Trouble in Dixie

by Becky McGraw

  Pulling out his phone again, he called his friend with the Amarillo P.D. and found out where her truck had been taken, and if they’d removed her belongings, or if they were still in the wreckage. His friend told him that her truck had probably been cleared, and her belongings given to the department for safe keeping. Tommy called the station downtown and found out they did have her backpack, then got directions before he hung up.

  “Okay, I found it…you want me to go get it now?” he asked.

  She nodded and said, “Thanks…I really need it.”

  Women, he’d never understand them, but he’d do anything for this one, so if she wanted her damned backpack right in the middle of their conversation, he’d go get it for her. Maybe she had her makeup in there, or clothes, he figured. If she was wanting it for that reason, he’d be happy, because it meant she was feeling better.

  Forty-five minutes later, he walked back into the room, and she was dozing, but woke up when he walked in. She smiled a thousand-watt smile him, and held out her hand for the backpack, then motioned for him to sit in the chair he’d put by the bed. Tommy put the backpack beside her on the bed, then unzipped it, before he sat down. He waited patiently to see what she wanted from it, while she craned her neck and dug around inside.

  Katie’s face lit up when she finally found what she was looking for, and she pulled out a yellow check, then snatched a pen from an outside slot on the pack. Reaching back inside, she drew out a book, then flipped the check over and signed it.

  Looking up at him, her eyes glistened, as she held it out to him and said, “Go find the best damned lawyer in Texas, and save our daughter from that bitch.”

  Tommy looked at the check, then back at her and stiffened his shoulders. “I told you I didn’t want your damned money, Kate…you need to drop it,” he told her in a low irritated voice.

  “The only thing I’m dropping, is this check in your account, if you don’t,” she said flatly and shoved it at him again, but he still refused to take it from her. Her lower lip trembled, as she said, “Ask me again.”

  Tommy looked into her beautiful blue eyes, which glistened like sapphires from the tears pooling there, trying to figure out what she wanted him to ask her. Finally, when he couldn’t figure out what she meant, he gave in and asked, “Ask you what, sugar?”

  “Ask me to marry you,” she told him in a shaky voice. The check that she was still holding out to him trembled in her hand like a leaf in a breeze.

  Shock hit Tommy like a baseball bat right between his eyes, and he blinked, then elation slugged him in his gut and took his breath away. He shot up from the chair and dropped to his knees by the bed, and yanked the check from her fingers to set it on the table, so he could hold her hand.

  “Katie Upton, will you marry me, and put me out of my misery, darlin’?” he asked in a choked voice filled with the unbelievable excitement pouring through him.

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly and squeezed his hand, with tears tracking down her cheeks.

  Pure unadulterated joy shot through Tommy and he let out a whoop, he was sure they could hear down on the first floor, then slid his arm under her neck and kissed her, before pulling bag to hug her so tightly, she probably could breathe. Katie pushed on his shoulder, and he stood back up grinning down at her, then she reached over and picked up the check off the bed table and held it out to him again.

  “Now, this is ours, and Dixie is gonna be my daughter too…take it and go kick that woman’s ass. Show her she’s not gonna mess with what’s mine,” Katie told him fiercely.

  Tommy’s hand trembled now as he took the check from her, and emotion surged to his throat. “Thank you, sweetheart,” he said humbly.

  There was no way he deserved this beautiful, kind and incredible woman. Her loving him had to be some cosmic mistake, he thought, but there was no way he was going to question fate. He’d accept the gift and devote every day of his life to making her the happiest woman in Texas.

  She held up her hand, “No thanks are needed, Tommy…go save our daughter, then I’ll be thanking you.”

  “We are so damned lucky you’re in our lives…I love you so much, Katie,” he told her, then leaned over her and buried his face in her neck.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Tommy hated to bring Katie home when those damned cameras were still operational. At least there wasn’t one in the bedroom, or the bathroom, he thought and huffed out a breath. Gabe said they needed to leave them operational and ‘act normal’, so they didn’t tip off whoever was hacking in that they were wise to them.

  Gabe’s friend, Joey, in Phoenix was working on figuring out who was doing the hacking, and he said he was really close. He said whoever was doing it was not far from them, within a hundred miles or so. Edith’s house was in Dumas, and that was within that distance…but so were a lot of other houses and places of business. They needed solid proof it was her to nail her.

  “You doing okay, sugar?” Tommy asked Katie who was sitting quietly beside him in his truck, as they drove back to the ranch.

  “Yep, perfect now that I’m out of that damned hospital,” she said with a grin and laid her head on his shoulder.

