by Katie Lane
As Maisy was rattling off her cellphone number for Boone to write down, Emma came out of the back room. “So are you going to straighten the hammers—” She stopped. “Hi, Maisy. I didn’t know you were here. Is Boone helping you or talking your ear off?”
“I’m helping her and talking her ear off. That’s what a good salesman does.” Boone winked at Maisy. “I’ll call you soon, Maisy.”
The way he said it made it sound like it was more personal than it was and if the look on Emma’s face was any indication, she didn’t much care for Boone getting a woman’s number. Which made Maisy wonder if she liked Boone a little more than she was letting on.
After Maisy left the hardware store, she headed toward the town hall at the end of the street. It was a pretty two-story building made of Austin stone with the flags of the United States and Texas flying over the steep peaked roof. It was surrounded by a green lawn and colorful flowerbeds.
The meeting was held in one of the smaller conference rooms. Only about twenty people were there when Maisy walked in. She looked around for Sawyer and was relieved he hadn’t shown up yet. She wanted to postpone the inevitable for as long as she could. She chose an empty chair at the back of the room. She didn’t realize who she’d be sitting next to until she spied the cat sitting in the basket of the bright pink walker.
She froze, but it was too late. Miss Gertie had already seen her.
“Well, don’t just stand there lookin’ stupid,” the old woman said. “Sit down before another silly gossipy woman shows up. I just got rid of the last one.”
Maisy took the chair, making sure to stay clear of the cat that was giving her the evil eye. “Hello, Miss Gertie. How are you, ma’am?”
“Old.”
Not knowing how to reply to that, Maisy just smiled. But even that annoyed Miss Gertie. “No one likes a grinning fool.”
“Sorry, ma’am.” Maisy wiped the smile off her face and prayed the meeting would start soon so she wouldn’t have to keep making conversation with Miss Gertie. But the mayor, who was standing at the podium, seemed to be in deep conversation with Raynelle Coffman. Weirdly, the mayor glanced over at Maisy and raised her eyebrows.
Miss Gertie snorted. “I don’t know how Betty Landry got elected. She has no common sense and is a bigger gossip than Luanne Riddell.” She glanced over at Maisy. “So are you or ain’t you?”
“Excuse me, ma’am?”
Before Miss Gertie could answer, the door opened and Sawyer and Lincoln stepped in. Maisy had to admit they were a sight for sore eyes. The two men both wore tan Stetsons and were dressed in jeans and western shirts that hugged their muscular bodies. Every woman in the room watched as they swept off their hats and revealed their handsome faces. Of course, the most handsome was Sawyer. His wheat-colored hair was mussed, and Maisy had the strong desire to slide her fingers through it—not to fix it as much as to mess it up even more. His gray-eyed gaze scanned the room until it landed on her. She couldn’t help the catch in her breath or the flush of heat that sizzled through her.
“I should’ve known it was a Double Diamond bad boy,” Miss Gertie said. “So that rascal Sawyer Dawson is responsible.”
Maisy glanced at her. “Responsible?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, girlie. I’ve been around the block more than once. I know exactly how easily those slick-talkin’ hooligans can get inside your panties. By the look on your face just now, Sawyer Dawson has gotten into yours.”
Before Maisy could get over her surprise that Miss Gertie had read her thoughts so well, Dixie grabbed Maisy’s arm and pulled her out of the chair.
“If you’ll excuse us, Miss Gertie,” Dixie said. “I need to go over a few things with Maisy before the meetin’.” She pulled Maisy out the side door, and then down the hallway to the women’s bathroom. She looked in every stall before she turned to Maisy and put her hands on her hips.
“I thought I was your best friend, Maisy Sweeney. But if I was your best friend why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”
Maisy stared her. “Sawyer told you?”
Dixie smiled triumphantly. “I knew it was Sawyer’s. And no, he didn’t tell me. The mayor did.”
“The mayor? How does the mayor know?”
“From Raynelle Coffman who heard it from Luanne Riddell.”
Maisy covered her face with her hand. “Damn. I didn’t think Luanne had seen me looking at pregnancy tests.”
“Luanne sees everything. But it doesn’t matter what she saw. What matters is you didn’t tell me that you’re going to have a baby. Sawyer Dawson’s baby.”
