by Katie Lane
It was a good question. One Sawyer didn’t have an answer for. But Miss Gertie had given him a direction to head in.
“I guess I’ll do the right thing.”
Chapter Ten
As soon as they got into the Dixie’s SUV, Maisy apologized. “I’m sorry, Dix. I should’ve told you the truth from the beginning.”
Dixie backed out of the parking space and headed down Main Street. “I can forgive you for not mentioning that you think you might be pregnant—I would want to be sure before I said anything to anyone too. But I don’t know if I can forgive you for not telling me that you had sex with Sawyer Dawson. What are best friends for if not to share secrets?”
Maisy hesitated for only a second before she told the truth. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t have sex with Sawyer.”
“What?” Dixie stared at her in shock. “You’re talking in circles, Maisy, and it’s making me dizzy. How can you be pregnant if you didn’t have sex with Sawyer?” she gasped. “Oh, Lord, you had sex with someone else and are trying to pin it on Sawyer. Here I thought you were this sweet innocent little cowgirl and you’ve been playing the field like a one-girl soccer team.”
“No! I haven’t been playing the field. I haven’t had sex since high school when Tommy Lee and I fumbled around in the back of his Ford pickup. But I’m not innocent. And I’m certainly not sweet. I’m a big ol’ trickster like my daddy. I lied about having sex with Sawyer.”
Dixie pulled into a parking space right next to Maisy’s truck and turned off the engine. “You’ve lost me. You better start from the beginning.” She unsnapped her seatbelt and turned to face Maisy. “And I mean the very beginning. When did you first start liking Sawyer?”
Maisy didn’t have to think hard to figure out when her infatuation started. “The first time I ever saw him ride, I was pretty much enamored,” she said. “The man can sit a saddle.”
Dixie grinned. “And he’s not too hard on the eyes either.”
“No, but he’s not all full of himself like most bronc riders. He’s nice. At your wedding, I was feeling a little nervous about being a bridesmaid and tripping over my long dress as I walked down the aisle. He teased and joked with me until I forgot all about being nervous. Then right before it was our turn, he winked at me and said, ‘If we can stay on a wild bronc for eight seconds, we can get down this aisle without falling.’ Suddenly, I felt like we were a team. That’s how he treated me at the reception. Like we were a couple. And it felt nice. I guess because for most of my life I’ve been a single. I had my mama for a while, but then she remarried and I felt like a third wheel. At your wedding, I didn’t feel like I was an extra part. I felt . . . like I belonged.”
“Oh, honey.” Dixie took her hand and squeezed it. “You aren’t an extra part. You’re my best friend and you belong with me. And I know everyone in Simple feels the same way. As Miss Gertie said, you’re our ‘rodeo gal’ and we’re all proud of you.”
“I know. But I still get lonely at times. I guess that’s why I latched onto Sawyer.”
“So did anything happen between you two at the wedding?”
Maisy shook her head. “One minute, he was showing me some rodeo riding moves and the next he just disappeared from the reception. After that, whenever I saw him at a rodeo, he avoided me. He was nice, but after a few pleasantries, he would make up some excuse for why he had to leave. Except when I stumbled upon him in the hotel bar in Houston. I should’ve known he was drunk when he didn’t seem in any hurry to get away from me.”
Dixie squeezed her hand again. “Alcohol only gives you the ability to do what you really want to do, but don’t have the courage to do when you’re sober.”
Maisy nodded. “Tequila definitely gave me the courage to do what I’d wanted to do ever since meeting Sawyer. Unfortunately, once we got to his hotel room, he passed out cold before we could even get naked.” She stared out the windshield. “I should’ve put him to bed and left. That would’ve been the right thing to do. Instead, I cuddled up next to him like some needy stray dog, hoping he’d give me a scrap of attention in the morning when he woke up. Instead, when he found me there, he totally freaked out like he’d made the biggest mistake of his life. My ego was hurt and I wanted to get back at him so I acted like we’d had sex and it wasn’t that great. I planned to tell him later at the rodeo, but then he showed up all bossy and arrogant and asking if I was on birth control. And I sorta continued the hoax and teased him about naming our baby June Bug.”
