Austin: Second Chance Cowboy

“You had quite a head of hair, too,” she countered.

He ran a hand along his neck. “I like mine short now.” He cracked a smile. “But we thought we were all that and a bag of chips back in those days. Remember?”

She did. Oh, she remembered a whole lot of things. The way they used to hang out together when they’d be off at some of the local rodeos. No matter how much she’d promised her mother she’d behave, before long, she and Austin would egg each other on. Next thing she knew, she was dodging her brothers’ watchful eyes and sneaking around to where the trailers were parked. There, they’d sit in the dark, smoke a little, drink a whole lot more. One time they finally had given in to their attraction and shared that one amazing kiss.

Damn! That was the second time she’d thought of that in two hours!

With effort, she pushed aside all those feelings of desire…and remembered also how she’d finally decided it was time to grow up and become respectable. And Austin?

He hadn’t made that choice yet. Maybe he wouldn’t ever want to stop his partying and his women and his idiocy. Which meant they had nothing in common now.

Which kind of made her sad, and that was more than a little distressing!

Turning away, she patted one of the saddles. “This is beautiful.”

“You’ve got an eye, and that’s a fact. Just got that one in.”

“Who from?”

He looked evasive. “A woman out near Miles City.”

Tenderly, she ran her finger along the initials etched in the leather. “Any special reason why she sold it?”

“Nah. Her family fell on hard times. Had to sell the horse…” He shrugged. “The saddle came next.”

She bit her lip. Bringing back memories of barrel racing, feeling the wind against her hair. Feeling sweat running down her back as she tried to beat the clock.

And how she’d given up riding but hadn’t ever asked her family to sell that saddle.

That shamed her. Who knows? The money might have come in real handy lately. Her brother Ace could’ve probably used the money to pay for some of Midnight’s feed. Or the ranch’s electric bill. But she’d been too intent on keeping her saddle to think about that. No, she’d been selfishly holding on to it, as if she couldn’t bear to completely forget all of her past.

“Want to go riding one day, Dinah?”

“No.”

“Sure? We could go to my dad’s.” His voice was bright now. Less suggestive, almost friendly. Almost cheerful. “I haven’t been out to see him lately, but I do know Dad’s still keeping a couple of horses. Some of ’em are top-notch. Riding for a few hours, forgetting our troubles? It would be fun.”

Mention of his dad made her think of the other little reason she’d come visiting.

“So, I heard you created quite a mess at the Open Range.”

His voice turned flat. “Bad news travels fast.”

“Always.”

He tilted his head to one side. “Is puking my brains out against the law these days?”

“No. But driving under the influence is,” she said quickly. Thinking of a reason for bringing it up.

“Your mole should’ve told you that I didn’t drive.”

Oops. She hadn’t even asked. “Who did?”

He shook a finger at her as though she was a naughty child. “Uh-uh, Dinah. No way am I going to tell you all my secrets. That ain’t no business of yours.”

“Look, Ted doesn’t care to be cleaning up those messes of yours.”

“I realize that.” His blue eyes narrowed. “And I hope when you spoke to old Ted that he also told you that I stopped by this morning and offered to pay for the cleaning.”

“He didn’t tell me that.” Irritation surged through her. If Ted had taken the time to whine to her, why the heck hadn’t he felt like telling her the whole story? “But you were drinking shots of tequila, weren’t you?”

“I do believe I was. Sheriff.”

Now she felt worse than a prude. Her job was to uphold the law, not become the moral majority. “I just wanted to make sure, you know, that you weren’t going to make overdoing it…a habit.”

“No, ma’am.”

A lot of men called women “ma’am,” but rarely in that tone of voice.

She backed up a step. His eyes were cool and hard now. Reminding her that she’d just crossed the line and hadn’t really played fair, either. Using friendship to get information wasn’t anything she was proud of.

Just as she was turning around, she glanced at the saddles again.

And happened to see a lightly tanned one, with roses hand tooled along the skirt.

She knew that saddle. And last time she heard, the owner had reported it missing.

She headed to the door before he noticed her staring at it. She needed to get more information before she asked him about its origins. One of the first things she’d learned at the police academy was to try not to ask questions you didn’t already know the answers to. “Look, thanks for the information about the Silver Royals. I’ll be seeing you, Austin,” she called out over her shoulder.

