A Match Made in Texas (25 page)

“So what’s up?” he said as soon as Ryker answered.

“I just wanted you to know that I hit the jackpot.”

Dusty paused halfway to his car. “You dug something up on Heather?”

Ryker laughed. “You could say that. The last time we talked, I mentioned her going to her accountant. It got me to thinking. I mean, how often does a woman need to go see her accountant? And Heather goes three times a week for over three hours a pop. So I tracked down one of the guy’s secretaries and did a little sweet-talking. It turns out that the man has an apartment over his office. And when Heather shows up, they don’t waste any time going upstairs. And from what this secretary told me, it’s been going on for years. Long before you two ever split up.”

Dusty slipped his sunglasses down and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was funny. Here, he’d spent months and thousands of dollars hoping to dig up some dirt on Heather, and now that he had it, he didn’t feel like rejoicing. In fact, he felt sad that it had come to this.

“Dusty?” Ryker said. “You there?”

“Yeah.” Dusty released his breath. “Listen, thanks for handling this. I wouldn’t have trusted anyone else with it.”

“No problem. I’ll talk to a few more people and see if I can’t get some actual pictures that will stand up in court.”

Dusty slid his sunglasses back up. “Yeah, okay. I’ll call you next week.”

After he hung up, he got in his car and sat for a few minutes letting the news sink in. He should feel angry or hurt by Heather’s betrayal. He didn’t. Their marriage had ended long before the divorce. He had stayed with Heather for three years only because of Emmie.

Emmie.

The name reminded him of the reason he’d hired Ryker in the first place. And suddenly, he realized what Ryker’s news meant. He would get to be with Emmie. Not full time. Even with evidence of her affair, Dusty didn’t delude himself that he would get full custody. But he would be able to have her on weekends, and for holidays, and for summer vacations. He’d be able to cuddle her when she was sick and put a bandage on her scraped knees when she fell. He would be able to read her stories at night and tuck her into bed. A bed that was all ready for her thanks to Bri.

Just the thought of all the work Brianne had done on the room had Dusty starting the engine and pulling away from the curb. He didn’t think. He just drove. He drove until he reached the huge, Spanish-style house that sat in the middle of acres and acres of land. He barely glanced at the half dozen SUVs and trucks that were parked out front as he walked to the front door and rang the bell. A young boy answered the door wearing nothing but a pair of baggy swim trunks and a toy six-shooter strapped to his hip. Dusty recognized him immediately.

“Hi, Brody.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Hi, Sheriff Hicks. You here to arrest Jesse for slippin’ into the movie theater without payin’?” he asked in a voice too deep for a kid so small.

Dusty smiled. “No. Actually, I’m here to talk with your aunt Brianne.”

“Oh.” He stepped back and held open the door. “Okay, but you’ll have to wait in line—although Daddy ain’t talkin’ as much as yellin’.”

About then, a loud male voice boomed down the hallway and had Dusty’s shoulders tightening.

“Don’t give me that crap, Brianne! The entire town is talking about Willie cutting hair at Twyla’s. It didn’t take me long to figure out who it was. What in the world were you thinking? You don’t even have a license.”

“She wasn’t thinking,” another voice bellowed. “Just like she wasn’t thinking when she got mixed up with that jerk in Mexico. Do you realize the backlash that picture could’ve had on the company, Brianne? You’re lucky I don’t take you over my knee—”

Dusty had never been one to bust in without a warrant, but he figured that the Cates brothers bullying Brianne was warrant enough. He brushed past Brody without a word and followed the loud male voices to a set of closed doors that he didn’t hesitate to fling open.

Brianne was sitting in a chair in front of a large desk that Billy sat behind and Brant leaned against. Dusty didn’t know who looked more surprised to see him. The Cates brothers or Brianne. Although the surprise on both men’s faces quickly hardened into annoyance at having their family squabble interrupted. Dusty understood exactly how they felt. He was feeling pretty darned annoyed himself.

