Mistletoe Mayhem: Clean Historical Western Cowboy Romance Novel (Dawson Chronicles Book 1) (11 page)

The Kellers went on their way and Sawyer looked at Devon.  “I’ll just sit here until you guys are ready to go home.”

“That’s all right.  I already said goodnight to Jared.  I thought you might be a little tired.  Your ankle, I mean,” she said, suddenly nervous.

“Yeah, I guess it might be a good idea to go home,” he said.

She helped him maneuver through the crowd to the door and then down the stairs.  “I’m right over here.”

She helped him in and put his crutches in the back of the Cadillac Brougham, five-passenger vehicle that Joe had just bought the previous year.  The man loved cars—or any sort of new technology—and every time something new rolled off the assembly line, he snapped it up.  Therefore, they had quite a few cars.

Sawyer looked the car over.  “Wow.  This is beautiful,” he said, running his hand over the door and dashboard.  “Plenty of room, too, and all enclosed.”

Devon slid behind the steering wheel.  “Electric start, too.”  She fired it up and, for that era, the engine ran smoothly.

Sawyer let out a whistle.  “I can imagine what this set Mr. Dwyer back.”

“Well, you know Daddy: only the best and newest,” she said.  “He’s the same way with cars as he is horses.”  She backed up and pulled out of the parking lot. 

Sawyer said, “He’s interested in any invention.  He put up windmills and you guys have a flush commode.  Electric and a telephone, too.”

She smiled.  “I know.  Building that bathhouse is one of the best things he ever did.  No more going to the outhouse unless the bathhouse is in use.  It’s so much better in the winter.”

“I can imagine.  My parents are talking about doing that, too, but they’re being careful with their money right now because of the war.  They’ve been buying more liberty bonds since the government’s been hounding people so much about it.  And we’ve cut back on our eating like they want, too,” he said.

This seemed to be a safe subject and Devon was relieved that the conversation was flowing well and that they weren’t fighting.  This was how it used to be between them.

“We’ve cut back on eating a lot of meat and things like that.  More cottage cheese, which Daddy hates.  But he eats it and doesn’t complain.  The look on his face is funny when he eats it, though,” she said. 

Sawyer chuckled.  “I can imagine.  We’ve cut back on eating stuff like that, too, and our victory garden did really well this year, so that helps.  They were able to do a lot of canning.”

As they rode along conversing, Sawyer looked her over and found her incredibly beautiful.  His desire for her hadn’t diminished at all.  Just the opposite.  He wanted to kiss her sweet lips and feel her in his arms again.  Looking at her pretty hands on the steering wheel, he thought about the way she used to touch him and a shiver of awareness ran through him.

Much too soon, they arrived at his place.  He could have ridden around with her all night, but that wasn’t possible.  She stopped the car and put the brake on.

“Thanks for the ride,” Sawyer said.  “It was a crazy night, huh?” 

She laughed.  “Yes.  I never thought I’d see Mr. Keller hit anyone.”

“I don’t blame him, though.  I’m not sure what that guy would have done; I was about ready to get up when Switch clocked him,” Sawyer said.  “Well, I’ll let you get going home.  Thanks again.”

Devon put her hand on his arm.  “Sawyer, I need to say something to you before I lose my nerve.”

“Ok.”

Forcing herself to look him in the eyes, she said, “I’m so sorry for everything that happened between us.  I’m sorry for not supporting you the way I should’ve.  You were right when you said I was selfish; I just loved you so much and I was scared of losing you.  I was stupid and I lost you anyway.  I’m so sorry.”

Sawyer was surprised by her apology.  “I’m sorry, too.  I loved you, too.  I wasn’t trying to hurt you.  That’s what I kept trying to tell you.  It was something I felt called to do, like how some people feel called to be ministers or doctors.  I know it’s not quite the same thing, but that’s how it was for me.”

“I understand that now.  Sawyer, you don’t have to answer me now, but I …” She had to swallow around the lump in her throat.  “I still have feelings for you and I was wondering if we could sort of start over.”

Sawyer’s heartbeat picked up.  Was he hearing correctly?  He proceeded cautiously even though he wanted to jump in with both feet.  “I don’t know, Devon.  I’m seeing Renee now.”  He enjoyed the irritated look on her face and then felt guilty.

“I know, but it’s not serious between you, is it?”

“We haven’t been seeing each other all that long, so I don’t know yet,” Sawyer said.

Devon said, “She’s not right for you, Sawyer.  I know you backwards and forwards and she doesn’t.  Please just say you’ll think about it.”

The hope in her eyes got to him.  “Ok.  I’ll think about it.”

Her smile was radiant and his breath caught in his chest.  “Thank you.”

He nodded and opened the car door.

“Oh, here.  I’ll get your crutches,” she said, getting out.

She ran around to his side and retrieved them from the back seat.  He got them under his arms.  “Thanks.  Goodnight.  Be careful going home.”