“Feel free to stop by anytime and give me grief.”

His words hit a nerve. She hoped he didn’t notice her stumble. Pushing open the glass door, she strode out and into her cruiser.

And as she drove down the main street through town, she grimaced with sad satisfaction. Suddenly, everything was starting to make sense. Austin Wright was a small-business owner and no doubt was struggling to keep a solid inventory. He was probably having money trouble—most everyone in the county was. Then, of course, there was the Wright name. It had practically become synonymous with sketchy practices. Why, everyone knew his daddy had spent time in jail.

Had Austin decided to start making money the easy way? If he had, and if he was now bound and determined to start following in his father’s footsteps…well, there was probably little he wouldn’t do.

She hated to think that way about him. But they weren’t really friends anymore. And she was far different from the girl she used to be when they were.

She needed to remember that.

Chapter Three

“I’m so glad you had time to meet with me, Flynn,” Dinah said as they took a seat in one of the booths at the Number 1 Diner. Though it hadn’t been in Roundup for all that long, every time Dinah entered the place she felt a burst of nostalgia. It probably had something to do with the old photos of miners decorating the walls.

Or maybe it was the bright cherry-red Formica tabletops. Or maybe seeing waitresses dressed in jeans and boots and those red-and-black aprons just made her smile. “I had a real need for girl time.”

“I’m always up for a cheeseburger, you know that. Carbs and saturated fat can do a world of good for a woman in the throes of pregnancy.”

Looking at her friend and sister-in-law with a real fondness, Dinah laughed. “One thing never changes, Flynn. Come hell or high water, you’re never afraid to tell it like it is. Even if it involves too much information.”

“It’s only TMI if people don’t care,” she said, rubbing her growing belly. “And I’m sure you do care.”

“I’m taking the Fifth on that one.” Grinning, she opened the plastic menu and skimmed over the choices, lingering on the idea of a burger and fries…then resolutely focusing on the salads and grilled chicken. She’d worked too hard at the police academy to ignore the physical regime and exams. No way was she going to slide down into a slippery slope of unhealthy choices.

By the time Karla stopped at their table, chomping her ever-present gum, Dinah had made her decision. “I’ll have the Cobb salad, dressing on the side, Karla.”

“Drink?”

“Diet.”

Flynn made gagging noises. “That’s what I love about you, Dinah. You’re nothing if not predictable. Karla, I’ll have a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake.”

Karla winked. “Gotcha. Sure you don’t want to change your mind and get something with a couple of more calories, Dinah?”

What she wanted and could have were two different things. And, well, there was that secret stash of Snickers bars she couldn’t seem to ignore. “I’m good. Thanks.” Looking around, Dinah tried to catch sight of Sierra Byrne, the owner of the diner. “Karla, where’s Sierra?”

Karla shifted uneasily. “I’m not sure. Maybe she’s with her aunt Jordan? Sometimes Sierra and Jordan take Molly out on walks together.”

Dinah vaguely recalled seeing Sierra’s aunt Jordan and her Seeing Eye dog, Molly, walking in the park. “Oh. Well, tell Sierra ‘hey’ next time you see her.”

“Will do.”

When they were alone, Flynn crossed her arms over her chest. “So, you want to tell me why you called?”

“I just wanted lunch. And I wanted to hear how things were going at the ranch. And with the veterinary practice, too.”

“I’m sure Ace’s been keeping you informed.” Raising a brow, she said, “Ace said he talked to you about everything a few days ago. Did he actually call you?”

All her brothers called her on a regular basis—well, all except Tuf, she realized with a sinking heart. Ever since he was discharged from the marines, all they knew about Tuf was that he was somewhere in America. And that he had no desire to come to Roundup, Montana.

However, when Colt or Ace did call to check in, it was a bare-bones thing. They checked up on her. They filled her in with ranch news, all the time giving her a subtle reminder that she should be stopping by the house a whole lot more than she did.

“Ace called,” Dinah said. “Ace always calls.”

Flynn tilted her head to the side. As she did so, her blond hair shimmered a bit. Reminding Dinah of how healthy and vibrant she looked in her pregnancy. “So you just decided to ask me to lunch? Out of the blue?”

