“I’m going to find him,” Grady said.
Mac wasn’t sure if he was offering comfort or trying to convince himself, but he hoped Grady was right.
Butch made his way through a group of girls hip-bumping to Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.” He held two empty pitchers and set them on the counter. “What did you say to Kate?” he asked Grady.
“Nothing, I haven’t even seen her yet. Why?”
“She asked me to come over here and get refills for her tables. I think she’s worried about the hose-down she gave you last night.”
“She should be,” Grady deadpanned. “Tell her I’m considering arresting her for assaulting an off-duty officer and having her celebrate the New Year from behind bars.”
Mac took the pitchers and set them in the sink, grabbing two clean ones from the shelves. “She might believe you, Grady,” he said over his shoulder. “And make a run for the border, giving Butch one hell of a chase.”
Butch laughed. “Speaking of the border, I have tomorrow morning open, Mac.”
“Open for what?” Grady asked.
“Mac wants me to go up to Humdigger mine with him so that ol’ Dick Webber doesn’t take a shot at him for trespassing.”
Grady rubbed his jaw. “You want me to send one of my newer deputies with you in plain clothes? I don’t think Dick knows this kid—he’s fresh out of the academy.”
“Nah,” Butch said. “We’re taking someone with a lot more sleuthing experience.”
“We are?” Mac asked. “Who?”
Butch pointed over his shoulder. “A vacationing detective from South Dakota who’s about to get schooled at pool—at least that’s Kate’s prediction. Which reminds me. I need a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses for the pool tournament participants. Things are about to get exciting back there.”
Chapter Sixteen
Not quite midnight …
“Ten bucks says Natalie’s dry spell ends tonight,” Claire said to Kate, who was feeding money into the jukebox.
“What are you talking about?” her sister asked, sliding another dollar bill into the slot.
“Look up by the pool tables.”
Kate turned, her brow wrinkling. “Oh, no! I didn’t realize she was wearing my zipper shirt under her work shirt.”
“And she changed into your miniskirt.” The jeans Natalie had been wearing earlier were gone, but the cowboy boots were still the same.
“What is she thinking?” Kate crossed her arms. “That’s my ‘get it on’ outfit.”
“More like ‘tear it off,’ if you ask me.”
Kate scowled at her. “It’s better than your see-through T-shirts and those Daisy Duke shorts.”
“Better? Nah. And my T-shirts aren’t see-through. They just hug the girls nicely. That outfit,” Claire said, pointing at Natalie, who was chalking up a pool cue while chatting with Coop, “is much more accessible than any of my outfits.”
Kate smirked. “She doesn’t look like a woman on a sabbatical from the male sex.”
“Sabbatical or not, she’s got Coop on the brain.”
“Maybe she’s just going to torture him a little. Natalie has a wicked streak in her and he stung her pretty bad before.”
That was true, and Natalie could hold a grudge like the Hatfields and the McCoys. “She is the queen of revenge.”
“She told me earlier tonight that she wants to stay ‘just friends’ with Coop,” Kate said. “Anything more could mess up the dynamics of their group of friends up in Deadwood.”
Claire scoffed. “That is not a ‘just friends’ outfit. Those are sex-in-a-back-alley duds, all the way.”
“Hey!” Kate punched Claire’s arm. “I paid good money for those labels.”
“And I’m sure Butch has appreciated them appropriately.”
Kate’s smile was enough of an answer for Claire.
She turned back to the jukebox. “Let’s play some of Natalie’s favorite sexy songs,” Claire said. Thanks to Kate’s money, they had six songs to choose. “Here we go.” She punched in the letter-number combination.
“ ‘Start Me Up’? You think that’s sexy?” Kate asked.
“Are you kidding? The Rolling Stones are all about sex, baby mama.” Claire scanned the list. “Here’s another.”
“ ‘You Shook Me All Night Long,’ ” Kate read aloud the AC/DC title as Claire added the song to the playlist. “Are you trying to sabotage Natalie?”
“Of course. Oh, this one is great.” She typed in the keys for “Magic Man” by Heart.
“Yeah, I always liked that song, too,” Kate said. “Why are you sabotaging Natalie?” She pointed at the screen. “Play that one.”
“Dancing in the Dark” by Springsteen? Claire hesitated—that wasn’t her favorite song by “The Boss”—but it was sexy and Natalie always liked to dance to it. “Natalie’s coiled too tight, especially since a certain law dog showed up. She’s spent enough time patching up her inner self. It’s time to return to the fun stuff in life, like a relaxing roll in the hay, and the perfect guy to help her unwind is right in front of her.”
“Mississippi?”
Claire looked over her shoulder. Natalie had moved and was now pouring tequila into a shot glass next to where Mississippi was sitting. She set the full shot glass in front of the FBI agent and then filled another shot glass for herself.
That would be Natalie’s second shot of tequila tonight. Claire grinned. Tequila was a sure-fire ingredient for some slap-and-tickle fun in the dark.
“Not Mississippi, bird brain,” Claire said, turning back to the jukebox.
“Don’t call me bird brain, wiener wonder.” Kate leaned closer to Claire. “Who’s the black-haired babe sitting at the table with Mississippi? She looks familiar but I can’t get a good look at her face.”
Claire punched in the letter-number combination for “Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Bad Company. That one should get things sparking in somebody’s pants. “What babe?”
“The one who looks like she’s ruffling Mississippi’s feath … oh, that’s Grady’s sister. The one who owns The Mule Train Diner. Damn, I wish I had curves like her.”
Claire glanced over in time to see Penny steal Mississippi’s shot of tequila and drink it. She set the shot glass back on the table
