Taming a Texas Rascal (Bad Boy Ranch #6) - Katie Lane Page 0,34
truth from the beginning.”
Dixie backed out of the parking space and headed down Main Street. “I can forgive you for not mentioning that you think you might be pregnant—I would want to be sure before I said anything to anyone too. But I don’t know if I can forgive you for not telling me that you had sex with Sawyer Dawson. What are best friends for if not to share secrets?”
Maisy hesitated for only a second before she told the truth. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t have sex with Sawyer.”
“What?” Dixie stared at her in shock. “You’re talking in circles, Maisy, and it’s making me dizzy. How can you be pregnant if you didn’t have sex with Sawyer?” she gasped. “Oh, Lord, you had sex with someone else and are trying to pin it on Sawyer. Here I thought you were this sweet innocent little cowgirl and you’ve been playing the field like a one-girl soccer team.”
“No! I haven’t been playing the field. I haven’t had sex since high school when Tommy Lee and I fumbled around in the back of his Ford pickup. But I’m not innocent. And I’m certainly not sweet. I’m a big ol’ trickster like my daddy. I lied about having sex with Sawyer.”
Dixie pulled into a parking space right next to Maisy’s truck and turned off the engine. “You’ve lost me. You better start from the beginning.” She unsnapped her seatbelt and turned to face Maisy. “And I mean the very beginning. When did you first start liking Sawyer?”
Maisy didn’t have to think hard to figure out when her infatuation started. “The first time I ever saw him ride, I was pretty much enamored,” she said. “The man can sit a saddle.”
Dixie grinned. “And he’s not too hard on the eyes either.”
“No, but he’s not all full of himself like most bronc riders. He’s nice. At your wedding, I was feeling a little nervous about being a bridesmaid and tripping over my long dress as I walked down the aisle. He teased and joked with me until I forgot all about being nervous. Then right before it was our turn, he winked at me and said, ‘If we can stay on a wild bronc for eight seconds, we can get down this aisle without falling.’ Suddenly, I felt like we were a team. That’s how he treated me at the reception. Like we were a couple. And it felt nice. I guess because for most of my life I’ve been a single. I had my mama for a while, but then she remarried and I felt like a third wheel. At your wedding, I didn’t feel like I was an extra part. I felt . . . like I belonged.”
“Oh, honey.” Dixie took her hand and squeezed it. “You aren’t an extra part. You’re my best friend and you belong with me. And I know everyone in Simple feels the same way. As Miss Gertie said, you’re our ‘rodeo gal’ and we’re all proud of you.”
“I know. But I still get lonely at times. I guess that’s why I latched onto Sawyer.”
“So did anything happen between you two at the wedding?”
Maisy shook her head. “One minute, he was showing me some rodeo riding moves and the next he just disappeared from the reception. After that, whenever I saw him at a rodeo, he avoided me. He was nice, but after a few pleasantries, he would make up some excuse for why he had to leave. Except when I stumbled upon him in the hotel bar in Houston. I should’ve known he was drunk when he didn’t seem in any hurry to get away from me.”
Dixie squeezed her hand again. “Alcohol only gives you the ability to do what you really want to do, but don’t have the courage to do when you’re sober.”
Maisy nodded. “Tequila definitely gave me the courage to do what I’d wanted to do ever since meeting Sawyer. Unfortunately, once we got to his hotel room, he passed out cold before we could even get naked.” She stared out the windshield. “I should’ve put him to bed and left. That would’ve been the right thing to do. Instead, I cuddled up next to him like some needy stray dog, hoping he’d give me a scrap of attention in the morning when he woke up. Instead, when he found me there, he totally freaked out like he’d made the biggest mistake of his life. My ego was hurt and I wanted