Page 5 of Big Daddy Sheriff

Those thoughts were cut off as the forested countryside gave way to town and he turned onto Big Cedar’s Main Street.

A series of loud pops jarred him back to reality. He saw smoke rising ahead. More pops rang out.

He slammed on the brakes, leapt from the car, and went into a crouch as he brought his sidearm up.

It sure looked and sounded like someone was shooting again.

Hell had broken loose in the usually peaceful mountains of Southeastern Oklahoma.

CHAPTER THREE

“Put the gun down! Now!”

Quinn was in a shooter’s crouch again. In the backseat of the cruiser, Don was still sound asleep.

“We don’t have a gun!” a nervous voice called back.

The smoke cleared and Quinn saw that was indeed the case. Janie Worden and Mindy Graves stood in the middle of the street, looking both guilty and terrified.

Not to mention adorable.

Janie was in her early thirties and had raven hair that fell past her shoulders. Her lipstick was bright red, and she always reminded Quinn of a pinup girl out of the 1940s. Her ample curves propelled that image right along, too.

Mindy was younger—by about five years or so—and had blond hair she wore in a pixie cut. She was tall and slender.

Both women were clearly currently in Little space.

Janie wore a short pink dress with lots of lace and bows. It covered the ruffled panties she had on, but only barely.

Mindy was clad in a pink and white short romper.

Quinn quickly put his gun away and stood straight. He was smiling when he walked toward them. “Girls, what are y’all doing out here?”

The women blushed.

“Well, you see, Uncle Quinn…” Mindy said. “We had some leftover firecrackers. You know, from the Fourth of July. So we…”

“Set ‘em off right on Main Street,” Quinn finished for her.

Mindy hung her head. “Yes, sir.”

The lawman couldn’t help but chuckle as his smile grew. These cuties were handfuls, that was for sure. They kept their respective Daddies on their toes.

“We didn’t mean to startle you,” Janie said. “We promise, Uncle Quinn!”

He scratched his jawline as he thought it over. “I reckon I’m just a little on edge. Got a call a while ago that someone was shooting outside of town.” He jerked his head toward the idling cruiser. “Turned out it was just Don. Still, I’ve had enough gunfire for one day.” He grinned again as he leveled a pointed stare at the Littles. “You two do realize there’s an ordinance about setting off fireworks within town limits. Right?”

“These are just firecrackers,” Mindy tried.

Quinn shook his head. “Still counts, honey.”

“Are we gonna get a ticket?” Mindy asked, her eyes wide with horror.

“Honey, you know I’m not going to do that.”

“Are you going to tell our Daddies?” Janie asked in a deflated voice.

“Well, I reckon they know. You popped those right here on Main Street in front of God and everybody,” Quinn said.

---