“She’s got all the money she needs now, so she’s set her sights on Providence’s most eligible bachelors. Which are Robert, his brother, Jake, who is every bit as handsome as Robert, and Ben. I’m not sure why she bothers with Ben. The poor man is so deep in his grief, I’m not sure he’ll ever surface. But she finds one reason or another to take her car into the shop every week, so she can see him.”
No wonder he seemed annoyed by Debbie on Saturday. Again, the question plagued Amy as it had last night—why would Ben go to Debbie’s house so late in the evening? Did they have some sort of relationship? For some reason, Ben didn’t strike her as the type to make late-night visits to a single woman’s house, especially one he apparently didn’t like.
“Why does she always call 911 to get a hold of Robert instead of calling him personally?”
“Because Robert is smart. He refuses to give her his cell number. And anyone in town who has his number knows better than to give it to her.”
Amy’s curiosity got the better of her. “What does she do to get to Jake?”
“Well, he owns a huge ranch outside of town and doesn’t come into town often, so Debbie had to get creative there.” Janice rolled her eyes. “She bought a horse and asked Jake to stable it for her. Apparently, she goes out to the ranch quite often, but doesn’t actually bother to ride the horse much.”
“How old are Ben and his cousins compared to Debbie?” The widow looked older than Robert and Ben.
“Let me see,” Janice said, tapping a finger to her lips. “I can’t remember if they were five or six years ahead of me in school, but Robert and Ben are around thirty and Jake is twenty-eight, I think. Widow Wheeler’s probably mid-thirties. She’s a little older than them, but in this town, there aren’t a lot of choices of single men, or single women.” She winked at Amy. “You’d better watch out.”
“No way.” Amy shook her head. “I’m done with men.”
* * *
The next day,Amy found the front office empty when she arrived. Sitting in Janice’s chair, she attempted to make herself comfortable as she gave herself a mental pep-talk.
Robert came out of his office and greeted her with a smile. “Good morning.”
Nice smile. And those eyes... gorgeous. Though the color wasn’t as striking as the length of his thick lashes.
“Wow... I mean, g-good morning.” Amy resisted the urge to fan herself when heat rushed to her cheeks.
What’s wrong with me? First, I’m attracted to Ben’s beard and dimple and now my boss’ eyes?
Robert pulled her from her musings. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to you yesterday. How did your first day go?”
“Good. I have a lot to learn, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
“Good, because we have a situation which poses a challenge. Janice went into labor early this morning and won’t return to work for at least six weeks.”
“Oh my.” Amy’s stomach tightened at the magnitude of responsibilities she’d taken on.
Janice was supposed to have spent this week teaching her the ropes. They had barely scratched the surface yesterday. Amy sucked in her bottom lip. The thought of answering emergency calls terrified her.
Robert must have read her concern. “Don’t worry, we won’t leave you alone until you’re comfortable. My deputies and I will take turns, staying here in the office to help out.”
Relieved, Amy relaxed in her chair. Just then, a young, red-headed man dressed in a deputy’s uniform walked into the office. He looked like a teenager, but Amy guessed he was in his early twenties.
“Amy, I’d like you to meet, Rudy Wheeler,” Robert said. “Rudy, this is Amy Lawson, she’ll be filling in for Janice.”
After the introductions, Robert returned to his office, leaving Amy alone with the young deputy.
“Wheeler, huh? Any relation to Wid—” Amy realized what she had almost said and shut her mouth.
Rudy laughed. “Yes, Debbie is my older sister. There are five children in my family. Debbie’s the oldest, and I’m the youngest, with fifteen years between us. Despite her vanity and fascination with money, she’s a good person.” Rudy continued to talk about his family after dragging a chair over from the waiting area. He proved to be almost as talkative as Faith Winters.
Amy relaxed, no longer feeling overwhelmed. She had a feeling she would enjoy working with Rudy.
When Robert left the office that afternoon, Amy commented on how young the sheriff was, which started Rudy talking again.
“Yeah, he’s pretty young, I guess, but he’s done a great job.” He shrugged. “I think folks elected him more for who he was rather than how long he’d worked in law enforcement.”
“What do you mean?”
