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Then Grandma Cora’s voice rang out, clear and sharp.
“Dixon Hewitt, have you forgotten what happened the last time we met?”
Every head swiveled toward her, standing on the porch, her hand tucked into the crook of Grady McCall’s arm. I could have sworn Dixon’s skin went a shade too pale. Grandma released Grady’s arm and carefully descended the steps on her own, one at a time.
“I put a load of buckshot in your miserable, sorry ass,” she continued. “And I warned you to stay the hell away from Landon. So, what gave you the harebrained idea to show up here?”
Dixon sputtered.
“That was a long time ago, Cora. Let bygones be bygones.”
Grandma gave him a slow, bored blink.
“Dixon, I know you were always a bit slow on the uptake. So, I’ll give you to the count of three. I don’t have much faith you can count much higher than that though. If you aren’t spittin’ dust down that driveway and steering clear of Landon from here on out, you’ll get another load of buckshot in your ass to refresh your memory. I might be an old lady now, but Grady is a damn good shot. When he aims, he doesn’t miss.”
Grady crossed his arms with that same frigid blue-eyed stare.
“Bowen,” he barked.
One of the cowboys keeping Landon pinned down raised his head.
“Yeah, boss?”
“Fetch my rifle from the truck.”
Dixon held up his hands.
“Now, wait a minute. I’ll call the cops on all of you. Do you want to go to jail for roughing up an old man like me?”
Lieutenant Cross shrugged.
“From where I’m standing, it would be your word against the whole town.”
A little thrill of victory zipped up my spine. I bit the inside of my cheek to hide a triumphant smile. Hot damn, this felt good.
Dixon huffed with fury and stomped to his car. He slammed the door, spinning his tires as he raced down my driveway and onto the main road.
Beau gave Landon’s shoulder a squeeze.
“No hard feelings, buddy,” he said.
Landon grabbed his hat from where it had fallen in the dirt and dusted it off.
“Thank you. I just—I saw red and I couldn’t—”
He stopped when his gaze settled on me with an apologetic glance. I didn’t know anything about Landon and his relationship with his father. Judging by the few comments he’d said in passing, I already gathered it wasn’t great. I never dreamed it would be this bad though.
He swayed forward on his toes now as if he wasn’t sure whether I would welcome him or not after what I’d witnessed. I’d seen a side of him that was out of control, worlds apart from the cowboy I’d given my heart to last night.
“Go talk to her,” Beau said under his breath. “You two have been making calf eyes at each other for ages.”
“You’re not…?” Landon started.
“Upset? Offended? Hell, no. Callie’s an amazing woman. But I don’t need to tell you what you already know.”
“All right, folks,” Grandma Cora said. “Show is over. Get back to breakfast and let’s finish up this barn.”
The crowd began to move, murmuring amongst themselves about the latest turn of events. A few of them patted Landon on the shoulder, offering reassurances and words of comfort. But his gaze kept tracking back to me. I tilted my head toward the house. He nodded his understanding.
