Double the Trouble (Texas Trouble 3) (41 page)

Multi-colored cowboy shirts
lined the bar shoulder to shoulder, and
Wade led her over there, then leaned between them near the bartender and ordered them beer. 
Someone nudged her shoulder and she turned around and saw one of the guys she'd danced with the last time she was here
, and he smiled at her and
asked her to dance. 

She turned him down, then tipped her head toward Wade who
had
just stood back up with two longnecks in his hand.  He raised an eyebrow at the guy then handed her a beer, and the cowboy faded off into the crowd. 

"That's a talent you know...that eyebrow thi
ng," she told him with a giggle trying to do it, but only managing a waggle.

"Comes in handy when someone's trying to steal your girl," he said then kissed her cheek.
  Karlie
started to correct him, but let it go, because pretending to be his girl
tonight
kept other men from hitting on her.  Smiling u
p at Wade
, she said
,
"I like that song, L
et's take our beers and go dance, we can juggle, right?"

"Anything for you, sugar,"
he said, his eyes glittering.  He grabbed her hand in his then led her to the dance floor and pulled her to the middle, then into his arms.  It was a two-step song, but they'd have to wing it until they finished their beer.  A jitterbug worked, she thought
,
as he took her free hand and spun her under his arm, then
rolled her up
into his body, before pushing her back out. 
They clinked bottles when
he spun her forward to him,
and laughed. 

Wade really was a good dancer, he had great rhythm and led her perfectly.
  It took two songs for them to finish their beers, then he led her to the side and they put their empty bottles down, then he grabbed her and spun her into a two step around the edge of the floor.
  The song ended and she stopped him and said, "I need to go to the ladies room, sugar...I'll be right back."

He grinned then kissed her lightly on the lips and said, "I'll go get us another beer, you're not nearly deep enough in your therapy yet."

With a laugh, she pushed herself away from him, she really did need some space.
She liked Wade, but he was crowding her a little.  She put her hand on his cheek, then told him with a chuckle, "Okay--you get the beer, and I'll go get rid of some," then turned and pushed through
the crowd toward the restrooms.

When she stepped into the hallway where she had a little elbow room, she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes to breathe for a second.
  A deep, familiar, but very slurred voice said near her ear, "You trying to hurt me, sugar?" She heard a cough that sounded more like a sob then he said, "If so, you're doing a damned fine job of it..."

Karlie opened her eyes and turned her had toward Gabe, who was leaning a shoulder against the wall, it looked
like
that might be all that was holding him upright.  His eyes held so much misery and hurt, she almost felt it in her own chest.  "I'm not trying to hurt you, Gabe...what are you doing here?"

"Cole and I have been here, since we left the Double B...well mostly," he said then lifted his beer and finished it, smacking his lips.  "Time for another one...maybe if I have enough, I'll be able to sleep," he told her then pushed off the wall, and almost did a facer into the other wall. 

She ran over there and grabbed his arm, then told him, "You need to go home, Gabe."

"Nothing to go home to, baby," he said
morosely, and
his throat worked a couple of times
,
then he sucked in a breath and jerked his arm from hers, and walked back to the bar.
  She saw Cole grab his arm and help him onto a barstool, then he leaned over and whispered something in his ear.  Gabe shook his head then raised a finger to the bartender to order another beer.

It was obvious he was way
past
intoxicated, and she knew he hadn't slept in god knew how long
.  He needed to go home, and if Cole was any kind of friend, he'd get him the hell out of here, and she was going to tell him that.  Stomping across the floor to the bar, she grabbed Cole's arm and told him through gritted teeth, "I need to talk to you,
now
."

Cole looked down into her eyes with his serious green ones, his jaw tight, and just held her gaze for a second, then nodded and took her arm to lead her back into the hallway by the bathroom.
  Before she could say anything, he said through gritted teeth, "What the hell are you trying to do here, Karlie, gut the man?"

