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She removed her hand and tried to ignore her tingling fingers.
“Look, I’m sorry.You’re right.I was going well over the speed limit.But I had a good reason.You see my daddy had a heart attack.You might know him.Hank Holiday.He runs the Holiday Ranch.Anyway, as you can imagine, I’m pretty upset and I was in such a hurry to get home that I wasn’t even paying attention to how fast I was going.As for the registration, I’m sure other folks have forgotten to get their car registered and you let them off with just a warning.So if you could just give me a break this time, I would really appreciate it.”
Men didn’t always give her what she wanted.Her failure in the country music business was a perfect example.But they had never refused her with as much hostility as this man did.The snort that came out of his mouth was filled with pure contempt.He finished filling out the citation and tore it from the pad in one rip.Instead of handing it to her, he dropped it and her license and registration onto her lap as if he couldn’t stand the thought of accidentally touching her.Then he turned and strode back to his SUV while Sweetie sat there in stunned shock.
She glanced in her rearview mirror and watched as Mr.Badass Lawman got back in his car.She raised her hand and gave him the one-finger salute in the mirror.
“Asshole,” she grumbled as she started her car.
Or tried to.Mustang Sally immediately sputtered and then died.Sweetie tried again and again, but the car had finally run out of gas.She wanted to bang her fists on the steering wheel and let out a frustrated squeal, but she refused to give the arrogant lawman the satisfaction.Nor would she give him the satisfaction of asking for help.
After rolling up the window and stuffing the ticket and registration into the glove box, she grabbed her purse and got out.Her parents’ house was a good six miles away, but if she cut across a few fields, it would be closer to four.Hooking her purse over her shoulder, she started walking.She wasn’t surprised when the patrol car pulled up next to her and the side window rolled down.
“Get in.I’ll take you home and call you a tow truck.”
She kept walking, refusing to even spare him a glance.“No thanks.”
He swerved in front of her so fast, she had to stop or run right into the bumper of the sheriff’s car.Badass Lawman jumped out.He didn’t look stern now.He looked pissed.Which was fine with her.She was feeling a little pissed herself.
“What?”She held up her hands.“Are you going to give me a ticket for running out of gas, Officer ...?”She glanced down.His pocket flap was buttoned back in place and she had no trouble reading the name engraved on the shiny gold plate.
Sheriff Decker Carson.
She might not recognize the face behind the dark sunglasses, but she knew the name.Her gaze lifted as she tried to find any sign of the boy she remembered.But nothing about this stern, well-built lawman reminded her of the eleven-year-old boy who had shown up in Wilder to live with his grandparents after his parents had died in a car accident.
Back then, he’d been a shy city boy who was scared of horses and cows and bees ...and Sweetie.She’d been fourteen at the time and he’d stammered and blushed every time she looked in his direction.
He wasn’t blushing now as he held open the passenger-side door of his patrol car and waited for her to get in.As much as she wanted to ignore his silent order, her curiosity got the better of her.Once they were both in the car, she studied his profile as he pulled out onto the highway.From this angle, she could see a glimpse of the boy he’d once been.How old had he been when she’d left?Fifteen?He’d been almost as tall as he was now, but not nearly as muscular.How old was he now?She did some mental calculation.
“Twenty-seven is pretty young to be a sheriff, isn’t it?”
“Thirty is pretty old to still be driving your high school car.”
“What can I say?When I love something, I love it for life.”
His jaw flexed.“I think Jace would disagree.”
At the mention of his cousin, Sweetie looked away and stared out the side window.The last person she wanted to talk about was Jace.She now knew why Decker had refused to let her off with just a warning.He had idolized his cousin and with good reason.Jace had taken Decker under his wing after Decker’s parents had died.They were as close as brothers.
She changed the subject.“So why law enforcement?And why here in Wilder?I thought you were a big city boy.”
“Just because you come from a big city doesn’t mean you want to go back.”He glanced over at her.“And just because you come from a small town doesn’t mean you want to stay.”
Sweetie hadn’t wanted to stay.She’d wanted to shake the dust of Wilder off her boots as soon as she’d graduated and never look back.She had.Or, at least, she’d tried.But small-town dust is hard to get rid of.
“So how goes your quest to become the next Dolly Parton?”he asked.
A lot of replies popped into her head: exhausting, frustrating ...a true nightmare of disappointment.But she’d lie naked in a bed of hot coals before she’d admit that to anyone in Wilder, Texas.
“Exciting.”
He glanced over.Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, she knew he didn’t believe her.
Thankfully, before he questioned her more, they came to the turnoff for her family’s ranch.The sight of the entrance to the Holiday Ranch had a swell of emotion rising up in her that completely took her by surprise.
As Sweetie took in the Austin stone arched entryway withHoliday Ranchspelled out in weathered steel letters, the American and Texas flags that waved proudly in the stiff January wind, and the plaque with the date her great-great-grandfather had first purchased the land, one word popped into her head.A word that had been missing from her vocabulary since she’d moved to Nashville.
Home.
