A Match Made in Texas (15 page)

“Have you heard about the new reverend in town?”

Kenny rolled his eyes. “That’s all I’ve heard about. He’s the main reason that Twyla broke up with me. It seems the reverend convinced her that I ain’t the right half to her hole. Now, I ain’t spent a lot of time in church, but I don’t think a man of God should be talkin’ to a woman about her hole. Do you, Sheriff?”

Dusty chewed on his lip to keep from laughing. “No, I sure don’t. And that’s exactly why I’d like you to keep an eye on the man. It seems to me that he’s up to no good.”

“You want me to stake him out? Because I’m good at stakin’ people out.” He glanced behind him. “Ain’t I, Moses? I staked out Beau Cates and found out that the Cates boys wanted to close down Dalton Oil and ruin Bramble. So I could get the dirt on this reverend, too.”

“I believe you can.” Dusty smiled.
Or drive the reverend so crazy that he leaves town.
“The man is over at Wilma Tate’s as we speak.”

“I’ll get on it, Sheriff.” He hustled back to his car, all the gadgets he had attached to his belt jangling. But before he climbed in, Dusty issued one last order.

“No lights or sirens.”

Kenny shot him a sullen look. “Hell, I don’t get to have any fun.”

Dusty watched as Kenny got into the squad car and zipped off, barely missing the bumper of Dusty’s car. It was probably a big mistake turning Kenny loose on the reverend, but it wasn’t the first mistake Dusty had made that day. And it didn’t look like it was going to be the last.

“You haven’t seen a woman in a baseball cap, have you, Moses?” He addressed the question to the beat-up straw cowboy hat tipped over the old man’s face.

“The one you dropped off?”

“That would be the one.”

“Well, I couldn’t tell you where she is now, but she headed off with Twyla about an hour ago.”

“Thanks.” Dusty turned back to his car but stopped halfway to the door when Moses spoke.

“It does make you wonder.” The old man pushed up his hat, revealing blue eyes that were faded but still piercing.

“Wonder what?” Dusty asked.

Moses took his time pulling out the Solo cup and spitting into it. “Just what Sheriff Hicks is doin’ with the Cates’s little sister.” When Dusty didn’t say anything, Moses put the cup back and tipped his hat over his face. “It does make you wonder.”

Dusty wondered about the same thing. What was he doing with Brianne Cates? If he knew what was good for him, he’d hop right back into his car and get the hell out of Dodge. Unfortunately, about then, an image of Brianne buck-naked floated through his mind like the clouds floating through the west Texas sky. Perfectly formed breasts with luscious, raspberry nipples the size of silver dollars. A smooth, firm stomach with the sweet slit of a belly button. A skimpy line of dark hair covering a tempting pink cove of heat—

Damn, he needed to get a grip. What the hell was the matter with him? Of course, he knew the answer to that question. He was horny. And he had every right to be horny. It had been months since he’d been with a woman. Six to be exact. Six long months since the Widow Murphy had moved to Arkansas to be with some guy she met on Match.com.

Not that Dusty could blame her. He hadn’t exactly treated her like a girlfriend. He’d treated her more like an acquaintance he occasionally had sex with. It had worked out quite nicely for him. Cheryl was pretty, discreet, and available. But, obviously, it hadn’t worked out so well for Cheryl.

Now Dusty found himself in desperate need of a woman. Just not a dark-haired beauty with a pirate tattoo.

Which didn’t explain why, several minutes later, he was pulling up in front of Twyla’s house. Or why he felt a sudden surge of joy when he walked up the pathway and heard Brianne’s laughter floating out the screen door.

Dusty peeked in and froze as he soaked in the curve of her hips and the sway of her thick, black hair. She glanced behind her, and a smile lit her face. A smile that caused his heart to seize up as if clenched in her small fist.

“Hey! Come on in. I’ll just be a few minutes more.” Her smile was so dazzling that it took him a moment to realize what she was doing. She stood behind a salon chair, blow-drying someone’s hair. Dusty glanced in the mirror.

Rachel Dean?

