Page 22 of Barry

“Absolutely. It’s so easy,” Corrie said and then hugged Barry. “What are you two doing here?”

“Breakfast,” Barry said and pointed to her. “She thinks yogurt is breakfast food.”

“It is,” she said at the same time as Corrie.

Barry groaned. “May I have two ham biscuits and a caramel roll?”

“You got it.” Corrie looked at her.

“I had yogurt. Just coffee for me.” Kathy laughed when Barry pulled her toward a booth. She waved at Edna, who was sitting alone in her booth. The woman smiled at her in return. Doc Macy and Ken Zorn were at the counter, and she nodded to them as they passed. Father Murphey and Reverend Campbell were in another booth. Kathy felt her face redden as the memories of last night and this morning replayed in her mind. Hopefully, neither of the holy men was a mind reader.

Barry pulled her into the booth after him, and she snuggled close to his side. “What do you have to do at the ranch?” Barry was taking her out to the Hollister ranch with him that morning. He’d said he had a few chores he couldn’t put off, but afterward, they’d be free to spend the day together.

“I need to clean Buddy’s stall, work with him a bit, and feed him. Then, I have a couple of daily chores to do. I could call Ryan and ask that someone else do them, but …”

“Your work is your work,” she finished. “Dad instilled that in me early. You do what you say you’re going to do, whether or not anyone is watching.”

“The Marine Corps called it integrity.” Barry shrugged and sat back as Corrie brought the plate of food, coffee cups, and an insulated coffee urn to their table. “Jose called it being a good person.”

“That he did,” Corrie said as she put the food down. “Which you are.” She smiled at Barry. “Where’s Honey?”

“We left her with Mitzi. They’re both in trouble. They found a skunk and cornered it last night.”

That turned Ken from the counter. “You have some of that de-skunk solution, right? We’ve got a couple of extra bottles if you need some.”

“I had three bottles at the house. The dogs and Barry used the majority of it.” Kathy poured herself a cup of coffee and added a touch of cream and sugar to it.

“You got sprayed?” Ken made a face.

“No. I made the mistake of picking up the dogs to get them out of the bushes.” He shook his head. “I swear I still smell it.” Barry took her coffee cup and took a sip while Kathy rolled her eyes and made another cup.

“You will for weeks, even though no one else will,” Ken acknowledged.

Doc Macy chuckled. “That solution is a godsend. I remember when Gen wouldn’t let me in the diner for a solid week.”

“It wasn’t so much Gen as the rest of the town. You got sprayed by not one but two of those devils.” Ken laughed at the vet.

“Well, at least Kate has to deal with the small animals now,” Doc Macy said as Kate Wells walked into the diner with her husband, Tegan.

Kathy waved them over. “Did I just hear my name takenin vain?” Kate asked as she waved at Edna and headed to the booth where Kathy and Barry sat.

“Never,” Doc Macy said. “We were talking skunk stink and small animals.”

Tegan slid into the booth after Kate and spoke to Doc Macy, “You know they make a great solution for that now. Really does take the smell away. It’s amazing.”

Barry nodded. “I found out last night.”

Tegan laughed. “Honey get into a situation?”

“And Mitzi,” Kathy admitted. “Barry pulled them away from the skunk, so he got contact stink.”

Corrie was at the table to take their order and bring more coffee cups. Kate ordered for both her and Tegan. Kathy grew up with Tegan and knew he was painfully shy around some women, so seeing Kate make his life a bit easier was something special. After they gave their order, Kate asked the diner, “Everyone’s coming next Saturday night, right?”

“What’s Saturday?” Barry leaned over and asked as the rest of the diner started talking, answering Kate.

Kathy leaned into him. “They’re throwing a reception. They got married in a small ceremony, only family, so they’ve been planning a big party for the town.”

Barry raised his eyebrows. “The town expects a party when someone gets married?”

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