Why was Flynn making such a big deal about this? “A girl’s got to eat.”

“That is true. But you? On a Monday? I don’t think so.”

What the heck?

“Flynn, you’re making it seem like I don’t eat.” Looking down at her jeans, she privately wished they were a little less loose. She’d been losing weight something awful with the way the case was going. Or not going. “I do.”

“That is true. But you always stay in your office and file during lunch on Mondays.”

With some surprise, Dinah realized her sister-in-law was exactly right. She’d regimented her life so well that even people she didn’t see very often knew her schedule. All in an attempt to always be in control.

Pushing that thought away, she decided to dive into the deep end and hope Flynn had enough strength of character to pull her out while she was still breathing. “I saw Austin Wright today,” she blurted.

“Austin, huh?” Flynn picked up the shake that had just been delivered and took a healthy sip. “And this means something because…”

“You know how we used to be friends.” When Flynn just kept staring, Dinah finished the thought. “Okay. Really good friends.”

“We live in a small town. Everybody here has been friends with each other at one time.”

Flynn had a point, but it also wasn’t exactly true. A lot of them had been friends. And a lot of them had hung around together. But not so much with Austin or his sister, Cheyenne. In fact, apart from a span of eight months when she’d decided to live on the wild side, she’d never had much to say to him.

Well, she’d never trusted herself to have much to say to him.

Her mother had never been a real big fan of her seeing Austin, and with good reason, too.

“You know how everyone is around Austin,” Dinah added, not so obliquely referring to Austin’s troubles with bottles of bourbon.

With a grin, Flynn fanned herself with her paper napkin. “I know he’s just about the finest thing I’ve ever seen. Except for Ace, of course. It’s hardly fair. No man should look so good.”

Flynn was so right. Austin had looked good. Even all worn-out and tired-looking, he’d looked really good.

But even noticing felt like a betrayal of what she believed in. What she stood for. She needed to think about her job and her reputation. Not the wicked urges she had whenever she was around him. “I went to his shop to ask him about some saddles and we started talking,” Dinah said. “Do you ever have much occasion to visit with him?”

“You mean besides when I go shopping at his store?”

To her embarrassment, Dinah had never imagined anyone actually shopping there. It had always seemed a poor substitute for someplace better.

But maybe that had been a mean excuse. Maybe she’d really just been avoiding Austin. The idea made her uncomfortable. “You’ve shopped in Wright’s Western Wear?”

“Uh, yeah,” Flynn said with a touch of sarcasm. “They sell clothes and Western wear. I like wearing clothes and Western wear. When I’m not about to have a baby.”

Dinah was saved from replying to that by the arrival of her salad and Flynn’s juicy cheeseburger.

As she carefully dipped a forkful of iceberg lettuce into a dab of ranch dressing, she covertly watched Flynn take a healthy bite out of that burger. As she chewed, swallowed and then chomped on a fry, Flynn’s expression turned to pure bliss. No doubt it was the exact opposite of her own.

After swallowing, Flynn continued. “To answer your question, I’ve talked to Austin a few times at his store. But a whole lot more at rodeos.” She paused, then added, “I talked to him the other day at church, too. Actually, last Sunday, we had a real nice chat.”

Church? Dinah didn’t know if she was more upset to discover her brother and Flynn and Austin were attending church together or that they all knew she hadn’t stepped foot in a church since Christmas. “What was he like there?”

“Friendly.”

“Was he acting all right?”

“We were sitting in a couple of pews during a Sunday service, Dinah. What do you think?” She scowled slightly, then took another bite of that burger. And dipped two thick French fries into a puddle of mustard and ketchup.

A little stung—probably because Flynn had a good reason for sounding so sarcastic—Dinah said, “You don’t need to get snippy with me. I’m just asking questions.”

“I’m getting the feeling that you’re looking for trouble where there isn’t any. I just told you I talked to him at church and you act like I said we met at some…some porn store.”

She was glad her fork was sitting on her plate. “Porn store?”

“Oh, you know what I mean. You’re looking for trouble, and frankly, it’s disturbing. Just because a man’s family might not be completely upstanding, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have redeeming qualities.”

“I know that,” she said quickly.

