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  Ethel had a bandanna tied around her hair and she pushed it back slightly. “You mean you’re one of those fancy know-it-alls I see on the tube?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Well, swat me with a fly swatter. Ain’t that somethin’. Wait until I tell my cousin Bertha. She thinks she’s the best cook in the county ’cause people come from all over to eat her kolaches, which I make most of the time and she gets all the credit.” She thought for a minute. “I might just come to work for you. What are you gonna pay?”

  “What do you think you’re worth?”

  An eyebrow darted up. “A lot more than you can pay.”

  Callie laughed out loud and it felt good. It also felt good to be in Homestead and to meet so many heartwarming people.

  THE NEXT MORNING, Callie drove to San Antonio to purchase appliances, mattresses, bedding, dishes, pots and pans and other things they needed for the house. She was able to bring some of the items back with her, but the rest would be delivered later. A computer was a must for Adam and she managed to get it in the Suburban. The phone and Internet services were being installed today and everything was falling into place. With a little more work, their home would be livable.

  As they drove by the courthouse to Bluebonnet Street, Brit asked, “Can we stop by the sheriff’s office?” Her face was glued to the window.

  “No, sweetie, we can’t.”

  “Why not? He said he’d take me riding and he hasn’t and I want to ask why.”

  Callie bit her lip, needing to tell Brit the truth. “Because I asked him not to.”

  “Why’d you do that?” Tears choked her voice.

  “I don’t want us getting involved with the sheriff.”

  “Use your head, Brit,” Adam said. “We have to stay away from the sheriff or he’ll figure out who we are and take us back to Nigel and Callie will go to jail. Is that what you want?”

  “No. I want to ride a horse.”

  “You’re—”

  “Adam,” Callie stopped him. “I’ll find a way for you to ride a horse, Brit. I promise.”

  “Daddy’s kind of promise?”

  Callie chewed on her lip until she tasted blood. Another difficult decision that required an answer. God, she wished she had a book for these things. But she didn’t. All she had to go on was a sister’s love. And when it came to her siblings, she was a softy. “Yes.” She kissed the palm of one hand, curled it into a fist and carried it to her heart. That was John’s way of making a promise to them—a message kept in the heart never to be forgotten.

  Now she had to keep the promise. There was no way she’d break it.

  LATER THE KIDS PLAYED OUTSIDE with Buddy and Rascal. Callie stared at her new phone and debated her choices. She’d met a lot of friendly people and she could ask them about Brit riding a horse. But then that action might make the sheriff suspicious and she didn’t want to slight him or give him a reason to check into her background more thoroughly.

  The sensible solution would be to call Wade, but she hadn’t been sensible in weeks. Yet it seemed right. Brit could ride a horse and it wouldn’t hurt to make friends with the sheriff. If the FBI found them, she would need all the allies she could get.

  That wasn’t her only reason. She wanted to call Wade. There was something building between them. It couldn’t be seen or touched, but she felt it deep in her heart. She picked up the phone before she could change her mind. Another decision made in haste and she hoped she didn’t live to regret it.

  Wade was out and she was surprised at her disappointment. The woman took her name and number and said Wade would be in touch as soon as possible. She added that he had a cell phone if it was an emergency. It wasn’t, so Callie didn’t take the number. She just had a little girl with a broken heart.

  She fixed supper and put the kids to bed. Brit pulled on pajamas then slipped into her boots they’d found at Tanner’s.

  Callie frowned. “Brit, why are you putting on your boots?”

  “’Cause I’m sleeping in them until I ride a horse.”

  “Sweetie, it will be very uncomfortable. You can put them on first thing in the morning.” Callie tried to reason with her.

  Brit’s eyes narrowed. “Are you gonna make me?”

  “Yes,” Adam answered before Callie could make a decision, “because your feet will fall off if you sleep in them.”

  “Adam…”

  “You’re a big fat liar,” Brit snapped back.

