Taming a Texas Rascal (Bad Boy Ranch Book 6) Page 15

  He knew he was using his anger at his friends as a front. And he was angry over the Double Diamond boys’ betrayal. But not nearly as angry as he was over Maisy’s. Nothing about their relationship had been real. Her leaving was proof of that. So were her next words

  “They love you, Sawyer. They just want to keep you safe.”

  The fact she didn’t include herself in that love hurt like hell. Which proved that he loved her. And he was sick and tired of loving women who pretended to care about him, but really didn’t.

  He picked up his hat. “I wish I could say it’s been nice knowing you. But I wish I’d never met you, Maisy Sweeney.”

  He walked out of the trailer and refused to look back.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “I made it out of cedar and treated the wood so it should last a long time.” Boone ran a hand over the front of the beautiful wooden cross he’d set on the counter. “I didn’t realize until I cut it that it had this dark veining.”

  Maisy followed the dark vein that spilled like blood through the center of the cross and tears filled her eyes. She was surprised. She thought she had cried all her tears out after Sawyer left her trailer yesterday. Obviously not. She blinked them back, but Emma must’ve seen them because she reached across the counter and squeezed Maisy’s arm.

  “I’m so sorry about your father,” she said. “This will be a wonderful tribute to him.”

  “Her father?” Boone looked confused. “This isn’t for her daddy. It’s for her dog.”

  Emma rolled her eyes and ignored him as she continued to speak to Maisy. “It’s a lovely cross. Boone might be a horrible businessman, but he’s an excellent carpenter. I know your daddy is looking down from heaven right now and smiling.”

  Maisy doubted heaven was where her daddy had landed, but she kept that to herself and nodded. “Thank you. How much do I owe you, Boone?”

  Boone didn’t seem to hear her. He was too busy staring at Emma. “Did you just give me a compliment?” When Emma didn’t reply, he grinned. “Yep, it was a compliment.” He turned to Maisy. “You don’t owe me anything. It’s a gift.”

  “I couldn’t.”

  “Yes, you could,” Emma said. “Boone is a real cheapskate so when he offers a gift, you better take it. Call it a goodbye gift. Although I’m sure sorry to hear that you’re leaving. I know the whole town will agree. We were all hoping you’d make Simple your home.”

  Again the stupid tears welled and Maisy was getting darn sick of being a watering pot. She would miss Simple. She’d been in a lot of towns, but this one with its kind-hearted people had wiggled its way into her heart. She would’ve loved to call the town home. That couldn’t happen now. Once the townsfolk heard about the prank she’d played on Sawyer, they would hate her as much as he did and assume she was just like her daddy.

  “Thank you, Emma,” she said. “But the road is home for a saddle bronc rider like me. Now I better get going.”

  “Let me help you get this to your truck,” Boone said.

  Maisy picked up the cross before he could. “No, thank you. I got it.”

  Boone hurried around the counter and held the door open for her. Before the door closed behind her, she heard Emma speak. “Occasionally, I think you might actually have a heart, Boone Murphy. But only occasionally.”

  Not wanting everyone in town to see the cross she carried, Maisy held it close to her chest and hurried to her truck. But she should’ve known that, in Simple, it was impossible to go unnoticed. As soon as she slammed the tailgate and came around the side of her truck, she spotted Miss Gertie standing on the sidewalk with her hot pink walker. Her cat, Rhett Butler, was sitting in the basket on the front, grooming himself.

  “I guess that’s for your daddy,” Miss Gertie said.

  There was no use lying when Emma and Boone would probably spread the news about foolish Maisy Sweeney wanting a grave marker for a father she didn’t even know.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Maisy said.

  Miss Gertie nodded. “Everyone deserves to be remembered.”

  “I’m afraid my daddy will only be remembered as a mean-spirited, angry man.”

  Miss Gertie snorted. “I expect when I die there will be some folks who say I was a mean, crotchety old woman. And they’d be right. But some folks will remember good things about me. Everyone has a little good in them. I remember your daddy. He sure wasn’t a saint, but he always greeted me politely and held open doors for me. I’m sure there were other good things he did.”

