Page 28 of Maggie’s Match

She frowned at him. “You left shortly after that night.”

He remembered why. Remembered almost letting those three words slip out when he’d been holding her later that night in bed. Words that would ruin him, ruin everything.

“I can’t believe no one in town knew about us,” she said with a sigh, and he was thankful she’d changed the subject.

“They knew,” he speculated. “They had to.”

“You’re probably right. I mean, at first we were really good at hiding it, but later…” she said. “Then last year when you invited me to dinner at your folks’ place, everyone knew.”

“Yeah.” He nudged her closer until their bodies were plastered against one another. “I should have invited you over long before that.”

He was happy to see her smile in response.

“Yeah, you should have.” She tilted her head and then had his heart melting when she rested her head against his chest. “I’m done playing your games. Volleying back and forth like a tennis ball,” she said as they continued to sway on the floor. “If we do this”—she motioned between them—“no more taking off without notice again.”

He nodded, stupidly grinning. Hell, he was willing to agree to whatever terms she had. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she hugged him again. He tightened his arms ever so slightly around her, mentally not willing to let her go at any cost.

“Agreed,” he said softly.

Then the song ended and another line dance song started. He took her hand and led her back to their table. Royce was glaring at him. This time, he gave the man a genuine smile, knowing that Maggie was going to give him another shot.

Whatever issues they’d had in the past, not once had he or Maggie ever cheated. It was something they’d agreed on before that first kiss.

For the rest of the night, he no longer cared if Maggie danced with Royce or any other man in the bar. She’d staked her claim on him several times by leaning in and whispering while the entire table watched. His arm had gone protectively around her as they chatted and laughed together.

Royce would have to be either blind or stupid not to see that Maggie had made her choice.

When his phone rang and he noticed his uncle Grant’s number on the screen, he excused himself and stepped outside to take the call.

“Hey,” he answered, a little breathless from rushing to get to the quiet of the outdoors.

“Hey, I thought I’d let you know what I know,” Grant started.

“What we know,” his uncle Wes added.

“You’re on speaker phone. Everyone’s here,” Grant said.

He heard his parents, aunts, and uncles all say hi to him.

“Hey, everyone. What’s up?”

“First, the only Royce in town is Royce Lester Tillerson, the mayor’s son. He’s been living in Dallas and returned home earlier this year after some legal problems. When he was young, he attended a boarding school for wayward youth in the Dallas area before attending college. He worked as a mechanic in the city, has never been married, and has several DUI charges against him. His license was reinstated when he returned home, probably thanks to his family’s power.”

Rick’s eyes jerked back to the door. Royce was a Tillerson, the family that was currently trying to kick out Becca’s family and shut down Maggie’s business. His anger spiked.

“As for the other issue you asked me to look into,” Wes said, “I ran the names you gave me of workers currently on the ranch. Two of them have been on the Tillerson’s payroll in the past year. I’ll text you those names.”

“Thanks, I gotta go,” he said. He hung up without saying goodbye and rushed back into the bar.

Seeing the table was empty, he scanned the crowded bar for Maggie. Becca and Colton were in the line of dancers on the dance floor. Maggie was nowhere to be seen.

Rushing through the crowd, he took Becca’s arm. “Where’s Maggie?”

Becca’s smile slipped a little. “At our table with Royce.”

He turned to Colton. “Did you know Royce was a Tillerson?” he barked, and Becca gasped.

The man frowned. “Yeah, everyone in town knew that.” He shrugged and looked towards Becca. “Didn’t you?”