  “Okay.” Callie intervened before they got into a shouting match. “You can sleep in them.” That seemed easier than upsetting her further.

  The kids asleep, Callie got up and went outside to the rocker, her favorite place. The nights were getting warmer, but she didn’t mind. The wind picked up and blew her hair across her face. A mosquito bit her arm and she swatted it. Life was different here and she was beginning to enjoy just the simplest things like a starlit night, fresh air and a friendly smile.

  Drawing her knees up, she wondered why Wade had ignored her phone call. She thought for sure he would arrive within a matter of minutes, but it had been hours. Where was he?

  Tomorrow she’d make other arrangements for Brit to ride a horse even if she had to take the day off. And she had so much to do to the house. Mainly, she had to go over her budget to make sure she hadn’t overextended herself with all the purchases she’d made today. They needed everything, though, especially the mattresses. Sleeping on the floor was getting old and uncomfortable. The appliances were expensive, yet necessary for the type of kitchen she was planning. By the time she was finished with the house, her savings would be gone and she’d have to depend on her skills as a chef to make a living.

  But then she might also be in jail. The truth of that paralyzed her for a moment, then she shook it away. The future was so uncertain and… Headlights beamed across her yard from Main Street and a car pulled up to the curb. Her pulse quickened.

  Wade.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  WADE STROLLED UP THE STEPS and tipped his hat. “Evening, ma’am.”

  “Sheriff.” Her voice was cool.

  “Sorry I’m so late, but I was involved in a family dispute and I didn’t get your message until a few minutes ago.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  Relief tinged her words. Relief that she couldn’t hide. Did she think he was deliberately ignoring her? “Not really.” He took a seat in the other rocker, needing to explain. “Norris is a trucker who’s gone for weeks at a time and his wife, Cora Lou, is very jealous. Every time he comes home, it’s fight after fight and I don’t mean fists. She gets the rifle out and tries to kill him. Virgil broke them up a few days ago and he was called back over there again today. When he tried to arrest Cora Lou, she hit him with the rifle and gave him a black eye and a concussion. I locked up Cora Lou and Norris, and Kristin is attending to Virgil. Virg doesn’t take pain well so Kristin will probably be holding his hand until the morning, then Ryan will be calling me.”

  From the porch light, he saw her white teeth nipping her bottom lip. “You’re wanting to laugh. I can see you’re holding back.”

  “How long have you been sheriff?” she asked, and he knew she was stifling a chuckle.

  “Almost four years. My dad was sheriff for over forty and I ran for the office when he retired.”

  “After your son died?”

  Wade didn’t shut down like he usually did when someone mentioned Zach. “Yeah. My wife and I had been drifting apart for years and we never realized it until after Zach’s death. He was keeping us together. We couldn’t find our way back to what we once had. We tried, but we both knew our marriage was over. She moved to Phoenix to be near her sister and I came home.”

  “To grieve.”

  He stared at her, realizing she probably understood since she’d lost her husband. It felt strange talking to her about such a personal thing, but it felt right, too. And he didn’t understand that. He barely knew her. She was easy to talk to though—when her gua
rd was down and she wasn’t so prickly.

  “Yeah. But the colorful people of Homestead keep me balanced.” He glanced at the clean, mowed yard and the straight column. “The house is taking shape. June Bug is doing a good job.”

  “Odell.”

  “What?”

  “Call him Odell—that’s his name.”

  There was a short noticeable pause.

  “Now you’re wanting to laugh. Don’t you dare,” she told him.

  “Okay.” He couldn’t stop a grin, suddenly loving that teasing quality in her voice. “What did you call about?”

  “I have a broken-hearted little girl who wants to ride a horse.”

  “Damn. I knew it. Why didn’t you call me sooner?”

  “I thought she’d forget about it.”

  And you didn’t want me around. What had changed her mind? Because now it didn’t seem to matter. They were talking like old friends and he had a difficult time reminding himself that they weren’t.

