Page 54 of Kissing the Sheriff

“Conrad’s a flirt. I can’t tell what he feels or even if he’s attracted. You remember what he did when we first met? He kissed my hand.”

Letty set her cup down. “Conrad’s not that much of a flirt. That’s what Sterling said.”

“Irving had another opinion of his brother and I’m leaning toward what he said.” Cassie took a cookie and started munching.

“What have you two been doing together other than going fishing?”

Cassie shrugged, still chewing. She shouldn’t have gone fishing. That’s what got her heart all fluttery. But what was done was done. “We’ve been having lunch together. And talking about what the house needs.”

“Sounds like Sterling and me.” Letty left the table, brought the coffee pot over and refilled their cups. “Sometimes that’s all it takes.”

“But it’s only been days!”

Letty smiled and returned the pot to the stove. “That’s all it took for Sterling and me. And look at us.”

“And I’m happy for you,” Cassie said. “But that doesn’t mean the same thing is going to happen to me.” She took a drink of coffee, then left the table.

“Where are you going?” Letty asked as she followed.

“Back to town. I have some thinking to do.”

“Cassie.”

She stopped and turned around. “What?”

“I’m sorry if I wasn’t any help.”

Cassie shook her head. “It’s all right. I was just curious.” Before Letty could stop her, she hurried to Ted, mounted and rode off.

* * *

Conrad and Billyremoved the pictures from the walls of Mr. Laine’s old bedroom and carefully placed them in the parlor. That done, they pulled the nails out and put them on the kitchen table. “Now what do we do?” Billy asked.

Conrad stood in the middle of the room, hands on his hips. “Now we look for imperfections.”

“What does that mean?” Billy asked.

“Well, the holes in the wall left by the nails are imperfections.”

Billy’s eyes widened. “You mean everything has to be perfect?”

Conrad laughed. “Don’t sound so alarmed. I want the room to look nice.” He examined the walls, and once satisfied they looked okay to paint, went to fetch the brushes. When he returned, he brought a piece of canvas he’d purchased at the general store earlier.

“What’s that for?” Billy asked.

“So we don’t get paint all over the floor.”

Billy looked around. “Who gets to use it, you or me?”

“Both of us. Don’t think that I got this just because of you.”

Billy’s ears turned pink. “I figured you did. I make a mess a lot of times. But at least I’m not as bad as Lacey Crawford.”

Conrad laughed again. “Thank Heaven for that.” He opened the can of paint and stirred it with a stick as Phileas entered. “There you are, brother,” Conrad said. “I was wondering when you were going to show up.”

Phileas took one look around and whistled. “My word, you have been busy this morning. Where’s the furniture?”

“In the backyard,” Billy looked Phileas up and down. “Hey, how did you get in here?”