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“I bought the old bakery. I’m planning to open a new one.”

“Oh good. I really miss the old one. Are you making bread too? I’d die for an old-fashioned pumpernickel.”

I laugh. “You’re the second person to ask me that today. It’s not in my original plan, but I’m going to try it out in the bakery. I love baking bread.”

“When do you think you’ll open?”

“I’m planning on opening the first of January. That gives me a little over three weeks to make the minor modifications and test bake everything I want to start with.”

“If you need taste testers, we have plenty around here. Besides my husband and seven sons, we employ a couple dozen cowboys and a few cowgirls.”

“Wow, you must have a large spread.”

“A hundred and seventy thousand acres. We run both horses and cattle.”

“I’d love to see some of the ranch sometime.”

“Do you ride?”

“I do. I love horses. I’m fortunate my best friend had horses and her family had me over often. enough, they could’ve claimed me on their taxes.”

Cece laughs. “You’re welcome to ride here as often as you’d like. We board for family and friends.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you. I’m in the middle of a divorce. It’ll be a minute before I have extra income. When I do, I’d love to take you up on your offer.”

We speak for another twenty minutes before she has to take a call. I follow the directions she gave me to the Belle Starr room. Belle is a famous Old West outlaw from Oklahoma. Though her home base is a couple hours south of Wolf Creek in Porum, Oklahoma. The room has a king-size canopy bed with a chaise lounge in front of it. A large antique dresser and a largeoverstuffed chair. A Tiffany standing lamp is next to the chair. The room is done in creams and golds.

I walk into the bathroom and immediately fall in love. It boasts a claw-foot tub and a walk-in shower that's enclosed in glass. I decide right then that I'm going to enjoy a long, hot soak before my date tonight.

Chapter 4

Effrem

Trixie made the rounds delivering everyone’s breakfast order while I went into my office for some peace.

I make quick work of my breakfast, including my egg white omelet and porterhouse. I hate coming in on my days off. It puts me behind at the ranch. Running the Sheriff’s office and a working ranch keeps my hands full at all times.

At least I’ll have time to catch up on paperwork. The bane of my existence. An hour into paperwork, a call comes over the dispatch.

“We’ve got a 14:35.3 at the Arnold residence.”

No address needed for that call. I grab my hat and head out.

“Trixie, send an ambulance to the Arnolds’,” I say as I jog past.

One of these days, I know that low life is going to kill Bitsy. We’ve all tried to get her to leave him. He has her so convinced she can’t live without him. She lives as his punching bag. He disgusts me enough to contemplate putting a bullet in his head and being done with it. There are times I wish times were more like my four times great grandfather Bass’. Being a lawman in many ways was much simpler than today.

I hate seeing criminals on the street, but I refuse to break the law to put them behind bars. It takes less than five minutes to make the ten-minute drive. I can hear her screaming as soon as I exit the vehicle. I dash to the front door and kick it in, gun drawn.

“Wolf Creek Sheriff’s department, get down on your hands and knees.”

As I come through the door, the first thing I see is Heath Arnold with a bloody knife poised to strike.

“Drop the knife.”

His hand arcs down and I put two in him. I hear two of my deputies identify themselves before they rush in the room.

“Call an ambulance and the coroner,” I say to my second-in-command, Deputy Sheriff Buck Bennett.