“Do you? Maybe you’ve gotten too used to only looking for the worst in people, now that you’re the sheriff and all.”

That hurt. And, with Austin, she feared it might be true. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Flynn popped two more fries in her mouth. “All right.”

“Tell me about everything at work. Have any puppies been brought into the clinic lately?” Even though Flynn and Ace specialized in equines, every so often someone would come in with a litter of puppies.

Flynn’s eyes narrowed, but after yet another sip of her chocolate shake, she smiled. “As a matter of fact, a family brought in a litter of eight beagle pups last week.” She chuckled. “Oh, Dinah, you should’ve seen Ace! He’s so used to working with horses and cows, he hardly knew what to do when those brown, black and white fur balls got loose.”

Dinah smiled at the idea of her confident, capable brother chasing wayward pups. “I bet they were cute.”

“Cute as all get-out!” Patting her swollen stomach, she said, “If we weren’t fixin’ to have our own bundle of joy, I swear I’d have been badgering Ace to let us keep one.”

Imagining a puppy of her own, something soft and sweet to cuddle, she asked, “Whose puppies were they?”

“The Morans. Do you know them?”

“I know of them, but we haven’t had much of an occasion to talk.”

“Are you thinking about getting a puppy? Because if you are, you should stop by Angie and Duke’s place, too. I hear someone left Angie a basket of mongrel pups that are adorable. The price is right, too. They’re free.”

Getting a puppy was a pretty bad idea. And if she got one, it should be something dignified and policeworthy, like a German shepherd or something. After all, Duke had Zorro, and he was a great dog. But beagles were sweethearts…and abandoned mixed-breeds? They needed someone to love them. She could do that. “Maybe.”

“I’ll text you Kim Moran’s phone number if you want. You could give her a call. Or get Duke to take you to his house and look at the free puppies. I’m sure Angie would love to visit with you a bit.”

Ouch. There was another not-too-subtle reminder that she wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping in touch with the family.

Smiling sweetly, Flynn said, “You know what, Dinah? I think a sweet little puppy might just be the thing for you.”

“Because?”

“Because everyone needs someone to love.” Looking like the loved woman she was, Flynn’s eyes sparkled. “Even you, Dinah. Even a tough-as-nails sheriff like you.”

Even her. Thinking about that, her heart sank. Somehow, along the way to being respectable and upstanding and respected…she’d lost a little bit of her softness.

Suddenly, she ached to get it back.

Chapter Four

“Hey, Duke?”

Her deputy spun toward her on the stool he’d just discovered in the back storage closet of their hole-in-the-wall office. “Yep?”

“Tell me the truth. Do you think Austin Wright is responsible for the string of burglaries?”

As was his nature, Duke pondered that one for a moment. “I don’t want him to be. But what we want and what actually is don’t do either of us a lot of good, does it?”

After crossing the room—which meant she took five steps to the left and scooted around a line of metal filing cabinets—she slumped down in her chair. “No, it doesn’t.” Drumming the tips of her fingers on her desk, she looked at him sideways. “How do you want to handle things?”

“I already took a picture of the saddle you saw at Wright’s and sent it to Kevin Johnson. It’s his wife’s. And it had been stolen.”

She was afraid of that. Before she thought the better of it, she blurted what was first and foremost on her mind. “For the life of me, I just can’t imagine Austin stealing that saddle and then sticking it in his store.”

Duke chuckled. “That does sound pretty gutsy, even for Austin.”

It sounded stupid, too. And though Austin might have a lot of problems, stupidity had never been one of them. But she felt honor bound to play devil’s advocate. “I guess there’s always a chance he could be working with the thieves…”

After giving Zorro a brief scratch behind his ears, Duke turned to Dinah. “Want to know what I think?”

“Of course.”

“I think Austin bought it off a guy like he said he did. The people selling the merchandise are smart, Dinah. They’re not stealing and selling it to the public directly.”

“I hear you.” But like a dog with a bone, she couldn’t seem to move from her train of thought. “However, Austin could be more involved than he’s letting on. It’s a possibility.”

“But doubtful.” He paused. “You don’t think he had anything to do with Midnight being stolen, do you?”

