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“Strong self-preservation instincts!” he snaps. “Just because the rest of us take this shit seriously—”
“I take this as seriously as anyone else,” she says in a low, cold tone. “And after Marta, probably more than anyone else. So don’t you dare take that line with me, Captain.”
“Mer—” he starts but she won’t hear it.
“I’ve changed my mind,” she says as she pushes off from the wall where she was leaning. “I need a cup of coffee. Someone come find me when you’re ready. Just, not him.” She points to Wyatt and walks out the door.
“Fuck me,” he bites out, rubbing a palm down his face.
“Bro,” a big burly man says from beside him. “That was… extreme. And that’s saying something coming from me because you know how I feel about the Harris women.”
“I know,” he replies.
“My suggestion,” the big man says. “Fix it before it’s too late. You don’t have to kiss and make up, but I know you. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you pissed her off and she jumped in her plane halfcocked and flew into a mountain.”
“Yeah,” Wyatt says before turning and walking out of the room.
“Well, that was less than enlightening…” I say.
“I’m Mason Nash,” the big burly man says, holding his hand out for me to shake. I grasp it in mine. “Sheriff.”
“Nice to meet you, Sheriff. Court Davies.”
“Mason,” he smiles. “So, you took Zelda Harris out on a date, I hear.”
“You hear correctly.”
“She’s a good woman,” he says before cryptically continuing. “But the Harris women can be… frustrating.”
“I see.”
“Wyatt may be a minute,” the sheriff says. “I’m going to go get a cup of coffee. You want one?”
“No thanks,” I say, holding up the paper cup I brought with me. He nods and walks out the door. I turn and call Zelda one more time. Now that it’s a more suitable hour I want to talk to her, maybe tell her what happened and get her opinion on how to proceed. And look at me gossiping like an old hen in a sewing circle.
The phone rings and rings and rings and then…
“This is Zelda of Wildflower Creations. I can’t come to the phone right now so please leave a message at the beep and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can… beeeeep…”
Hmmm… That is not what I was hoping for. Oh well.
“Hey, it’s me. I had a minute and wanted to hear your voice. Call me when you get a moment. I’d like to see you tonight.”
I push out a frustrated breath. I knew everything wouldn’t be smooth sailing from the get-go with her but, after last night, I had hoped that things were going in the right direction. Then again, my granny always said, anything worth while, takes work. And Zelda Harris is definitely worth while. I silence my phone and put it in my pocket, swallowing the last sips of my now cold coffee as Mason, Wyatt, and Merritt quietly filter back into the room.
“All right everyone,” Matt calls out. “Let’s get started.”
“What are you doing tonight?” Mason asks Wyatt and me as the crew packs up.
“I have a date,” Wyatt answers.
“Are you still seeing that librarian out of Ketchikan?” Mason asks as Merritt snorts her thoughts from across the room.
“Yeah,” he says. “She’s sweet.”
“You mean boring,” Merritt mutters under her breath but the whole room hears it.
I don’t know about Mason, but I brace for impact.
