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*

“Now that’s a dangerous combination.”

Cody glanced in the direction Sean Highwater was looking, and smothered a wince. Not because of Sean’s sister, Sage. He genuinely liked her, probably because thanks to Sean she understood his love of tech, even appreciated it for how it made ranch life—her life—easier.

No, his wince was because the woman she was sitting at the small table with was Roth.

The two women hadn’t noticed them—they were so deep in conversation over whatever frilly drink they’d come in here for. They probably had a lot to talk about, since both of them were cowgirls to the bone. Or maybe they were talking about other things. The possibilities there made him nervous. Cody wondered if it was too late to turn around and bail out of the coffee shop.

Should have just gone to the bakery and had done with it. We could be deep into a game with Marcos by now.

“Thinking of running, buddy?” Sean asked. Cody glanced at him, and grimaced when he saw his friend was grinning.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered.

He’d told Sean what she’d done, and he’d been appropriately outraged on Cody’s behalf.

“Want me to arrest her?” Sean had joked.

Cody had felt the jolt he sometimes did when he was reminded that Sean was a police detective, and one with a reputation for solving tough cases that had spread statewide and beyond.

“No,” he’d answered, then added, “Much as I’d enjoy seeing it, no. This is between her and me.”

They’d made it to the counter and gave their order—five words or less, they always joked, just enough to say coffee with cream and sugar—and neither of the women had noticed them. Cody was starting to hope they’d escape unscathed. But in the moment after he was handed his cup, he heard Sage’s voice behind them.

“Congratulations, Rafferty.”

He braced himself and turned around, determined to not even look at Roth.

She wasn’t there. It was only Sage. His gaze flicked around the room to be sure, but she definitely wasn’t there.

“Congratulations for what?” he asked, looking back at Sean’s little sister.

“You’re the only guy I know who could make someone as tough as Britt dodge you.”

Dodge? Was that what had happened? “Is that what you were talking about? Did she tell you what she did?”

“If you mean take out one of your flying monkeys, yes, she did.”

He heard Sean sputter, and choke down a swallow of coffee. “Flying monkeys,” he said at Cody’s glance. “That’s pretty funny, sis.”

“Ha-ha,” Cody muttered.

“She also feels guilty about it. So cut her some slack, huh?”

“He did,” Sean said with a grin. “He said no when I offered to arrest her.”

Sage glared at her brother, looking like she’d like to follow it up with a punch. “Very funny.” But Cody thought he saw the slightest twitch at the corners of her mouth as she turned to exit the shop.

After the required stop at Kolaches—Marcos was a big fan of their version of yoyos, a traditional Mexican pastry made of soft cookies glued together with strawberry jam and then rolled in coconut—they’d headed to the Highwater ranch and Sean’s quarters, which had expanded since Elena and Marcos had come to live there. Marcos, Sean told him, had taken to ranch life beautifully, and Elena was…well, Elena.

“She’ll be heading off with her mother tonight, so we’ll have the place to ourselves, just us guys.”

“Excellent,” Cody said. He really did like Elena, all the more because she made sure her son and Sean had plenty of guy time.

She was, however, still there when they arrived. To Cody’s surprise, she gave him a hug when he came in.

“I…thank you?” he said, hesitantly.