You Can Have My Heart, but Don't Touch My Dog

by Dixie Cash

  Sandi’s head began to spin. This was the last thing she expected to hear him say. She couldn’t deny the part about trust issues. Dare she take a risk? “Well, I don’t know. I have a lot to overcome.”

  “No more than I do, I betcha. I’ll tell you something about me that maybe you haven’t had a chance to figure out. If I say I’m gonna do something, I always do it. No matter what, I always do it. If I say I’m gonna be somewhere, I’m always there and on time. I always help a friend if I can. And this might be important to you. If I see somebody abusing one of God’s helpless creatures, I always fly to the rescue.”

  She doubted none of what he had just said. Besides that, he made her whole system tingle. “Well, I, uh, I suppose we could try. But I warn you, I won’t give up my animals.”

  Chapter 23

  On Thursday, all showered and shampooed, Debbie Sue leisurely poured herself a cup of coffee, leaned a hip against the kitchen counter and sipped. Buddy had been gone since Monday and she missed him. Several months back, the governor had appointed him to a special team investigating drug and human trafficking out of Mexico, so he was spending even more time at the Mexican border.

  While she thought about a plan for the day, she switched on the TV to NewsWest out of Midland.

  “...The police will hold a press conference at eleven o’clock this morning. So far, they haven’t said how Wilson escaped....”

  Stunned, Debbie Sue turned up the volume and stared at the TV screen as a mug shot of the accused murderer came up and the newswoman continued, “...They’re searching the area immediately around the jail from the air and on foot with dogs, but they fear he could already be headed to Mexico....”

  Debbie Sue’s brain cells began to churn. Salt Lick was located between Midland and the Mexican border. True, it was off the commonly used highways, but wouldn’t a fugitive from the law avoid the beaten path? Salt Lick could lie on Wilson’s route to the border. She set her mug on the counter with a clack and speed-dialed Buddy’s cell.

  He came on the line immediately. “Hey, Flash.”

  “Buddy,” she said breathlessly, “have you heard the news?”

  “Something tells me you’re talking about John Wilson.”

  “What are you hearing about his escape?”

  “Not much. I’m a long way from there. Listen, Debbie Sue, I want you to stay out of Midland. I don’t want you and Edwina anywhere near this, you hear? The guy’s already got two murders on his sheet. He’s proved he’s capable of killing. And he’s armed and dangerous.”

  “Buddy Overstreet! I cannot believe you are talking to me like I’m ten years old. Why would Ed and I go near it?”

  He chuckled, the devil. “Exactly my point. Why would you?”

  “The newswoman says they can’t find him, but you’ve got inside information. Do you know where they think he might be hiding out?”

  “It’s not something you need to concern yourself with. The cops in Midland or the Rangers up there will take care of it. What’s your plan for the day?”

  He had changed the subject entirely too quickly. “I’m still thinking about it. Where are you?”

  “Laredo. I’m waiting for some information. Soon as it shows up, I’ll be leaving for home. I should be back up there this afternoon if nothing happens to keep me here.”

  “Great. Vic’s supposed to get home today, too. Ed and I’ll plan something.”

  He gave a wicked laugh. “Don’t make it too complicated. I’ve got a plan of my own.”

  She lowered her voice. “Oh, yeah? It wouldn’t involve you stripping me naked, would it?”

  “It might.”

  “Hah. I thought so. You are naughty, Buddy Overstreet.”

  “You do look a lot better without all those clothes.”

  Instantly, her mind darted toward the sexy red corset and matching panties she had bought from a mail order catalog and hidden in her dresser drawer. “If that’s your plan, I just might have a surprise.”

  “Hmm. I like surprises.... Oops, got another call coming in, babe. Listen, take care of yourself and keep an eye on my pal, Jake. Don’t let him get the best of you and Ed.”

  “Oh, believe me, he’ll be busy. Vic’s still teaching him. He asks him questions and the silly parrot answers them correctly. You take care of yourself, too. Love you, sugarfoot.”

  “Love you, too....And stay out of Midland.”

  Debbie Sue disconnected and shot a look at the digital clock on the oven. Not quite seven o’clock. She rarely called Edwina at home before seven, but talking to her ASAP was necessary.