  “How’s your arm?” he asked with concern. He’d been in the room when they took off the gauze and splinting this morning, to clean the cut on her upper arm and he almost passed out. It was long and ragged, and looked a little red and puckered, which worried him. He wanted to take that cut from her, bear it himself, along with all her other injuries. It was almost beyond his tolerance to see her in so much pain. She said it was a lot better, but he didn’t believe her.

  “You find a good lawyer?” she asked him, because he hadn’t been back to the hospital yesterday to fill her in. He’d been busy working with Gabe, and a Fed guy he knew, who gave him the name of a family attorney in Lubbock who was top notch. They’d gone to college together, and he said his friend did not like to lose, and hadn’t, since he started practicing fifteen years ago.

  “Yeah, Gabe helped me find someone…he’s out of Lubbock,” Tommy told her. The guy wasn’t cheap, but from what he’d heard from numerous sources, he was the best.

  “What’s his name and what’s he doing for us?” she asked in a business-like tone.

  Tommy looked down at her and smiled when he met her determined eyes. “He’s filing to give me managing and possessory conservatorship of Dixie, sole custody basically, and to terminate Edith’s custody and visitation rights, because she’s chosen not to be a part of Dixie’s life for ten years, and they don’t have a relationship. He says that allowing either of those now could harm Dixie emotionally, and isn’t in her best interest. He said he felt like he could prove that Edith is only doing what she’s doing for revenge against me,” he told her then grinned.

  And if he could prove she was illegally monitoring his home, he was going to file charges against her, it would be a slam dunk, for sure. He also planned to sue her civilly for invading his privacy. When she attacked his family, she made a big mistake.

  “Wow, that’s great…he’s that good, huh? What about her connections?” Katie asked him with a frown.

  “Those won’t matter, because he’s filing in Lubbock, his home turf, and she doesn’t have any pull there…she’s a big fish in a little pond where she is, but she’s gonna be a fish outta water in Lubbock,” he told her with a chuckle.

  “I like fishing,” she told him with a chuckle.

  “Me too, baby,” he laughed then turned onto the long paved driveway leading up to the house at the Rockin’ D.

  The front door opened, when they pulled to a stop in front of the house, and Karlie walked out and waited for them with her hands on her hips. He smiled at her and waved, then got out of the truck, and helped Katie slide out. When her feet touched the ground, she sucked in a breath and put her arm around her waist.

  Tommy flinched, and said, “I’d carry you, but that would probably hurt your ribs, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I’ll walk…” sh
e said and grabbed hold of his arm to steady herself and straighten up. “Just go slow.”

  “You got it sugar…” he told her then put his arm around her back, leaning her against him. “I’m going to get you a wheelchair, so you can move around better.”

  Katie snorted and said, “I don’t want a wheelchair, I’m not an invalid.” There was no way in hell she was going to sit in a wheelchair and get stiff. She was going to exercise and get her strength back, so she could be mobile again. Katie knew from her rodeo days and injuries that was the only way she was gonna get back on the horse, so to speak.

  “Well you’re getting one, at least for a few weeks, until your ribs heal…and I called an agency to find another housekeeper. They’re sending someone over either this afternoon, or tomorrow. Supposedly she used to be a nurse, so she can help take care of you.”

  Tommy sure was being bossy, Katie thought, and it irritated her, but she knew it was only because he was worried about her. When they reached the front porch, Karlie came down and helped him get her up the steps. Every step up jarred her ribs and she gritted her teeth against the pain, because she wasn’t going to worry them more.

  “Glad you’re home, sis,” Karlie told her with deep emotion tingeing her words.

  “Me too, I was way over that hospital and all the poking and prodding,” she said with a sigh, the asked, “What are you still doing here?”

  “I’m staying for a few days to make sure you don’t give Tommy any crap,” Karlie told her then helped Tommy ease her down onto the sofa.

  “What about Gabe?” Katie asked, then said, “You have a job at the Double B…you need to go home, Karlie.”

  “Don’t tell me what I need to do, Kate…Gabe is a big boy and can take care of himself for a few days, and Cassie insisted I stay here with you.”

  God, everyone was treating her like she was made of glass, and it was going to drive her nuts, before this was all over. Huffing out a frustrated breath, she pinned Karlie’s blue eyes with her own, and said firmly, “Just a few days, and then I’m kicking you out…you have a life, and need to get back to it!”

  “I could have lost you, sis…and it scared the shit out of me,” Karlie told her in a trembling voice, then leaned down and hugged her shoulders.

  Katie had been scared she’d never see Karlie again too. When she realized she was going to crash, Karlie, Tommy and the babies were the only thing that had been on her mind. A tremor passed through her and a lump formed in her throat. She’d come damned close to losing everything, including her life. “I’m sorry I scared you, I was scared too.”

