Trouble In Dixie (35 page)

Dixie stopped dancing and walked back over
to Katie and asked her seriously, "Can I call you mama now Miss
Katie?"

Katie couldn't hold back the whimper, as
emotion pushed up into her throat and tears started down her
cheeks. She grabbed Dixie in a hug and said, "Yeah, baby you can
call me mama, but only if you want to. I'll never replace your
mother...she loved you very much too...but I'd like being your
mama."

She heard a broken sob and looked up to see
Tommy had turned his back and his shoulders were shaking, and
Karlie was crying too, which made her own tears fall faster. "Ya'll
stop with the water works...I feel like a busted hose already," she
said with a watery chuckle.

Katie stood up and hugged Dixie to her hip,
and Tommy swiped at his eyes, then turned around and they all
converged in a group hug. Katie whispered, "This is the best day of
my life...thank you, Tommy."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Tommy was in Lubbock, meeting with Gabe and
the team he'd assembled to help bring down Edith Preston for
hacking into his security system. It had taken more than a week for
them to all get their ducks in a row, which frustrated him, but
what choice did he have but to wait?

He'd paid for an airline ticket to fly
Gabe's computer guru, Joey Sims, in from Phoenix for the meeting.
Tommy always believed that face-to-face meetings were the best way
to get things done, and he'd been right. This was an awesome group,
and they'd come up with a lot to help him, but he could only hope
it was enough to take down the person ultimately responsible.

"So, you're sure, a computer in her house is
responsible for the hacking?" Tommy asked Joey, barely able to
contain the elation that filled him.

"Yep, no doubt about it, I traced the
footprints right to her doorstep," Joey told him confidently.

Glen Baker, Gabe's friend with the FBI,
shook his head and told them, "I need your report, then I'll go to
my boss with it and see if it's enough to get a search
warrant."

Tommy shook his head, then told them, "I
don't know who could be doing it for her, because she certainly
isn't into computers or technology that I'm aware of...and neither
is her husband." He let his mind wander over the possibilities then
a thought hit him, "Jesus, I bet it's her son, Mark...he was a kid
when Maggie and I got married. Do a background check on Mark
Preston and see what you can find out. I don't know what kind of
work he went into, but he was in school forever, and I think he got
a degree from UT about five years ago."

Joey started tapping on the keyboard of his
laptop, and then he smiled at them and said, "Bingo..."

Tommy leaned forward on the table and asked
with an indrawn breath, "What?"

"Mark Preston of Dumas, Texas went to the
University of Texas and got an undergrad degree in computer science
and then a masters in computer security...hacking into your
security system would be a piece of cake for him," Joey told
him.

Beau Bowman, Gabe's brother, and a Texas
Ranger, who'd been pretty quiet during this meeting so far, smiled
then leaned his elbows on the table. "Nice work, I think we have
our perp, guys...how fast can you get that report to me, Joey?"

"You have a printer I can use?" he
asked.

They were at the Texas Ranger headquarters
in Lubbock, Beau's home base, so there had to be a printer around
here somewhere, Tommy thought impatiently, wanting to get something
moving
now
.

"Yep, in my office," Beau said then stood
up, and said to the FBI guy, "Glen, how fast can you get a search
warrant? I'm going to my boss too and see if we can get one
too...there will be state charges."

"As soon as I can get a judge to sign one,"
Glen replied with a half smile, then added, "You know how that
goes..."

"Yeah, I do, I'm hoping we can wrestle one
into submission today, if not, we'll keep at it, until we do. We
should coordinate the take down, so we don't step on each other,"
Beau told him.

"Yeah, we should make it a joint operation,
I'll get a team together, and then we can have a meeting later
today to work out a plan. Does that work for you?"

"That's perfect...I'll give you a call...be
right back with the report," Beau told him, then he and Joey left
the room.

