by Katie Lane
“I never said I was going to discourage her, sir. I said I would keep an eye on her. And I have. I’m not going to discourage someone from doing their job when they’re good at it. Deputy Meriwether is good at her job. She has great instincts and excellent people skills. We need officers like her in law enforcement.”
“What happened to you thinking that she wasn’t fit to be a law officer?” There was a pause. “Please tell me that nothing is going on between you and the senator’s daughter, Hayes.”
“No, sir.” But it was a daily struggle.
“Good. If you stepped over that line, I wouldn’t have been able to keep the chief from firing you. He’s pissed enough as is that you didn’t go along with the senator’s desires.”
“The senator is wrong. If he loves his daughter, he should support her career choice and not try to squash her dream.”
“And just what makes you think being a deputy is her dream? If it was, she wouldn’t quit so easily.”
He tensed and Doris fidgeted beneath him. “Dixie is quitting?”
“That’s what the senator told the chief. I guess the senator came up with another way to get his daughter to quit.“ Major Macky snorted. “Rich people. They’re all crazy. I need to go. Keep me posted on the missing person’s case.”
Long after the call ended, Lincoln sat there in shock. Dixie was quitting? It had to be a mistake. She would have told him if she was planning to quit. Unless her father was blackmailing her. The thought of the senator bullying Dixie made Lincoln feel a little crazed.
He whistled for Boomer and headed back to the ranch. Once there, he unsaddled Doris and released her into the paddock, then he asked Chester to take care of Boomer and headed into town. On the way, he called Dixie. When she didn’t answer, the hard knot of anger tightened in his gut and hardened into fear.
He didn’t know why he would fear Dixie leaving. She didn’t mean anything to him. Sure, he liked her. She was hard not to like. He’d never met a more positive human being. While he looked for the worst in people, she always looked for the best. Even in him. She might be a little spoiled, but she was also generous and kind. She had proven it time and time again with the people of Simple.
He thumped the steering wheel with his fist. “She’s become a damn good deputy and I’m not going to let her father take her away from me.” He froze as he realized what he’d said. He quickly corrected himself. “Them. I’m not going to let her father take her away from them. The townsfolk.”
That was why he felt so upset. He was worried about the people of Simple. They deserved a good person like Dixie to watch out for them. Even if Sheriff Willaby came back, she would be there to keep an eye on the sheriff and make sure he didn’t get too out of hand. She had proven she could handle Willaby. Lincoln didn’t think there was a man alive she couldn’t handle.
As soon as Lincoln stepped into the sheriff’s department and heard Dixie’s voice coming from Willaby’s office, his shoulders relaxed and the lump of fear in his stomach eased. Although it tightened again when he heard what she was saying.
“Get your hands in the air. You’re under arrest for the murder of Sam Sweeney.”
She’d found Sam’s murderer and had him cornered in Willaby’s office? He went to push open the door when she continued.
“No! That’s all wrong, Dixie Leigh. You sounded like a kindergartener asking a friend if you could borrow a crayon. Now try it again and sound like the tough deputy you are.”
Lincoln grinned. She didn’t have Sam’s murderer cornered. She was only practicing. And if she was practicing making an arrest, she wasn’t going anywhere. The lump left his stomach and his grin got bigger as she continued in a deeper more menacing voice.
“Listen up, you lying bastard, you’re under arrest for the murder of Sam Sweeney. And if you give me any trouble, I’m going to fill you so full of holes your mama can use you to strain spaghetti.”
Lincoln laughed as he pushed open the door. He didn’t realize she was standing behind it until she released a startled gasp and dropped the gun she held. She looked shocked to see him. Or maybe she was embarrassed at being caught practicing an arrest. He tried to make light of it and treat it like just another training lesson.
“The spaghetti strainer part was a little over the top,” he said as he picked up her Glock. “It’s best to keep things simple. If you have reason to pull your gun, never let your gaze waver or your hands shake. They need to know you mean business.” He pointed the gun at a spot to the right of her and used his meanest voice. “Get face down on the ground and put your hands behind your back. Now!”