  “Well, tomorrow I’ll take y’all out to the ranch and Brit can get an up-close-and-personal view of a horse.”

  “Please don’t use your son’s horse if it’s going to cause problems.”

  He clasped his hands together. “We have several horses, so don’t worry about it. I have a gentle bay mare she can ride.”

  “Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”

  His eyes caught hers and he saw the blue flame—like the heat of a match before it ignites a fire. He felt it in parts of his body that reminded him that he was a man. A man who liked women. As a teenager, he’d dated a lot of girls, but once he’d met Kim, she’d been the only woman in his life. He’d been faithful to her and a small part of him would probably always love her. But now he needed more and looking at Callie Austin more seemed within his reach.

  The door opened and Brit came out in purple pajamas and cowboy boots. She didn’t even notice Wade sitting in the other rocker as she crawled into Callie’s lap like a two-year-old.

  “Why’d you tell him not to come back?” she murmured against Callie.

  Without anyone telling him, Wade knew Brit was talking about him and it was clear Callie had told Brit that she’d asked Wade not to take Brit riding. She’d taken all the blame, which wasn’t fair. He was the one who’d made the offer without asking Callie first. Here was his chance to make it right. He never wanted to hurt a child and that’s exactly what he’d done. But he was going to change that.

  “I am back.”

  Brit whirled around to face him. “Mr. Sheriff, you’re here.”

  “Sure am.”

  Brit scrambled off Callie’s lap to stand in front of him and pointed to her feet. “See. I got boots—real cowboy boots. That’s what Mr. Tanner said.”

  “Then you’re ready to ride a real horse.”

  “Yeah.” Suddenly awake, she was breathless with excitement.

  “Then tomorrow afternoon I’ll pick everyone up and we’ll go to my ranch and you can ride a real horse.”

  “Oh boy.” Brit turned to Callie. “Did you hear?”

  “Yes. I heard.”

  “Then we can go?”

  “We can go.”

  Brit pinned Wade with a serious gaze. “Are you a good sheriff?”

  Wade was taken aback for a second. “I like to think of myself as a good guy.”

  “Then you don’t arrest kids.”

  Wade pushed to his feet and ruffled her hair. “No. I don’t arrest kids.”

  “And you won’t arrest Callie?”

  Wade was puzzled, but answered honestly. “Not unless she’s broken the law, and I can’t imagine your mother doing that.”

  Callie stood and wrapped her arms around Brit’s neck and pulled her close to her. “Brit, sweetie, it’s time to get you in bed.”

  “Callie wouldn’t break the law unless she had a good reason,” Brit told him.

  Wade glanced at Callie and even in the moonlight he could see her hands were shaking. He had that feeling again—something wasn’t right. What was she hiding?

  “I’m glad you’re a good sheriff,” Brit added.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow about five. Is that okay?”

  “Yes,” Callie answered.

  “You won’t forget, will you?”

  “No, Brit,” Wade replied. “I’ll be here tomorrow.”

  His eyes held Callie’s for a moment. “Good night.”

  “Good night,” he heard as he strolled to his car. That soft voice stayed with him all the way to Spring Creek as he tried to sort through the child’s innocent words. Was Callie trying to hide something? He had read over her application personally and checked out the facts. Could the facts be false? Of course, there was always a way to falsify records. But why would Callie do that?

  He couldn’t let his overactive lawman’s instincts take over. He liked Callie and her kids and, until he had some concrete evidence, he wasn’t going to think about it anymore.

  But he knew he wouldn’t stop thinking about Callie—in a more intimate way. And that shocked him more than the other thoughts in his head.

  AFTER ALMOST SUFFERING a heart attack last night because of Brit’s too-direct questions, Callie put the incident out of her mind and hoped Wade would too. She couldn’t worry about every little thing or she’d go crazy.