Before Maisy could even begin to get untangled from the mess she’d gotten herself into, the bathroom door swung open and the mayor peeked her head in.
“Sheriff Dixie, come quick. There’s about to be a brawl in the meeting room.”
“A brawl?” Dixie said. “Who’s fighting?”
“Miss Gertie is beating up Sawyer Dawson.”
Chapter Nine
Sawyer had always been scared of Miss Gertie. And now he knew why. The old woman had one hell of a right hook. While she hadn’t hit him hard enough on the chin to knock him down, she had hit him hard enough to snap his head back. If Lincoln hadn’t stepped in, the old woman would’ve hit him again.
“Whoa there, Miss Gertie.” Lincoln held up a hand. “Is there a reason you’re beating up my friend?”
Miss Gertie rolled her walker right up on Lincoln’s boots. If his chin hadn’t been throbbing, Sawyer might’ve laughed at the little old lady taking on the big bad Texas Ranger.
“Of course there’s a reason,” she snapped. “I don’t hit people unless they need hittin’. And this Double Diamond bad boy needed a good punch in the mouth.”
Sawyer tried to figure out what he’d done to the little old woman, but nothing came to mind. He’d only seen her a few times since being back in town and only from a distance.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said. “But what exactly did I do?”
She turned on him like a rabid dog and rolled closer. He took a step back before the wheels of her walker ran over the toes of his boots. “You know what you did? You got that little rodeo gal pregnant.”
Sawyer didn’t need to ask what rodeo gal, but Lincoln did.
“A rodeo gal?” Lincoln stared down at Miss Gertie.
Miss Gertie rolled her eyes. “Sometimes men are as dumb as a box of rocks. How many rodeo gals do we have in this town? Just one.” She pointed a crooked finger. “That one.”
Sawyer turned to see Maisy and Dixie hurrying in the side door with the mayor. All kinds of emotions welled up inside him—confusion, anger, frustration. But they all took a back seat to the fear of getting his ass whupped when Lincoln lifted him up by the front of his shirt and shook him like a lap dog.
“You got Maisy pregnant?” he growled. He drew back his fist and Sawyer closed his eyes knowing this punch was going to hurt a lot more than Miss Gertie’s. But before it could land, Dixie yelled.
“Stop, Lincoln!” She rushed up and grabbed her husband’s arm. Lincoln lowered his fist a little, but still didn’t let Sawyer go. “I know you’re angry, honey,” Dixie continued. “But you taught me that, as an officer of the law, you always need to keep your cool.” Lincoln looked anything but cool as his hand tightened on Sawyer’s shirt.
“He got Maisy pregnant.”
“So I heard.” She shot an annoyed look over at Maisy. “And I’m just as surprised as you are.”
Sawyer was now more confused than ever. Dixie hadn’t known Maisy was pregnant? Or maybe she just hadn’t known Maisy was pregnant by Sawyer. Miss Gertie had just been smart enough to figure it out. That made more sense. Maisy wouldn’t want anyone to know who the father was. Not even the father. She’d made it quite clear in Houston that she didn’t want anyone telling her what to do. Which is why she’d lied to Sawyer and said she wasn’t pregnant. She thought if he knew about the baby, he would want a say.
She was right.
“Now, come on, honey,” Dixie said. “Let Sawyer go and we can deal with this in private. Not in front of the entire town.”
Lincoln glanced around like he’d forgotten where he was and finally released Sawyer. He still looked angry, but when he spoke, he sounded like a cool-headed Texas Ranger. “The excitement is over, folks. Mayor, why don’t you go ahead and get the meeting started.”
The mayor hesitated for a moment before she hurried to the podium and pounded her gavel. “If everyone will sit down, we can start the meeting.”
As everyone headed back to their seats, Lincoln glanced at Sawyer and pointed to the exit. Sawyer nodded and started to leave when Miss Gertie grabbed his arm and spoke.
“I’m expecting you to do the right thing by that little gal. Do you hear me?”
Right now, the only thing he wanted to do to Maisy was yell at her for lying to him. But he kept that to himself and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Miss Gertie snorted as if she didn’t believe him for a second. “We’ll see.” With that, she rolled over the toes of his boots and headed to her seat.