Fear entered her eyes and she dropped to the ground like a marionette with cut strings. He lowered the gun and was instantly concerned. “I didn’t expect you to actually drop to the ground, Dixie. Are you okay?”
She got to her feet, but her eyes were still wide and fearful. “What are you doing here? You told me you were going to spend the day at the Double Diamond looking for Sam’s body.” She paused. “Or do you already know where he’s buried?”
He shook his head. “Boomer isn’t going to be any help. We’ll probably need to bring in tracking dogs.” He set the gun on the desk and sat down in the chair across from it. “Hell, I’m not even sure it’s Sam’s femur anymore. Maybe his truck broke down and he just decided to ditch it and hitch a ride out of town. People have ditched their broken-down vehicles before.” He glanced up at Dixie who was still standing there staring at the gun. “What’s the matter? Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed about me catching you practicing. Every law officer practices his arrests. It’s scary confronting criminals. Especially people who have guns and you might have to shoot.” A thought struck him. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’re still worried that you might have to shoot someone.”
Her gaze lifted from the gun on the desk and held his for a long moment before she nodded. “You.” Before he could get over his surprise, she grabbed the gun off the desk and pointed it straight at him. “I know Sam Sweeney is your father. I saw the picture in your wallet.”
His surprise fizzled. The truth was out. He was angry at himself for not throwing the picture away years ago. It did nothing but piss him off every time he looked at it. And yet, it was the only picture he had of his mother where she looked truly happy. Damn Sam to hell.
He got to his feet. “Put the gun down, Dixie.”
Her hand was shaking badly, but she didn’t lower the gun. “I can’t. I have a town to protect.”
The fact that she thought she had to protect the town from him hurt like hell. “You really think I killed Sam Sweeney?”
A flicker of doubt showed in her beautiful green eyes before they hardened again. “Why else would you keep the fact that he’s your father a secret?”
“He’s not my father. My father died when I was three in an oil drilling accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Sam Sweeney was my mother’s boyfriend. Nothing else.”
She looked surprised, but still determined. He couldn’t help feeling proud that she wasn’t going to let him off easily. A good law officer wouldn’t. “Then why didn’t you say that? Why did you keep it a secret?”
“Because it doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter that you’re the officer investigating Sam’s missing person’s case and you have a close connection to him? I’m not stupid enough to fall for that, Lincoln. It matters and you know it. And Sheriff Willaby knew it too.”
“Sheriff Willaby didn’t know shit. He was only grasping at straws because he hates the Double Diamond boys.”
“And yet, he grabbed the right straw. You. Did you convince the Double Diamond boys to help you?”
He was proud she was being tough, but he was also losing his patience. Especially when she was holding him at gunpoint like a criminal. “Put down the gun, Dixie, and we’ll talk.”
“Not until you tell me the truth, Lincoln. You taught me a deputy is responsible for the safety of every person in their town. And no matter what my h
eart says, my brain says I can’t give in without answers. Why did you keep your relationship with Sam a secret? Is he the one who hit you? Was he abusive? How often did he hit you?”
He had to give her an A+ on interrogation. She’d just hit a sensitive nerve. “I didn’t kill Sam,” he snapped “The reason I didn’t tell anyone the truth of my connection with Sam is because I wanted to forget it. I wanted to forget how my mother had fallen for an abusive asshole. How she had put up with him hitting her . . . and me. And mostly, I wanted to forget how she fell apart after he left and couldn’t pull herself back together. If she couldn’t have Sam, she didn’t want to live. Not even for me.”
Dixie stared at him. “She took her own life?” When he didn’t answer, she covered her mouth as her eyes filled with sympathy.
It was the last thing he wanted. He’d spent years after his mother’s suicide being looked at exactly the way Dixie was looking at him now. The people in his town had referred to him as “that poor Hayes boy.” Which was why he’d become such a troublemaker in his teens. Back then, he would have rather been a belligerent bad boy than a poor pathetic kid who had lost his mother and father. Now he’d rather be an asshole.