  She thought she heard a whimper, and looked up at Tommy. His face held a wide smile, but she saw the fear in his eyes. He looked away from her and fluffed the pillows on the end of the couch, then unfolded a blanket. “Lay down, sugar,” he told her and grabbed her shoulders to help ease her down. He stood back up and asked, “You hungry?”

  Katie snorted, and told him, “Not right now, I’m still stuffed from the geriatric special they gave me for breakfast at the hospital, before they turned me loose.” Katie tried to shift herself a little to get comfortable, and Tommy was beside her in an instant, holding her arm steady, and helping her twist.

  Katie huffed out a breath, then bounced her head on the pillow underneath her. “Ya’ll go find something to do, I’m going to take a nap,” she ordered and closed her eyes.

  “You’re going to take your medicine first,” Tommy told her sternly, then walked to the kitchen. When he came back, he had her antibiotic and a pain pill, with a glass of iced tea. He handed Karlie the tea, then put his hand behind her head, and lifted her up, then handed her the pills.

  She hesitated, wanting to be stubborn, but she could see he wasn’t going to give up. She held out her hand and he dropped the pills into her palm, then she popped them into her mouth, and washed them down with the tea Karlie handed her.

  “Thanks, mom…” she said and plopped back on the pillow, then closed her eyes and turned her face toward the back of the sofa. Tommy chuckled then kissed her forehead, then he and Karlie left the room, and Katie drifted off to sleep.

  She must’ve slept a good while, because she didn’t wake up until she heard Dixie squeal her name near the front door, right before she heard her boot heels hitting the hardwood floor at a run.

  “Miss Katie!” Dixie squealed again as she rounded the sofa, then slid on her knees beside the couch. Dixie went to throw her arms around Katie and she flinched bracing herself for the impact, but it didn’t come. Dixie’s crystal blue eyes got wide with worry, and she bit her lower lip.

  “You got hurt bad, daddy lied,” she said softly, then put her hand over Katie’s. Katie grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to her chest and hugged her.

  “Your daddy would never lie to you, darlin’. I’m fine…I’ll be good as new soon, I promise,” she said then kissed Dixie’s blond curls, and hugged her tight with her good arm.

  “Snuggles and I were worried about you,” Dixie said in a watery voice.

  “Well ya’ll don’t have to worry any more, I’m just fine,” she said then asked, “How are you doing with training him?”

  Dixie lifted her head and excitement made her eyes sparkle. “He only goes outside now, he hasn’t had an accident in a long time…and he’s staying now!”

  “See, it just takes a little work and persistence,” Katie told her with a smile. “How’s school going?”

  Dixie’s face fell and her eyes darted away from Katie’s, then she said. “Not so good, I got in trouble and daddy had to go to talk to my teacher,” she admitted then looked back at Katie and said, “It wasn’t my fault! Danny took my pencil and wouldn’t give it back…the teacher wouldn’t listen, so I kicked him and he dropped it.”

  “You know you should never hurt someone else, right? That wasn’t right…why wouldn’t your teacher listen?” Katie asked her.

  “She was at the chalkboard, and I went up and told her like you said I should, but she told me to go sit back down.”

  “When I get to feeling better, I’ll go talk to her,” Katie promised, then reprimanded, “But you keep your hands and feet to yourself, deal?”

  “Yes ma’am…” Dixie said and dropped her chin to her chest. Katie lifted it up and smiled at her then said, “I love you, Dixie.”

  Dixie threw herself against Katie’s chest and she moaned, but wrapped her arm around her and hugged her. Dixie mumbled into her chest, “I love you too, Miss Katie…please don’t leave us again.”

  “I’m not sugar, I’m here for good,” she promised and stroked Dixie’s hair.

  “Can you help me with my homework?” Dixie sat up again and asked.

  Tommy walked up behind the couch then and barked, “Dixie get off of Katie, you’re going to hurt her!”

  Dixie jumped up and her face turned red and her lower lip trembled. “I’m sorry, daddy…I was just excited to see her.”

  “It’s fine, Tommy, we were just talking…I’m going to help her with her homework,” Katie told him evenly.

  “I’ll help her,” he said then shoved a hand through his thick hair. “You need to rest.”

  “No! I want to help her, and all I’ve been doing is resting. Go get a snack, then bring your books, baby…” she told Dixie and she scurried off toward the kitchen. Katie moved her gaze back to Tommy and anger sparked inside of her. If she didn’t tell him how she felt, she was going to go off on him eventually, because she had a feeling it was only going to get worse. “Tommy, stop managing me, okay?”

  “I’m just trying to make sure you don’t overdo it, sweetheart,” he told her defensively.

  “It’s my body, I know my limits, let me decide what constitutes ‘overdoing’ it.”

  “I’m sorr—” he started and she held up her hand and lifted an eyebrow, and he revised his words. “I’ll back off, if you promise to rest and let me know if you need something.”