“I will.”  Quickly, she rose up on her tiptoes, pressing a brief kiss to his lips.  “Goodnight.”

Sawyer wanted to grab her and kiss her silly, but he held the urge in check, not wanting her to know how much she affected him.  Not yet.  Instead, he smiled and made his way towards the house.  He watched her maneuver the car around and head down their lane, driving out of sight.  Then he took in a big breath of the cold night air and headed inside.

              “Already?” Renee asked when she came to see Sawyer the next day.  “I’m an even better actress than I thought.”

              Sawyer smiled.  “You’re a great actress.  Obviously you got under her skin.”

              “I’m glad it’s working out for you,” she said.  “I want to kill that guy from last night.  He messed up my plans.”  Her dark eyes flashed with anger. 

“What happened?” Sawyer asked.

              “Because of what happened last night, Ma won’t let me go back to the bar.  She didn’t want me to go to begin with and that only made it worse.  So now I have no way to see Brody.  I could tell he was interested, too,” Renee said, clenching her hands in her lap.  “It’s not fair.”

              “Renee, close the door,” Sawyer said.  They sat in the office in his house where he’d been working on his project.

              She did and sat back down.  “What’s on your mind?”

              “I’m concerned about you.”

              “Why?  I’m fine.”

              “Remember what happened between us a few nights ago?” he asked.

              She grinned.  “You mean when I climbed all over you?  Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it.”

              Sawyer blushed.  “Yeah, I did, but that’s the problem.  It’s a natural reaction for a guy, but I don’t love you and I’ll never sleep with you.”

              Renee rolled her eyes.  “I know that.  I only did it to force you to admit your feelings for Devon.  Aren’t you glad I did?  She wants you back.  Our plan worked.”

              “So you were just playing a role?”

              Renee laughed.  “Yes and no.  You’re a good-looking guy and I like you.  So I enjoyed it, too, but I wouldn’t have let it go much further because I know you’d have regretted it if it had.  Like you said, you have morals.”

              His brow furrowed.  His concern grew.  “You seemed to know what you’re doing.  Are you, uh, promiscuous?”

              Renee said, “I suppose you would say so.  I don’t look at it like that.  I like having fun and feeling good.”

              “You need to be careful.  You know that I’m illegitimate.  Don’t wind up having a baby out of wedlock, Renee.  It was hard for Pa to meet anyone around here because none of the families of the girls wanted their daughters to associate with him because of what had happened with him and Jackie.  I don’t want to see something like that happen to you,” he said.

              She was touched by his concern, but also annoyed.  “Did you give this same sort of advice to Joey or Skip?  Any of your male friends?  Dino?”

              “Well, no—”

              “Mmm hmm.  How typical of a man.  It’s all right for Joey to go out with a bunch of different girls and kiss them, whether or not it was an act, but it’s not all right for me to have some fun because I’m a girl.  Tell me something, Sawyer: If men aren’t virgins when they get married, who do you think they’re sleeping with?  Mythical creatures of some sort?  No.  Flesh and blood women, just like me.”

              Sawyer said, “Please don’t be angry.  I don’t care what other girls are doing.  That’s their business, but you’re my friend and I don’t want to see you get hurt.  And if you keep climbing on guys’ laps, sooner or later you’re gonna come up against the wrong one.”

              Renee smiled.  “Now you’re trying to make me feel ashamed.  I don’t.  But here’s something that’ll make you feel better: since I started noticing Brody a few months ago, I haven’t climbed on anyone’s lap except yours.”

              He stared at her.  “You haven’t?”

              “No.  Now, about the Halloween party—I’ve decided to be a damsel in distress.”

              Sawyer wasn’t willing to let the subject go.  He couldn’t put a finger on just why, though.  “Renee, Brody is a full-grown man.  You’re barely nineteen.  I don’t know what kind of history he has with women.  Your parents aren’t gonna approve.”

              “You’re so sweet.  I’ll tell you what, I won’t make another move until you do some detective work for me and find out what kind of man he is.  You ask Devon to ask Mr. Dwyer about him.  Just say that a friend of one of your sisters is wondering if he’s a good man or not,” Renee said.  “Then you can report back to me, but it has to be the truth.”

              “Does anyone know how sneaky you are?” Sawyer asked.

              “Skip does.  Why do you think he asked me to help out with this?” she asked.  “However, I use my abilities for good.  I’ve never hurt anyone, so don’t think I’m malicious.  I’m not.  I know how much you and Devon were hurt when it didn’t work out between you and I’m happy to help get you back together.”

              Sawyer frowned.  “Skip asked you to do this?”

              Renee grinned.  “Don’t be hard on him.  He just wants to see you happy, but he doesn’t have a sneaky bone in his body.  That’s why he has me.  So will you do that for me?”

              “Only if you don’t approach Brody until I do,” Sawyer said.

              “It’s a deal,” she said, smiling.  “Don’t dawdle, though.”

              He smiled and shook his head.  “I have no idea what to think about you.”

