the possibility that weâll be talked about.â
âAnd you know somewhere less crowded?â
âNo! No, I meanâ¦Iâ¦uhâ¦â Suddenly Prissy was afraid sheâd sounded too bold. She didnât want Sam Bishop to think she was not a lady. But she didnât want the entiretown observing their picnic, either. âI just meant somewhere where we could talk in peace, and not have to worry about a ball landing in the middle of the fried chicken all of a suddenâor whateverâs in that picnic basket.â
Sam chuckled. âNo, we donât want that,â he agreed. âWhere did you have in mind?â
His smile was so warm she felt it like a physical touch. It was almost unnerving. âThereâs a placeâ¦â she began. âOh, but we couldnât walk there, itâs too far. Maybe weâd better go there another time.â
âIt just so happens Iâve checked with the Calhoun boy at the livery, and heâs got a horse and shay we could borrow for the afternoon. He could hitch it up while weâre picking up the basket at the hotel.â
âMy, youâve thought of everything, havenât you? All right, then, thereâs this huge old live oak, just a little ways out of town. They say itâs over a hundred years old.â
âAnd there wouldnât be families and little boys throwing balls into the fried chicken there?â
âNo. Chances are weâd have the place to ourselves today.â
âSounds perfect,â he said.
Prissy felt her heart accelerate. She gazed up into those intense brown eyes and felt a niggle of doubt about the propriety of going off alone with this handsome man sheâd so recently met. âBut perhaps you shouldnât go so far from town, since youâre the sheriff?â she said, twisting a fold of her pink skirt in her hand.
âI donât think thereâll be a wave of lawlessness striking Simpson Creek on a Sunday afternoon,â he said lightly but without ridicule. âWould you feel more at ease, though, if we asked Sarah and her husband to come along?â
âSam, you wouldnât mind?â she said, relief washing over her.
âOf course not. Theyâre talking to Nick Brookfield by his wagon. Letâs go ask. I thought you might feel that way, so I told the cook to pack enough for four.â
Impulsively, she seized his hand and squeezed it. âYou are the most thoughtful man!â she exclaimed, and was rewarded with a lopsided grinâas well as some interesting looks from the ladies of the Society.
Sarah and Nolan were perfectly agreeable to falling in with their plan, but just as they started down the street toward the livery stable with them, a cowhand on a lathered horse galloped into the churchyard from beyond the creek and slid to a stop by Nickâs wagon.
âMiz Milly says ya gotta hurry on home, boss! She commenced tâ havinâ pains âbout the time you left, but she didnât wanna tell you. Figured youâd be back in plenty aâ time. Now they cominâ faster. She thinks the timeâs about here. She says you better come, too, Doc Walker, Miz Sarah! You take the horse, Mistâ NickâIâll drive the wagon.â
Sarah turned back to Prissy. âIâm afraid weâll have to make it some other time,â she said as Nick took off toward the ranch. âMy sister needs me.â
âOf course,â Prissy said. âHow exciting, Sarahâyouâll soon be an aunt!â
After the excited Walkers and the wagon full of cowhands had departed along with the Walkers in the doctorâs buggy, Sam turned to Prissy. âPerhaps youâd rather have our picnic over in the meadow after all?â he suggested.
She turned and gazed across the creek. Just as she had said, families were spreading out tablecloths on the grass, and children whoâd been confined to the pews