Taming a Texas Devil - Katie Lane Page 0,19
quite this close. It was disconcerting and sad. She wondered if the trailer park had always been this rundown and if the owners were just being facetious when they had named it Lucky Lane.
Dixie had almost reached the highway when she noticed an old Airstream trailer parked in the last spot. The original metal siding was faded, but still reflected the setting sun like a shiny nickel. A cute red and white striped awning shaded a pair of lawn chairs and a little table with a matching red and white checkered tablecloth. To the left of the table and chairs, a woman in a western shirt, faded jeans, and a cowboy hat was barbecuing on a charcoal grill. The smell of something wonderful wafted in Dixie’s open window and Queenie started meowing.
Which drew the woman’s attention. When she spotted the sheriff’s cruiser, she waved. Not so much in greeting as in waving Dixie down. As much as Dixie had decided she wasn’t going to hide anymore, she figured it might be best if she pretended she hadn’t seen the woman and keep right on going. But the woman wasn’t going to let that happen. She raced out from under the awning right in front of the SUV, forcing Dixie to come to a dust-spitting halt.
The woman walked around to Dixie’s open window and pushed back her cowboy hat. Dixie immediately recognized the pixie cute face of the woman.
“Maisy Sweeney!”
“Last time I checked.” Maisy grinned, displaying the slight gap between her two front teeth. When Dixie had first met Maisy, she’d wondered why the woman hadn’t had it filled. But as she studied her now, she realized that it didn’t look so bad. In fact, it made Maisy’s smile uniquely hers. “What are you doing out here at the Lucky Lane Trailer Park, Deputy Dixie?” Maisy asked.
“I could ask you the same thing. I thought you’d left Simple.”
“I did, but after winning a fat purse at my last rodeo, I decided to take a few weeks off and stop by to see if the sheriff has discovered anything else about Sam.”
“No, I’m afraid not.” Dixie wasn’t about to tell her Sheriff Willaby’s farfetched theory about the Double Diamond boys. “And the sheriff has taken a little vacation and won’t be working on the case for a while.”
“I heard it was more of a forced leave of absence?”
Dixie laughed. “I guess there are no secrets in a small town.”
“That depends. The last time I was here, I couldn’t get any answers from anyone. But as soon as I pulled into town early this morning, people couldn’t stop talking to me. I guess I was considered a stranger at first. Now I’m just Maisy Sweeney, the little gal who took first prize in the mechanical bull competition at Cotton-Eyed Joe’s.”
“I heard about that. You made every women in town proud.”
“And probably ticked off a whole lot of men. Some men don’t like to be shown up by a woman. Especially at a sport they think is their own. Maybe that explains why I can’t catch a man to save my soul.”
Dixie could relate. “Believe me, I get it. There were numerous male cadets at the police academy who thought females had no business being there. Ironically, those men were the first ones to drop out.”
“My mama always said, ‘The bigger a man’s mouth, the smaller his balls.’”
Dixie laughed. “And my mama always said, ‘If you can’t catch a man, maybe you’re going after the wrong one.’”
Maisy grinned. “I think our mamas should meet. And speaking of meat, I need to get back to my kebabs. You’re welcome to join me. I have more than enough.”
Dixie started to decline, but then the contents of her refrigerator flashed into her brain—along with the image of another night spent watching reality television with only Queenie for company. “Do you like cats?”
“As much as I love dogs and horses. I’d have a dog or cat now, but my Banjo just passed away and I’m still grieving that sweet mutt.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. Now come on or we’ll be eating charred beef for dinner.”
Maisy turned out to be as good a hostess as she was a cook. Not only were the steak kebabs and green salad delicious, but so were the margaritas she made to go with them. After the first one, Dixie was feeling relaxed. After the second, she was extremely happy and talkative. They sat in lawn chairs and exchanged stories about bronc riding and beauty pageants.