"I need to call my attorney and let him know
what's going on," Tommy told them then stood up and walked out in
the hallway to make the call. His high-priced legal muscle answered
on the second ring, and Tommy asked him, "You out of court?"
because he hadn't been able to come to the meeting today for that
reason.

"Yeah, just got back in the office, what's
up?" he asked, breathing hard like he'd just had a long walk.

Tommy tried to contain the anticipation and
excitement in his voice, but failed, "Good news, man--I think we've
got her! Joey traced the connection back to a computer at Edith
Preston's house. Her son has a computer science degree with a
masters in security, so Joey says it would be a cake walk for him
to be the hacker. Bowman with the Rangers and Glen agree, and
they're getting search warrants right now."

"Can they tie it back to Edith
specifically?" Roger asked him, and it was the question Tommy been
dreading.

Tommy's elation faded a little, and he said
flatly, "No...", then added, "But once they get his computer, the
federal guys will tear it apart to get all the evidence they can. I
think if they nail him, he'll eventually turn on Edith...from what
I remember of him he was always a snot-nosed mama's boy."

"Well he might not turn on her, so don't get
your hopes too high, yet...I have good news for you too though."
Roger told him smugly.

Tommy huffed out a frustrated sigh, cursing
his realist,
Debbie Downer
, of an attorney for bursting his
bubble of hope. Slightly irritated, he asked shortly, "What?"

"I talked to that sneaky bastard of a judge
in Moore County, and he's going to throw out Edith's filing,
because we filed against her first here...he's going to join her
petition with ours in Lubbock."

Tommy pumped a fist in the air, danced in a
couple of circles, then hissed, "Yes!"

He finally felt like he was getting
somewhere, and a knot of emotion choked him. Thanks to Katie and
her oil well, and Karlie and her husband's contacts, he was going
to be able to defeat Edith once and for all. He owed them all so
much.

"Like that, do you?" Roger chuckled, and
Tommy heard the squeak of a chair as he evidently sat down.

"Damn right I do," Tommy said happily, then
added, "I'll bet she's livid...and that judge will probably be out
of office come the next election...how'd you pull it off? She has
all of them in her pocket."

"I told him I was going to file a complaint
with the conduct commission, because if he proceeded with her claim
he wasn't procedurally compliant with state law, and I also told
him that I was sure the commission would be interested in looking
at his campaign contributions from Edith Preston. I was shooting in
the dark, but evidently I hit a tree, because he folded."

"Great job, man...I owe you so much. Thank
you," Tommy told him humbly.

"You do owe me...try not to have a heart
attack when you get my bill," Roger told him then laughed.

"I would give you every penny I have to keep
my daughter, and get that woman off our backs forever."

"Never,
never
, say that to an
attorney, Tommy," Roger told him in amused tone.

Tommy laughed a little too, then said, "Okay
then, just send me your bill," then he hung up and put the phone to
his forehead sending up a silent prayer of thanks. Things were
going to work out, and he was a thankful man.

***

Katie sat at the breakfast bar eating the
delicious chicken salad croissant that the new housekeeper, Gerrie
had fixed for her. The woman was a godsend, Katie thought so
anyway. Dixie still hadn't warmed up to her, because Gerrie kept an
eagle eye on her, and she couldn't get away with much...and she
made her take care of Snuggles. She told Katie she was doing it,
because she felt that would teach the 'munchkin' some
responsibility. When Katie found out that not only was Gerrie a
former nurse, she was a former
military
nurse, that
explained a lot of her spit shine way of doing things.

Tommy was still on the fence with his
opinion about Gerrie, but only because he hadn't been around much
the last few days...he was working on something. That was as much
as he'd tell her, but she figured it must be something big for him
to leave her side for three days to go to Lubbock. She missed him,
but he called all the time, so she was appeased a little bit, but
not enough. Katie wanted him home, because she was feeling better,
her ribs were only a little sore now, and she was ready for some
action that only her handsome cowboy could give her.