Karlie shook her head, not quite sure she was hearing right, then she figured she had, when she looked at his face again.  Anger ratcheted through her system and her heart rate kicked up, then she took a step toward him and put a finger in his chest, "Let me tell you about gutting, butthead...that man who's acting so pitiful out there accused me of trying to trap him into marriage, so I don't have an ounce of sympathy for that asshole."

Cole's eyebrows shot toward his hairline, and he shouted, "He did what?"

"You heard me...but you know what?  I'm not here trying to hurt him...I didn't even know he was fucking here, until a minute ago," she spat then finished, "If you were any kind of friend, you'd get him the hell out of here, he's drunk as a skunk
."  With a heated look, Karlie pushed past him and went to find Wade by the dance floor.  He was
out on the dance floor with another woman, and seemed to be enjoying himself, so Karlie went back to the bar and got her another beer, then sat at the bar to drink it.

"Your boyfriend's dancing with someone else, you want to dance with me?" Gabe said near her ear, then licked her ear lobe sending shivers along her nerves, even though his touch should disgust her.
  He kissed her hair, then his hot breath teased her ear, "C'mon baby, dance with me...I need to hold you."

"Well, I don't need that...and I don't need your drunk ass hitting on me," she told him then pushed against his chest, although she wanted to pull him closer.
  What was wrong with her, she wondered, this man had insulted her this morning to the highest degree, yet her body still responded to him like butter on a griddle.
 
She
was the one who was pathetic...needy and pathetic.

"I'll beg, darlin'...I'm so sorry for the shit I said this morning," he said in a choked voice.

"Too late, sugar...once the words are out, you can't take them back," she told him then shrugged and fiddled with the label on her bottle.  "You just said what you believed about me, so there's nothing to apologize for, right?"
Karlie told him then tilted her head to look at him with a wry half-smile.

Gabe's face turned red, then he grated through his teeth, "No--that's
not
right, that's not what I think of you.  My head was fucked up from that dream, and that's the only reason I said what I did."

"You did that last time too, remember?  Lashed out at me," she r
e
minded him then said firmly, "I'm not anybody's whipping post, Gabe...those days are behind me.  I'm not letting any man degrade me like that again, regardless of the reason."

He groaned, then told her, "It wasn't the same dream...it was different, and it scared the hell out of me."

"Tell your therapist, see if he can help," she said coldly, because she couldn't buy into this, or she'd be sucked back in like quicksand.
  Karlie pushed up off of the stool and stood then told him, "Take care, Gabe
," turning on her heel to go find Wade.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

It had been two weeks, since she'd seen Gabe at the bar, two weeks where day by day her heart shriveled up like a raisin in her chest.  Once her anger faded, all she was left with was pain, and regret.  She wasn't eating, wasn't sleeping right, and her nerves were shot.  Even the horses could sense a change in her...that was the only reason she could think of for Titan to be so skittish he almost tossed her off his big back.  That horse was solid as a rock, and her riding him like she was would ruin him, so she'd asked Wade to take over
riding him
for her, until she got herself back together.
  Karlie had no idea how long that would be.

Gabe had tried to call her on the house phone several times, but she didn't return his calls.  That wouldn't do anything, but make them more miserable...or her anyway. 
Wade had asked her to go out a few times since the night at the bar, but she'd turned him down, so he didn't get the wrong idea. 
She was thinking about going to the Rockin' D this weekend to see
Dixie
and her sister, maybe check out the new stock for Cassie.
 

Cassie was a month from delivering the baby now
and couldn't do much.  Sh
e looked like she'd swallowed a watermelon...and Luke was hovering over her like a farmer watching a seedling.  She'd seen
Luke s
itting on the sofa in the family room reading baby books, birthing books, and parenting books, they were scattered all over the tables in there.  It was really kind of sweet, but she could tell it was aggravating Cassie to no end, because every five minutes he was saying 'the book says this' or 'it said
this
in the book'.  Karlie wouldn't be surprised to see a bonfire going in the field soon, fueled by Luke's book collection.

