“I bet I know who it’s for,” Raynelle said with a knowing smile. “Maybe a sexy badass Texas Ranger?”
Raynelle was right. The coffee was for the sexy badass Texas Ranger Dixie had left sleeping in her bed. A Texas Ranger who had loved her so well during the night they’d both overslept. Which was why she knew nothing about the sheriff being back. She needed to get to the office and figure out what was going on.
“I better go, ladies,” she said as she backed toward her SUV. “Thanks so much for inviting me to join the Simple Book Club. I’ll look forward to my first meeting.”
“It’s at the Gardener Ranch,” Raynelle called after her. “And Sadie is the best cook ever.”
“Now why would you say that, Ray?” Luanne scolded. “I’m just as good a cook as Sadie. You loved my pigs in a sleeping bag when I made them.”
Before she could hear Raynelle’s answer, Dixie got in her SUV and backed out. Sure enough, when she got to the office, she saw Sheriff Willaby’s truck parked out front and his sheriff’s SUV was now parked in a different space than it had been.
Depression didn’t come close to describing how Dixie felt. Not only because she would have to go back to being bossed around by the arrogant jerk, but also because she now knew what a good lawman was. And Sheriff Willaby didn’t come close. He cared nothing about the town and the people who lived there. She could only hope folks had come to realize that and wouldn’t re-elect him in the fall. Of course, from what she’d heard, the only reason they had elected Willaby in the first place was because no one else had wanted the job. She would have to find someone to run against him. Someone who loved the town as their own.
She hesitated as she got out of the SUV.
What if she ran for sheriff?
She shook the crazy thought out of her head. She wasn’t prepared to be sheriff. She had just gotten the hang of being a deputy. She could handle the little things like getting after folks for speeding or teenagers for ditching school, but she couldn’t handle the bigger problems. Like confronting a murderer. When she walked into the office and saw Sheriff Willaby sitting behind the desk shoving store-bought donuts in his mouth and playing solitaire on the computer, she figured anyone would be a better sheriff.
She pinned on a smile. “Good mornin’.”
The sheriff swiveled around in the chair. “You’re late.”
“Sorry.” She held up the cup she’d brought in with her. “There was a long line at the pharmacy soda fountain. I thought I’d bring you coffee to welcome you back.”
His eyes narrowed. “How’d you know I was back?”
“Nothing in a small town stays a secret.” She set the cup on the desk and noticed the notes she’d been compiling on Sam Sweeney. She’d been in such a hurry to get home to meet Lincoln she’d forgotten to file them the night before. She hoped Willaby hadn’t read them. She felt more than a little possessive about Sam Sweeney’s case. While she would leave Lincoln to make the arrest, she really wanted to solve the mystery.
As casually as possible, she picked up the notes. Willaby didn’t seem to notice. His mind was on something else.
“So where’s your boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend?” She played dumb. “I don’t have a boyfriend.” It was the truth. Lincoln really wasn’t her boyfriend. He was her secret lover who refused to acknowledge he had some major feelings for her. But Dixie knew he did. Just like she knew she had major feelings for him. Having never been in love before, she wasn’t ready to label it. All she knew was that when she was with him, she felt like she could be herself. Not her mama’s beauty queen. Not her daddy’s pea in a pod. For the first time in her life, she could just be Dixie Leigh. And it felt nice.
“Don’t play dumb, deputy,” Sheriff Willaby said. “I’ve seen Lincoln Hayes’ truck at your apartment at all hours of the night.”
The fact the sheriff had driven past her apartment gave her the willies. And ticked her off. “Have you been stalking me, Sheriff? Because that’s criminal behavior.”
He stood and his face turned red with anger. She had seen him angry before, but never like this. And never directed at her. “Don’t you dare take that uppity attitude with me! I’ve seen the way you look at me. I know you think you’re better than I am. And I know you were glad to get rid of me. You went to your big shot senator daddy, didn’t you? He’s the one who got the governor after me.”
She had only disliked the man before. Now she out and out hated him. “You’re wrong. I didn’t run to my daddy and tattle on you. And just for your information, Officer Hayes was at my apartment because we’re working on the Sam Sweeney case together.” It wasn’t a lie. Between hot, mind-blowing sex, they did talk about the case.
The anger drained out of the sheriff as quickly as it had come, and he laughed. “He isn’t working on the Sam Sweeney case with you. That’s just to cover up what he’s really doing. Which is babysitting you for your daddy. Although I bet your daddy would be pretty upset if he found out his little girl was getting fucked by her Texas Ranger bodyguard.”
Dixie was so stunned all she could do was stare at him. “My bodyguard? You don’t know what you’re talking about. My daddy didn’t hire a bodyguard for me.”
The sheriff smirked. “Not hired. He just asked Lincoln’s boss to do him a little favor. And when a big-shot senator asks you to do him a favor, you