She thought Dixie would be completely disgusted by her prank. Instead, her friend burst out laughing. She laughed so hard tears ran down her face.
Maisy stared at her. “It’s not funny, Dixie Leigh. He jumped into the arena and suffered a concussion trying to save me because he thought I could be pregnant. I’m part of the reason he has to leave saddle bronc riding.”
Dixie sobered and brushed the tears off her cheeks. “You can’t really believe that, Maisy. The reason Sawyer has to leave bronc riding is because of the other concussions he’s gotten that had nothing to do with you. And if it hadn’t happened and you hadn’t been in the room with him to hear the doctor, Sawyer would already be back on the circuit by now.”
Put that way, it sounded like Maisy had done him a favor. Although she knew Sawyer wouldn’t feel the same. “He’s going to hate me when he finds out the truth.”
Dixie released Maisy’s hand and sat back in her seat. She stared straight ahead and her fingernails tapped on the steering wheel as if she were contemplating something. Finally, she stopped tapping and turned to Maisy. “Then we just have to make sure he never finds out the truth.”
“What? I have to tell him, Dixie. Especially after he made that sweet speech about not leaving me.” As a woman who had major abandonment issues, Maisy found her heart melted by his words.
“That was a sweet speech,” Dixie said. “And it made me realize that God has sent us the perfect solution to our problem of how to keep Sawyer from going back to the rodeo. I, for one, do not think we should ignore a miracle.”
As the truth of what Dixie was implying dawn on Maisy, she shook her head. “Oh, no. Absolutely not. I am not going to fake a pregnancy.”
“Of course you’re not going to fake being pregnant. You’re just not going to tell him that you didn’t have sex with him.”
“I don’t think I can do that. The guilt is eating me up.”
Dixie lifted her eyebrows. “Not even to save a man’s life? Did you know that CTE can kill you? Well, I know because Lincoln has been researching it on the Internet ever since you told him about what the doctor said. He’s worried sick about his best friend. And with good reason. We can’t let Sawyer go back to the rodeo. We have to make him see how dangerous that would be to his life. We need to have an intervention.”
“An intervention?”
Dixie nodded. “We did it for my uncle who drank like a fish. When anyone tried to talk to him about his drinking, he would laugh it off and say he only drank at parties. But the man partied every day. It took the entire family and two AA counselors to make him realize what he was doing to himself. Sawyer needs the same circle of love to make him see the truth. I know if the Double Diamond boys get together, they can talk Sawyer out of going back to bronc riding.”
Maisy figured if anyone could talk Sawyer out of returning to saddle bronc riding it would his friends. “We need to do it as soon as possible so Sawyer isn’t stressed out about being a father.”
“I totally agree. I’m going to try and pull it together as quickly as I can. In the meantime, all you have to do is keep one little secret.”
“It’s not a little secret.”
Dixie shrugged. “Okay. One big secret.”
“Fine, but you better hurry. I doubt that Sawyer will wait that long for me to take a pregnancy test.”
“I think I’ve convinced him those aren’t accurate. Now all we have to do is make sure he can’t get you an appointment at the doctor’s for a pregnancy tes
t. And I have that covered. Doctor Thomas’s receptionist, Doris May, is my friend and will make sure you can’t get in until we’re ready.”
“You are one devious woman, Dixie Leigh,” Maisy said.
Dixie smiled. “Now I wouldn’t say devious. I’d say resourceful. Especially when it concerns someone my husband loves. We have to make Sawyer see the severity of him returning to bronc riding.”
She knew Dixie was right, but she also knew how hard it would be for her to give up a sport she loved so much. “It’s gonna break his heart. He loves—”
A tap on her window cut her off. She turned to see Luanne and Raynelle standing there. Maisy knew what the women would want to talk about, which was why she didn’t want to roll down the window.
