Page 85 of Westin

“Can I have blueberries?” Westin asked.

“Anything for you, sweetheart,” Annie said, winking sweetly.

“We’ve got a couple of stragglers up in the pasture again,” Clint commented. “One of you needs to go up there and make sure the boys from C bunkhouse aren’t leaving them behind for some reason.”

“I’ll do it,” Westin volunteered. He didn’t mind.

Clint nodded. “Thanks.”

“When’s the new bunkhouse going to be finished?” Landry asked. “I’m afraid I’m getting used to the space and the private bathroom in the guest bunkhouse.”

“I told you,” Clint said, a little irritation in his voice. “They have to wait until the ground thaws to dig the foundation. It’ll probably be May or June.”

“Three more months,” Bowie sighed. “I can do that.”

Westin laughed, shaking his head a little. “You guys are too soft.”

“What about you?” Landry asked. “You were the one hoping there would be private rooms in the plans for the new bunkhouse.”

“I just think we should have perks the other crews don’t have. After all, we’re the A crew, and we’ve got this business we’re trying to run.”

“Are you sure it’s not for other reasons?” Remington asked, his eyes glued to the window beside him.

“What other reasons could those be?”

Remington shrugged his shoulders, but he was watching something, his eyes moving slowly from the parking lot beyond the window to the front door of the diner. Clint grinned, his attention also drawn to the doors. Westin frowned, twisting in the booth to see what had their attention. When he saw her, his heart jumped into his throat.

He couldn’t get out of that booth fast enough.

Lee, dressed in a slick overcoat, her hair shorter now, curling around her face, stood just inside the diner, looking around for something. For someone.

He ran to her, lifting her up in his arms, laughing when she squealed with delight.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Washington!”

“I told you I was coming back.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t say when.”

“When,” she said with a little wink.

Westin groaned, pulling her close to him, his mouth seeking hers. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer, wanting her as near as he could get her. A few catcalls went up behind them, other ranch hands acting like a bunch of frat boys.

“I missed you,” he whispered against her mouth.

“Good. I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Why?”

She gently extricated herself from his arms, stepping back as she began to unbutton her coat. “I decided that I needed a change in profession, and this lady made me an offer I couldn’t resist.” She opened the jacket and gave him a peek at what she had on underneath. There was a second of confusion as his fevered mind tried to make sense of what she was showing him.

“That’s a cop’s uniform.”

“A sheriff’s deputy uniform, actually.”

“You took a job with Sheriff Reeves?”

“She needed an undersheriff, and I happened to be available.”

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