Page 41 of The Sheriff and the Outlaw

Daxton pulled her to a stop. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’re married, after all.”

“Was,” Josey corrected, turning her head away. “Let’s go inside.”

Daxton said nothing as they walked up the slight hill to the house. Being the perfect gentleman that he was, he led her up the steps and opened the door for her.

“Daxton, thank you… for everything.”

A smile lit his lips. “No thanks are necessary, my lady.”

He had only been joking, but she liked the sound of being called his lady. But she couldn’t allow herself to think that way.

When they walked inside, Andrew was still waiting.

Daxton smiled proudly. “Son, you didn’t have to wait for us.”

Josey liked the sound of the word “us” on his lips a bit too much.She could tell that being around his family was much too dangerous… for her heart.

“I wanted to.” Andrew jumped up and then held the chair for Josey as she sat.

Josey patted his cheek. “Thank you.”

Andrew looked in her eyes, pleading. “Now, can we eat?”

Josey laughed. “Ask your father.”

“Yes, of course.” Daxton shook out his napkin and laid it across his lap. Then he bowed his head, folded his hands, and said a wonderful blessing over the meal.

Josey liked this, being in a Christian home, saying the blessing before meals, caring about one another. When she was married to Logan, she spent most of her time by herself. Then he would come in, plop down and eat, and would demand things from her, or would go straight to bed without a word. Those nights were a blessing. Looking back, they hadn’t had many “good times” worth remembering. Their good times had only consisted of their time courting. After they were married, he showed his true colors, and it all went downhill fast.

“Let’s eat,” Daxton announced when he had finished saying the blessing and reached for the biscuits. “Everything looks great.”

Andrew laughed. “And you made enough for an army again.”

Josey smiled as she slid a piece of country ham onto her plate. “I just wanted to make sure that no one goes away hungry.”

“I don’t think there’s any danger in that,” Daxton teased.

Andrew opened a biscuit and placed a piece of country ham inside, making a sandwich. “Umm… this is good. We haven’t had this in a while.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Daxton gently admonished.

Josey ate hers like a sandwich, too. And he was right: It was delicious. Before long, she had devoured it and made herself another. This time, she savored the salty flavor of the ham along with the flaky goodness of the biscuit.

“Wow! You must be hungry.” Andrew reached for a biscuit and made himself another sandwich.

Josey smiled. “I thinkyouare, too. Go ahead and eat. The fish won’t wait, and I’d like to have fish for dinner again tonight.”

His eyes widened. “Can we, Pa?”

Daxton took a sip of his coffee and set it down. “I was thinking that maybe we could go hunting, instead. While it’s summer, we could bag a buck, cure the meat, and have enough to last us all winter. What do you say?”

“Yippee!” Andrew yelled and then stuffed the last of his biscuit into his mouth.

“After we do the chores.” Daxton took a bite of his ham biscuit and swallowed. “The cattle won’t wait to be fed, and we need to milk the cow, too.”

“I know,” Andrew said, still excited. “Can I get started now?”

Daxton laughed. “I’ve never seen you this excited to do your chores before.”

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