  By the time she finished another mug of coffee, the clock showed 7:02 a.m. She pressed in Edwina’s number.

  Edwina came on the line. “Mmph.”

  “Hi. Did I wake you up?”

  “What time is it?”

  “Have you seen the news?

  “I’m asleep. Did a bomb go off?”

  “You could say that. John Wilson broke out of jail. They have no idea where he is.”

  “Debbie Sue, I’m asleep. Why is that important to me?”

  “I’m just telling you, they might need some extra help.”

  “Uh-huh. To do what? Does Buddy know he broke out of jail?”

  “Yeah. I just talked to him.”

  “And what did he say about us offering our services?”

  “You know what he said.”

  “Sounds like good advice to me. I’m going back to sleep.”

  “Ed, you can’t. Get up. Let’s drive up to Midland and see what’s going on.”

  “Nope, not doing it, Debbie Sue. I’m not gonna let you drag me into something that might get me killed. Besides, Sandi showed up last night to visit Jake. And she’s expecting Nick to meet her at the shop.”

  “You’re shitting me. After all that bullshit in court?”

  “I told you they had the hots for each other. You never believe me. Besides that, I’ve got a light day. Since she’s here and it’s her fault I’ve got this loudmouthed pest on my hands, she’s gonna help me clean his homes.”

  Damn! Jake again. Debbie Sue bit down on her bottom lip. She had heard about a person sucking all of the oxygen out of a room, but she had never heard of a parrot doing it. “You know what, Ed? Since you got that parrot, you’re no fun at all. It’s hard to be an effective detective when your partner spends all of her time poop scooping.”

  “Effective detective? Poop scooping? Ain’t that cute. I think I like it.”

  Trying to maneuver Edwina in a direction she didn’t want to go was an unwinnable battle. Debbie Sue closed her eyes, heaved a sigh and gave up.

  She arrived at the Styling Station at 8:00 a.m. as usual. She put a pot of coffee on to brew and checked the appointment book. Edwina did indeed have a light day and so did she. No customers until late morning. She dug the cash for the day out of her purse and put it in the cash drawer.

  She had stopped at Hogg’s and picked up breakfast, so she sat down in her styling chair with a cup of coffee and a sausage-and-egg burrito. The front door opened and she came to attention. Quint Matthews stepped into the salon. She choked on a bite of sausage and at the same time, her thoughts flew to her conversation with Buddy just minutes ago: ... then I’ll be leaving for home. I should be back up there this afternoon if nothing happens to keep me here....

  “Quint! Forgodsake! What are you doing here?”

  “Mornin’, darlin’. I figured this was a good time to finish that conversation we started at Tag’s place. Hell, Debbie Sue, I left home before daylight.”

  Panic began to dance in Debbie Sue’s stomach. No telling what Buddy would do if he walked in and found Quint here. “We finished it. And Buddy will be back today.”

  “But not ’til late. And he might not be back ’til tomorrow.” He lifted off his hat and set it on Edwina’s station.

  “How do you know anything about Buddy’s schedule?”

  “A friend in the Rangers told me, darlin’. He said Buddy is way down sout
h.”

  The Texas Rangers was one of the most elite and professional law enforcement agencies in the world, its members bound by brotherhood. A Ranger wouldn’t reveal the whereabouts of one of its own to someone outside the organization. “I don’t believe you.”

  Quint gave her a smirk. “I guess you don’t have to. You got an extra cup of that coffee?”

  “You know where the pot is. We haven’t moved it.”

  He walked into the back room and a minute later, returned carrying a mug of steaming coffee. He took a seat beside her in Edwina’s styling chair. “Where’s your partner in crime-fighting this morning?”

  “She’ll be here any minute. You’d better go before she gets here.”

  “Why? She and I always got along fine.” He looked around. “Place looks good, darlin’. You and Ed are still busy making a fortune, huh? The experts on beauty in Salt Lick, Texas.”

  “Don’t be a smart-alec. We do okay.”

  His gaze landed on the corner of the room and Jake’s cage. “What the hell is that?”

  “It’s an aviary. Ed’s adopted a parrot.”

  “And it lives in that?”

  “Part of the time when he’s here at the shop. He isn’t an it, by the way. He’s a he. He doesn’t like being called an it.”

