Read Online Trouble in Texas by Katie Lane - Free Book Online

time.” He rolled the brim of his hat around
     in his hands. “Havin’ a party, Miz Minnie?”
    “It sure looks that way, don’t it?” She tipped her head and blew a puff of smoke up
     in the air. “ ’Course we’re gonna need a lot more booze if that’s the case.”
    Sheriff Hicks didn’t even crack a smile. “So what’s this I hear about a shooting?”
    “It wasn’t really Minnie’s fault.” Baby clicked her way forward with a desperate look
     in her magnified eyes. “It was all just a—”
    “Minor accident,” Brant’s deep voice cut off Baby. Elizabeth watched as he discreetly
     slipped the small gun into the pocket of the kimono before he reached out a hand to
     the sheriff. “Branston.” He nodded at Beau. “And this here is my brother, Beauregard.
     I was on my way to my brother’s wedding in Bramble when I got lost and ended up here.”
    Sheriff Hicks’s eyes narrowed for a heart-stopping second before returning to Minnie.
     “So you were waving guns around again. I thought I warned you last time about that.”
    “I know, Sheriff,” Minnie looked duly chastised. “But you can’t expect three helpless
     old women not to have some form of protection.”
    The sheriff snorted. “I don’t think there’s a person on God’s green earth that would
     call you women helpless.” His gaze wandered over to Elizabeth. “So I take it that
     you’re the one who called.”
    Elizabeth took a step toward him and held out a hand.Unfortunately, her legs were still a bit wobbly, and she ended up tripping and almost
     taking a nosedive off the porch. Only Brant’s quick reflexes kept her from it. His
     arm encircled her, and she was pulled up against his hard chest. A chest that was
     barely covered by the oriental-print kimono. How could a man be so blatantly masculine
     in a thigh-high kimono? And why was she so aware of it? Every nerve ending in her
     body tingled as if she’d just stuck her finger in a light socket. It took everything
     she had in her not to melt at his feet.
    What made matters worse was that Brant Cates seemed to know it. His hands tightened
     for a fraction of a second before he released her and she was able to catch her breath.
     But even then, her mind was so scrambled that she had trouble remembering what she
     had been about to do.
    Minnie reminded her—or more like took charge.
    She waved the cigarette at Elizabeth. “This here is my niece, Elizabeth, who came
     out for a visit. She’s a little slow on the uptake—somethin’ she gets from her mama’s
     side, not mine. She called you without gettin’ the facts straight.”
    Slow on the uptake?
There was a moment when Elizabeth really wanted to blurt out the truth and set Minnie
     on her ear. But relief that Mr. Cates wasn’t going to press charges had her holding
     her tongue.
    Still, the sheriff stared at her for a good heart-stopping minute before he nodded.
     “Well, I hope you enjoy your stay, Elizabeth.”
    “Thank you,” she said, although she had no intention of staying there for longer than
     it took to sell the house. If she had learned anything in the last twenty-four hours,
     itwas that her mother was right. Miss Hattie’s was nothing but trouble.
    The sheriff slipped his hat back on and pointed a finger at Minnie. “And you had better
     call me the next time some stranger shows up, instead of waving around guns.”
    “Will do, Sheriff,” Minnie said with an innocent look that wasn’t fooling anyone.
    The Sheriff’s car had barely pulled out of the driveway before she was holding out
     a hand to Brant. “I’ll take my gun back now.”
    “I don’t think so,” Brant said. “Just because I didn’t turn you over to the sheriff,
     doesn’t mean I’ll forgive and forget.”
    Beau snorted. “That’s an understatement. He’s still holding a grudge about the baseball
     mitt I borrowed and left at the park—and that happened more than twenty years ago.”
    “Now, I can’t see any reason for