Striding in, he positioned himself between Brianne and her brothers. He slipped off his sunglasses and hooked them in the open neck of his pressed shirt. A shirt Brianne had washed and ironed for him just the night before. His jaw tightened.

“Is there a problem?”

Behind him, Brianne’s quick inhale was followed by a masculine chuckle. When Dusty glanced over his shoulder, he found Beckett lounging in a chair in one corner with his boots propped up on an ottoman.

“Sheriff.” Beckett’s mischievous grin was almost as annoying as Brant and Billy’s bullying. Almost. Dusty turned back around as Brant spoke.

“You seem to show up at the most unexpected times, Sheriff. And I’m starting to have my doubts that it’s merely a coincidence.”

“You’re right,” Dusty said. “This is no coincidence. I stopped by to see—”

“Sorry, Sheriff!” Brianne jumped up out of her chair, sending him a have-you-lost-your-mind look. “But I can’t cut your hair. As my brothers just pointed out, I don’t even have a license. So you’ll have to go to Twyla.”

Billy got to his feet looking thoroughly confused. “You busted into my house because you wanted a haircut?”

“He didn’t bust in, Daddy.” Brody strode into the room with his six-shooter swaying. “I let him in ’cause he said he wasn’t gonna arrest Jesse and his friends for slippin’ into the movie theater without payin’. He was just here to talk with—”

“Jesse!” Billy yelled up at the ceiling.

There was a brief moment of silence, followed by the overhead thunder of feet. And before Dusty knew it, the study was filled with a herd of women and children all wanting to know what was going on. Although Jesse wasn’t anywhere to be found. In the midst of the confusion, Bri grabbed Dusty’s hand and pulled him out of the room and through the foyer.

Once they were outside, she turned on him. “Just what in tarnation are you doing here, Dusty Hicks? Besides causing all kinds of commotion.”

Since he didn’t have an answer, Dusty did what he’d been wanting to do ever since walking into Billy’s study.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her senseless.

Chapter Twenty-six

“T
HERE’S NOTHIN’ AS BRIGHT AS THE MORNIN’
after a good night of sex.”

Startled, Bri turned away from the window to find Minnie sitting in the doorway of Miss Hattie’s bedroom. She wore a knowing smile and a red negligee that showed miles of skin as wrinkled as a dried-up peach.

“It is a beautiful morning,” Bri said.

Although the beautiful morning had nothing to do with a good night of sex. Dusty had spent the night before dealing with a domestic dispute, federal agents, and poachers. So the only time they’d had together was the kiss at Billy’s house. And, somehow, that was enough to brighten Bri’s world. There was something about Dusty’s kiss that had been different. Something about the tender way he’d cradled her in his arms as his lips devoured hers that made her feel as if he cared for her. Cared more for her than just a casual fling.

“So what are you doing?” Minnie asked.

Bri turned back to her open suitcase on the bed. “I was just packing up. Since the FBI finally located Alejandro in Mexico and the Henhouse is now open for business, I figured you’d be wanting Miss Hattie’s room back.”

“No need for that,” Minnie said. “After that federal agent stumbled upon the backpack of drug money out in the barn and the newspaper got wind of the entire story, we’ve had more cancellations than a hotel with bedbugs.”

So as not to give anything away, Bri continued stacking the shirts in her suitcase. “That was a freak thing, wasn’t it? Not to mention Kenny Gene finding out about it and coming forward to explain how, thinking it was Beau’s, he’d picked up the backpack in New York and brought it to the Henhouse. Of course, I wonder how it got out in the barn?” She waited, wondering if Minnie was going to confess her part in the disappearance of the drug money. But Minnie was as good at keeping secrets as Bri.

“That is suspicious,” she said with more than a trace of humor in her voice. “ ’Course, I’ve always believed that things work out if you let them.”

Bri held back her own laughter. “I couldn’t agree more. And now that it’s all over the newspapers, there will be no need for Alejandro to come back to the Henhouse looking for the money. But I am concerned about the lack of business.” She turned back around. “Maybe we should call Beau and have him come back from Africa. I’m sure he and Brant can figure out how to fill the rooms.”

