Fried Pickles and the Fuzz by Calico Daniels

Author:Calico Daniels [Daniels, Calico]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Astraea Press LLC
Published: 2013-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

“Sheriff, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Bronson looked up from the mountain of paperwork on his desk and suppressed a shiver. Beth Ann stood just inside the office door, her fiery red hair pulled up in a haphazard ponytail that reminded him vaguely of Medusa. Not that he would ever breathe that comparison out loud, but Heather’s best friend was a veritable pit bull when it came to defending those she cared about. He’d seen it firsthand on a couple of occasions, and it left him wondering how Billy kept even a scrap of his masculinity intact when the two butted heads about anything. “I’m a little busy right now. Any chance it can wait until later?”

Beth Ann walked up to his desk, planted her fists on the paper littered surface, and glared at him. “Nope.”

“In that case, sure, I’ve got a minute.” Leaning back in his chair, Bronson folded his arms across his chest and did his best to look as intimidating as she did. Somehow he seriously doubted it was working, though.

“Good. First off, when are you gonna open up your eyes and realize that what Heather’s doing for that mangy old horse goes a lot deeper than just some bleeding heart wanting to take in strays?”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“Then pay attention, Sheriff,” she practically spat the last word, “because I’m only gonna say it once, and you sure aren’t going to hear it from anyone else in town. Granny Joy was sweet on Gus’s old owner. That crotchety old fart would sooner poke you in the eye as to look at you, but he and Joy had something special for about the last five years or so of Joy’s life. For some reason, that mean old man made her happy. Brought a sparkle back into her life that died when her husband passed on nearly twenty years ago.”

“What does that have to do with Gus?”

Beth Ann cast him a threatening glare. “I’m getting to it. Old man Tucker wanted to put Gus down about three years ago, just before Heather left for college, and Joy wouldn’t stand for it. Said she’d quit cookin’ for him if he did, so he kept him. Just to please Joy. To Heather, that horse is more than just a raggedy old bag of bones. He’s something special, flesh and blood that her Granny loved. You take that away from her, and you’ll have lost any chance you ever had with her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bronson tilted his head and looked at the cocky redhead.

“Oh, come off it. Everyone in town knows you’ve got a thing for Heather. You get all doe-eyed every time you’re around her.”

“I do not.”

“Yeah, you do, Sheriff,” Martin chimed in from his desk at the back of the room.

“You keep quiet, Martin,” Beth Ann pointed a finger at the dispatcher, “or I’ll tell your girl what you really do on Tuesday nights when she thinks you’re playin’ poker with the boys over at the feed barn.

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