Page 53 of Protected By West
Oxy held up his hands in surrender. "It's like you have spidey-sense or something like that." He turned his head and gave Tracy a wink and a smirk before he looked back at Weston. "Dally and I had a bet that we could sneak in behind you and you wouldn't notice."
"Eyes," Weston glared at Oxy. "I have them in the back of my head, too."
Tracy groaned at that. "It's like you're a parent. And these crazy people are your kids!"
Weston shrugged. "I guess I have to look forward to a whole bunch of Father's Day gifts." He nodded, his smile growing. "I think I could handle that."
The man, who Tracy was quickly likening to that handsome Mounted Police officer on Hallmark, walked up the steps to the deck. "Need me to do anything, Major?"
His name was on the tip of her tongue.
Just as Weston asked him to grab the platter from the table, she snapped her fingers. "Bonnet, right?"
Looking every inch the 'awww shucks' guy, the officer shook his head and gave her a wincing smile. "No, ma'am. Bonner."
Tracy nodded her head. "That's famous, right?"
The State Trooper looked a little uncomfortable at the question, but before she could come up with her own answer, they were joined by the one female on the team, Jack.
Just remembering her boyish name made Tracy smile.
"You're thinking of Billy the Kid. William Bonney, I think."
"Yes!" Tracy pointed at the other woman, thrilled to have that blank filled in. "I was trying to remember it. My dad was the Western fan in the..." She shook her head trying to get the thought out of her brain, but it didn't quite work. "Billy the Kid."
Tracy was struggling to fix her mind on something that wasn't upsetting for her.
She saw the trooper's blank white T-shirt. "I don't think KID would work for you."
She saw the tips of his ears redden at that.
"Yeah, you don't look like a kid."
Oxy sighed with a big 'ol grin on his face. "That's what she said."
Weston looked over his shoulder. "Even with more people around, I can still nail my target."
Oxy leaned closer to Tracy. "Is that what you say, beautiful lady?"
Fox clapped a hand down on Oxy's shoulder. "Are you really trying to get yourself killed?"
Trying to look innocent, Oxy failed miserably. "Someone has to be the life of the party."
Tracy had been ready to ask him how he got his nickname, but she was suddenly afraid to ask.
Instead, she kept her focus on the trooper. "Billy doesn't fit either. That sounds... trivial?"
Jack shrugged her shoulders. "Or it sounds like billy club. Not a good thing for LEOs."
Tracy remembered that it stood for Law Enforcement Officers. "Yeah. Probably not."
Dally ambled over to take a seat on the bench opposite Tracy. "Or it could be Billy as in goat."
Goats?
Tracy knew she hadn't managed to hide her instinctive facial expression at that.
Fox chuckled as he carried the water bucket back to the grill. "Not a fan of goats."
