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How was I going to handle the investigation? I needed a starting point. Something to think about.

Billy had been careful not to let anybody in on what he had found out so far. Coyote Creek was a hotbed of gossip and one slip of the tongue, and everybody would know about the drugs. Some buddy of Peterson would give him a heads up, they’d move the product, and the entire operation, and Peterson and Pikeman would never be caught.

Coyote Creek Inn.

I spent the afternoon trying to get back into the groove of being the sheriff of Harrison County and I wasn’t adapting as quickly as I’d hoped. Still a lot of negative feelings carrying over from Jeff Bridgeman, the former county supervisor, who made my time as sheriff as difficult as possible.

When my gut started rumbling for food, I locked up the office and headed for the Inn. I hadn’t said hello to Olivia yet and she ran the best place to eat in Coyote Creek. Two birds.

Olivia Best was busy escorting guests into the dining room when I arrived at her beautifully appointed Inn. One of my true friends in Coyote Creek, Olivia’s mother had been a close friend of my Uncle Carson.

A beautiful woman a couple of years older than me, Olivia always looked like she stepped off the page of a magazine. Porcelain skin, platinum hair and an elegant manner, she was no one who should be seen with the likes of me. And yet we had developed a special relationship during the time I was sheriff.

When she returned to the lobby and saw me, she ran towards me with her arms extended. “I’m so happy to see you, Travis. Did you come for Billy?”

I held her in my arms for longer than I should have. She tipped her face up and I kissed her, telling myself it was only friendship. My groin area responded much too readily for that to be the truth. She took my breath away.

“I missed you,” I whispered.

“Oh, Travis…” She inhaled a couple of deep breaths, took my hand, and led me away from the center of the lobby. “Sit here beside my desk and tell me about Sheriff Johnson.”

“I saw him this morning at the hospital, and we went over things that are pending at the station. Do you have time to eat with me? We could catch up.”

She smiled. “I have to eat.”

“I’ll sit at a table and have a beer until you’re free.”

“Wonderful. Let me get you seated.”

Olivia sat me near the back of the dining room where we would have some privacy and the other customers wouldn’t overhear us talking. We had a lot to catch up on and in a town riddled with gossipmongers, Olivia shied away from any of them knowing her business.

When she joined me, she brought a glass of white wine with her and told me about the dinner special. The food at her inn was so spectacular in quality, I had no qualms about eating what she recommended.

“How are things going in Texas? Are you reunited with your beautiful wife?”

“Yes. She took me back for the millionth time. I definitely don’t deserve her.”

Olivia smiled. “Obviously she loves you very much, or she wouldn’t have considered it.”

“I guess that’s true. Are you seeing anyone? You should be. You’re a gorgeous woman, Olivia.”

“The new bank manager has been coming in for dinner quite often and he has been trying to persuade me to take an interest in him.”

“I don’t know him,” I said. “He took over from Jensen?”

“Yes. His head office sent him here from Billings. His name is Miller Ravary.”

I chuckled. “His mother named him after my beer?”

Olivia giggled. “You have no idea how much I missed you, Travis.”

Dry Run Roadhouse.

After a fantastic dinner with Olivia, I drove north as far as the roadhouse and reclaimed my stool at the end of the bar. Jack was busy with customers and filling pitchers for his servers, but he grinned when he saw me sitting there—back where I belonged.

When he had a second to spare, he filled a pitcher at the Miller tap and set it down in front of me along with a glass and a coaster.

“On the house. I owe you more than that one.”