Free A Wild Fright in Deadwood (Deadwood Humorous Mystery Book 7) by Ann Charles Page B

heart to herself.
    Over four months had passed since going on her sabbatical. Four months in which she’d been rebuilding her self-confidence and growing a stronger, less love-prone heart. It was because of this new, happier Natalie that I didn’t want to tell her that the steely-eyed detective who’d shot down her flirting attempts in the past had apparently changed his mind.
    The sound of a door closing made me glance back at the pink house. My clients stood on the porch waiting for me.
    “Nat, I gotta go. I’ll see you tonight.” I hung up and joined my clients, leading them to my SUV.
    Two hours later I was back in Aunt Zoe’s kitchen washing up some dirty cups and coffee mugs, while Harvey spread another layer of his homemade, secret-recipe barbecue sauce over a glass baking dish full of chicken. A sweet, tangy scent filled the air. It was a good thing I was standing over the sink or there would’ve been drool all over the floor.
    Layne skidded into the kitchen. “Doc’s here,” he announced and then dashed back out again.
    My kids were starting to warm up to the idea of my having a boyfriend, but there were still nail-biting moments for all when it came to Doc. Layne seemed to have found some common ground on the book front, since Doc was an avid history buff, too. Addy still wanted her best friend to be her sister, though, which matched me with Jeff Wymonds, whom I liked in a father of my kid’s friend sort of way, but that was it. For the time being, however, Addy had eased up and was now talking to Doc instead of giving him—and me—the cold shoulder.
    As for me, I kept waiting for the day Doc stood up from the kitchen table after witnessing yet another round of my kids pounding on each other with me screaming at them from the ropes, grabbed his car keys, and wished us all a good life. For a guy who’d been a bachelor for thirty-nine years, he was settling into family life with only a few grimaces.
    I glanced at the clock. Natalie should be here soon, too.
    Doc joined Harvey and me, setting a small white box down on the table. “Hey, Willis,” he nodded at Harvey, and then came my way, looking comfortable in his black jeans and maroon, long sleeve shirt. His lips were cool when he kissed me hello; his hands were even colder when they playfully slipped under the hem of the T-shirt I’d thrown on after getting home.
    I screeched at his freezing touch on my stomach and danced out of his reach, snapping him with the dish towel when he tried to follow me around the table.
    “Be good,” I told him, giving him a mock glare.
    He held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll be good if you promise to let me stay longer tonight.”
    “Cross my heart. Satan’s bride has left the building.”
    “When was yer sister here?” Harvey asked. He’d met Susan once before and put up with my ranting and raving long after she’d left.
    “Last night.” I was sort of worried about her driving off this morning without any parting jabs. That wasn’t normal Psycho Susan behavior, and I wasn’t naïve enough to believe she hadn’t planted any poison apples around the house.
    I pointed at the box Doc had brought. “What’s that?”
    “Willis told me to bring dessert.” He rubbed his hands together to warm them, joining Harvey at the stove. “That smells great.”
    What kind of dessert comes in a small box? It was too small for a pie or cake and not cold enough to be ice cream. I opened the lid and gasped in excitement. Chocolate truffles!
    “You’re my hero,” I told Doc, licking my lips. I reached for one of the truffles with a coffee bean stuck to the top. Kahlua and cream if I remembered right. A perfect reward after an asshole-filled day.
    Harvey came flying out of nowhere and smacked my knuckles with a wooden spoon.
    “Ouch!” I cradled my hand against my chest. “What’d you do that for? I was just going to touch it a tiny bit.”
    “Don’t be saddlin’ horses that ain’t yer own.” He threatened