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He shrugged "I had to see if today was the day Sully finally put his Prospector’s Pie on the h out of her "Now I really know you’re nuts"
"Hey, a little off-roading is good for the soul"
"Youoff the road?" Edith asked "Is that allowed?"
"Are you suggesting I give myself a ticket?" The sheriff put an ar her to the door "Now button up that coat and let’s go I guess I’ll just have to wait for that Prospector’s Pie" He looked back at Sorrow and winked
A zing of excitement stabbed her chest "I can do you one better," she heard herself say "You like salone south fast She’d had plenty of ti as he’d sat across fro at her the whole tile question he had to ask her The blastedAnd he hadn’t even called it fishing--he’d corrected her every tiling"
He started in on "bite indicators," and that hen she’d tuned out completely She’d already had a , and look how that had turned out She certainly didn’t need to go out and find herself a new one
But the whole situation had made her think All thesefishing, playing golf So ere her passions? So four young boys to caring for three elderly wo her pastimes, she had a sad absence of interests in her life Interests that were hers and hers alone
So the bite indicators conversation, she et men for the moment and pour her heart and soul into the historical society instead
That was how she ca when folks started to arrive at the town hall for their weeklyher elderly aunts and mother ready sooner than usual
Now that they had these letters, theone She hadn’t yet told the ladies the news about how Buck Larsen had spent tirand secret to be revealed So with prole Ruby, Pearl, and Ma into their coats
The dra Marlene heard an unfamiliar car outside and opened the door to find Billy Preston parking in their drive
"Oh, good heavens" Her aunt Ruby’s eyes widened, seeing the big sheriff’s SUV "The law is here"
Pearl sidled into the doorway Her gloved hand had a death grip on Marlene’s arm "What do you think happened?"
Ma piped up, "Did he find out about that lipstick I took?"
"Oh, hush Emerald That was back in 1946"
Marlene spotted Edith in the front seat and patted Pearl’s hand "I think what happened is Edith had car trouble again"
Billy hopped out of the car "You’re all looking lovely today" He bounded up the porch stairs, taking an aunt on each arm "Your chariot awaits"
Marlene locked up the house and, taking her mother’s arm, followed him to the car "Sheriff, you probably have a dozen other is to do"
"Maybe so, but this was at the top of my list" With a smile, he helped her cli to be okay back there?"
"Yes" She settled herself, but herNow here was a considerate man She’d sensed it the day he’d helped free her car from the snowbank This was a man ouldn’t chew off a wo help, though, and twice in a row fro hi"
"I don’t see any biddies here" He gave Pearl a wink
The moment she was buckled in, Ruby leaned forward to study the complicated control panel that was nestled between the front seats The police radio crackled to life, and distant, unintelligible chatter filled the SUV
The ladies gasped Marlene had a chuckle to herself They’d be talking about this for weeks
They talked about it now, seated in the Sierra Falls Town Hall, waiting for theto come to order She and Edith sat at the front, and she could sense that her friend was dying to gossip about the sheriff, but Marlene silenced her with a look They were the heads of the historical society, and it was up to them to project an official air
As chairwoot to use the gavel, and she banged it "Ti to order First ite bank account, and as was often the case withand fretting
Edith shushed theive her friend a startled look "Marlene and I think we have a solution," Edith said "We found letters"
Marlene gave a quick pat to her friend’s hand It wasn’t like Edith to put herself out there like that It looked good on the woman
"Letters?" a wo to help us?"