Sawyer glanced at Maisy and did the same thing Lincoln had done to him. He pointed at the door. She didn’t say a word as she headed toward it. He followed behind her with Dixie and Lincoln bringing up the rear.
When they got outside, Dixie directed everyone to her sheriff’s SUV. Lincoln sat up front in the passenger seat and Sawyer and Maisy sat in the back behind the security grate. Sawyer wanted to let Maisy have it, but he refused do it with Lincoln and Dixie in the car. So he kept his mouth shut and stared out the side window.
At the sheriff’s office, they all got out and waited while Dixie unlocked the front door. She kept herself between Sawyer and Lincoln as if she expected her husband to lose it at any second. Sawyer was just as close to losing it. Once inside her office, Dixie tossed her hat on a hook and pointed a finger.
“Lincoln, you sit behind the desk. Sawyer, you and Maisy sit on the other side.” Dixie remained standing and when everyone was seated, she released a big sigh. “Okay, let’s see if we can get this tangled mess untangled. And as my mama always says, ‘The best place to start is always at the beginning.’ Which I’m going to say was at Lincoln and my wedding. I knew something was going on between you two that night. I just didn’t realize how much was going on.”
“You’re wrong,” Sawyer said. “There was nothing going between Maisy and me at the wedding. It happened in Houston.”
Lincoln’s eyes narrowed on Sawyer. “When you were there for the rodeo?” He rose to his feet. “So she was the woman singing.”
Before he could dive over the desk, Sawyer tried to explain. “I didn’t know it was her, Linc. The night before I got drunk on tequila and I didn’t know who I’d brought back to the hotel.”
“You were drunk? And what about Maisy? Was she drunk too? Did you take advantage of her?”
Maisy cut in. “Actually, it was more the other way around. I wasn’t nearly as drunk when I took him back to his hotel room.”
Sawyer knew she was only saying that to save him from getting his ass whipped. And Lincoln knew it too.
“You took advantage of Sawyer?” Lincoln snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“I did,” Maisy said indignantly. “Women can take advantage of drunk men. It doesn’t always have to be the other way around. I’ve wanted to go to bed with Sawyer for a long time. When I saw my opportunity, I took it. That’s the honest to God truth.”
If she hadn’t thrown God in there, Sawyer would’ve continued to think she was lying to save his butt. But Maisy wasn’t a person who used God’s name in vain. The way her cheeks flushed pink when everyone stared at her in shock made him realize she was telling the truth. He felt blindsided. He’d always thought Maisy felt the same way about him as he felt for her. They were rodeo friends. That was it. Their tequila night had just been an alcohol-induced fluke.
Except it hadn’t been just a fluke.
She had wanted him.
And damned if that knowledge didn’t change everything.
He should feel used. He didn’t. He felt . . . hell, he didn’t know what he felt.
“Well, there you have it,” Dixie said. “Sawyer didn’t take advantage of Maisy. Now sit your butt down, Lincoln Hayes, and stop acting so self-righteous. It’s not like you’ve never had a drunken night of sex before. The first time we ever had sex, you were drunk and I took advantage of you.” Lincoln’s face turned red. He sat back down as his wife continued. “Okay, so we now know what happened, why it happened, and how it happened. Now we just have to figure out how to deal with the results of your wild night of sex.”
“I’m not pregnant,” Maisy said. “I was only looking at pregnancy tests at the pharmacy because I wanted to prove to Sawyer that I’m not.” She looked at Sawyer. “Luanne saw me and spread the gossip at the meeting. Miss Gertie just assumed it was a Double Diamond bad boy. And since you are the only single one, you got the blame.”
Sawyer wanted to believe her, but it was getting damned hard. “Then who was Devlin and Dixie talking about last night at Cotton-Eyed Joe’s?”
Dixie laughed. “So that’s what you were doing at Maisy’s trailer last night and why you looked so panicked. I wasn’t talking about Maisy, honey. I was talking about Reba.”
“Reba’s pregnant?” Maisy asked.
Dixie nodded. “She wanted to keep it a secret until after Devlin and Penny’s baby shower so she wouldn’t take away from their celebration. But Devlin overheard her throwing up in Cotton-Eyed Joe’s bathroom. Poor Reba has horrible morning sickness.”
Maisy turned to Sawyer. “See? I’m not pregnant.”
