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“That reminds me. Where’s the whiskey bottle?”
He was still weaving a little. He grinned. “In the trash can. I drank it all.”
“Oh, dear,” she said, worried.
“Not to worry. I can hold my liquor.”
Maybe he could, but he didn’t. Barely a minute later, he was out of his chair, running for the bathroom.
Abby followed him, wetted a washcloth she found in a vanity drawer, and cleaned him up when he was finally through.
He just stood there, looking at her.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nobody’s ever looked after me like this. Not since my mother died.”
“Well, there’s nobody else here to do it,” she said matter-of-factly. She smiled. “Here.” She handed him a glass with some mouthwash in it. “I’ll phone Hannah and have her make up a bed in the guest room.”
“Okay.” He hesitated. “Thanks.”
She studied his hard, tormented face. “You’ll get through this,” she said softly. “It just needs time. And people around you.”
He didn’t answer her. He did smile.
CHAPTER SIX
HANNAHWASSURPRISEDat the phone call, but she went ahead and made up a bed in the guest room for Cody, mentally reworking the ingredients she was using for the stroganoff so that she had enough for a hungry man as well as for the three of them.
Lucy came in, with the puppy in her arms. “Why are you in here, Hannah?” she asked.
Hannah smiled at her. “The sheriff is coming to spend the night with us.”
“He is?” she asked, surprised. “Why?”
“He lost his dog today. Your aunt says he’s very sad and doesn’t need to be alone.”
“You mean Anyu is...” She stopped and swallowed hard. “Oh, that is very sad,” she agreed. “The poor sheriff. He can hold my puppy,” she added at once. “She’ll help comfort him.”
Hannah smiled at her. “You really are a sweet girl.”
Lucy just grinned at her.
CODYHESITATEDATbeing asked to ride with someone else driving.
“Well, you have to,” Abby said simply. “You obviously can’t drive and it’s a long walk to my place. Besides,” she added, tongue-in-cheek, “suppose one of your deputies saw you slogging along and wondered why you were weaving all over the road.”
He chuckled softly. “I see your point.”
“Feeling better?” she asked as they went out to her vehicle and got in.
“Much,” he said. “This was kind of you, inviting me over for the night.”
“I had a friend who did this for me, when I lost my brother and sister-in-law,” she said. “She worked in the law office with me. I never forgot it.” She glanced at his face, taut with grief. “Losing an animal you love dearly is not so much different from losing a person,” she added. “They tell us now that people finally understand what a traumatic thing it is to lose a much loved pet. The grieving process is basically the same.”
“I never understood it before,” he said after a minute when they were underway. “Anyu was one of the few pets I ever had. It would have been impossible to have an animal when I lived at home. Now, I have all sorts of critters hanging around, besides the cattle.” He laughed softly. “I’ve got a family of raccoons living in one of the outbuildings, and there’s an owl who sits in the tree next to the house and hoots at me every evening. There’s even a woodpecker.”
“Do you feed birds?” she asked.
