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“I suppose you have a right to know. Otto’s got it in his thick head that you two had something to do with Eli’s disappearance. He wants me to deputize him so he can go down there and search your ranch.”
Wally set both fists on the desk and leaned over Amos, bathing him in shadow. “Deputy or not, that doesn’t sound legal, Sheriff.”
“Take it easy there, fella. That’s why he was so upset. I told him no. He needs to take some time and cool down, or he’s gonna find himself in a heap of trouble, not to mention feel like a real idiot when Eli shows up again.”
Wally stood back up. “Good advice.”
“If I were you, I’d watch my back.” Amos pushed the folder toward Wally without meeting his eyes. “Here you go. It’s all in order. Just needs your John Hancock.”
Sadie was about to lay into Amos for trying to scare him when Wally spoke.
“I want a word in private first, sheriff.”
Suspicion crept through her, and Sadie’s mouth dropped open as wide as Amos’s. The former snapped his shut when Wally leaned down over him like a grizzly.
“Sadie? Please wait outside?” Wally asked.
While she appreciated the fact he asked, she didn’t like it. But she had little choice if she wanted Amos to think she was a doting wife-to-be, so she left. After a moment to make sure they weren’t watching the doorway, she peeked back around the corner.
She saw Wally whisper something in Amos’s face, who reddened, looking ready to argue. But Wally leaned in further and the man adjusted something on the deed. Smiling, Wally pulled the quill from its ink and scribbled his name before sliding it back toward Amos, who stamped it twice.
As the second stamp smacked on the paper, Sadie ducked back around the corner and waited for Wally to call her back in.
“All done. Ranch is yours—er, I mean Theodore’s,” Amos said, standing to greet her. “When’s the wedding? Eleanor can’t wait to get me dancing again.”
Wally and Sadie exchanged a glance. “We were gonna go back to Tucson and do it with the family,” Sadie said.
“Oh, well then, looks like I’m off the hook. I’ll break the news to the little lady tonight. Now, then, if you don’t need anything else?” Amos indicated the door, dismissing them.
“Thank you, Mayor.” Wally shook his hand again and guided Sadie out by the elbow.
Once on the street, Sadie halted, hands on hips. “What was that about?”
“Nothing nefarious. I wanted to make sure the mayor understood he wasn’t, under any circumstances, to bother you, or allow Otto or Eli to do so again.”
“Men!” Sadie threw her hands in the air. “Always puffin’ out your chests to be the biggest cock in the henhouse.”
Wally had the sense to blush. “I wasn’t going that far. But I want to make sure you’re safe when I’m not here any longer.”
Sadie’s throat tightened. There went another reminder that Wally wasn’t here to stay. Still, she supposed she appreciated him putting in the extra effort to keep an eye out for them.
Neither of them spoke much more, except to pry McGovern out of a sidewalk poker game he’d started so he could drive them back to the ranch. But once they were on the road home, Sadie put her hand on Wally’s and squeezed.
“Thank you,” she said, tearing up. “It means a lot that you care about Teddy and me.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, lifting his other hand to wipe away a drop of moisture from her cheek.
She scooted in and lay her head on his chest. After a while, she closed her eyes, letting the rhythm of the wheels and his heartbeat lull her into a dreamlike state. With Wally’s arm around her, the world felt safe again, at least for the moment. And so did her heart. If only it could stay that way.