  Once again Maisy’s eyes filled with tears. “My mama sure thought he was a good man. She only remembers the good times she had with my daddy. She never spoke a mean a word about him. Not even when he left her high and dry right after I was born.”

  “Your mama sounds like the kind of woman who knows how to love.” Miss Gertie pulled a tissue out of the sleeve of her dress and held it out. When Maisy walked over to get the tissue, the old women pinned her with her piercing eyes. “And speaking of love. What happened between you and Sawyer Dawson? I thought you were another woman that fell under a bad boy’s spell, but then Dixie Leigh told me you were leaving. I’m going to assume you’re not pregnant.”

  She shook her head. “No, ma’am. And I never was. It was all a misunderstanding.”

  Miss Gertie snorted. “With the gossipy people in this town, I can imagine how things got misunderstood. But I know a guilty looking bad boy when I see one and Sawyer looked guilty as sin when I confronted him about you.”

  “He thought he was guilty, but he really wasn’t. It’s complicated.”

  Miss Gertie turned her walker around and headed to a nearby bench. She sat down and patted the spot next to her. “Well, come on then. You can’t expect me to stand on my feet while you tell me a long, complicated story. Seeing as how Reba has gotten busy at the boardinghouse—or with that bad boy husband of hers—and forgotten to pick me up again, I’ve got plenty of time to kill.”

  Maisy wanted to make a mad dash for her truck. She didn’t want to tell Miss Gertie what had happened between her and Sawyer. She was hoping to be long gone when the news spread about what she’d done. But when the old woman gave her a narrowed-eyed look, Maisy realized she had little choice. Like a kid called before the principal, she walked over and sat down. She figured it was best to just come out with it.

  She proceeded to tell Miss Gertie the entire story. When she was finished, she sighed. “So as you can see, I’m just as mean-spirited as my daddy.” She expected Miss Gertie to give her a thorough lecture on lying. Instead, she only shook her head.

  “That is a fine kettle of fish you got yourself into with your lie, but it sounds like you had good reasons to keep it going. The main one being that you didn’t want Sawyer to hate you for taking him away from something he loves. I figure even then you were starting to love him.”

  “But if I hadn’t lied, he wouldn’t hate me.”

  “If you hadn’t lied, Sawyer would’ve gone on avoiding you to uphold some silly oath he made to Lincoln.” Miss Gertie shook her head. “And men complain about women butting their noses into other people’s business. If Lincoln had kept his nose out of things, I figure you and Sawyer would’ve gotten together at the wedding. I saw how you two were looking at each other that night.”

  Miss Gertie was probably right, and Maisy couldn’t help being a little annoyed at Lincoln. If he had stayed out of it, maybe Sawyer wouldn’t hate her. Maybe they would have had a chance for a happily ever after.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” she said. “There’s no way to go back and change things. Sawyer hates me for lying to him and for telling everyone about what the doctor said.”

  “If I have the choice between hate and indifference, I’ll choose hate every time,” Miss Gertie said. “Hate is just the other side of love. If you don’t care about someone, you can’t really hate them. Lucas and I hated each other for a long time, not because we didn’t like each other, but because our egos wouldn’t let us apologize and forgive. It so
unds like Sawyer is pretty ticked off at you. Why would he be so ticked off if he didn’t care? If he didn’t have feelings for you, he would’ve been thrilled that he wasn’t going to be a daddy and he hadn’t broken his best friend’s trust. Instead, he told you he never wanted to see you again. That’s a pretty intense statement for someone who doesn’t care.”

  “Even if he does care, he’s not going to forgive me. Just like you and Lucas wouldn’t forgive each other.”

  Miss Gertie sent her a pointed look. “Then that’s it? You’re just gonna leave town and accept the way things are? That’s what I did. I accepted that Lucas hated me for not accepting his marriage proposal. But I had another choice. When he came back here after quitting the rodeo, I could’ve gone to him and told him how scared I’d been about our age difference and about losing my beloved boardinghouse and about him loving the rodeo more than he loved me. I could’ve fixed the mess I’d made of things. Instead, I chose to act like I hated him as much as he acted like he hated me.” She shook her head. “Our stubbornness made us lose a lot of years.” She looked at Maisy. “Are you going to let your stubbornness do the same thing? You don’t have to leave, Maisy. You have another choice. You can fight for the man you love.”

