“But you’re not a cowboy. You’re a business owner and you should dress accordingly.”
“Well, maybe I’d rather be a rancher. Especially when being a business owner has only caused me grief.”
“Then become a rancher,” Emma said. “Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.”
“And give you the business? Never!” Boone walked out of the back. Maisy expected him to look angry. Instead, he had a big grin on his face as if he had thoroughly enjoyed arguing with Emma. The smile got bigger when he saw Maisy. “Hey, Maisy. I didn’t realize anyone was here. The bell on the door must not be working.” The bell had worked fine. Boone and Emma just hadn’t heard it over their loud arguing. “What can I do for you?”
“Luanne mentioned that you make wooden crosses.”
His eyebrows rose. “Actually, I make more tables and porch swings. But I’ve made a few crosses for people’s pets that have passed. Did you just lose a pet?”
“Yes.” It wasn’t really a lie. Her dog had died just last year. But the cross wasn’t for Banjo.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Boone said. “I’d be happy to make a cross for you.” He pulled out a notepad from beneath the counter. “What’s your pet’s name?”
“Can you just put ‘rest in peace?’ And I don’t want the cross to be real big. Just something small is fine.”
“This isn’t for that horse you found, is it?”
“No. Angel is fine and feisty as ever.”
Boone laughed. “I saw Lincoln in town the other day and he said the horse was a real beauty, but a little high strung. If they don’t find his owner, what will happen to him?”
“I don’t know. I guess they’ll put him up for auction.” Maisy hated the thought of the horse going to another abusive person. Or even a person who didn’t understand the horse’s history.
“I can have the cross finished in a couple weeks. Is that good?” Boone said.
“That will be fine. I’ll check back then.”
“Or you can give me your number and I’ll call you.”
As Maisy was rattling off her cellphone number for Boone to write down, Emma came out of the back room. “So are you going to straighten the hammers—” She stopped. “Hi, Maisy. I didn’t know you were here. Is Boone helping you or talking your ear off?”
“I’m helping her and talking her ear off. That’s what a good salesman does.” Boone winked at Maisy. “I’ll call you soon, Maisy.”
The way he said it made it sound like it was more personal than it was and if the look on Emma’s face was any indication, she didn’t much care for Boone getting a woman’s number. Which made Maisy wonder if she liked Boone a little more than she was letting on.
After Maisy left the hardware store, she headed toward the town hall at the end of the street. It was a pretty two-story building made of Austin stone with the flags of the United States and Texas flying over the steep peaked roof. It was surrounded by a green lawn and colorful flowerbeds.
The meeting was held in one of the smaller conference rooms. Only about twenty people were there when Maisy walked in. She looked around for Sawyer and was relieved he hadn’t shown up yet. She wanted to postpone the inevitable for as long as she could. She chose an empty chair at the back of the room. She didn’t realize who she’d be sitting next to until she spied the cat sitting in the basket of the bright pink walker.
She froze, but it was too late. Miss Gertie had already seen her.
“Well, don’t just stand there lookin’ stupid,” the old woman said. “Sit down before another silly gossipy woman shows up. I just got rid of the last one.”
Maisy took the chair, making sure to stay clear of the cat that was giving her the evil eye. “Hello, Miss Gertie. How are you, ma’am?”
“Old.”
Not knowing how to reply to that, Maisy just smiled. But even that annoyed Miss Gertie. “No one likes a grinning fool.”
“Sorry, ma’am.” Maisy wiped the smile off her face and prayed the meeting would start soon so she wouldn’t have to keep making conversation with Miss Gertie. But the mayor, who was standing at the podium, seemed to be in deep conversation with Raynelle Coffman. Weirdly, the mayor glanced over at Maisy and raised her eyebrows.
Miss Gertie snorted. “I don’t know how Betty Landry got elected. She has no common sense and is a bigger gossip than Luanne Riddell.” She glanced over at Maisy. “So are you or ain’t you?”
“Excuse me, ma’am?”
Before Miss Gertie could answer, the door opened and Sawyer and Lincoln stepped in. Maisy had to admit they were a sight for sore eyes. The two men both wore tan Stetsons and were dressed in jeans and western shirts that hugged their muscular bodies. Every woman in the room watched as they swept off their hats and revealed their handsome faces. Of course, the most handsome was Sawyer. His wheat-colored hair was mussed, and Maisy had the strong desire to slide her fingers through it—not to fix it as much as to mess it up even more. His gray-eyed gaze scanned the room until it landed on her. She couldn’t help the catch in her breath or the flush of heat that sizzled through her.
“I should’ve known it was a Double Diamond bad boy,” Miss Gertie said. “So that rascal Sawyer Dawson is responsible.”
Maisy glanced at her. “Responsible?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, girlie. I’ve been around the block more than once. I know exactly how easily those slick-talkin’ hooligans can get inside your panties. By the look on your face just now, Sawyer Dawson has gotten into yours.”
Before Maisy could get over her surprise that Miss Gertie had read her thoughts so well, Dixie grabbed Maisy’s arm and pulled her out of the chair.
“If you’ll excuse us, Miss Gertie,” Dixie said. “I need to go over a few things with Maisy before the meetin’.” She pulled Maisy out the side door, and then down the hallway to the women’s bathroom. She looked in every stall before she turned to Maisy and put her hands on her hips.
“I thought I was your best friend, Maisy Sweeney. But if I was your best friend why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”
Maisy stared her. “Sawyer told you?”
Dixie smiled triumphantly. “I knew it was Sawyer’s. And no, he didn’t tell me. The mayor did.”
“The mayor? How does the mayor know?”
“From Raynelle Coffman who heard it from Luanne Riddell.”
Maisy covered her face with her hand. “Damn. I didn’t think Luanne had seen me looking at pregnancy tests.”
“Luanne sees everything. But it doesn’t matter what she saw. What matters is you didn’t tell me that you’re going to have a baby. Sawyer Dawson’s baby.”
Before Maisy could even begin to get untangled from the mess she’d gotten herself into, the bathroom door swung open and the mayor peeked her head in.
“Sheriff Dixie, come quick. There’s about to be a brawl in the meeting room.”
“A brawl?” Dixie said. “Who’s fighting?”
“Miss Gertie is beating up Sawyer Dawson.”