Whistling Dixie

by Paige Warren

  Evernight Publishing ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2014 Paige Warren

  ISBN: 978-1-77233-104-2

  Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

  Editor: Brieanna Robertson

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  WHISTLING DIXIE

  Bryson Corners, 3

  Paige Warren

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  Dixie Belle Benson had definitely had better ideas than this. A fist came straight toward her face, and she ducked at the last minute. All she’d wanted was an ice cold beer after rolling into Bryson Corners near midnight. It had sounded like a reasonable thing. Until that idiot with roaming hands had grabbed her ass and told her the worst pick-up line she’d ever heard. Still, she’d been polite when she’d refused him. It had been totally uncalled for when he called her a bitch and a tease. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the moron had apparently forgotten he had a girlfriend, who had chosen that exact moment to return from the restroom.

  Dixie had been in her share of cat fights over the years, unbeknownst to her family, but this was insane. What had started as a simple fight between her and blondie had quickly turned into a bar brawl with half the patrons involved. Someone’s elbow nailed her in the ribs and she winced as she twisted out of the way. Damn! At this rate, the cops would be called, and then her brothers would know she’d arrived sooner than she’d prefer.

  Blondie took advantage of her distracted state and backhanded her across the face. Her cheek throbbed and, before Dixie knew what she was doing, she’d reached out and grabbed a handful of blonde hair and jerked the woman off her feet. It would be petty to kick the cow while she was down, but it was tempting as hell.

  A true fighter, the woman was right back on her feet and aiming for Dixie’s face with a closed fist. She felt the woman’s knuckles connect with her cheekbone and lost her balance. Before she could hit the floor, strong arms wrapped around her. Thinking the asshole who’d hit on her had her in his clutches, she fought like a wild cat.

  “Easy,” a deep voice soothed. “I’m not goin’ to hurt you.”

  It didn’t sound like the same man, and she twisted her head to look up into startling blue eyes. Relaxing her body, she allowed him to carry her out of the fight and off to the side of the room. He set her down on a chair in a corner not far from the door. He’d just placed his cold bottle of beer against her cheek when the first uniformed officer strolled through the front door. Dixie tensed, not wanting her brother to find her like this. If she’d thought the woman had beat her ass, Carson would be ten times worse. Oh, he wouldn’t lay an actual hand on her, but he’d make her feel so bad about being in a fight that she’d feel two inches tall.

  “Better?” the man asked.

  Her gaze strayed from the officers streaming into the building to her rescuer. “Why did you save me?”

  He gave her a crooked grin that got an instant response from her body. With his shaggy blond hair and blue eyes, he should be on a surf board somewhere, not wearing worn out jeans and dusty boots. Not that he didn’t fill out his clothes rather nicely, his tee hugging his biceps and broad chest. Her brothers were tall, but this man had to be around six-foot-six or so. She felt like a pixie sitting next to him.

  “Couldn’t let a pretty little thing like you get hurt by that mean ass woman and her boy toy.” He removed the beer bottle from her face and winced. “Sorry I couldn’t reach you sooner.”

  “You were watching me?”

  His grin broadened. “Oh yeah, from the moment you stepped through the door. It’s not often an angel like you deigns to grace us mere mortals with her presence.”

  Dixie snorted and rolled her eyes. It was a corny line, but he was handsome and seemed sweet. He had rescued her, after all. She’d give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “I tell you what,” she said. “You get me out of here before the cops see me, and we can go somewhere else to get to know one another better.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Hidin’ from the police? I won’t be harboring a fugitive, will I?”

  “Not a fugitive, but I am hiding from the police. The local ones anyway. I’m related to one of the officers and I’d just as soon he not realize I’m here.”

  “Dixie!” someone bellowed from the middle of the mayhem.

  “Oh crap!” She tried to squeeze herself behind the handsome stranger.

  The man chuckled. “I take it you’re Dixie?”

  “Dixie Belle Benson. I don’t suppose you can help sneak me out of here, can you? Obviously, he saw my SUV parked outside.”

  “Sure thing, darlin’.”

  He wrapped an arm around her waist and hustled her out the door. When they reached the parking lot, he led her over to a massive four-door truck. He helped her inside, then hurried around to the driver’s side.

  As he closed the door, he looked her way. “Don’t you even want to know who you’re leavin’ with?”

  “Well, you know my name. Seems only fair you tell me yours.”

  He smiled. “Knox McCoy.”

  “That’s an unusual name.”

  He chuckled. “Says the woman named Dixie Belle? You can’t really get more southern than that, can you?”

  She felt her cheeks warm and hoped between her café au lait skin and the darkness inside the cab of the truck that he wouldn’t notice. Dixie had been teased over her name many times over the years, but secretly, she’d always liked it.