              “Many people don’t.  Now, show me what you’re working on,” she said.

*****

              Devon saw Sawyer get out of their Model T with Joey the next afternoon.  Even on crutches, he looked strong and virile.  His hair had grown slightly again and the chilly wind mussed it as he made his way to the house with Joey.  Sawyer caught sight of her.

              “I’ll catch up with you in a minute,” Sawyer said to Joey.

              Joey smiled knowingly.  “Take your time and be nice to my sister.  You’re one of my best friends, but I’ll kick your hind end if you make her cry.”

              “Just get going,” Sawyer said, waving to Devon.

              Joey went in the house as Devon walked up the drive.

              “Hi, Sawyer,” she said, smiling.

              “Hi.  Do you have a minute?”

              “Sure.”

              She looked so cute and pretty in her jeans and Kyle’s blue sweater that the urge to kiss her was almost overwhelming.  He realized that he’d been staring.  “Uh, well, I have a favor to ask you.”

              “All right,” she said.  “I’ll help if I can.”

              “Can you ask your father what sort of guy Brody Benson is?  A friend of one of my sister’s wants to know, so I offered to find out for her,” he said.

              Devon’s brow furrowed.  “I can do that, but why don’t you just ask me since I know Brody?”

              He opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t have a good reason.  She was right.  Why had Renee told him to ask Devon to ask Joe?  Then he knew. 
She is the most devious person I’ve ever met.  How many times has she manipulated me into doing it something and I never knew it?  She just wanted me to have an excuse to talk to Devon, but what do I say now?

              “Uh, well, I didn’t know if talking about the Bensons was a sore subject or not,” he said lamely.

              “I don’t mind, but I’ll only tell you on one condition.  You have dinner with me tomorrow night,” Devon said, her heart willing him to say yes.

             
Oh, Renee, I don’t know whether to kiss you or kill you.
  “Um, sure.  Ok.”

              Devon wanted to jump up and down, but she calmly said, “Brody is a good man and, as far as I know, he doesn’t run around a lot.  He’s not a drunk, and he’s kind and respectful to women.  So he’s a good prospect for a woman.”

“That’s good to know.  Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.  I’ll pick you up around six.”

              Sawyer laughed.  “I’m not used to be chauffeured around so much.  Six it is.”

              “Are you staying for supper?” she asked.

              “No.  Joey and I are going over to Skip’s house,” Sawyer said.

              “Oh, all right.  Well, I have a few things to finish up, but I’ll see you tomorrow night,” she said, backing away.

              “Yeah.  See you then,” Sawyer said.

              She smiled at him for a few more moments before turning around and jogging off to the barn.  Sawyer went into the mansion, but Joey met him at the door.

“I’m ready to go.  Have a good talk with Devon?”

              “Isn’t it a little early to go over there?” Sawyer asked.

              “No.  We’re pickin’ up Snow Song and we’re gonna pick out Halloween costumes before supper.  I have to run a couple of errands for Daddy, too,” Joey said.

              “Ok.  It went fine.  We’re going out to dinner tomorrow night,” he said, thinking that Joey was always on the move, just like his father. 

              Joey smiled.  “That’s great.  You stay here.  I’ll go get the Brougham.”

              “I’ll be so glad when I can walk and drive again,” Sawyer said.  “I miss riding, too.”

              “Just occupy yourself with Devon and the time will fly right by.  Take advantage of having her take you places and stuff.  It’s a good way to spend time with her,” Joey said.  “I’ll be right back.”

              Sawyer waited by the driveway while Joey ran to the huge garage that housed the Dwyer vehicles.  He drove the beautiful car up and Sawyer got in.

              As they left the ranch, Joey said, “I’m glad it’s going so well with Devon.  Looks like everything is going according to our plan—and ahead of schedule, too.”

              “
Our
plan?  What are you talking about?”

              “Renee said that you agreed to it.”

              Sawyer looked at him.  “
You’re
in on it?”

              “Yeah.  Well, I’m just the money man, really,” Joey said.

              “Money?  What money?”

              “Didn’t Renee tell you?”

              Sawyer clenched his jaw.  “Tell me what?  I’m gonna kill her.  I never knew how manipulative she is.”

              Joey laughed.  “You just don’t know her like I do.  She’s a slippery one.  We made sure that Devon showed up at the restaurant the other night and at the Watering Hole last night.”

              “You did?  How?”

              Joey enjoyed Sawyer’s confusion.  “I’ve been paying Jared to take Devon out.”

              “What?” Sawyer yelled.  “Why don’t I know any of this?  What’s the matter with all of you?  Paying people to do things?  What’s next?  Robbing a bank?  I’m gonna kill her.”

              As Sawyer ranted, Joey laughed harder.  Finally he said, “Don’t do that.  She’s the reason you’re getting a second chance with Devon.  Settle down and I’ll explain it all to you.”

              Sawyer leaned his head against the window, not sure if he wanted to hear it.  “Ok.  Go ahead.”