“Well, hey there, Sheriff Hicks,” Rachel said as soon as Brianne turned off the hair dryer. “Have you already met Twyla’s cousin, Willie?”

Dusty pulled open the screen door and stepped into the salon. “Willie?” Brianne sent him one of her wide-eyed innocent looks as Rachel Dean continued.

“Yep, seems she stopped by to help Twyla out. And I must say that she’s been a real lifesaver to me after my little accident.”

“What accident are we talking about?” Dusty asked.

Before Rachel could say anything, Brianne jumped in.

“It seems that Rachel is attempting to discover the cure for cancer.” As if she’d been doing it all her life, she sectioned off a piece of Rachel’s salt-and-pepper hair and wound it around a curling iron.

Rachel tipped her head slightly to look at Dusty. “It makes perfect sense considerin’ my great-grandma was the most sought-after healer in these parts. Of course, I can’t just start with the Big C. I have to work my way up.” Her mouth tipped down in a frown. “I thought I had the right measurements for Granny Burke’s dandruff remedy, but obviously I did something wrong. Glad I tried a little on my eyebrows before the hair on my head.”

“Me too.” Brianne shot Dusty a warning look before lifting Rachel’s bangs to reveal her forehead.

A forehead with no eyebrows.

Chapter Fifteen

“S
OMETHING HAS TO BE DONE,”
Bri said as she walked down the pathway to Dusty’s car. “Next time, Rachel Dean could come up with a concoction that really does some damage. And did you see the pathetic state Twyla is in? The woman is heartbroken.”

“With the loud wailing coming from upstairs,” Dusty said, “it was hard not to notice.”

“I’m just glad that Rachel is going to stay the night with her.” She went to reach for the car door handle at the same time as Dusty, and their hands brushed. The jolt that went through her was very similar to the one she’d gotten when she topped out at one-forty in the stock car.

She glanced back at Dusty. With twilight setting in, he’d removed his aviators. His eyes held the last traces of sunlight, along with an emotion that made Bri’s tummy all light and airy. She took a step closer. Dusty took a step back.

“I should get you back to Miss Hattie’s. I’m sure your boyfriend is gone by now.”

“Ex-boyfriend. And I’m not ready to go back to Miss Hattie’s.” She moved within inches of his wrinkled shirt. “I’m hungry.”

“I know.” He took another step back. “But I can’t feed what you’re hungering for, Miz Cates.”

“And what is that?”

“Something I can’t give you. Or any woman, right now.”

It was the worst possible thing he could’ve said. Bri had never been able to ignore a challenge.

Tipping back her head, she gave him the pleading look that had always worked on her brothers. “Not even a cheeseburger with everything on it? Besides, we need to figure out what to do about Reverend Jessup.”

“We don’t need to figure out anything.” He left her to open her door and walked around to his side.

“Of course we do,” she said once they were both in the car. “We can’t just let the man manipulate people’s lives like he’s doing. You should’ve seen the tears in Rachel’s eyes when she was talking about working at Josephine’s Diner. Obviously, she loves waitressing and has no business dabbling in medicine.”

She clicked her seat belt. “And poor Mayor Sutter. The reverend has the man believing that he can be the next governor of Texas if he’ll just shave off his mustache. I swear the mayor almost passed out when I pulled out the razor.”

Dusty glanced over at her. “You didn’t…”

“No. I talked him out of it, but I don’t know for how long if something isn’t done.”

“There’s not much to do.” He pulled away from the curb. “The man hasn’t broken any laws.”

“But he’s playing with people’s lives—and their livelihoods. Certainly, there’s something you can do to stop him.”

“I have him under surveillance, but unless he screws up—something I think he’s too smart to do—there’s not a thing I can do about his manipulations.” He glanced over at her. “And just why are you so concerned about the folks of Bramble? You haven’t even known them for more than a few hours.”

It was a good question. One Bri didn’t have an answer for.