  Knox started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot just as the cops were coming out of the building, pushing several people in cuffs toward the police cars. She saw her brother look around the parking lot, his gaze straying to her SUV and remaining there. She could tell he was worried, and she hated that, she really did, but she wanted to enjoy freedom a little longer. Her father had watched over her like a hawk until she’d left town the night before. She was trading one jailer for two more once Drew and Carson had her in their sights. She’d hoped them being engaged would mellow them out a bit, but something told her that hadn’t happened, not where she was concerned anyway.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” Knox said.

  “Just thinking about my brothers. I don’t want them to worry about me, but at the same time, I’m not ready to placed in a gilded cage again.”

  “Overprotective father?”

  “Yeah, and my two brothers are even worse. Daddy washed his hands of me, sent me to Oklahoma in hopes Drew and Carson could tame me.”

  “I don’t know. You don’t seem all that wild to me, even if you did start a bar brawl.”

  “I didn’t!” She caught his smirk and smacked his arm. “You were baiting me.”

  “Maybe.”

  He pulled into a parking lot in front of a twenty-four-hour diner. Dixie was surprised the small town had one, but she supposed they made decent money off the people heading to and from the bar.

  When they entered the diner, a bell over the door jingled and a woman with bright red brassy hair came out from behind the counter to greet them.

  “Y’all can sit anywhere you like,” she said, popping her gum. “It ain’t busy right now, so just pick you a spot and I’ll bring y’all some menus.”

  Knox pulled her toward a booth in the back. She gave him a questioning look.

  “If yo
u’re hidin’ from your brothers, you don’t want to be at the front of the diner. Back here, we’re not as noticeable,” he explained. “I figure we’ve got about a half hour before one of them shows up here.”

  They settled into the booth and the waitress dropped menus on the table in front of them. The woman turned and walked off, giving them time to make a selection.

  “So, what’s good here?” she asked.

  “Best burgers in the world,” Knox said. “Unless you’re one of those veggie-tarian type people.”

  She laughed. “I came here from a cattle ranch in Texas. My daddy would have disowned me if I went vegetarian.”

  He nodded. “Then I recommend a burger with the works. Fries are good too, unless you prefer rings.”

  “All right.”

  Knox waved the waitress back over. “Robbie Sue, I think we’re ready to order.”

  Robbie Sue? And he’d said her name was southern.

  The woman popped her gum again. “What can I get ya?”

  “I’ll have a burger with the works, cooked medium well, with a side of onion rings,” Dixie said.

  “Same for me,” Knox said. “Except bring fries with mine.”

  Robbie Sue scribbled their orders on her pad. “Drinks?”

  “Sweet tea for me,” Dixie said.

  “Make that two,” Knox said with a smile. “And maybe when we’re done, a slice of that peach pie, if there’s any left.”

  “Got two slices left. I’ll make sure no one else gets ‘em.”

  The woman hurried off to place their order with the cook. Dixie let her gaze travel over Knox’s face. His nose had been broken at least once and not set properly. There was a dusting of blond hair covering his jaw and rather stubborn-looking chin. His smile drew her attention to lips that were full and kissable, not that she should be thinking such things of a man she just met, but she couldn’t deny the truth. She’d bet the man kissed like a dream.

  “You done studyin’ me?” he asked, humor glinting in his eyes.

  “Yeah, you’ll do.”

  He laughed. “Do? For what?”

  “My knight in shining armor. Although….” She looked out the window. “I thought knights rode white steeds, and that big blue monstrosity out there is certainly not white.”

  “Hey now.” He held up his hands. “Insult the cowboy all you want, but don’t bad mouth a man’s truck.”

  She felt her lips tip up in a smile. She seemed to do that a lot around him. Maybe being around Knox would be good for her. If things went well over their late night meal, maybe he’d give her his number and she could see him again. Of course, no one said she couldn’t give him her number. But then she’d be staring at it for days on end willing him to call. Dixie had given her number to one too many men who never called, no matter how nicely they promised to be in touch.

  “How long you gonna be in Bryson Corners?” Knox asked.

  “If my family has any say in the matter, indefinitely. I’m not sure which one of my brothers I’m supposed to crash with, but it’s going to be cramped in either place. They both have fiancées now. On the plus side, maybe they’ll be so busy with the new women in their lives, they won’t notice if I slip away every now and then.”

  “You don’t plan on gettin’ a place of your own?” he asked.

  She shrugged a shoulder. “Can’t afford one right now. Daddy gave me just enough money to get here and have a little extra to get me by a few days. If I want my own place, I’m going to have to work for it. Something tells me jobs aren’t plentiful in Bryson Corners.”

  “You said you lived at a cattle ranch?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Ever work with the horses?”

  Dixie played with the silverware on the table. “I used to ride all the time. It’s how I escaped the house when my friends were too busy to go out.”

  He nodded. “Might know of something then.”

  Dixie’s eyebrows rose. “A job?”

  “My cousin, Brady, was supposed to help me out these next few months while I found someone more permanent. Just feeding the horses, mucking out stalls, and maybe doing a little ridin’. Think it might be something you’d be interested in?”

  “Heck yeah!”

