Page 21 of Midnight & Mavericks

“Wait one minute.”

He watched the woman jog to her truck and return a couple of minutes later in a brown and white plaid shirt tucked inside her baggy jeans.

“How’s this?” she asked while she did a pirouette in clunky cowboy boots.

“Perfect.” Beau nodded his approval. “Um, do you have a thing for plaid or something?”

“Nah, when the hardware store has a bogo sale, I buy ’em up. Most of the time, plaid is all that’s left on the sale rack. Besides,” she shrugged, “goats don’t care what you wear.”

“Bogo?”

“Yeah, you know. Buy one, get one free.”

“Understood,” Beau tried not to grin at Wanda’s explanation because he sensed she was dead serious.

Together, they walked into the restaurant. Beau gave a quick glance around the room and asked the hostess to seat them at a table near the corner giving Beau a clear line of sight to all the tables.

“Hey, Wanda,” the hostess with Barbara showing on her name tag Beau didn’t miss the woman’s pointed looks between Wanda and him. There was no telling what rumors would be around town tomorrow. She led them to the table in the corner and dropped their menus on the table. “Your waitress will be with you shortly.” She dropped Wanda another pointed look. “Guess Willard was busy?”

“I’ll explain later. Can’t talk right now,” Wanda’s loud whisper pulled a few more folks at nearby tables into the unwanted conversation.

The woman pinned Beau with another curious look and nodded to Wanda. “I can’t wait to hear this one.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Beau said as she left to help more customers standing at the door to get a table. He raised his menu and used it as a block so he could look for Abbie and Teddy without being noticed. They were sitting three tables over, Abbie’s back was to him, her dark hair falling in loose waves over her shoulders. She wore a black blouse and a pair of starched jeans. Her attire was casual, and yet on her, it seemed elegant, sexy, and just right. Beau couldn’t help but notice how those jeans hugged her in all the right places.

“Where’s our mark?” Wanda whispered, leaning toward him.

Her comment surprised him. “Mark? Where’d you hear that term?”

“I told you. I’m a big fan ofLaw & Order.”

“I see.”

The waitress joined them. “What would you like to drink?” The woman looked up from her order pad. “Well, Wanda. Surprised to see you here with—” She turned toward Beau and then back to Wanda. “Without Willard. You have another fight about them damn goats of yours? You know he ain’t ever gonna ask you to marry him until you get rid of them goats.”

“That’s never gonna happen, Katy. You know I can’t get rid of them goats. Besides, not everybody hates goats.”

Katy’s gaze hit on Beau again. “Obviously not.”

“I’ll have a large glass of iced tea,” Beau jumped in hoping to dispel this conversation.

Katy nodded. “Got it. Wanda?”

“Same,” his co-conspirator answered.

“Figures. All right, I’ll be back in a minute. Might want to study the menu. Get your order in. It’s gonna get busy tonight.”

“Will do,” Beau said as the woman walked away. “Friend of yours?”

“Nah, I went to high school with her. Always was a troublemaker.”

“So is Willard gonna be mad tomorrow when everyone is talking about you and your dining companion?”

“Nah, Willard don’t ever get too fired up. Maybe it’ll do him good to think this hunk of burnin’ love is slipping between his fingers. And just for the record, I ain’t ever getting’ rid of my goats. They is family to me.”

Beau suppressed a grin. “I can see how dedicated you are to them.” Suddenly, a Tammy Wynette song came to mind and he couldn’t stop his warped sense of humor. “Stand by your goats, Wanda. Stand by your goats.”

She looked pleased. “Thank you, Detective Elliott. I’m glad there’s at least one man in this town that gets me.” Wanda shot him a flirty look and he quickly hid behind his menu.

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