Her cell phone rang and Katie answered it
without looking, because she figured it was Tommy...it was always
Tommy. Excitement and desire shot through her and she purred, "Hey,
good looking, whatcha got cooking?"

There was a long pause and she thought maybe
the call had dropped, but then a deep sexy voice replied, "I'm
cooking with oil, baby, and if you've got something other than a
bun in the oven, I'm game."

Katie sucked in a breath and felt blood rush
to her face. She put a hand to her cheek and said, "Oh, my
god...Chase?" then held the phone away and saw from the caller ID
it was him. "I'm so sorry!"

"Thought I was the asshole cowboy, I take
it?" he said with disappointment in his tone.

"Stop it! He's not an asshole anymore," she
said with a chuckle.

Katie sucked in a sharp breath when warm
strong arms wrapped around her waist, then tingles coursed through
her as a wet kiss touched her neck. Tommy murmured by her ear,
"Who's not an asshole anymore?" then he licked a spot right behind
her ear, and nuzzled her hair.

Katie moaned and Chase asked her, "Was that
for me?"

She grabbed Tommy's hand as it migrated up
her side toward her breast. "Um, Chase can I call you back in a few
minutes?" she asked breathlessly as Tommy's heat and scent
overwhelmed her. She sucked in a breath when his thumb circled her
nipple on the other breast. Tommy's hand stilled, his body
stiffened and she'd swear his body temperature dropped fifteen
degrees, before he stood up and tried to pull his hand from under
hers. She held on tight and used her thumb to disconnect the
call.

Katie grabbed his wrist then turned around
to face him on the bar stool, and he asked her angrily, "So you
told Chase Rhodes I was an asshole?"

She wasn't going to get in an argument with
him, she knew he was jealous of Chase, and wasn't going to play
that game with him. She snorted and said, "No he drew that
conclusion all on his own that day you came out to the ranch," then
she stood up and took a step and put her good arm around his waist
and hugged him, then took a deep breath to inhale his scent. Today,
he had on a light citrusy cologne along with his usual intoxicating
aroma, and it was doubly potent.

"My god, I thought you couldn't look any
better than you do in those tight Wranglers, but I was wrong,
sugar...that suit does things for me," she purred then tiptoed to
lick the corner of his unsmiling mouth. "I missed you so damned
much, kiss me," she said teasingly, then put her lips to his and
nibbled his lower lip. She felt him tremble, and sucked his lip
into her mouth, and coaxed, "C'mon, baby, give me a kiss."

"Your boyfriend get you all hot and
bothered, and you need some relief?" he said gruffly then stepped
back, his hazel eyes glittering angrily.

She put her hand on her hip and glared at
him. "No,
my
boyfriend is an asshole that likes to get me
hot and bothered, and leave me to dangle on a limb, evidently," she
replied sassily.

"I'll show you fucking dangle, baby..."
Tommy growled then pulled her into his arms and slammed his mouth
over hers and kissed roughly, starting fires from every direction
inside of her.

Katie moaned and slid her hand from his
chest down to the front of his slacks and stroked him, he was hard,
hot and ready, and she whimpered breathlessly, "I need you,
Tommy..."

Without taking his mouth from hers, he
scooped her up in his arms and stalked toward the downstairs
bedroom. When he got there, the door was partially open, and he
kicked it in with his foot, and closed with his heel. He didn't
stop until he laid her on the bed, and jerked her shorts and
panties off, then he reached for his belt buckle and dropped his
pants, then slid his jacket off, and pushed her further up on the
bed, then laid beside her.

"You're mine, don't you forget that, sugar,"
he growled, then slammed his mouth over hers and kissed her until
she was panting for him. He moved over her and lifted one of her
legs and then positioned himself between her legs He held her gaze
with his angry eyes and entered her with one firm stroke.

Katie fisted the sheet in her hand as he
stretched her deliciously, and desire shot through her. "Oh,
god..." she moaned brokenly.