Unfortunately, Dixie had the controls for all the windows on her side and quickly rolled Maisy’s down. “Hey, there, Luanne and Ray. Is the meetin’ over already?”
“The mayor adjourned it early because folks were a little distracted.” Luanne sent Maisy a pointed look. “How are feeling, sugar? We all knew what you were doing in the bathroom. Everyone swears that ginger ale and soda crackers help with morning sickness, but the only thing that worked for me when I was pregnant was pickles. With four kids, Bud always says he should’ve bought stock in Vlasic for all the money he’s given them over the years.”
“Pickles didn’t work with me,” Raynelle said. “Just the smell of vinegar made me toss my cookies. So are you and Sawyer going to get hitched? Or are you gonna have one of them relationships like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell? I always thought marriage was the way to go until I married my idiot husband. Now I’m thinking Goldie and Kurt have the right idea.”
Maisy glanced over at Dixie for help, but Dixie was too busy fighting her laughter. Maisy glared at her before she turned back to the women.
“I’m not having morning sickness. And Sawyer and I aren’t getting married. I don’t even know if I’m pregnant.”
Raynelle glared at Luanne. “Because certain people scared you off from getting a pregnancy test.”
“I did not scare her off, Ray,” Luanne snapped. “I was just being friendly.” She smiled at Maisy. “But just in case I did, I bought you this.” She held out a pregnancy test. “According to the box, it works in minutes. In fact, you could run right into the Simple Market and use their bathroom. Couldn’t she, Ray?”
Dixie released a choked cough while Maisy took the box. “Thank you so much, Luanne, but I think I’ll just do it at home.”
Raynelle swatted Luanne. “Of course she wants to do it at home.” She sighed. “With that cute bad boy Sawyer Dawson.”
“Nobody wants to pee on a stick in front of a hot cowboy, Ray.” Luanne bent over more and peeked in at Dixie. “You didn’t let Lincoln beat him up, did you? Because he sure looked like he wanted to at the meeting.”
Dixie finally got her laugher under control and flapped a hand. “Now y’all know that Lincoln and Sawyer are best friends. Lincoln was just surprised Sawyer hadn’t mentioned a word about getting Maisy pregnant. Not that she is, mind you.” She started her car. “Well, I better get back to work.”
“I need to get back to work too,” Raynelle said. “You take care of yourself, Maisy. Make sure you get plenty of rest and eat plenty of fiber. I got constipated with my son and had the worst hemorrhoids ever.” She shook her head as she turned to leave. “I should’ve known then that the kid would be a pain in my ass the rest of his life.”
When Raynelle was gone, Luanne looked back at Maisy. “You’ll let us know about the results, right?”
“Now, Luanne,” Dixie cut in. “You have to give Sawyer and Maisy a little time to adjust to the idea of having a baby before they go shoutin’ the news from the rooftops. We shouldn’t be gossiping about it until we know for sure.”
Luanne drew an imaginary zipper across her lips. “My lips are sealed. Although this has given me an idea for new bracelets. Wouldn’t it be cute if I spelled out ‘Mama To Be’ in beads? With the way Simple’s population is booming, I could make a fortune.” She waved her hand. “Nice talking to y’all. Now I better get home and take care of Bud and his man cold.”
After Luanne walked away, Dixie burst out laughing.
“I think I hate you, Dixie Leigh Hayes,” Maisy grumbled.
“I’m sorry, honey, but you have to admit it’s kinda funny.”
“They’re going to be very disappointed when they find out I’m not pregnant.”
“For about two seconds. Once Reba announces she’s expecting, they’ll forget all about you. Now I better get back to the office and make sure Lincoln and Sawyer haven’t killed each other.” Dixie winked. “And you better go buy yourself some pickles.”
Maisy sent her a mean look before she got out of the car. Not wanting to run into anyone else, she hurried to her truck. She had just opened the door when she noticed a flyer attached to the light post. Or not the flyer as much as the picture on it.
