and had tried to sneak in with the rest of the Double Diamond boys. They’d only gotten to stay for a few seconds before a big bouncer had tossed them all out on their ears. The second time was when he, Holden, Cru, and Logan had been celebrating Holden’s upcoming wedding. Tonight, he was here for one purpose and one purpose only. To find some information on Sam Sweeney.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going so well.
“Sweeney?” The owner of the bar, an older man named Big Jimbo, shook his head. “Nope, it doesn’t ring a bell. Of course, fifteen years is a long time. A lot of people have passed through this bar.”
“Maybe one of your bartenders would remember him,” Val said.
“Doubtful. The bartender who’s been here the longest is Davy and he’s only been here seven years.”
“Well, thanks for your time.” Val held out his hand.
Big Jimbo gave it a hearty shake. “You’re that famous author fella who’s stayin’ at Dixon’s, ain’t ya? Do you think I could get your autograph on a napkin for my wife? She’s not much of a reader, but she’s a major autograph hound. She’ll chase anyone famous down just to get their signature on whatever she can find in her purse. She once saw that lady that does insurance commercials in an airport in Dallas and we missed our flight so she could get ‘Love, Flo’ written on the inside of a Hershey bar wrapper.” He shook his head. “It can be damned embarrassin’ at times.”
Val laughed. “How about if I drop by an autographed book? What’s your wife’s name?”
“Henrietta. And that would be real nice of you. You head on up to the bar and tell Davy that Big Jimbo said to give you a drink on the house. You should stick around for a while. We’re having a mechanical bull riding competition later tonight. The winner gets a hunnerd-dollar bill.”
“Thanks. I might do that,” Val said, even though he planned to go back to the boardinghouse and try to get some writing done.
He had a change of plans when he walked past the bar and saw Maisy Sweeney sitting there looking forlorn. Her straw cowboy hat sat back on her head and she rested her chin in her hand as she stared off into space. He should’ve kept right on walking. He really needed to get some writing done. But maybe Maisy could give him some information about Sam that would help Linc locate him faster.
“Hey, Maisy.” Val sat down on the barstool next to her.
She straightened and her big brown eyes lit with recognition. “Hey, you’re the guy from the hotel. I’m sorry, I forgot your name. I’ve talked to a lot of people lately and all the names are starting to run together.”
“It’s Val.”
“That’s right. Val Silver—no, Sterling. How’s it goin’?”
“From the way you were looking, I’d say better than it’s going for you. I guess you haven’t had any luck locating your father?”
She sighed. “Not a lick. I’ve even gone to the sheriff, but he hasn’t found anything yet—not that I completely trust the man. He seems a little squirrelly to me.” Obviously, Maisy had good instincts. “And his deputy, while real sweet, seems to be more interested in her hair than in her job. But the sheriff did say that he’ll keep looking into my father’s disappearance even after I’m gone.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Yeah, I have to get back on the rodeo circuit.”
The bartender came over to take his order. Once he was gone, Val went back to their conversation. “So you’re a barrel racer.”
She sent him a sardonic look. “Why do men always think girls have to be barrel racers?”
“Umm . . . I just thought . . .”
“I ride broncs.”
He was more than a little surprised. He had never met a female bronc rider.
She laughed. “I left you speechless, did I?” She patted his knee. “That’s okay. I leave a lot of men speechless.”
He would bet she did. She was a feisty little thing with a contagious smile. “Are you planning to enter the mechanical bull riding contest tonight.”
“I’m already entered. I can always use an extra hundred dollars—that, and I like to see arrogant guys’ faces when I whup their butts.”
He laughed. “I might just have to stick around to see that.” The bartender arrived with his beer and Val held the glass up to Maisy. “To women bronc riders and whupping butt.”
She picked up her drink and clinked his glass. “Amen.”
He took a sip of his beer