  He grabbed a napkin out of the holder and pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket. He scribbled something and handed it to her.

  “Bear Paw Cutting Horses?” she asked, studying the napkin.

  “There’s a bit sign out front. Just take the highway west and you’ll see it a few miles down on the left. Can’t miss it. My number’s there in case you get lost.”

  “When do you want me to start?” she asked.

  “Well, seein’ as how it’s after midnight and you just arrived in town, why don’t you take a day to get acclimated?”

  She smiled. “Regardless of what time I go to bed, I’ll be awake and ready to face the day by five. Maybe six if I sleep in.”

  “All right. Want to stop on by around eight? Probably won’t take you more than five, maybe six hours to complete everything. Three hundred a week sound fair?”

  It was less than minimum wage, but she knew ranch work was different from an eight to five job. She nodded and held out her hand. Knox shook it firmly and tingles shot up her arm. The man was potent, she had to admit it.

  Their food and drinks arrived and they dug in, discussing their day-to-day lives as they ate. Just as they were starting on the peach pie, the chime over the door sounded. Dixie looked up and spied both her brothers standing in the doorway.

  “Crap,” she muttered.

  Knox looked over his shoulder before turning her way again. “They don’t look too happy.”

  “Let me just apologize in advance for whatever is about to happen. I have absolutely no control over them.”

  Knox grinned. “Don’t worry about me, darlin’. I can handle a few protective brothers.”

  Her brothers stopped at the edge of their table and glared down at her.

  “When the hell were you going to tell us you were in town?” Drew demanded.

  “I’ve been scouring the city for you after finding your SUV abandoned at the bar,” Carson accused. “I’ve been out of my mind worrying that someone had taken off with you.”

  She shoveled another bite of pie into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before replying, “As you can see, I’m safe and sound. Just having a meal with a friend.”

  “Friend?” Drew snarled. “You haven’t been here long enough to make friends.”

  Carson’s sharp gaze rested on Knox. “Aren’t you a little old for our baby sister?”

  Knox shrugged. “She looks grown up to me.”

  “She’s twenty-two. Barely wet behind the ears,” Carson said. “And you’re what? Forty?”

  “Thirty-eight,” Knox said.

  Dixie was a little surprised. She’d known he was older than her, but he didn’t look a day over thirty. Not that his age mattered to her. He was fun to be around, and sexy as hell. Something told her he wasn’t the type to mix business with pleasure, but if he ever tried to steal a kiss, she’d be more than happy to let him.

  “Come on, Dixie Belle,” Drew said, tugging on her arm until she stood. “Time to go.”

  She cast her brothers a disgruntled look before smiling at Knox. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll be by in the morning.”

  “Morning?” Carson barked. “What the hell for?”

  Dixie crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s between Knox and me.”

  Shoving past her brothers, she headed out to Drew’s truck. After she climbed inside, she watched her brothers have a rather intense-looking conversation with Knox, probably warning him off. She hoped he was more resilient than that. If he allowed her brothers to chase him away, then he just wasn’t man enough for her. No matter how hot he might be.

  Drew finally came out and slid into the driver’s seat. “You’re to stay away from that man.”

  “You’re not my father,” she said, growling soft
ly.

  “No, I’m not. Dad couldn’t ride herd on you anymore, so he sent you to us. Well, up here, baby girl, the rules are a little different. If we tell you to stay away from someone, you’d damn sure better do it.”

  She mumbled under her breath.

  “What was that?”

  “I said bite me! I’m a grown ass woman, and just as soon as I start earning some money, I’m getting my own place. Daddy may have banished me to this small hick town, but he didn’t say I have to live with you forever. For your information, I already have a job. I report tomorrow morning at eight. And yes! I will be going!”

  “We’ll just see about that.”

  She gave him a mutinous glare before turning to look out the window. One of these days, her brothers would realize she wasn’t a child anymore, but a grown woman with a woman’s needs and desires. Until then, she’d just have to work around them.

  Chapter Two

  At precisely 5:30, Dixie Belle realized two things. Drew was an ass, and he was a stupid one. If he thought a locked door was going to keep her in the house and away from Knox, he’d better think again. She’d been escaping from locked rooms for half her life, and this one wasn’t going to hold her any better than the other one had.

  Moving toward the window, she pulled back the curtains and looked out. She didn’t see anyone or anything that might spell trouble for her. Dixie popped the lock on the window and slid it up. Grabbing her bag, she tossed it out onto the grass and crawled out, tumbling onto the ground. Not wanting Drew to realize how she’d escaped, at least not right away, she closed the window again before sneaking around the front of the house. She stopped dead in her tracks when she spied Drew’s fiancée on the front steps.

  Lexie smirked at her. “I told Drew a locked door wouldn’t keep you housebound.”

  “You going to tell on me?”

  Lexie shook her head. “Nope. I figure if you want out bad enough to escape, you might as well enjoy a bit of freedom before one of them hauls you back home. Don’t be surprised if you can’t get out the window tomorrow, though.”