Trouble in Texas by Katie Lane Page B

knew it, was over.
    “Hello, Beau,” she said, trying to keep the quiver of fear from her voice. “It’s so
     nice to see you again.”
    Beau still looked confused but was mannerly enough to play along. “The pleasure’s
     all mine, ma’am. I sure enjoyed our evening together last night.”
    “Last night?” Branston Cates’s gaze snapped over to her. “You were with my brother
     last night?”
    Minnie cackled. “The girl has more potential than I thought she did. Fresh out of
     bed with one, and on to the next. And brothers, no less. Although you need to be careful
     with relatives, Lizzie. The Dickens boys got in a brawlover me and caused ten thousand dollars’ worth of damage that they never did pay back.”
    Elizabeth’s face flamed when it finally dawned on her what Minnie was talking about.
     “No! Beau was just teaching me how to dance.”
    Baby sighed. “That’s how it happened to me. One second, I was doing the jitterbug
     with Jimmy Foster, and the next, my feet were brushing the roof of his daddy’s Cadillac.”
    Before Elizabeth could defend her honor, Brant’s fingers bit into her upper arm.
    “If you drugged my little brother,” he whispered in her ear, “so help me God, I’ll—”
    “Okay, so what’s going on?” Beau cut in. “I get why you’re here, Brant—the same reason
     I am—you were curious about the place where our great-grandfather got shot. But why
     did you miss Billy’s wedding? And why are you wearing that ridiculous robe?”
    Brant glared at Minnie. “Because she didn’t happen to miss me with the derringer.”
    “She shot you?” Beau’s blue eyes widened right before laughter erupted from his mouth.
     In fact, he got to laughing so hard, he had to sit down on the front step. “Wait until
     I tell the family about big, bad bro getting taken down by a bunch of little old women,”
     he gasped. “Billy and Beck are going to love it.”
    Minnie’s eyes narrowed. “Who you callin’ old, Mr. Smartie Pants?”
    “Beg pardon, ma’am.” Beau wiped at the corners of his eyes. “But you’ve got to admit
     it’s pretty danged funny.”
    A smile creased Minnie’s face as Sunshine sat down on the step next to Beau.
    “What about this one, Minnie?” She ran a hand along Beau’s cheek, which took the last
     of the laughter from his eyes and replaced it with a look of discomfort. “Since Lizzie
     got the last one, can I have this one?”
    Before Minnie could answer, Beau politely extracted himself from Sunshine and got
     to his feet. “So how do you fit in all this craziness, Ms. Murphy?”
    All eyes turned to her, and she found her mouth suddenly dry. She had just worked
     up enough moisture to speak when a car pulled up in front.
    Not just any car, but a sheriff’s car.
    Minnie’s eagle eyes landed on Brant. “So you called the law on us, did ya?”
    “He didn’t call them. I did,” Elizabeth stated as she straightened her suit jacket
     and tried not to act like her knees were knocking at the thought of spending time
     behind bars. “What we did was wrong. And as owner of this establishment, I need to
     take responsibility for that. No matter what the consequences are.”
    Beau’s mouth dropped open. “The old maid of Bramble owns a whorehouse?”
    “Watch your mouth, sonny boy,” Minnie warned. “Miss Hattie’s has never been a whorehouse.”
     She shot a mean glare at Elizabeth. “It’s a gentlemen’s club that I refuse to let
     be brought down by a snooty woman who doesn’t know shit from Shinola.” She zipped
     the wheelchair over to the edge of the porch and pasted on a big smile. “Well, howdy,
     Sheriff Hicks. You come to get your butt whipped at poker again?”
    The man wending his way through the weeds looked nothing like Bramble’s sheriff. This
     man was young, tall, and lean, and when he removed the tan cowboy hat,a sharp gaze took in the occupants on the porch in one sweep.
    “No, ma’am. I learned my lesson the first