  Odell always came to work at sunup and stayed until he couldn’t see anymore. Callie had never met a more hardworking person. And he was very talented. He even made the missing parts of gingerbread trim in his workshop. He not only did the carpentry work, he did the electrical and plumbing, too. She didn’t think there was anything he couldn’t do. Except get a date.

  She’d heard that story from Ethel on more than one occasion. Girls didn’t want to go out with a man who ate bugs. Callie could empathize with that thought. But there had to be a girl in Homestead for Odell.

  Odell knocked at the door as he did every morning to go over the day’s work. They were in the kitchen going over the installation of the appliances that were supposed to arrive the next day.

  “I wish I had more room in here,” Callie said, not sure if the commercial stove and refrigerator she’d ordered were going to fit.

  Odell tapped a wall that separated the kitchen from an eating area. “I could take this wall out and make it one big room.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful.” Callie walked to the middle of the kitchen. “But I want to keep this butcher block. It gives me more counter space and maybe you can install a rack above to hang pots and pans.”

  Odell removed his baseball cap and scratched his head. “I don’t know what kind of rack you’re talking about.”

  “Adam has a computer, so I’ll order one from the Internet.”

  “Good, then I can sure put it up.” He took a measuring tape off his belt. “I’ll measure the block so you’ll know the size.” He took the length and width and gave it to her, also scribbling it on a notepad he kept in his pocket. Attaching the tape to his belt, he asked, “Have you thought about how you’re going to heat and cool this place?”

  “No,” she admitted. “I’m getting a little overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done.”

  “If it was me, I’d go with central air and heat. It might be more expensive to install, but it’ll be cheaper in the long run and I can install it at a low rate.”

  Without thinking, Callie hugged him. “You’re just wonderful, Odell.”

  Too late, Callie realized her mistake. Odell’s eyes were so big they were about to pop out of his head.

  “No girl’s ever hugged me before, except my mama and my sisters.”

  “If you’d stop eating bugs, there would be a lot of girls who would want to hug you.”

  “You think so?” His voice was hopeful.

  “Sure.” And she meant it. “Promise me you’ll stop eating bugs.”

  His face crinkled. “Don’t know, ma’am. Been doing that a lot of years.”

  “Girls don’t go for guys who eat bugs.”

 
His eyes brightened as he gazed at her and she realized again that she might be giving him the wrong impression. She had to make one thing clear. “You and I are just friends, Odell. You understand that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am. You’re about the nicest person I’ve ever met.”

  “Thank you. I have three kids to raise and this house to fix up and I appreciate all your help.”

  “I’ll be here until it’s done.” He scribbled something on his notepad. “When do you think you’ll get the paint for the outside?”

  “In a couple of days. I’ll make a trip to the hardware store and see how much white they have. To paint this house, they may have to order more.”

  “Yeah. I’ll have the rotten boards replaced on the outside by then and I’ll have some figures on the central unit, too. I’ll leave early today to see what I can come up with. My sister Etta’s in town and she’s a whiz on the computer, so I’ll get her to do some looking for me.”

  “Thank you, Odell.”

  As Odell went outside, the kids came running in. Brit was dressed in her jeans, a western shirt, hat and boots.

  Adam pointed to Brit. “She says she’s going riding.”

  “She is. We’re going to the sheriff’s ranch so Brit can ride.”

  “Callie…” Adam’s voice wavered with worry.

  Brit picked up on it immediately. “Don’t worry, Adam. Mr. Sheriff is a good sheriff and he’s not going to arrest us.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because I asked him.” Saying that, Brit sauntered into the dining room with Mary Beth trailing behind her.

  “She did what?”

  Callie put her arm around Adam’s thin shoulders. “Stop worrying. This afternoon we’re going to Wade’s ranch and we’re going to enjoy ourselves.”

  “I’m not going. I don’t like him and I’d rather stay here and play on my computer.”

  Callie let out a long breath and decided not to pressure him. She just made it very plain that if he didn’t go, that no one would. It was called subtle pressure—something Glynis had used on her many times.