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The way his blue eyes stared straight into her made her shiver. And then he wrapped his arm around her neck and brought her in for a hard, quick kiss.

“If anyone has comments to make, they should know I don’t have a suggestion box.”

She didn’t think anyone had noticed that. But even so, she felt dizzy with exhilaration.

She stepped out of the truck and spun in a circle. When she stopped, he was standing right there, looking at her.

“Just happy,” she said. “That’s all.”

It was all. It felt simple. It was maybe the only time in her life happiness had ever felt simple.

He went off to the barn; she went off to brewing.

She was just about done for the day, when Landry’s wife, Fia, came into the barn. “Hi, Bix,” she said.

“Hi,” said Bix. “Are you after some beer?”

“No,” she said. “I wanted to invite you to our girls’ night.”

Bix blinked. “Girls’ night?”

“Yeah,” she said. “We’re going to be doing some baking and watch a movie.”

“I... Who all goes to girls’ night?”

“My sisters. Rue sometimes too. Occasionally Elsie, Evelyn or Violet Garrett. It rotates.”

“Oh. Well... Yeah. I would like that.”

She had never done anything like that before. Not ever. It was wholly foreign. And she wasn’t sure if she was a little bit afraid of it or not. But she was Bix Carpenter, and she didn’t need to take on any fear.

She had just seen her first naked penis last night, after all.

She was breaking down barriers.

She snickered to herself.

“Yes. I would love to do that.”

“Great. Arizona can give you a ride over on her way out from Kings’.”

“Sure.”

Of course, she hadn’t seen Arizona since she had started banging Arizona’s brother. But that didn’t have to be weird if Bix didn’t make it weird. The problem being that Bix was weird, and had a tendency to make everything weird. Oh well. It was part of her charm, maybe?

She would handle it.

She finished up her work, and then went into the barn. She didn’t see Daughtry. She gave Denver a wave, and a couple of the other workers.

Denver shot her a keen look. “Are you looking for Daughtry?”

“Yes,” she said, grinning sweetly. She could let him wonder.

“He’s out back.”

She scampered through the barn to the back door, and opened it. He was out back standing in front of a couple of sawhorses with beams placed over them. He had a paintbrush in his hand, and was applying a dark varnish to the wood.

“Howdy, Sheriff,” she said.