  “But he’s going back to the rodeo. Am I supposed to follow him around like a whipped pup begging him to forgive me?”

  “If that’s what it takes to find your happiness, yes. That’s exactly what you need to do.” Miss Gertie’s eyes narrowed. “Although if what you say about his concussions is true, you need to figure out a way to keep that boy from going back to bronc riding.”

  “Dixie and I have tried everything we can think of. Now he’s dug in even deeper just to show me and all his friends that he won’t be manipulated.”

  “Then don’t try to manipulate him. Love him.” Miss Gertie paused. “You did tell him that you love him, right?”

  Maisy shook her head. “I was waiting for him to tell me first.”

  Miss Gertie rolled her eyes. “You remind me of me when I was younger. Too prideful for your own good.” She blew out her breath. “Well, I’m not going to let you make the same mistake I did. You’re not leaving town until you tell that boy you love him.”

  “It might be too late. He might already be gone.”

  “Well, then you need to call out to the Double Diamond Ranch and find out.” When Maisy hesitated, Miss Gertie snapped her fingers. “Now, girlie!”

  Maisy pulled out her cellphone and made the call. Lucas answered. Sawyer must not have told him what happened because the old cowboy was friendly when she told him who she was.

  “Well, hey there, Maisy. I’m guessing you called to talk to Sawyer.”

  “He’s still there?”

  “He is.” He paused. “But not for long. He’s packing up now.”

  Maisy’s heart fell. She glanced at Miss Gertie and lowered the phone. “Sawyer’s leaving now.”

  Miss Gertie jerked the phone out of her hand and held it to her ear. “You will not let that boy leave, Luc. Do you hear me? I don’t care what you have to do. We wasted a lot of years with our stubbornness. We’re not going to let these two kids do the same thing. And if you can figure out how to get him to stay, I’ll have a special reward waiting for you . . . and I’m sure you know what I mean.” Maisy couldn’t hear what Lucas said, but it must’ve satisfied Miss Gertie because the old woman nodded. “I think that will work just fine.”

  Miss Gertie handed her back the phone and winked. “Your bad boy isn’t going anywhere.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Okay, who took my battery cables?” Sawyer walked into the kitchen where Chester and Lucas were eating lunch. Neither old cowboy looked up from their chili.

  “Battery cables?” Chester said. “Hmm? Have you seen any battery cables, Luc?”

  Lucas shook his head. “Nope. Can’t say as I have, Chess.” He glanced up at Sawyer. “Maybe you should ask your horse. You two have quite the conversations.”

  Sawyer placed his hands on his hips. “Very funny. Now which one of you took them? And where are they?”

  Lucas put his spoon in his bowl and pushed it back before he crossed his arms over his chest. “I did, but I’m not telling you where they are. You need to stay put for a while.”

  “I know why you’re doing this,” Sawyer said. “Y’all want to have an intervention to get me to quit bronc riding. Well, I’m not waiting around for my so-called friends to show up. I don’t want to see any of them again. If you won’t tell me where my battery cables are, I’ll just call a tow truck.” He reached for his cellphone in his front pocket, but then remembered he’d left his phone in the barn while he was working with Angel that morning. He walked out of the kitchen and grabbed his cowboy hat off the hook in the hallway. But before he could head to the barn to get his phone, Chester stopped him.

  “If you’re going to the barn to get your cellphone, it’s not there.”

  Sawyer let the screen door slam shut and turned to Chester and Lucas who were both standing there with big grins on their faces. “I suppose you hid that too.”

  Lucas nodded. “Along with all the phones in the house.”

  It was hard to keep his cool. He wanted to yell at the two stubborn cowboys in a bad way. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “Fine. I’ll take Angel and ride into town and get battery cables.”