Sawyer might have felt relief if not for one small detail. “You might not be who Dixie was talking about, but you still could be pregnant. Especially when you lied about starting your period.”
“I only lied to you because I didn’t want you to worry that I was pregnant when I’m not.” She swallowed hard. “And because I didn’t want you to hate me for taking you away from the rodeo.”
Taking him away from the rodeo? It took him a second to figure out what she was talking about. She didn’t want to be the one responsible for taking him away from something he loved if she should turn out to be pregnant. He’d acted like such an ass when he discovered she wasn’t on birth control, she had thought he would be happier not knowing if there was a baby.
She was wrong.
He blew out his breath and rubbed a hand over his face before he looked at her. “I’m not your daddy, Maze. I can’t just walk off and turn my back on my own kid. If it turns out that you are pregnant, I’m not going anywhere. My child is more important than some damn rodeo.” He thought that his words might make her feel better. Instead, she looked like she might be sick.
Her face paled and her voice shook when she spoke. “I’m not pregnant, Sawyer. The reason I know is because—”
Dixie cut her off before she could finish. “I think we all need to take a little time out. Emotions are high right now and we don’t want to say something that we’re going to regret later. Lincoln, get Sawyer some ice for his jaw while I drive Maisy back to her truck.”
“I think we need a pregnancy test more than we need ice,” Lincoln said.
“Don’t be silly.” Dixie waved a hand. “Pregnancy tests aren’t accurate this soon after conception. It will be weeks before you can count on one of those over-the-counter tests. I happen to be good friends with the receptionist at Doctor Thomas’s. I’ll make sure she can get Maisy in for an appointment as soon as possible.” Maisy looked like she wanted to cut in, but Dixie took her arm and pulled her toward the door. “For now, we should make sure Maisy gets plenty of rest and vitamins. And you and Sawyer need to make up. He needs his good friend at this stressful time.” She pulled Maisy out the door.
When they were gone, Lincoln fell back in the chair. “The woman is like a tornado. She just whirls in and takes complete control, then whirls back out again, leaving havo
c in her wake.” He glanced over at Sawyer. “I really want to kick your ass. You might not have seduced Maisy, but you had no business getting so drunk you didn’t know what you were doing.”
“You’re right. If you want to kick my ass, I more than deserve it.” He tested his jaw. “Although Miss Gertie did a pretty good job.”
The anger left Lincoln’s face and he chuckled. “The old gal packs a powerful punch.”
Sawyer lowered his hand and looked at his friend. “I’m sorry, Linc. I didn’t mean to break my vow to you about staying away from Maisy.”
Lincoln nodded. “I know.” He took off his hat and tossed it to the desk. “Do you care anything about her?”
“I’ve always liked Maisy. You know that.”
“But you don’t love her.”
Sawyer shook her head. “Maisy doesn’t love me either. She might’ve wanted to go to bed with me, but she’s not interested in a relationship any more than I am. She’s a tough cowgirl who is totally concentrated on her career.”
“Maisy’s not tough, Sawyer. She puts on a good act, but underneath all that sass is a scared young woman still searching for a daddy to love her. Which is why I didn’t want you messing with her and breaking her heart.”
“I’m not going to break her heart, Linc.” He paused. “But you might be right about her not being as tough as she lets on. She was crying pretty hard when I showed up at her trailer last night. So the bone turned out to be Sam’s?”
Lincoln nodded. “I knew it would. I think Maisy knew that too. She just didn’t want to accept it. Sometimes people hide from the truth because they just can’t take the pain that comes with it.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I shouldn’t have told her last night. I should’ve waited for Dixie to be there to comfort her.”
“I comforted her, Linc. I’m not that big of an asshole. But I don’t understand why Maisy is so hurt over her daddy’s death when she didn’t even know the man.”
Lincoln lifted his head. “The same reason I was so upset when my mama died. I wasn’t grieving for the woman who had been a bad mother. I was grieving for the woman who could have been a good one. Maisy is doing the same thing. She isn’t grieving for Sam. She’s grieving the one chance she had at having a father. And maybe that’s why I’ve been so protective of her. I’m been trying to fill that father slot for her.” He stared at Sawyer. “What are you going to do if Maisy is pregnant?”