Read Ten-Gallon Tensions in Texas: A Kate on Vacation Mystery (The Kate on Vacation Mysteries Book 3) for Free Online Page B

ducks. It’s not polluted or anything.”
    “Define few.”
    “A half dozen. Hey, I swam there as a kid, and I turned out okay.” He crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out of one side of his mouth.
    Kate shook her head at him but she couldn’t completely suppress her smile.
    After slathering sunscreen on herself and the children, they headed downtown.
    When they arrived at the town square, the picnic was already in full swing. Table after table was laden with food offerings, everything from barbecue to corn on the cob, and one dish she hoped her kids would not decide to investigate.
    No such luck. “What are those, Mommy?” Billy asked, pointing to the deep-fried delicacies.
    “Uh, they’re kinda like chicken nuggets.” That turned out to be the wrong thing to say.
    Billy grabbed one off the platter and popped it into his mouth. He chewed happily for a few seconds, then his face screwed up in a funny expression. “Tastes more like a hamburger, Mommy.”
    Kate stifled a laugh. Close enough.
    “Those are prairie oysters, son.”
    Kate turned. Bobby Joe Bradley, wearing a sheriff’s deputy uniform, stood behind them.
    Billy tilted his head. “What’s that?”
    “Never mind,” Kate said, feeling the heat creep up her cheeks. She grabbed a paper plate from the pile at the end of the table and put another of the deep-fried calf testicles on it. She added some barbecue, a half ear of corn and some beans. “Here you go.”
    Billy took the plate and looked around. “Where are we supposed to eat?”
    “Anywhere you can find a place to land, son,” Bobby Joe said.
    Kate gave Billy some napkins and a plastic fork. “Go over there with your sister and cousin.” She pointed to where Edie and Sherry had plopped themselves down in the shade of a eucalyptus tree. They both balanced plates of food on their laps.
    Kate turned back to Bobby Joe. “How come the deputy uniform?”
    “I help out for events like this. A little extra money never hurts. We got the chili cook-off comin’ up later.”
    Kate smiled. “I suspect Texas chili is gonna be a bit too spicy for my kids’ tastes.”
    Bobby Joe grinned back. “Now see, you ain’t been raisin’ ’em right. You start addin’ a little chili pepper to their milk soon as they’re weaned, and then their tastes develop just fine.”
    Kate chuckled. She took a bite from the prairie oyster she’d stabbed on her fork. It definitely did not taste like chicken.
    Skip walked up, balancing a plate of food in one hand. “Hey, darlin’, they got pony rides. Edie might be interested, although it could be a little tame for her, compared to Fiddlesticks.” They’d finally given in to their horse-crazy daughter’s pleading and had bought her a pony last year. He was aptly named. Fiddlesticks definitely had a mind of his own.
    Once they had eaten, Skip escorted Edie and Sherry to the pony ride area. Kate wandered over to where her nephews and sister-in-law were standing.
    A voice blared across the park. “Okay, folks, almost time for the three-legged race. Grab yerself a partner and head on over to the gazebo.”
    “Why don’t you two run that race?” Suzanne said, her voice distracted as she looked over her sons’ heads.
    Kate followed her line of vision. Jimmy was standing near the area where the chili pots bubbled over charcoal fires. He lowered his flask from his lips and slipped it into his pocket.
    “That race is dumb,” Frankie said. His older brother nodded. Neither boy noticed their mother’s lack of attentiveness because they never lifted their eyes from the devices in their hands. Junior was texting on his phone, and Frankie was playing a handheld game.
    Billy ran up. “Mommy, can we be in the three-legged race?”
    “We meaning who?”
    “You and me.” The child beamed up at her.
    That’s what she’d been afraid he meant. Slogging across a field, one leg tied to Billy’s, was not her idea of fun.
    “Who came up with this dumb shit anyway?” Junior