“No. Beau and Jenna Jay are doing good things over there. And Brant has his own life to live,” Minnie said. “Besides, people will forget about it soon enough. And in the meantime, I’m thinkin’ about havin’ a hen party.”

“A hen party?”

“A goin’ away surprise party for Starlet.”

It was a brilliant idea. Not that Starlet should be rewarded for her part in taking the money. But since she had only done it to help her drugged-out mother, Bri didn’t think she should be punished for it, either. Nor should she leave the Henhouse without a good send-off.

“What a great idea,” Bri said. “Starlet will love that. Do you want me to start making out the invitations for the family?”

Minnie shook her head. “No, this isn’t a family party. It’s a hen-only party. Which means, no arrogant Cates men—although Beckett can attend. I’ve gotten kind of partial to that boy. Unlike some folks, he knows how to mind his own business.”

It was true. Beckett did know how to mind his own business. Once Dusty had made his grand entrance, she expected Beckett to fill in all the blanks with Billy and Brant. He hadn’t. In fact, he did just the opposite. He pulled their attention away from Bri by telling them about his decision to join the Marines. So instead of spending the afternoon being interrogated, she spent it defending Beckett’s decision. It hadn’t been easy. The thought of her brother in a war zone terrified her. But, unlike her, she knew her brother didn’t make split decisions. And if this was what Beckett wanted, then she would support him.

“And speaking of mindin’ their own business,” Minnie continued, “Brant called and wanted me to do everything in my power to keep you away from a certain sheriff. All I can say is that I’m glad you finally owned up to it.”

Bri turned back around and started unpacking. “I didn’t exactly own up to it. Brant and Billy drew their own conclusions when Dusty showed up at Billy’s house. But I’d still appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about Dusty coming here. Not for my sake, but for his. After they almost shut down Dalton Oil and ruined Bramble, you know what my brothers are capable of. They’ll do anything for their family.”

There was a pause before Minnie spoke. “If he showed up at Billy’s, it seems to me that Dusty is willing to take that risk. The only one who isn’t is you.”

“Of course I’m not,” Bri said. “Why would I want to see the man I love get hurt?”

The stack of underwear she’d just lifted from the suitcase slipped through her fingers and tumbled down to the bed. Bri barely noticed. Her mind was too consumed with the word that had slipped out of her mouth without any thought whatsoever. She flopped limply down to the bed, while Minnie watched her with those piercing eyes.

“Which is exactly why you need to take the risk, Brianne.” Minnie rolled closer. “Love only comes around once in a blue moon, and if you don’t grab it—regardless of the risks—it might not come back around again.” She reached out and patted Bri’s hand. “I know you’re scared. But I don’t think it’s just for Dusty. It’s scary to leave behind your childhood and become your own woman. Not a Southern belle daughter. Or a sweet virginal little sister. Or a wealthy socialite. But a woman who is strong enough to leave behind the security of her family and stand on her own two feet.”

Minnie gave Bri’s hand one last squeeze before she backed up her wheelchair and headed for the door. Once she was gone, Bri didn’t know how long she sat there grappling with the unanswered questions that paraded through her mind. Was Minnie right? Was she scared to become her own woman? Is that why she’d kept up the charade? She was terrified of stepping out of the security of her family? Terrified of facing life on her own?

And then there was the granddaddy question of them all—Had she really fallen in love with Dusty?

She hadn’t even begun to tackle all the questions when Olive came hurrying into the room.

“We got big trouble, Little Missy. Your stalker’s back. I figure you can hide out in the barn while I get rid of the rascal. It shouldn’t take long. This time, I ain’t gonna be so nice.”

The doorbell rang out the melody to “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” For a moment, Bri considered following Olive’s instructions. But then something happened. A hard resolve settled inside of her as she realized that she couldn’t hide anymore.

“Thank you, Olive,” she said, “but I’ll handle Jared.”

Olive didn’t argue, but she did follow Bri down the stairs and all the way to the front door. “You just holler, Little Missy,” she said, “and ol’ Olive will come runnin’.”