74. Beast
BEAST
The day started out just fine.
Which should have been my first warning.
I sat alone at my usual table inside the Last Stand Tavern.
Coffee.
Breakfast.
Silence.
Exactly the way I liked it.
The morning crowd hadn't arrived yet.
Wolf was somewhere in the office.
Trigger was probably annoying his wife.
Saint was helping Laney with Emmy.
The tavern was quiet.
Peaceful.
Perfect.
I took a sip of coffee.
The front door exploded open.
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Then I heard the familiar voice.
"Oh good. You're all here."
I closed my eyes.
Not her.
Anybody but her.
The Magnolia Ladies immediately looked up from their table.
Mrs. Jenkins grinned.
"Oh, this should be good."
I didn't need to turn around.
I already knew.
Sadie Walker.
The human tornado.
The rancher's daughter.
The reason I drank coffee.
The reason I needed a beer this early in the morning.
The reason I regularly consider moving to another state.
A second later, I heard it.
Squish.
Squish.
Squish.
The Magnolia Ladies collectively gasped.
I opened my eyes.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Then I looked toward the door.
Sadie stood there wearing faded blue jeans, a flannel shirt, and cowboy boots.
Cowboy boots covered in horse manure.
Fresh horse manure.
The trail stretched across half the tavern floor behind her.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Sadie blinked.
Looked down.
Looked back up.
"Oh."
Mrs. Jenkins pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Oh?" she repeated.
Sadie smiled.
"I guess that explains the smell."
The Magnolia Ladies nearly fell out of their chairs laughing.
I dropped my forehead into my hand.
Of course.
Of course, this was happening.
Sadie took another step.
Squish.
Another.
Squish.
Another.
Squish.
The trail got longer.
Mrs. Baker pointed toward the floor.
"Stop walking."
Sadie froze.
"Oh."
"You already ruined half the tavern."
Sadie looked horrified.
Then she looked at me.
That was my second warning.
Because whenever Sadie looked at me like that, trouble followed.
"Beast?"
"No."
"I didn't even ask anything yet."
"No."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You don't know what I was going to say."
"I do."
"You don't."
"You need something."
She smiled.
I immediately regretted existing.
"I need a favor."
"There it is."
The Magnolia Ladies laughed harder.
Sadie ignored them.
"I have a calf stuck in a drainage ditch."
"No."
"You didn't even think about it."
"I thought about it."
"You didn't."
"I did."
"You don't know how deep it is."
"It's too deep."
"You haven't seen it."
"I don't need to."
Sadie crossed her arms.
I crossed mine.
We stared at each other.
This happened a lot.
Unfortunately.
Mrs. Jenkins leaned toward Mrs. Baker.
"Five dollars says he goes."
Mrs. Baker nodded.
"I'll take that bet."
Sadie pointed at them.
"You're betting on us again."
"Every week," Mrs. Jenkins said proudly.
I stood.
The room got quiet.
Mostly because I was six-foot-four and built like a brick wall.
Sadie wasn't impressed.
She never was.
"You're cleaning the floor."
She looked innocent.
Fake innocent.
The dangerous kind.
"I was going to."
"You tracked manure through the entire tavern."
"I was distracted."
"By what?"
Sadie smiled.
"You."
The Magnolia Ladies erupted.
Mrs. Jenkins slapped the table.
Mrs. Baker wheezed.
Someone nearly choked on coffee.
I stared at Sadie.
Sadie stared back.
Completely shameless.
"You're impossible."
"So I've been told."
"You owe us a new floor."
"It'll wash."
"You owe me breakfast."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"You were eating my breakfast?"
"No."
"Then how do I owe you breakfast?"
I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
The Magnolia Ladies were crying now.
Actually crying.
Sadie grinned.
Victory.
I hated that grin.
Mostly because it worked.
"Where's the calf?" I asked.
The entire tavern cheered.
Mrs. Jenkins threw both hands into the air.
"I won!"
Sadie beamed.
"I knew you'd help."
"No. You manipulated me."
"Same thing."
"It absolutely isn't."
She started toward the door.
Then stopped.
Then looked down.
Then looked back at me.
"What?"
She pointed toward the floor.
"Oh."
The trail of manure stretched from the entrance all the way across the tavern.
I closed my eyes.
Counted to ten.
Then twenty.
When I opened them again, Sadie was smiling.
Again.
"Morning, Beast."
I sighed.
The day was officially ruined.
And somehow...
I was already following her out the door.