He took the gun from her hand and tossed it onto the desk. “Never let a sob story distract you from doing your job, Deputy Meriwether.” He turned and walked out the door.
She caught up to him before he could get to his truck. “Lincoln!” He might’ve been able to ignore her if her voice hadn’t cracked on the last syllable of his name. He turned to find her cheeks streaked with tears and mascara. The anger he felt quickly dissolved and he had to fight the strong urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her.
“I’m sorry,” she said in a quavering voice. “I shouldn’t have doubted you. It’s just that when I saw the picture with you and your mama and Sam Sweeney, I assumed . . . my mama always says, ‘To assume anything only makes an ass out of you and me.’ Although I’m the only ass here. You didn’t do anything but keep a little ol’ secret. And I understand perfectly why you did.” Tears leaked from her eyes. “You didn’t want to remember a man who had been so awful to you and hurt your mama so badly.” She sniffed. “It just breaks my—” A strange look entered her eyes as she stared at something over his head. “Is that smoke?”
He turned to see a plume of gray smoke rising into the sky. It was a fair distance away, so it looked small, but he knew whatever was burning wasn’t a few little weeds.
Without saying a word, he hopped into his truck, and Dixie didn’t hesitate to follow him and get in the passenger side. She used her cellphone to call for the fire department while he pulled out of the parking lot with his siren blaring and his dash light flashing. Once she hung up, they both looked out the windshield and tried to figure out where the smoke was coming from. It wasn’t until he turned off the highway that he was able to pinpoint it.
“It’s the Lucky Lane Trailer Park.”
Chapter Thirteen
Dixie felt a like she was going to pass out or throw up as she stared at the smoke billowing up into the sky. “Oh my God. Cheyenne and Maisy.”
He glanced over at her. “I’m sure they’re fine. In fact, they’re probably not even there. I heard that Maisy is helping with spring branding at the Gardener Ranch and Cheyenne will be at school.”
“No she’s not. She didn’t feel good today, so she stayed home from school. I dropped by this morning to bring her soup. And since her daddy went into Abilene for auto parts, I left Queenie there to keep her company.” She wanted to tell Lincoln to go faster, but he was already going over ninety on the dirt road. She glanced behind her at the dust being kicked up by the truck tires. “Where are the fire trucks? Shouldn’t they be coming behind us by now?”
“Simple’s fire department is volunteer, so they take a little longer than in a big city.” Lincoln reached across the console and squeezed her arm. “It’s okay. It’s probably not even a trailer. It’s probably some old tires that some delinquent kid set on fire. Burning rubber causes a lot of smoke.”
But when they pulled inside the trailer park, it wasn’t burning tires. It was the Dailys’ trailer. Most of the flames had burned out and only a blackened, smoking shell was left that the neighbors were dousing with water from their garden hoses. The sight made Dixie feel more than a little panicked. Before Lincoln even came to a complete stop, she jumped out of the truck and started searching for Cheyenne.
“Cheyenne,” she yelled as she moved through the crowd. “Cheyenne!”
“I’m here.” Cheyenne appeared from around the side of the trailer. Despite a bad case of bedhead, flushed cheeks, and rumpled pajamas, she looked just fine. Dixie ran to her and enfolded her in a tight hug. “I was so worried, honey! Are you okay?”
“I was, but now my ribs might be broken.”
Dixie released her. “Sorry, I’m just glad you’re safe. What happened?”
“I don’t know. I was sitting watching television with Queenie when I saw someone pass by the front window. I thought it was Dad and that he’d come back early to check on me. But when I peeked out the window, I didn’t see his truck. So I figured it was someone from the trailer park walking by. A few minutes later, I smelled smoke. When I couldn’t find anything inside, I went outside and saw that the side of the trailer was on fire.”
