Taming a Texas Devil - Katie Lane Page 0,66
Ranger I’ve been working with.”
“I know who he is,” her daddy snapped. He pointed a finger at Lincoln. “And if I have anything to do with it, you won’t be a Texas Ranger for much longer. When you agreed to keep an eye out for my daughter, I meant for you to keep her safe. I did not mean for you to . . . to be doing what you’re doing.”
Her father’s words took a moment to sink in. When they did, she still couldn’t quite believe she’d heard him right. The sheriff she could ignore, but she couldn’t ignore her daddy. “Lincoln agreed to keep an eye on me?”
His father continued to glare at Lincoln. “He sure did. I think he was hoping to get a promotion out of it. But if you think you’re getting that promotion now, you can think again.”
Dixie turned to Lincoln. She wanted him to look shocked by her father’s complete misunderstanding of what had happened. But he didn’t look shocked. Nor did he look repentant. His face was devoid of all emotion.
She turned to her parents. “I need a few minutes alone with Lincoln.”
“What you need is to get your butt back home, baby girl,” her daddy said. “This little game of deputy you’ve been playing is—”
“That’s enough, Grant,” her mama said. Her mother rarely interrupted her father so he looked more than a little stunned. Before he could argue, she hooked an arm through his and gave him a kiss. “Let’s go get a Coke float at that cute little soda fountain we passed on our way into town.” She kept talking as she led him to the door. “It reminds me of that soda fountain you took me to on our first date. Do you remember? I was so star struck by your good looks I poked myself in the eye with the straw and we both laughed until we . . .” Her voice faded as they walked out the door.
When they were gone, Dixie closed the door and turned to Lincoln. “Is it true?”
He hesitated only a second before he nodded.
She felt like she’d felt the first time she’d been thrown onto her back at the police academy. Stunned and unable to catch her breath. She flopped down on the couch. Queenie must’ve sensed that something was wrong because she got up from where she’d been sleeping on the back of the couch and jumped into Dixie’s lap. Dixie stroked her fur as she put all the pieces together.
“I should’ve known something wasn’t right when you stayed to look for Sam Sweeney when there was no evidence of a crime. Texas Rangers don’t hang around when there’s no case to solve. Nor do they take home drunk women and spend the night with them. Or buy new deadbolts for their apartments. Or waste their time training a stupid deputy who doesn’t know her butt from a hole in the ground.”
“You’re not stupid.”
She fought to keep the tears from her eyes. It was a losing battle. “Yeah, I am. I was stupid enough to think you hung around me because you liked me.”
“I do like you.”
She looked away. “Yeah, you liked me enough to lie to me.” He didn’t say anything. She didn’t expect him to. Lincoln wasn’t good with words. He was a man of action. His actions had said it all. She hadn’t meant anything to him but the means to get a promotion. And maybe a good piece of ass—or an average piece of ass. She no longer believed she’d been all that phenomenal in bed. It was just something he’d said so he wouldn’t hurt the senator’s daughter’s feelings. So she wouldn’t run to her daddy and tattle on the big bad Texas Ranger who had done her wrong. A few months ago, she would have run to Daddy.
But not now.
She lifted Queenie off her lap and got up. She opened the door and held it. “You should leave, Lincoln. You don’t have to be my bodyguard anymore. And you don’t need to worry about the promotion. I’ll make sure Daddy doesn’t ruin it for you.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the promotion.”
She finally looked at him. “Yes, you do. You love your job. I know you wouldn’t have lied to me for anything less. And you did the job of watching out for me well. So well that I thought there was more to what we had than there was.”
“Dixie, I—”
She held up a hand.