“I can tell you that he’ll say there’s no case.”
“Which would be fine because, if I know that ahead of time,” she said, “I don’t have to feel guilty about it.”
He smiled. “And you can let Isabel know that she’s off the hook.”
“Right,” she said, with a sigh, “because that is something she won’t rest about now, will she?”
“Would you?”
“No,” she said, with a laugh. “I wouldn’t.”
“See? So it’s pretty easy to figure out.”
“Right and wrong is not always that clear,” she said.
“No, sometimes it takes a little bit to work your way through, but it becomes clear eventually. So, where to?”
She looked at him in confusion.
“Do you have groceries?” he asked. “Or do we need to go out for dinner or stop at the store?”
She laughed. “So now you’re inviting yourself for dinner too.”
“Well, I figured, if I offered to take you out for dinner, you’d likely get mad at me.”
“Why would I do that?” she asked in astonishment.
“Well, opening the door was a strange thing for you. You are an officer of the law, so I don’t want to make it sound like I’m compelling you to do something or that I’m disrespecting your office,” he said, with a knowing smile. “But I’d really like to take you out for a good steak.”
Her eyes widened. “A good steak would be perfect,” she said. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“So where am I headed then?” he asked.
She smiled and said, “Away from here and back into town.”
“If you say so,” he said. “Is it nice and public?”
“Yes, of course it is,” she said, frowning. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Nothing,” he said. “I just want to make sure it’s really public.”
She groaned. “You want to make sure everybody thinks that the pretty little sheriff has a partner, is that it?”
“No, not at all,” he said. “I want everybody to know that the sheriff has a deputy,” he said. “One who’s not afraid to back his boss up.”
She looked at him, smiled, and said, “You know what? That just might work.”
“Doesn’t matter if you’re female or not, by the way,” he said. “I’d step up for the side of right any time, any day, any place, anyhow.”
She chuckled. “There’s a lot to be said for that.”
“There is,” he said. “It makes it all nice and clear. So where’s the steakhouse because I’m getting really hungry now.”
Still laughing, she directed him to the one on Main Street. “That should be public enough for you,” she said.
“Good,” he said. “Let everybody know, right off the bat, that you are no longer alone and that somebody around here has your back.”
“I can get behind that,” she said quietly, as he parked the truck. She looked around and smiled because, even now, people were studying the strange truck. “Don’t look now,” she said, “but we’re already attracting attention.”
“Good. The more, the better.”
*
Bonaparte parked, shut off the engine, then looked at Angela and grinned. “Let’s go, boss.”
Still laughing, she hopped out and led the way to the front of the restaurant. She didn’t even think about it, but he was that half step ahead of her and pulled open the door.
“Will you do that all the time? That’ll take a lot out of you after a while.”
“Takes nothing out of me to be nice or gentlemanly or polite,” he said. “My mother raised me with manners, and I certainly don’t intend to lose them just because I’m ready to take on the world.”
She stepped in front of him and sighed happily at the cool air-conditioning that wafted toward her. “You don’t realize how hot it is,” she murmured, “until you step inside.”
“That’s when you realize just how much people are dependent on AC,” he said. “Nothing wrong with a good hot day.”
“Well, there’s hot, and then there’s hot-hot,” she said. “I’m okay with hot, but I really don’t like superhot.”
“I’m with you there,” he said. “Do you have any decent creeks around this place for swimming?”
“There’s a couple,” she said in surprise, looking at him. “And I do have a pool at my place.” At that, his eyes widened in joy. He grinned at her. “All the more reason.”
“Good evening, Sheriff,” one of the young waitresses said, as she walked toward them. “Are you here for dinner?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m taking my new deputy out for his first meal here in town,” she said smoothly.
He had to laugh at her maneuvering because essentially she had just said that he couldn’t pay for her dinner either. Still chuckling to himself, he followed her and the waitress to a booth in the center of the restaurant. It was an interesting location because it put them right in the hot seat. But he knew they had everybody’s attention regardless.
He was more or less used to getting attention wherever he went because of his size, and he imagined she was too, but together they made quite a sight. He was all for it. The problem with dating tiny women was that it always felt like they were little china dolls, and he could break them. Now this one, Angela, she looked like somebody who could hold her own. Of course they were garnering quite a bit of attention.
He let his gaze move around the room, slowly and carefully, noting the various levels of attention and opinionated looks they were getting. A couple on the side immediately looked away when Bonaparte caught their gaze. Several suited men looked like they were having a business dinner, yet they were more interested and curious than most in the restaurant. Bonaparte’s gaze next landed on two local guys, both wearing hats, who would never be welcome in terms of any big city restaurant. And they were hiding behind them at the same time. He noted their other features to ask Angela about when they got a moment. At another booth farther down, somebody sat aloof and alone. And yet the waitresses were running around him, as if
