to come. But now he’s not even here?”

  “Maggie, have you even talked to this guy?”

  “Sure, of course. At the Coyote, I see him there for lunch. We talk about what he’s working on, and the weather, and if anything is going on this weekend.”

  “Have you thought about asking him out? Or are you waiting for him to make the first move?”

  Maggie glanced past her to Suzanne, who wasn’t even pretending not to listen. “Oh, please. There is no way I could handle rejection from him if he said no.”

  “So you hang on his every word like a puppy dog?”
/>
  “It’s not that bad.”

  “No? I dare you to ask him out the next time you see him.”

  “Ask him where, exactly? To the bar he helped build, that the woman he may or may not be sleeping with runs? I don’t think so.”

  “It’s better to just sit and wait and wonder what might have been? And if he says yes? Then you’ll have wasted all that time worrying about nothing.”

  “I’m not as brave as you. You always know what you want and go after it.”

  “I don’t always know what I want,” Liz said, her gaze drifting toward Killian, who had stopped to talk to Sage’s parents.

  Maggie pinched her. “You can’t be talking about my brother.”

  Liz turned back to her friend. Right, she hadn’t been at the antique store the other night, so this was new information for her. “He invited me to come with him.”

  “And you said yes?” Maggie’s voice was a little shrill.

  Liz glanced around to see if they’d drawn any attention. “We’ve been…going out, sort of.”

  Maggie drew back, her shoulders squared, her eyes flat. “You mean sleeping together.”

  Liz felt her cheeks heat. “Not just…”

  “I can’t believe this. My brother. Do you like him, or did you just want to get a sneak peak at Sage’s place?”

  Liz snapped her head around. Did Maggie really think she was using Killian? Did other people think that, too? “Damn, you can be a bitch where Killian’s concerned, can’t you?”

  “I don't want to see him hurt, and I can see by looking at him that he’s already way more invested in your relationship than you are.”

  “We’re just trying things out. Neither of us are invested.”

  Killian approached the table then and kissed his sister’s cheek. “Hey, gorgeous. I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “I was waiting for my brother to invite me as his plus-one,” Maggie countered.

  “Sorry, Sis.” He slid a hand around Liz’s waist, oblivious to the tension between the women.

  Liz stiffened when Maggie’s eyes flashed. Liz shifted away from his touch. “She’s looking for Hollywood.”

  Maggie bared her teeth at Liz while Killian scanned the room. “I haven’t seen him. Want me to ask Sage?”

  “Don’t you dare,” Maggie growled, glaring at Liz.

  “Well, if he shows up, you can always ask him to dance,” Liz said as the band swung into a two-step rhythm.

  “Speaking of.” Killian closed his hand around Liz’s. “Excuse us, Sis.”

  Maggie was still glaring when Killian pulled Liz away.

  The shoes she’d chosen were great for bringing her eye-to-eye with Killian but not great for two-stepping. When Killian had to catch her a second time so she wouldn’t twist her ankle, he got the message and slowed the pace, pulling her against him, the expensive scent of his aftershave surrounding her. Liz quickly dismissed her disappointment at not being able to dance with him the way she’d envisioned, with him guiding her around the floor, turning and spinning. Instead, she curved her hand over his shoulder and eased closer.

  She thought about mentioning the discussion she and Maggie had been having, but decided he didn’t need to know, not yet.

  “I think she should ask him out.”

  “What?” Killian dragged his gaze from her mouth to her eyes. “Who?”

  “Maggie should ask Jackson out.”

  He made a face. “Some guys don't like that. Especially guys like Jackson who have women throwing themselves at him all the time. I mean, me, I’d be flattered, but him—it might be old-hat to him. Maybe he wants to do the pursuing.”

  “Maggie isn’t outgoing enough. She might not grab his attention, and it would break her heart.”

  “Again, I’m going with, ‘I don’t want to think about my sister’s love life.’”

  “Yeah, well it may be the best way to keep her out of yours.”

  His eyebrows shot up at that. “I have a love life? This is new and different for me.”

  She angled her head and stuck her tongue out at him, which only made him draw her closer to him. Wow, he really felt good against her, his body firm and warm beneath his suit.

  “I never had a thing for guys in suits before,” she said, sliding her hands over the shoulders. “Now I know the surprises they can hide.”

  “Good thing I’m the only guy in town who wears a suit, then,” he teased, and bent his head just a bit to nuzzle her cheek with his nose.

  She drew in a breath as the sensation shot all along her nerve endings, and she tightened her fingers on his shoulders as his breath rushed hot against her throat.

  “Can I cut in?” a sultry Texas female voice said from behind Liz.

