two since you took over the job. You’ve got the budget.”
“Yeah, I know.” Buck frowned thoughtfully as he sipped his coffee. “Mind if I ask you something?” Without waiting for a reply, he went on. “What do you think about bringing Wyn back?”
Roe’s silence was about what he had expected and the only answer he needed.
Wyn had been Buck’s partner back when Buck was still a deputy and Roe was in charge. They’d ridden together for three years before they realized their feelings for each other went beyond professional, and even though Buck had been separated from Raine at the time, it was their involvement that led to the final divorce. When he took over as sheriff, Wyn voluntarily left the force, and town, for a security job an hour away. Since then they’d been driving back and forth to see each other on weekends and after shift, and Buck was more than ready to make some changes.
He said, “She’s thinking about moving back to town.”
“Oh yeah? Where’s she going to be living?”
“With me.”
Roe’s expression remained detached. “Reckon you all will be getting married, then.”
Buck couldn’t prevent a small flash of alarm, even though he half-suspected the comment was just Roe’s way of needling him. He said carefully, “I can’t say we’ve gone that far in our thinking.”
“Well, maybe you ought to. She’s a good woman. A good woman deserves somebody who’ll put a little thought into the matter before asking her to turn her life upside down.”
Buck knew he was treading on uncertain ground. He had, after all, married and divorced Roe’s only niece, not once, but twice, and he imagined there had been more than one heated conversation behind closed doors about that. So he said, “Mostly right now I’m just wondering what the rest of the boys would think if she came back to work here.”
Roe nodded, his expression carefully concealed. “She was a good deputy. Well-liked on the force.”
“Yeah, she was.”
“I reckon they’d just be glad to have their days off back.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“But it’s a small town, Buck. Something like this… well, it’s not going to win you the election.”
Buck blew out a breath. “Right.”
“I’d think about it if I was you.”
“Right.”
“Meantime…” Roe tilted his head meaningfully toward the desk. “Get busy and file those forms.”
“Yeah. Right.”
It wasn’t until after he was gone that Buck realized Roe had taken the letter from the parole board with him.
And why shouldn’t he? After all, the letter had been addressed to him.
Sheriff Bleckley.
* * *
Putting on an agility trial is hard work and the sponsoring club never has enough volunteers so I like to help out whenever I can. But that’s not the only reason I’m among the first to lend a hand when it comes time to set up the ring for a new course. For one thing, volunteering to help guarantees acceptance into most trials, and in a trial as popular as this one, that’s a huge advantage. In addition, it not only offers a sneak preview of the course to come; it also gives me extra time to familiarize myself with the ring and plan my strategy in my head. I could definitely use every advantage I could get, but that was only part of the reason I was anxious to help out this time. Neil and Flame were still on the floor, and being the naturally curious person that I am, I hoped to get the inside scoop on their last run before they got away.
He was in an intense conversation with a young woman with her dark ponytail threaded through the back of her baseball cap like mine and gorgeous legs that were prominently displayed in white shorts and high-tech running shoes. Reticence has never been one of my problems, so I put a big smile on my face and approached confidently, and by the time I realized they were in the midst of a furious argument, it was too late to alter my course.
I heard the girl say shortly, “Do you think I’m blind? I saw what you did and you’re not going to get away with it. And if you think I’m going to stand by and let you ruin Flame’s career—”
“You’ve got bigger problems than Flame’s career if you think I’m stupid enough to believe that’s all you’re worried about,” he returned tightly. “I don’t play by your rules anymore, sweetheart, just in case you haven’t figured that out yet.”
“We’ve got a contract, big boy,” she retorted in