Taming a Texas Rascal (Bad Boy Ranch #6) - Katie Lane Page 0,31
little rodeo gal pregnant.”
Sawyer didn’t need to ask what rodeo gal, but Lincoln did.
“A rodeo gal?” Lincoln stared down at Miss Gertie.
Miss Gertie rolled her eyes. “Sometimes men are as dumb as a box of rocks. How many rodeo gals do we have in this town? Just one.” She pointed a crooked finger. “That one.”
Sawyer turned to see Maisy and Dixie hurrying in the side door with the mayor. All kinds of emotions welled up inside him—confusion, anger, frustration. But they all took a back seat to the fear of getting his ass whupped when Lincoln lifted him up by the front of his shirt and shook him like a lap dog.
“You got Maisy pregnant?” he growled. He drew back his fist and Sawyer closed his eyes knowing this punch was going to hurt a lot more than Miss Gertie’s. But before it could land, Dixie yelled.
“Stop, Lincoln!” She rushed up and grabbed her husband’s arm. Lincoln lowered his fist a little, but still didn’t let Sawyer go. “I know you’re angry, honey,” Dixie continued. “But you taught me that, as an officer of the law, you always need to keep your cool.” Lincoln looked anything but cool as his hand tightened on Sawyer’s shirt.
“He got Maisy pregnant.”
“So I heard.” She shot an annoyed look over at Maisy. “And I’m just as surprised as you are.”
Sawyer was now more confused than ever. Dixie hadn’t known Maisy was pregnant? Or maybe she just hadn’t known Maisy was pregnant by Sawyer. Miss Gertie had just been smart enough to figure it out. That made more sense. Maisy wouldn’t want anyone to know who the father was. Not even the father. She’d made it quite clear in Houston that she didn’t want anyone telling her what to do. Which is why she’d lied to Sawyer and said she wasn’t pregnant. She thought if he knew about the baby, he would want a say.
She was right.
“Now, come on, honey,” Dixie said. “Let Sawyer go and we can deal with this in private. Not in front of the entire town.”
Lincoln glanced around like he’d forgotten where he was and finally released Sawyer. He still looked angry, but when he spoke, he sounded like a cool-headed Texas Ranger. “The excitement is over, folks. Mayor, why don’t you go ahead and get the meeting started.”
The mayor hesitated for a moment before she hurried to the podium and pounded her gavel. “If everyone will sit down, we can start the meeting.”
As everyone headed back to their seats, Lincoln glanced at Sawyer and pointed to the exit. Sawyer nodded and started to leave when Miss Gertie grabbed his arm and spoke.
“I’m expecting you to do the right thing by that little gal. Do you hear me?”
Right now, the only thing he wanted to do to Maisy was yell at her for lying to him. But he kept that to himself and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Miss Gertie snorted as if she didn’t believe him for a second. “We’ll see.” With that, she rolled over the toes of his boots and headed to her seat.
Sawyer glanced at Maisy and did the same thing Lincoln had done to him. He pointed at the door. She didn’t say a word as she headed toward it. He followed behind her with Dixie and Lincoln bringing up the rear.
When they got outside, Dixie directed everyone to her sheriff’s SUV. Lincoln sat up front in the passenger seat and Sawyer and Maisy sat in the back behind the security grate. Sawyer wanted to let Maisy have it, but he refused do it with Lincoln and Dixie in the car. So he kept his mouth shut and stared out the side window.
At the sheriff’s office, they all got out and waited while Dixie unlocked the front door. She kept herself between Sawyer and Lincoln as if she expected her husband to lose it at any second. Sawyer was just as close to losing it. Once inside her office, Dixie tossed her hat on a hook and pointed a finger.
“Lincoln, you sit behind the desk. Sawyer, you and Maisy sit on the other side.” Dixie remained standing and when everyone was seated, she released a big sigh. “Okay, let’s see if we can get this tangled mess untangled. And as my mama always says, ‘The best place to start is always at the beginning.’ Which I’m going to say was at Lincoln and my wedding. I knew something was going on between you two that night. I just didn’t