  “That’s a mighty long ride,” Chester said. “Especially when while you’re gone, I’ll just take something else from the engine. Not that I need to take anything with how that old truck runs.”

  “You can’t keep me here forever.”

  “No, we can’t. But we can keep you until the boys get here.”

  Sawyer glared at the two old men. “They won’t change my mind about returning to bronc riding.”

  “This inter . . . convention, or whatever you call it, isn’t just about you, Sawyer,” Lucas said. “It’s about your friends doing as much as they possibly can to save someone they love. Let them have their say and get all their fears out. And then if you still decide to go back to bronc riding, they won’t blame themselves.”

  “Why should I do anything for them when they’ve spent the last few weeks keeping secrets from me? And not just any secret, but the secret that Maisy wasn’t pregnant because there was no way she could be pregnant.”

  “I wasn’t keeping that a secret. I didn’t know.”

  Sawyer turned to see Lincoln standing on the front porch. Now here was someone Sawyer could take his anger out on. He strode to the screen door and shoved it open, then stepped out on the porch and let it slam behind him.

  “Don’t lie, Linc. If Dixie knew, you knew.”

  “That should be the case, but I discovered my wife still keeps secrets from me. She knew if I knew about Maisy’s lie, I’d tell you. While I’m not really happy about Dixie keeping secrets from me, I understand why she did.”

  “Yeah, I know. She wanted you and the boys to talk me out of going back to bronc riding.”

  Lincoln nodded. “That was one reason.”

  “There was another?”

  Lincoln hesitated for a few seconds before he spoke. “Dixie is a romantic. She was hoping you’d fall in love with Maisy and both of you would decide to stay right here in Simple.” A few weeks ago, Sawyer would’ve laughed at Dixie’s plan. But he wasn’t laughing now. “But no matter how good my wife’s intentions were, it was still wrong,” Lincoln continued. “I’m sorry. I know the last few weeks have been stressful for you.”

  They should have been. But he realized now that they hadn’t been all that stressful. There had been a few tense moments, but the rest of the time had been . . . fun. In fact, spending time with Maisy had been the most fun he’d had in a long time. With Lauren, the time they spent together had always felt forced—it was work pretending to have a good time. With Maisy, he hadn’t had to pretend anything.

  But she had.

  Maisy had only been going along with her best friend’s wishes. L
ike Sawyer had gone along with Lincoln’s wishes to stay away from Maisy.

  “I hope you won’t hold this against Dixie,” Lincoln said. “She meant well.”

  “I’m not mad at Dixie. It was Maisy who kept the secret first. She should’ve told me what happened the morning I found her in my room.”

  Lincoln took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “Dixie claims that Maisy lied because you made her feel like she was the last woman you wanted to find in your room.” He sighed. “I reckon that’s my fault. I shouldn’t have warned you to keep away from her. You two are adults who can make your own choices on who you want to sleep with.” He paused. “And who you want to fall in love with.”

  “I was wrong,” he lied. “It wasn’t love. The entire baby thing screwed with my head, is all. I didn’t even choose to have sex with Maisy.” At least not the first time. “It was the tequila.”

  Lincoln squinted at him. “Alcohol only gives you the excuse to do what you want to do but don’t have the guts to. I should know. It took me getting a little drunk before I finally made love to Dixie. And don’t tell me you were never sexually attracted to Maisy. It was more than obvious at my wedding.”

  “Your wedding? Nothing happened at your wedding.”

  “It would’ve if I hadn’t stepped in. Every time I saw you two, you were flirting like nobody’s business. Then there was the entire ‘I’m teaching Maisy a few bronc riding moves’ thing where you had your hands all over her. You laughed when I accused you of putting the moves on her and said she was just a kid. But you weren’t treating her like a kid, Sawyer. You were treating her like a woman you desired.”

  Sawyer stared at his friend. Was Lincoln right? Had he desired Maisy even then? He thought back to the wedding. Until now, he’d only remembered how much fun he’d had with her. How they’d laughed and joked like friends. But now he tried to look past the teasing and remember the emotions he’d had.