Karlie put the last shovel of manure in the wheelbarrow and pushed it out of the barn and across the field to the fertilizer pile.
  After she dumped it, she saw a police car out front of the house, it was a Texas Ranger car, so she figured they must be here to talk to her.  She looked down at her dirty clothes and hands and groaned, then hopped the fence and went to the house.
  She went into the family room and saw Luke and Cassie sitting and talking with a good looking younger
, well not younger really, maybe twenty-six or seven,
lawman with dark hair.  When she walked in,
they all looked her way and
smiled, "Hey, Karlie...
this is Officer Bowman, he's here to take your statement.
"

He stood up and stuck out his hand
to her and said, "Yo
u can call me Beau
.
..and I apologize that it's taken us so long to get out here.
"

Karlie
looked at it then put hers behind her back and laughed, "I don't think you want to shake my hand right now, I just finished cleaning stalls.  Can you give me fifteen minutes?  I want to go clean up."

"He smiled a beautiful white smile and told her, "My family raises horses, trust me when I say a
lil horseshit doesn't scare me.
"

Karlie laughed then stuck her hand out to him. "Well
then
, welcome to the farm..." she told him with a chuckle.
 

He grinned again
,
then shook her hand and then wiped
his
on his pants.  "If you really want to go change, I can wait, I'm in no hurry.  I drove
over
from
Lubbock
, so I'm spending the night.  Luke and Cassie invited me to stay in a spare room."

"That's great...I will go upstairs then, be back in a few," she told him with a wink, then ran for the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, she'd showered and changed into shorts and a fresh top, and braided her wet hair, so it wouldn't frizz out.
  She walked back in the family room and said, "Okay, now you're not in danger of being contaminated," she told him.

His eyes traveled up her legs across her chest then met hers. "I told you that kind of
contamination
wouldn't bother me a bit."

There were some serious sparks flying off the handsome lawman, and although
Karlie was flattered and
wanted to be interested, she wasn't.  She was beginning to wonder if there would ever be anyone for her besides Gabe.  Maybe she was one of those women who fell in love
with one man
and it was for keeps.  If that was the case, she was in for a really lonely life.  It looked like Gabe had given up the chase...of course she'd told him to, so she got her wish.
  Maybe he'd found someone else.  The thought caused what was left of her heart to ping around in her chest.

"So you have questions for me?" she asked him, then said, "I have answers, what do you know..."

"Good, I want to nail this guy really bad, and I think with your testimony, he won't have any wiggle room."

Karlie swallowed hard then said in a squeaky voice, "I have to testify?  In a courtroom in front of him?"
 

"Yeah, unless he pleads guilty, or makes a deal with the prosecutor," he told her then walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, "But you don't have to worry about him hurting you, darlin'.  He'll be guarded and in handcuffs."
  Karlie saw Cassie and Luke stand up
then Luke took her hand
and they left the room.

"That wouldn't stop him if he really wanted to get to me, trust me," she told him with a wobbly smile.

"Help me put him away, then the guys in the prison will teach him a lesson...with all the charges he has, he could be put away for a very long time, with your help."

Karlie nodded, then let him guide her over to the sofa, where they both sat and he let her tell him the whole sordid story, then he asked her probing questions that would help with the case, evidently.  An hour later, he flipped his notebook closed, then said, I'll type this up and fax it for you to sign.  I'll talk to the prosecutor and see if he'll try and cut a deal with the asshole, so you don't have to go to court."

Karlie huffed out a relieved breath then smiled her thanks.  "I never want to see him again."

"Can't blame you, sugar.  Where is that dog you told me about anyway?  That is one of the craziest things I've ever heard...five thousand dollars a month to take care of a dog?"

"It's not just any dog, it's Sarge...he's a baby doll, and I love him.  I told them they didn't even have to pay me to take care of him, but they insisted
,
"
she chuckled, then got up to find him.  He was hiding under a chair at the kitchen table and she called him then walked back to the family room. 

Sarge
immediately ran over to the sofa and jumped up and started to lick Officer Bowman's face, but
then he pulled back
a little
studying Beau,
like he was trying to figure out who he was, and it was then that Karlie realized how damned much the man resembled Gabe
, and
a
sob rose up in her throat
.

