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I rolled my eyes but smiled at her. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll be there.”

Sam swooped in to kiss my cheek. “Drag her butt to the library, Deputy!” she called over her shoulder to Roxanne, and she hopped down the steps on her way back to the library.

“Pretty relaxed work atmosphere ’round here,” Dan said.

I had the feeling he’d meant for it to sound like an observation, but it sounded more like a criticism to me.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ABEY

“Yo!” Sam yelled. “Jeez. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think none of you had ever met a new person before. Everybody, sit down!”

The book club ladies fawned over Roxanne, and she did her best not to react and to follow all the introductions.

“You’re so tall. I bet guys love that,” Carly said, looking up at Roxanne from her much shorter height.

“Uh, you’d be surprised,” Roxanne replied.

“Where you from?” asked Billie.

“Choctaw.”

“Where is that?” asked Aislinn, standing next to Billie, holding onto her arm for guidance.

“Oklahoma. It’s a really small town.”

Aislinn laughed in her uppity way. “Wisper is really small.”

“Yeah.” Roxanne looked like a deer in headlights amidst all the attention.

“Back off, ladies,” I said. “Let the poor woman breathe. Roxanne, have a seat. Don’t mind them.”

“Everybody sit,” Sam said again, exasperated.

“Roxanne and I might have to head out early, Sam. Sorry, but things are kinda busy today. I still have a lot to show her. We’re on our lunch break, but if we get a call, we’ll have to pop off.”

“No problem,” Sam said.

Everyone took their usual seats while Billie led Aislinn to hers, but the questions kept coming.

“What kind of romance do you like?” Aislinn asked.

“Um, all kinds, I guess,” Roxanne answered. She watched while Billie fussed over Aislinn, making sure Aislinn’s purse was within her reach on the floor.

No matter how many ranch hands and other employees Aislinn oversaw at her job out at Cade Ranch as the head of their office team, Billie would always see her as a little sister. If you knew what a loud personality Billie could be, it was kind of sweet, but then, Aislinn had been visually impaired for a long time, and it was obvious she didn’t need anyone’s help. She seemed to tolerate it from Billie, though, for the most part.

“You don’t have a favorite sub-genre?” Aislinn asked, swatting at Billie. “Sit down, would you? I’m fine.”

Billie swatted back and stuck her tongue out at Aislinn, knowing she couldn’t see it, but then Billie took her seat and lounged back into it like she was at home.

“I don’t have a favorite sub-genre,” I said, and Roxanne smiled at me, probably grateful for the backup when faced with a pack of snarling busybodies.

“So, Roxi,” Billie started, “what’s your story?”

“I don’t really have a story,” Roxanne said. “Like I said, I’m from Oklahoma, but I’ve been livin’ and workin’ in Wyoming for several years now. I was assigned to Yellowstone after trainin’ at the Corner Junction station. Sheriff Michaels asked me to make the move to help Sheriff Lee.”

“Sheriff Lee?” Aubrey said, wiggling her eyebrows in my direction. “Fancy, fancy.”