  Quint laughed and shook his head. “One of the reasons I always liked hanging out with you, Debbie Sue, is it was always entertaining. A man never knew what might happen next.”

  A commotion came from the back room, along with the sound of the back door slamming. “Ed’s here now. And her niece is with her, so don’t say anything stupid.”

  Quint’s mouth tipped up in a mischievous grin. “Darlin’, I never say anything stupid.”

  “Humph. That’s a matter of opinion. You were pretty stupid at Tag’s place the other day.”

  Debbie Sue rose from her seat as Edwina and Sandi came into the salon. Quint, too, got to his feet.

  Sandi carted a box of cleaning supplies. Edwina staggered under the weight and awkwardness of Jake’s travel cage.

  “Aarwrk,” Jake screeched. Lemme outta here!...Toast!...Jake wants toast.”

  Edwina ignored Jake and set his cage on a footstool in front of a hairdryer. “Quint! What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Quint. What the hell are you doing here?” Jake repeated, cocking his head. “Hello,” he added and twisted his head 180 degrees.

  Quint chuckled, “You got an echo in here. Debbie Sue just asked me the same question and now some damn bird wants to know why I’m here?”

  Like a laser, his focus landed on Sandi. “And who might you be, pretty lady?”

  Debbie Sue sighed inwardly. He hadn’t changed one bit.

  He took hold of the box Sandi carried. “Here, darlin’, let me take care of that load for you. Pretty little thing like you shouldn’t be carrying a heavy box.” He set the box of cleaning supplies on the seat of Debbie Sue’s styling chair.

  Empty-armed, Sandi opened her palms. “Well, I—” She gave a silly titter. She sounded like a teenager.

  Quint had that effect on women. He was so damn good-looking and he had a way of making you think you were the only one in the world who was important. Still, Debbie Sue looked on in horror. If he harassed Edwina’s niece, Vic might tear him limb from limb.

  “Uh...” Sandi stood there blinking. Finally, she stuck out her right hand. “Sandi Walker. I’m Edwina’s niece.”

  “What the fuck!” Jake screeched and turned all the way around on his swing. “What!...The!...Fuck!”

  Quint stared at Jake, obviously more than curious. “Did he say what I think I heard?”

  Sandi rushed to Jake’s cage. “Jake! Stop that. Bad word. Bad word.” She turned to Quint. “Seeing someone new, he thinks he’s performing. I think he might have been part of the entertainment in a sports bar.”

  The parrot paced back and forth on his swing, hung a foot on the side of the cage and turned upside down. He squawked a loud jungle call, followed by, “Dickhead. Dickhead.”

  Quint’s expression turned from fascination to wide-eyed amazement. “Did he just say dickhead? Is he calling me a dickhead?”

  “Well, if the shoe fits,” Edwina said and blew a large gum bubble.

  “What the hell? He doesn’t even know me.”

  A hooting laugh burst from Debbie Sue. She couldn’t hold it back. Quint’s ego was so fragile he couldn’t stand hearing even a parrot criticize him.

  Quint walked over to Jake’s travel cage, bent down and looked inside.

  “I repeat my earlier question,” Edwina said. “What are you doing here, Quint?”

  Quint straightened and planted his fists on his hips. “Jesus Christ. You women act like I’m Satan or something. You’ve known me a long time, Ed. Now stop and think. Why would I be here?”

  “Honey-chile, it’s not for me to stop and think. If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, and Buddy Overstreet walks through that door, which could be any minute, what you’re thinking won’t mean a damn thing. He’ll toss your ass all the way back to the Alamo. Then you’ll be thinking a ride on one of your mad bulls feels like a cake walk.”

  “I’m not afraid of Buddy. Besides, I know exactly where he is and I know what he’s doing. He won’t be here for hours.”

  Debbie Sue thought about that. Even she didn’t know exactly where her husband was. But before she could thoroughly analyze that fact, Jake began to squawk and flap his wings. “What the fuck? Lemme outta here! Lemme outta here!”

  Rummaging through the box of cleaning supplies, Edwina shook her head. “He’s on a tear this morning. He called me Q-Tip again and he upset Gus, howling like a coyote. Poor cat was so terrified he clawed his way to the top of the refrigerator and broke all my magnets.” She glared at the parrot. “Then, naughty Jake refused to go into the travel cage, didn’t you, Jake?”

