Carmen sat at the lonely booth with her fingers in her hair, her mind was running amok. Constantly reviewing what the deputy said to her, "Oh my lord, she did her little hook, line, and sinker. Giving me that wink and smile. Does she know what she does to people. I guess she does or she wouldn't do it. What am I going to do? I don't have a place to stay and it is getting late. Should I just keep going and get out of town before I get in too deep?" She groaned in frustration.

Lori had been watching the little blonde battling with herself since Dodger ran out with Hank. She was at the cash register balancing it out. She couldn't take her eyes off the clearly distraught Southern belle. "Poor girl, under Ash's spell already. She had no idea what to do. Well, I think I'll warn her about the deputy's other side." Lori closed up the cash registrar, grabbed a pitcher of tea, and made a b-line to Carmen's table. Carmen never noticed her.

"Hey sugar, may I join you?" the curly brunette asked. The blonde was a bit startled, as she looked up at the soft voice with tear filled eyes. She sniffled and nodded, "sure." She gave a weak smile.

"More tea?" Lori asked with a bright smile.

"Yes, thank you." said the southern belle in between sniffles.

"Can I ask whats on your mind? I don't mean to be a creeper but you aren't as lively as you were when the sheriff was here. Did she do something to you?" the waitress inquired.

Carmen let out a big sigh. She didn't know if she should tell this stranger her overwhelming thoughts and feelings that ere swarming her like flies on a summer day. She looked into sincere hazel eyes that were filled with genuine care. Carmen sniffed and wiped off some condensation from the glass she was holding.

"Well, you see it goes like this." the blonde began to tell her troubling woes and matters of her heart. She told Lori how she met the sheriff and that she's never felt this way about anyone before, especially a woman. She mentioned her inner conflicts that she was having. Was it okay or normal to feel these affections towards Dodger? Should she listen to her head or her heart? There would be backlash no matter what side she listened too. She would have to settle for the lesser of the two evils.

Lori felt for the Austin girl and decided against teller her about Dodger's dark side. She took pity on her and gave some honest advice, "Look honey," she sighed, "The only thing you can do in this situation is to follow your heart." Both women look up and lock eyes. The blonde feared that she was going to say that but at the same time she was relieved. Relieved to know that she's not the only one to ever feel torn apart by love and common sense. Carmen let out a huge sigh and smiled at the woman, who earlier was causing a bit of drama.

"Thank you so much for listening to me. I really had no idea what to do but I didn't know that the answer was so simple." The blonde gathered up her belongings and was about to run out the door, but addressed the waitress before she did," I am so sorry but how much do I owe you for the extra time you were here?

"Aw nothin' hun. And here, give Dodger her money back. Tell her I'll put it all on her tab that she'll never owe me." she winked at Carmen and proceeded to shoo her out. "Go on and get her girl." Carmen couldn't believe what was happening. Never once had she listened to her heart. It felt strange and different, not to mention a bit scary. She smiled brightly at Lori and thanked her again. She practically skipped out the door to her car from the diner. She hadn't realized how much time had passed until she heard the crickets and coyotes singing their nightly song. She hurried to the Jag and roared to life happily, finally getting some much needed attention.

Carmen tried to replay the directions in her head from what the sheriff told her. Did she said something about a stop light or stop sign? What about horns and them being long? Ugh, I'm gonna end up in another state at this rate. The blonde bombshell drove to one end of the town and back again trying to find this piece of land with cattle that had longhorns. She finally came down another dirt road, squinting, she caught glimpses of solid figures out in a pasture. Night in the country was a far cry from night in the city. In the country, you need a spot light just to go check the mail. In the city, there are bright lights lining the streets, illuminating the shops and restaurants, tantalizing all your bodily senses.

Carmen was jarred out of her thoughts by the ruggedness of the road, "Good grief, by time I get there, I'm gonna be needing new tires and axles." she mumbled. The road was so uneven that she was bouncing all over the place, despite having good struts and shocks. This was no place for a luxury sports car. She had to turn on her brights to see five feet in front of her, that's when she spotted an archway, complete with a rack of cattle horns. The city girl turned on to a smoother road, she thank the Lord for, and what her eyes saw took her breath away. This cant possibly be Dodgers house. It's beautiful. She followed the long driveway and sure enough she spotted the Bronco. The blonde's face was in awe, along with a hint of shock. She put her Jag in park and proceeded to step out and walk up to this mini mansion. It was a lot to take in, the property was absolutely amazing. The outside of the house reminded her of Lincoln's log cabin but with a modern twist. Made out of a lighter color wood, it had an inviting warmth about it. It was either a huge one story or a modest two story home. Everything on the out side said "Made in Texas and Proud of it". She walked up the steps onto the magnificent wrap around porch. Carmen was so star struck that she didn't notice the big red and white dog behind her, staring her down.

Speedy, Dodger's trusted right hand, was perched lazily on top of Lady Blacksmith, Dodger's esteemed mare. This was one of his favorite spots to snooze. The mare didn't seem to mind as long as he didn't move around too much, other than that she loved having the company. The large pit was sleeping good until his ears twitched and caught sound of a vehicle coming their way. He rolled over, stretched, and sat up waiting for this noise to either pass or pull up. It had been a slow day, nothing too out of the ordinary had happened, so good ol' Speedy was itching for a little fun. He spotted the car, he didn't recognize it, tilting his head he let out a low growl and jumped off the mare. Lady nickered at him to be nice, she had a good feeling about this stranger. Speedy rolled his eyes and padded off towards Dodger's home. He waited in the shadows until the stranger was on the porch, that's when he decided to make his move and got behind this intruder and displayed the best ferocious dog he could.

Carmen snapped back into reality by a low lethal growl. She imminently started to sweat, fear rolling off of her. She swallowed hard and braved a glance back. She saw a large dog, with even larger teeth, giving her the evil eye. She leaped towards the door, ringing the bell and pounding on the door, yelling "Dodger!"

Dodger was half sleep in her lazyboy, wearing nothing but a tank and her boxers when she heard all the racket outsider her door. It startled her and she bolted from her comfy chair, grabbed her shotgun, and stomped to the door cursing, ''Who the hell is it! Do you have any idea what time it is?! You better have a damn good reason comin' here! Cause if it aint good enough for me, you're gettin' buckshots in your ass!" She made it to the door and yanked it open, to only have a frighten blonde fall into her arms and her dog standing there with a stupid look on her face.

"Ms. Santiago?"

A/N: Ok, if i may say, that this is one of my favorite chapters by far. I know its been awhile since I've updated and I do apologize. I thank everyone who has taken interest in this story. Let me know how you liked this one.