A few quiet chuckles rippled through the diner.
Ian didn’t rise to my brother’s teasing. He didn’t grin. He didn’t posture. He just answered.
“There’s no chance of that,” he said firmly. “I love Pepper far too much.”
His strong, steady response carried through the diner, and a collective, unmistakable sigh was heard from every female there.
Josh shook his head and cast a quick glance at Ian, saying, before he headed to the door. “It’s the gunslinger outfit.”
Dad almost smiled but didn’t quite allow it.
Mom, however, did.
“Well,” she said crisply, “that settles that quite nicely.” She looked at me. “Ice. Frequently.”
From behind the counter, Zelda called out, “I’ve got her covered!”
Mom nodded. “Thanks, Zelda.”
Dad finally turned his attention back to me.
“Just so you know, Dad, Ian took the brunt of the fall and saved me from getting hurt,” I said. “He’d never hurt me.”
“I didn’t think so, but being the sheriff and a dad, I never take anything for granted,” he said. “And it’s good to know he was not only man enough to call me before I heard it from someone else but that he left a photo shoot in full cowboy gear to face me.” He chuckled. “For a moment there I thought I was in one of the showdown scenes in the old Western movies.”
My dad and I did think alike.
Dad reached for his hat.
“We’ll talk later,” my mom said to me and she and my dad left together, the bell jingling behind them.
The diner gradually returned to normal.
Ian leaned down and kissed my cheek carefully, avoiding the bruise.
“I can’t stay,” he murmured. “I need to get back to the shoot.”
“You didn’t have to come here,” I said, feeling guilty.
“Aye, I did,” he said seriously. “I won’t have anyone thinking I’d raise a hand to you.”
I gasped lightly. “This is probably already hitting social media. Your publicist is probably going crazy trying to explain it.”
“I doubt that,” Amy said, grinning and held up her phone. “His arrival at the diner and his talk with the sheriff was recorded by most of the people here. It’s trending with floating hearts, especially the part where he claims his love for you.”
I grinned at Ian, not too wide since it hurt. “I got some good publicity for you.”
He shook his head, though he smiled. “Please go home after breakfast, or my phone is going to light up again as well as social media.”
He kissed me again, straightened, tipped his hat slightly to Zelda, which earned another sigh from somewhere near the pie display, and walked out.
And just like that, the gunslinger walked back out into the morning.
The diner gradually settled back into its usual rhythm.
Lara showed up carrying a sealed plastic bag filled with ice cubes and set it gently in front of me without ceremony.
“Now what can I get you two to eat?” she asked.