She looked out the window as they drove down Main Street. The stores and businesses were all closing up for the night. One by one, Closed signs were flipped into place and lights clicked off. Even put to rest for the night, the town gave off a warm, comfortable feel.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Some of it probably has to do with it reminding me of Dogwood. But most of it has to do with the people. There’s just something about them…”

“That makes you want to cuddle them,” Dusty finished for her.

She laughed. “Exactly. Although I wouldn’t expect that sentiment from a big, bad sheriff.”

Dusty glanced over at her. “I’m not all that big and bad. If I was, I’d take you straight back to the Henhouse.”

“So where are you takin’ me, Sheriff?”

His gaze returned to the highway. “Don’t look so smug. All you’re getting is a cheeseburger.”

The truck stop was right off the highway. It had a huge lot for the eighteen-wheelers to park and plenty of diesel gas pumps. But the restaurant was nothing more than a hole-in-the-wall that was only big enough for a few booths and a long counter surrounded by cracked vinyl bar stools. Still, the place was packed. When Dusty and Bri stepped in the door, there were only two stools empty. One on either side of the counter.

But Bri quickly learned that there were perks to being in the company of a sheriff. Upon seeing Dusty, the redheaded waitress stopped pouring coffee and started kissing his behind. Within minutes, she had everyone at the counter move down so the new arrivals could sit together.

“Well, I haven’t seen you in a while, Sheriff.” The waitress leaned over the counter in front of Dusty, displaying a large amount of cleavage and an overbite that could eat corn through a picket fence. Bri might’ve felt a little jealous if Dusty hadn’t grabbed the menu and studied it as if the woman wasn’t even there.

“Been busy,” he mumbled.

The waitress turned her attention to Bri, and the look she gave her wasn’t exactly friendly. “You the sheriff’s baby sister? What high school you go to, honey?”

Bri smiled innocently. “Why, aren’t you sweet? But I graduated high school years ago. Of course, probably not as many years ago as you.”

While the waitress studied her smile and tried to figure out if she’d just been insulted, Dusty closed the menu. “I’ll take the meat loaf, Sue. And my baby sister here will have a cheeseburger with everything on it and a strawberry shake with extra whip cream.”

Bri rested her chin in her hand and batted her eyelashes at him. “Aww, thanks, Big Bro. I just love extra whipped cream. Especially the kind that comes straight out of a can so you can squirt it just about anywhere you want to.”

The waitress gave them both a weird look before she walked away.

Dusty sent Bri a warning. “For a woman who’s so hungry, you are really pushing it. If you don’t behave, I’ll send you to bed without supper.”

“Whose bed?”

He shook his head before he took off his hat and set it on the counter. The hat had smashed down the sides of his hair, and Bri longed to reach out and fluff it back into shape. He had great hair. Thick. Blond. And silky soft to the touch. For a second, she wondered what the hair on the rest of his body would look like… or feel like. Her gaze dropped to the open vee of his shirt and the tiny strands of gold that peeked out.

Heat settled deep inside her and radiated out in wave upon wave of desire. Bri had been attracted to men, but never like this. Never with an intensity that bordered on obsession. And the fact that he fought so hard against their attraction made him all the more irresistible.

“Little sister?” The waitress set a glass and the metal shake container down on the counter with a clank, interrupting Bri’s eye feasting. “Yeah, right.”

The comment seemed to put Dusty in a bad mood, not that he was ever in a good mood, and he spent the rest of their meal grunting one-word replies as Bri tried to hold up the conversation. Finally, she gave up and concentrated on her cheeseburger, which turned out to be greasy and divine. She had just dipped her last French fry in ketchup when a man stepped in the door.

She didn’t know why he caught her attention. He was dressed like most of the other truck drivers. Jeans, flannel shirt, and a ball cap with a tattered, stained bill. Maybe it was the long, greasy hair pulled back in a ponytail. Or the dark penetrating eyes that locked with hers—

Dusty’s hand settled on the back of her neck. Since he’d been trying so hard to ignore her, the touch took her completely by surprise. As did the feel of his lips on her ear as he buried his face into her hair. She choked on her fry. His grip tightened, and he pulled her closer.