  “Toast! Jake wants toast!” he screeched.

  “You can’t have toast,” Edwina yelled at him. “You can have a muffin.”

  “Fuck off!” Jake paced back and forth on his perch making garbled noises that sounded like mumbling.

  Laughing, Quint bent down and looked at Jake again. “Ed, did he just tell you to ‘fuck off’?”

  Jake landed on the bottom of the cage and jumped up and down. “Fuck off, dickhead! Fuck! Off!”

  Quint shook his head. “Well, I never...”

  “Quint, if you’re not gonna leave,” Edwina said, “just sit there quietly while we try to figure out what this bird wants. Vic’s trying to teach him not to say fuck and you’re bringing out the worst in him.”

  Sandi bent over, eye level with the parrot. “You stop saying bad words. Aunt Ed and I are going to clean your house. Sit here and be a good boy. Take a nap.”

  “That’s such a small cage,” Debbie Sue said. “I suppose we could let him out.”

  “Oooh, no,” Edwina said. “Cleaning this aviary thing is bad enough. I don’t want to clean bird shit off all the walls, too.”

  Jake hopped up and down. “Bird shit! Bird shit! What the fuck!”

  “Let’s get this done so we can put him in it,” Sandi muttered. She and Aunt Ed immediately donned rubber gloves and set out to take the plants out of Jake’s aviary in the corner of the room.

  Debbie Sue picked up one of Jake’s toys and shook it at him. “Here, Jake. Play with this.”

  “Jake’s mad!” he screeched. “Lemme out!” He threw his head back and screamed a string of what sounded like an assortment of invectives at the ceiling.

  “All right, all right. Just shut up.” Debbie Sue opened the travel cage’s door and invited Jake out. He hopped out onto the floor, spread his wings and bobbed his head. He began to squawk loudly. He paced back and forth, squawking and bobbing his head.

  “What is it, Jake? Why are you upset?” Debbie Sue offered him a handful of hair rollers to play with, but he batted them away with his beak. “Why are you mad, Jake?”

  He continued to pace an
d squawk unintelligibly. All at once, he ran to where Edwina and Sandi were cleaning his aviary and hopped up and down. “Jake’s mad! Jake’s mad!”

  Edwina and Sandi looked at each other, then at Debbie Sue. “Unless it’s because I didn’t cook toast for him, we don’t know why he’s mad,” Edwina said.

  “That sonofabitch is pigeon-toed,” Quint said.

  Jake made a loud screech and hopped up and down. “Dickhead!”

  “Did he call me a dickhead again?”

  Jake ran across the floor and bit the toe of Quint’s boot.

  Quint jerked back his foot. “What the hell?” He stared down at his boot. “He scarred my damn boot. These are custom-made boots.”

  Jake paced back and forth in front of Quint, volleying between squawking and screeching and making loud unidentifiable noises.

  “My God. I think the little bastard is having a tantrum,” Edwina said and looked at Sandi. “Does he know he’s pigeon-toed?”

  “I don’t know,” Sandi answered, shaking her head.

  Edwina gave Quint a pointed glare. “Maybe he doesn’t like being compared to a pigeon. Or maybe he just doesn’t like Quint.”

  Quint opened his palms. “What the hell did I do?”

  “While you’re standing there doing nothing, feed him a muffin,” Edwina said. “They’re in that bag on the floor by my station.”

  Quint picked up the bag and began to dig inside. Jake continued to pace and screech and squawk. Quint pulled out a baggie filled with miniature muffins. “Since when do birds eat muffins?”

  On a squawk, Jake attacked Quint’s boot again.

  Just then a sound came from the back room and Debbie Sue shot a look toward the door to the back room. “Was that the back door?”

  “Nah,” Edwina answered. “Nobody comes through the back door.

  Everyone but Jake stopped what they were doing and listened. Jake continued to squawk and ramble.

  Chapter 24

  The door into leading into the salon opened. A scruffy unshaven man stepped through and in his hand was a very large pistol. “Okay, folks. Stay right where you are and nobody gets hurt.”