With her heart beating overtime, she tossed the pregnancy test into the truck before she hurried over to take a closer look. The flyer not only had a picture of Angel but also a detailed description of the horse, along with a phone number and the offer of a five-hundred-dollar reward.
Maisy glanced around before she jerked the flyer off the light pole. Then she hurried down the street and did the same to every other flyer she found. On the way back to her truck, she stopped at a trash can and threw them away.
If she was going to burn in hell for lying, she might as well add horse thieving to the list.
Chapter Eleven
Sawyer stayed up all night tossing and turning. At first light, he finally gave up on sleep and got out of bed. He took a shower and got dressed, then headed outside to the barn. Being around horses had always soothed his troubled thoughts. Which probably explained why he had chosen rodeo as a career. He couldn’t remember a time when his thoughts hadn’t been troubled. He might act like a carefree bad boy who didn’t worry about anything, but deep down he had always thought way too much.
He fed the rest of the horses first before he fed Angel and then released him into the paddock next to the barn. The horse’s physical wounds were healing, but his emotional wounds were still deep. While he allowed Sawyer to groom and feed him, the horse still refused to be ridden. He wouldn’t even let Sawyer place a saddle blanket on his back. And singing didn’t help. Still, Sawyer started to sing as he approached the horse with the blanket. He’d always thought he had a pretty good singing voice. At least, he thought it was a lot better than Maisy’s. Angel didn’t think so. The horse dodged and ran to the other side of the paddock.
“You takin’ up a singin’ career when you’re finished with rodeo, boy?”
Sawyer glanced over his shoulder to see Lucas standing at the fence. “What has you up so early?” he asked. The sun had only just peeked its head above the horizon.
Lucas grinned and winked. “I’m not up early. I’m home late.”
Sawyer didn’t need to ask where he’d been all night. Lucas had headed to Dixon’s Boardinghouse right after supper to see Miss Gertie. According to Chester, Lucas and Miss Gertie had had a steamy love affair that ended badly. After fifty years, they were back together and Lucas spent a few nights a week with Miss Gertie at the boardinghouse.
Sawyer shook his head as he muttered under his breath. “And the woman punched me in the face for fooling around.”
Lucas had better hearing than Sawyer thought. “Gert didn’t punch you in the face for fooling around. She punched you in the face for getting Maisy pregnant. And I’m not really happy about that either.”
“We don’t know if Maisy’s pregnant.”
“You still deserved to get your ears boxed for not taking precautions. I thought me and Chester taught you that you don’t ride a mare without first putting on a saddle.”
Since Lucas was right, there was nothing to say. Sawyer pulled a carrot from his back pocket and held it out to the horse in hopes Angel would come close en
ough so Sawyer could toss the blanket on.
“If she is pregnant, you gonna marry her?” Lucas asked.
“Maisy has no desire to get married. She’s got her heart set on becoming the world’s best saddle bronc rider.”
“Then I guess that worried look on your face has to do with becoming a daddy.”
“I’m not exactly father material.”
“I think you’re wrong. Every man is father material. But like everything else in life, it takes hard work and dedication.” Lucas paused. “And just so you know, bribery isn’t the way to get that horse to trust you.”
Sawyer lowered the carrot and looked at Lucas. “I’m not trying to bribe him.”
“Sure you are. You’re saying, ‘If you let me put this blanket on your back, I’ll give you something in return.’ When what he needs to understand is that you’re the type of person who gives food and love freely without expectations. He couldn’t meet his last owner’s expectations so he sees no need to try and meet yours. Kids are the same way. They try to meet their parents’ expectations. If they can’t, they usually say to hell with it and do the exact opposite.”
Lucas rested his arms on the fence and pinned Sawyer with his stare. “I often wondered if that was your problem as a kid. When I talked with your parents, I got the feeling they expected you to be their angel and were more than a little annoyed when you became a little demon.”
It was surprising how accurate the old cowboy’s analysis was. Sawyer’s parents had had high expectations of him. And for a time he had meet all their expectations . . . until he’d figured out what it had cost his brother.