  She snapped her head up so fast, she almost smacked Killian in the nose, and turned to face his mother.

  All the warmth from Killian’s caresses cooled as she looked into the eyes of the woman she’d known since she was a girl. “Of course,” she murmured, feeling like she was fourteen years old again and trying to get Maggie to lie to her mother so they could stay out later.

  “Liz Salazar?” Evelyn Dawson asked as Killian guided her about the floor in a mindless two-step.

  “I like her.”

  “I know just what you like about her.”

  “Mother. For one, I’m a grown man, for two, I’m the mayor. I make decisions all the time.”

  “But not usually with your…hormones.”

  He leaned back to look into her eyes, laughing softly. “My hormones? Is that what you think I’m doing?” Maybe he was letting his hormones have a little party, but they weren’t making his choices. He genuinely liked Liz, and had for a long time. The fact that she was smoking hot, especially tonight, was only a small part of the equation.

  “I understand her appeal, but you know her story. She’s a sweet girl, but she’s made some bad choices.”

  “Not to be rude, but I don’t need my mother or my sister butting in.”

  She lifted perfectly arched eyebrows. “Maggie is concerned too, is she?”

  He blew out a breath and guided his mother out of the path of David and Suzanne, who really knew how to tear up the floor. Some day, he and Liz might be that good. He couldn’t wait to practice. “Nobody needs to be concerned.”

  “If you bring her to something like this, you’re making a statement.”

  Maybe he was. He just didn’t know what statement he was making.

  “I don’t want you to hurt your chances of reelection.”

  He should be flattered that the women in his life cared so much about his career. Maybe too much. He’d done a lot for this town. It was time to do something for himself. “Because of a date?”

  “Because of who your date is with. A lot of these men have gone there, if you think about it. She hasn’t been discriminating.”

  The truth of that gave him a kick, but he didn’t allow himself to think about it.

  She continued before he could catch his breath. “And a lot of these women have reason to be jealous. I was a politician’s wife,” she added quickly, holding a hand up when he opened his mouth to argue. “I know how people think. And I know you’re doing good things for this town. You’re doing great things. But all that can be overlooked by your actions outside the office.”

  “Mom. I know all these things. Right now it’s casual, but if it gets serious, you know what? People will have to deal with it. And if they don’t want to deal with it and don’t want to reelect me, well, that’s their right.” He didn’t know what he’d do—he’d known since the time he was in middle school that he wanted to be mayor. Hell, maybe he’d go work in the oilfields, as long as the boom was still on. At least there his choices would be his own.

  But the election wasn’t for another year and a half. A lot could happen between now and then.

  “Are you coming to dinner this Sunday?”

  “What’s this Sunday?”

  She made an exaggerated moue. “It’s your
father’s birthday.”

  Right. He knew that. He’d just pushed the thought away since his dad’s death. He wondered if The Steps, as he and Maggie called them, would be there. God, he hoped not. “I suppose.”

  “Just to be clear, it’s family only.”

  “Got it. Won’t bring Liz.”

  She gave him a chiding look from beneath her lashes. “Don’t make me out to be a meanie, like I’m keeping something away from you.”

  “All I’m asking is that you keep an open mind. She might be around a while.”

  His mother looked over his shoulder to where Liz was talking to Bryan Longley, a local contractor. “Are you sure about that?”

  A knot formed in his stomach, something he hadn’t felt in awhile. Was he enough for her? Were they too different? Was he being led by his hormones, as his mother said?

  Just when he was going to excuse himself from his mother and reclaim his date, Liz shook her head at Bryan’s extended hand and motioned in his direction. Okay, well, maybe they weren’t the most suited to each other, but at least they both seemed to want to figure out if it might work.

  He danced with Sage, then Sage’s mother Mary before returning to Liz’s side. Was that a new margarita, or had she not finished the last one?

  “Sorry about that,” he said. “Duty called.”

  Her lips curled in a half-smile, and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to explore the fullness with his tongue.

  “The hardships of being a mayor.”

  He held a hand to her, and when she placed her hand in his, he rubbed his thumb over the soft skin before he guided her onto the floor.

  “I didn’t mean to abandon you.” He let his hand slide up the zipper of her dress, watched her lips part. He wanted to kiss those red lips, wanted to taste her, but not here.

  Hell, now was not the time to be getting turned on, either, but he could swear he felt her nipples through that body-hugging dress she wore.

  He broke her gaze and glanced around. The party was going strong, so he probably needed to stay a little longer, when all he wanted to do was drag Liz off the dance floor, out the door and to his place across the street.

  So he compromised, bringing her closer, staying on the dance floor with her, aware of people watching and whispering, but not caring. He twined his finger through the burgundy strand of hair framing her face.