Boomer’s bark pulled him from his thoughts and he clicked the horse to a gallop to discover what the dog had found. It was another gopher family. The dog was playing hide and seek with the critters. He raced over to one hole and stuck his head in, and then when a gopher popped its head out of another hole, he’d race to that one—only to have another gopher pop up in the hole he was just looking in. Lincoln couldn’t help but laugh as he watched the gophers get the best of the hound dog.
Figuring he wasn’t going to get any more out of the dog today, he started to whistle for Boomer so they could head home when his phone rang. He pulled it from his shirt pocket and looked to see who it was. It was Major Macky.
“Good morning, sir.”
“What’s going on, Hayes?”
“I’m waiting to hear back from forensics about the bone. As soon as I do, I’ll fill out a report and get it to you.”
“A bone? Oh, yes. The missing person’s case. I didn’t call to talk about your case. I called because the chief just called me and chewed my ass out for not having control over my officers. I thought you were going to discourage the senator’s daughter from being a deputy.”
“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