She shook her head in a kind of knee-jerk reaction of sorts. “Austin wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t steal our family’s prize stallion.” Her brother Ace had bid on Midnight at a horse auction a few months back, and nothing around Thunder Ranch had been the same ever since. Midnight had proven to be ornery and proud and wonderful.

Her brother Colt had shown them all that Midnight had a lot more rodeos left in him, too. And then the thieves had struck their ranch, stolen her dad’s beautiful saddle, some of Colt’s bridles…and Midnight had gone missing.

Duke relaxed. “Boy, I’m glad to hear you say you don’t suspect Austin of horse thieving. I can’t see him doing it, either, but I wanted to hear the words from your lips.”

She rolled her shoulders uncomfortably. Her feelings about Austin were knee-deep and confusing as all get-out. But there were some things she couldn’t bear to even imagine him doing.

Stealing Midnight was one of them.

“I’ll follow up on some of the leads we talked about before accusing Austin of anything.”

“That sounds like a good plan to me.”

Realizing that Duke didn’t sound all that interested in the conversation, she looked up from her notes. “Duke, you look pleased about something. I know it’s not saddles. What’s up?”

“Angie and me are going away this weekend.”

“What?”

To her amusement, her cousin’s cheeks flushed. “Remember, we discussed calendars a couple of weeks ago? Luke is going to stay the weekend with the family at the ranch. Beau wants to spend some time with him. While they’re bonding and such, I’m going to take Angie down to Casper, Wyoming.”

“What a great idea.” Both Duke’s trip with Angie and Beau spending time with Luke sounded nice. Since Beau and Duke were twins, Dinah was glad that the wilder of the two brothers was taking so much time to get to know his nephew.

“Oh, it’s not much, but it will be nice to get away. They’ve got a fall festival that’s real popular.”

“I’m sure anything you do will be fun.” Dinah knew Duke loved Angie’s little boy as completely as if he’d been his own son. But that didn’t mean he never craved a little alone time with his new wife. “Have a good time.”

“Oh, we will. And, Dinah?”

“Yeah?”

“I mean this in the best possible way… Don’t call me.”

She chuckled. “Don’t worry, Deputy. This sheriff should be able to handle things just fine for a few days on her own. Let’s just sit tight on this case for a couple of days.”

“Roger that. Besides, I don’t want you to deal with Austin on your own if we figure he is the man behind all our headaches.”

“That sounds good. There are plenty of other things going on.” Looking at the list of messages on her desk, Dinah knew that was practically an understatement.

There had been a rash of problems with some of the high school kids in the area. Nothing too serious—just some graffiti painted on the back of the bleachers of the football stadium, and a couple reports of underage parties in outlying areas.

Feeling vaguely like the pot calling the kettle black, she realized that the reports listed a lot of the same stuff she’d done during her junior year in high school. Only she might have been worse.

With a wince, she hoped Principal Marks didn’t bring it up during their scheduled meeting. Carol Marks had been a new teacher when Dinah graduated high school.

Dinah remembered her being slightly shocked at Dinah’s way of dressing and her behavior. Hopefully, though, Mrs. Marks would remember just how hard Dinah had worked her senior year to turn things around.

* * *

SHE WAS STUCK IN THE GROCERY store line behind a woman with way too many coupons when she spied Austin in the next checkout lane. As she was attempting to figure out how to say hi to him without making a big deal of it, he looked up and caught her eye.

While the lady’s grocery bill continued to slide, fifty cents at a time, she smiled his way.

He came over, a paper sack in his left arm. “Hey,” he said. “What’s shaking?”

She laughed that he’d used the same expression as Duke. “Just waiting my turn. What about you? This is the last place I’d expect to see you on a Saturday night.”

“I eat, too.” He tapped his bag. “I’ve got a chicken and some potatoes just calling my name.” Eyeing her groceries, displayed for all to see on the conveyor belt, he laughed. “If you eat any more of those diet dinners, you’re going to float away, Dinah.”

She felt her face heat. “Unlike you, I’m not much of a cook. And eating at the Number 1 all the time can get expensive.”

Finally the woman in front of her paid her bill and it was Dinah’s turn to check out. As the clerk started scanning and bagging, she turned to Austin again. “Hope you have a good evening.”

“You, too.” He turned, took two steps, then came back over to her side. “Want to come over?”