He stepped closer, tension rippling through him like a live wire.‘Bree is out of bounds.Find another angle to dig the screws in.’
‘Why?When it looks like I’ve found therightspot to dig, eh, Sergeant.’Her voice had that cool edge to it.But her eyes didn’t flinch.Not even a stutter.And the scary part was she wasn’t backing off either.
He dropped a wad of cash onto the counter and snatched up his bag.‘No.And that’s my final answer.’
Twelve
Most mornings, Taryn had stood shoulder to shoulder with the locals at the train station’s food van.She was still an outsider, even in boots and jeans, but she’d started earning polite nods now.They’d tip their stockman’s hat, and offer that polite wave to let her step ahead of them with a mumbledladies first.
A pleasant change from the city where it wasevery man for himself, where people spent their time staring at their phones, and ignoring the noisy world.Here, they chatted, bartered and bantered while waiting in line for coffee, as if in a forgotten time, before mobile phones and social media were invented.
Only this morning, Taryn didn’t go to the police station and claim her space in the Batcave.This morning, she’d reserved a table far enough away from anyone to overhear and set down her workbag and waited.
A sun-faded red ute rumbled around the edge of the green, belonging to Cowboy Craig.It pulled up in the same usual unhurried way he’d walked the corridors of the police station.Then he elaborately opened the passenger door as if for a queen.
There she was.Isobel Callahan—Izzy—wearing snappy suspenders that accentuated her posture.In pinstriped trousers and a white shirt, the picture of a big-city lawyer.
Holding her hand, Craig leaned down and kissed the back of it like a gentleman in love.
Aww.Taryn sighed.
Izzy beamed at her husband as he muttered something in her ear.She laughed, kissed his cheek, then made her way across the lawn.
‘Hope I’m not late?Craig had to stop and sayhito three dogs and a horse on the way here.’
‘All good, I—’
‘I don’t drink coffee,’ Izzy cut in, ‘but if you’ve ordered a peppermint tea, you’ve already won me over.’She took a seat opposite Taryn.
Taryn grinned as she pushed a cup across the table.‘Peppermint and ginger with a dollop of honey.I believe it’s your homegrown honey, too.’
Izzy lit up.‘Oh, you did your homework.I like that.’
Then came the pause, as if waiting to see who’d make the first move.
Taryn was predicting Izzy would speak first.Having learned all she could about the reputation and habits of the top-notch criminal lawyer with quirks, because this was the interview Taryn had been waiting for.
‘Do you want to talk about cattle and the weather?Or something really interesting?’Izzy swirled her cup like it might reveal their secrets in the tea leaves.
‘How about, are you missing life as a big-city lawyer?’
‘Hell, no.’Izzy gave a theatrical sigh.‘It’s quieter.Fewer death threats.Even though it’s mostly wills and property law, there’s still plenty of drama.Plus I’m about to have a cooking class with Bree.We’re canning my first harvest of tomatoes.Pro-tip: don’t empty the whole packet of seeds on a windy day, thinking it’ll never work.I have tomatoes growing everywhere like weeds.’
‘From high courtrooms to canning tomatoes,’ Taryn said with a soft smile.‘That’s quite the pivot.’
Izzy shrugged lightly.‘Turns out, growing and harvesting your own produce is oddly satisfying.No one’s ever tried to bribe me with zucchinis.But eggs are becoming quite the commodity of currency, of late.’
Taryn leaned in with curiosity.‘Don’t you miss it at all?The rush, the wins, the pressure?’
‘Some days.That thrill of chasing down the answers, to then sort it all into a neat box, sure.But I don’t miss who I was.’Izzy sighed, glancing around the train station.‘Craig taught me that different isn’t always bad.And I needed stillness, to make the time to stare at the stars, and I needed…here.’
Izzy sat back, her tea forgotten, to study Taryn again—like really study her.
Taryn should have read that as a warning.
‘You know, you’re not the only one who does her homework.’
Taryn blinked.‘Excuse me?’