He petted Sarge's head then looked at her curiously, "Everything okay, Karlie?"

She nodded, then turned and ran out of the room, so she didn't burst into tears in front of him.  Running up the stairs she went to the bathroom, and splashed water on her face and throat, then toweled it off.  Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly, then went back downstairs. 
"Sorry about that," she told him, "I'm just a wreck these days, it hits me at odd moments...are you hungry?" she asked him trying to infuse cheerfulness into her tone.

"Yeah, starving...." he admitted then said, "Luke showed me to a room earlier, I'll just go up and change too." 

E
ven
his uniform
reminded her of Gabe...god, she needed to get hold of herself.  "I don
't think Imelda cooked tonight. 
Cassie and Luke ate at the Bluebird
,
so we'll probably have to go to the Bird too, if that's okay with you?"

"Haven't eaten there, but if you recommend it, I'm game," he told her with another grin that made his dark green eyes sparkle.  They weren't the right color, she thought, the mentally slapped herself.

"A friend owns it and she's a top-notch cook, but she's probably not there tonight...she's pregnant and
works
days.  She's the Sheriff's wife," Karlie informed him, and left out that she was the Deputy
Chief's
sister...she didn't even want to go there.

"I need to say hello to Cole before I leave town...he and I were in the academy together," he told her, then added, "His daddy was a great Sheriff."

"He is too,"
Karlie
told him
sincerely then
went to pick up Sarge from the sofa. "I'll just take Sarge out for a walk, while you get ready."
  That would give her time to get her crazy emotions under control.  It didn't matter that this man was a dead ringer for Gabe, except for his eyes, he wasn't the same man.  He was flirting with her, but there was none of the heat there that Gabe elicited in her.
It
didn't mean she couldn't have a pleasant dinner with the man, it
just confused her already confused mind.

He came back down the stairs a few minutes later and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, he had changed to a white button up shirt with tight
W
ranglers and boots.  He looked good enough to eat, so why wasn't she hungry? 
When she stared at him too long, he smiled self-consciously and asked, "Is this okay?"

"Perfect," she told him then walked over and put her arm through his, "I'm famished, let's go eat."

"We'll have to take my patrol car, it's all I have," he told her with a chuckle.

"We could take my hot rod
Lincoln
, but I don't want you to have to arrest me..." she said with a smug grin, when they stepped out on the porch.

"That's your car?" he asked reverently then looked at it parked in the yard, like a kid looking at a new bike through the shop window.

"Yep...built it myself...or rebuilt it rather."

"No, shit," he said and blushed then apologized.

He was so darned
cute, she wanted to pinch him.  "Hard to believe huh?  A girl did that...I souped up one of the
Bowie
p
olice cars too, so it could catch up," she told him not caring that she was bragging.

His eyebrows hit his hairline then he asked, "Why would you have to do that?"

"Long story," she told him, "Maybe if you ask real nice, I'll tell you over dinner."

"I definitely want to hear about that," he chuckled then they walked to her car and he got in the passenger side.  She leaned in the window and tossed him the keys. "We might be better off with you driving, I have a lead foot," she told him with a wink.

Typical Texan that he was he let out a whoop then scooted over behind the wheel and put the keys in the ignition.  She got in the passenger seat and buckled up. 
"This car is amazing, sugar." he said excitedly then turned the key over and Freddie roared to life.

"Yes, he is," she agreed then pinched her lips.  Seeing him behind the wheel made sickness fill her, her appetite all but disappeared.  Gabe was the only man she'd
ever
allowed to drive Freddie.  Why was she letting Beau Bowman drive it then?  Because you miss Gabe and this guy reminds you of him.  Visual stimulation is what you're getting here...unfortunately that was the only stimulation he provoked in her.

He slid the shifter down to drive and circled around his patrol car and headed up the driveway to the road.  His foot wasn't any lighter than hers, she realized when they hit the main road, of course Freddie didn't like to be held back either.  A glance over at the speedometer told her they were doing close to ninety, and she got a little nervous.  She tell him to slow down in a little bit, she was enjoying the wind blowing through the window cooling her skin.