Dixie wasn’t sure she believed her. As a kid, Dixie had told more than one lie when she’d messed up and didn’t want to get in trouble. Once, Dixie and her friend had made a blowtorch with Winona’s hairspray and caught the gardener’s shed on fire. A kid stunt like that made more sense than someone purposely setting the trailer on fire. But Cheyenne looked so distraught that Dixie didn’t push it.
“Well, we’ll figure it all out later.” She glanced around. “Where’s Queenie?”
Cheyenne’s face fell. “That’s another problem.” When Dixie looked back at the trailer with wide eyes, Cheyenne shook her head. “No, she’s okay. Well, sorta. She got a little excited when everyone came out and started shouting and turning on their hoses. She jumped out of my arms and ran up a tree.”
Dixie followed Cheyenne’s gaze to the huge oak tree. There was her cat sitting on one of the top branches. Dixie wasn’t too concerned. It wasn’t like Queenie hadn’t climbed a tree before—at least, she wasn’t concerned until she noticed the tree was on fire. Two of the branches that hung over the trailer were smoldering. Cheyenne must have noticed it at the same time because they both yelled the cat’s name and raced to the tree.
“Get down, Queenie,” Dixie yelled up at the cat. “I mean it. Get down right now, you ornery cat, or you’ll get no tuna with supper tonight.” But Queenie didn’t even look at her.
“I’m so sorry, Dixie,” Cheyenne said. “I didn’t realize the tree was on fire. I’ll climb up and get her.”
“You’ll do no such a thing. I’ll go.” Dixie grabbed a low-hanging branch. But before she could pull herself up, strong arms encircled her waist and set her back on the ground.
“What the hell are you doing?” Lincoln asked.
“I’m getting my cat out of a burning tree.”
He glanced up and heaved an exasperated sigh. He released her and yelled at the neighbors. “Get some water on this tree!” The neighbors tried to follow his orders, but their hoses weren’t long enough for their spray to effectively reach the burning branches. When Lincoln saw that, he turned to her and pointed a finger. “Stay right here. That’s an order, Deputy.”
“But my—”
“That’s an order.”
Before Dixie could argue anymore, he reached up and grabbed the limb and pulled himself into the tree. Like everything else he did, he seemed to be an expert at climbing trees. He avoided the burning branches until he got high enough so he could move over. When he was on the branch just beneath Queenie, he called down.
“She won’t come to me and I can’t go up to get her. My weight will break the branch.”
Dixie stomped her foot in frustration. “T
hat stubborn cat. I wish we had her cat treats. She’d come for those.”
“Or if Lincoln was Luke Bryan,” Cheyenne said. “Queenie would follow Luke anywhere.”
“Luke Bryan. Of course.” Dixie pulled out her phone and tapped it until she found what she wanted. Then she turned up the volume and held her phone over her head so Queenie could hear it.
It took until the second verse of “Drunk on You” for Luke to finally draw Queenie’s attention. The cat got up and daintily jumped from branch to branch until she finally landed on the ground at Dixie’s feet. Dixie scooped her up and held her tightly as she called to Lincoln. “I got her. You can come down.”
Lincoln agilely made his way down until he reached the lowest branch and his boots slipped out from under him. He fell out of the tree and onto his back with a muffled grunt.
Dixie handed Queenie to Cheyenne and raced over to kneel next to him. “Oh my God, Lincoln, are you okay? Did you break a bone? Your back? Lincoln, talk to me.”
He sucked in a wheezy breath before he spoke. “Luke Bryan? Are you kidding me?”
The volunteer fire department finally arrived. It was too late for the mobile home, but the two men and one woman did a good job of saving the oak tree. Only two branches burned before they put the fire out.
While they worked to make sure there were no live embers left on the tree or in the trailer, Lincoln and Dixie interrogated every person at the trailer park to see if they had seen anyone messing around the Dailys’ trailer. No one had, and Dixie started to doubt Cheyenne’s story even more . . . until she found a hole cut in the chain link fencing right behind the Dailys’ trailer. When she climbed through the opening into the field, she discovered fresh tire marks in the red mud. She took numerous pictures with her phone’s camera before she called for Lincoln.
