Maisy grinned. “I think our mamas should meet. And speaking of meat, I need to get back to my kebabs. You’re welcome to join me. I have more than enough.”
Dixie started to decline, but then the contents of her refrigerator flashed into her brain—along with the image of another night spent watching reality television with only Queenie for company. “Do you like cats?”
“As much as I love dogs and horses. I’d have a dog or cat now, but my Banjo just passed away and I’m still grieving that sweet mutt.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. Now come on or we’ll be eating charred beef for dinner.”
Maisy turned out to be as good a hostess as she was a cook. Not only were the steak kebabs and green salad delicious, but so were the margaritas she made to go with them. After the first one, Dixie was feeling relaxed. After the second, she was extremely happy and talkative. They sat in lawn chairs and exchanged stories about bronc riding and beauty pageants. Their life paths couldn’t have been more different. Dixie had been brought up in a big city and Maisy had been brought up in a small town. Dixie’s father was a U.S. senator and Maisy’s stepfather a retired trucker. Dixie played dolls and beauty queens as a kid and Maisy had climbed trees and played sports.
And yet, they were a lot alike. They had similar southern mamas who wanted to coddle them and they were both single women in Texas who had no desire to get married but would like to meet a nice man to hang out with.
“It’s my own fault,” Maisy said as she scratched Queenie’s ears. The cat had taken to Maisy and spent most of the night on her lap. “I’m attracted to arrogant rodeo studs. I really need to get out more.”
“Me too,” Dixie said. “All the men in my social group are trust fund babies or jerks who want some beautiful robot on their arm to wave at the crowds and further their political career.”
“What about the guys in this town? I’ve seen quite a few hot men around.”
An image of Lincoln popped into Dixie’s head and she let it swim around in her margarita brain for a moment before she pushed it out. “I don’t really socialize with the people in town.”
“Why not?”
Dixie hesitated for a second before she told Maisy the truth. She told her all about her daddy wanting her to be a lawyer and how she had just gone to the police academy to call his bluff and get her inheritance.
“Wow,” Maisy said. “That’s a pretty desperate move.”
“I thought he would give in as soon as I signed up, but he’s too darn stubborn.”
Maisy laughed. “It sounds like he’s not the only one. You have to be pretty stubborn to stick it out for as long as you have. I can’t believe you went through the entire police academy. I heard it’s pretty tough. Especially the physical part.”
“It really wasn’t that hard. I worked out and trained for hours every day when I was doing pageants. The written tests were the hard part. I’ve never been good at school.”
“Me either. My mind was always on horses.”
Dixie only hesitated for a second before she told Maisy something she had never revealed to anyone. “I’m dyslexic.”
Maisy smiled at her. “Then you should be damn proud of yourself for graduating college and the academy. That’s amazing. You are smart.”
It was the first time anyone had ever patted Dixie on the back for being smart and it surprised her . . . and made her feel good.
“You’re pretty amazing yourself,” she said. “It sounds like you are kicking butt in a man’s sport.”
Maisy lifted her Solo cup. “To two amazing Texas gals.”
Dixie lifted her cup and tapped Maisy’s. “Amen!” She went to take a drink, but realized her cup was empty. “Dang. I’m out.”
“So am I,” Maisy said forlornly. “And there’s not a drop of tequila left in my trailer.”
Dixie stared at her empty cup for a moment before she perked up. “Then maybe these two amazing Texas girls need to go out for more tequila.”
Maisy grinned. “And maybe while we’re out we’ll find us some of those hot Simple cowboys.”
Chapter Six
“Sleep tight, Doris.” Chester pulled the stall gate closed, then looked at Lincoln and shook his head. “Only Lucas would name a horse Doris Day. I didn’t care for those romantic comedies she did, but she was damn good in Calamity Jane.”
“My grandmother loved Doris Day movies.” Lincoln gave Chester’s horse Cookie a pat on the withers as he glanced out the open barn door. “Are you sure it’s okay for Lucas to drive into town at night?” Lincoln had been more than a little worried ever since the old cowboy had left in Chester’s truck right after dinner.
“He’ll be fine,” Chester said. “He’s not night blind like I am. And there’s no keeping him away from his lady love.”
Lincoln had been more than a little surprised to find out Lucas had a girlfriend. He had thought the two old cowboys loved the bachelor life and were quite content to live their lives without the hassle of a female. “So how long has this thing with Gertrude Dixon been going on?” he asked.
“Oh, for around fifty years.”
Lincoln stared at Chester in shock. “Fifty years? Why haven’t I ever heard about her?”
“Because they’ve been feuding for the majority of that time. Gertie ticked Lucas off when she declined his marriage proposal and chose her boardinghouse over him.” Chester fished a can of chewing tobacco out of his back pocket and sat down on a hay bale. “Most men want their woman to put them first.”
Lincoln understood that perfectly. “Too bad women like that are hard to find.”
Chester squinted up at him. “Is that what happened to your marriage? Your woman didn’t put you first?”
Lincoln didn’t like to talk about his marriage. It had been a mistake from day one, and he’d just as soon forget
