Free ThreeReasonsWhy by Mari Carr Page A

make
it better?”
    Her friend finished patching her up as Jill smiled. Cheryl
was truly her best friend. She figured no one else but the straight-shooting,
chain-smoking waitress could put up with her and her cutting way of
communicating on a daily basis.
    “Sorry. Didn’t get my second cup of coffee yet.”
    Cheryl grinned. “Well, that explains it then. Even I know
better than to break one of your windows before you’ve had your daily fix of
caffeine.”
    The sound of a siren broke through the quiet morning air.
    “Damn Drake,” Cheryl said. “Why in the hell does he think he
needs to blast that siren? He’ll wake up the whole damn town and have them over
here poking their noses in our business.”
    “Gotta love Madison. Drake’s probably been looking for a
reason to turn on those flashing lights for weeks,” Jill replied. “Let’s face
it. We’re gonna be the big news today with that broken window.”
    “Hell, we’re probably gonna be on the front page of the
paper for the next week and a half.”
    They were laughing when Drake and Wes came through the
kitchen door. Cheryl had unlocked the back door for them so they wouldn’t have
to tramp through the sea of glass out front. Jill tried not to let her eyes eat
up how gorgeous Wes looked in his police uniform.
    “Glad to see you’re finding some humor in this situation,”
Drake said.
    “What did you do to your foot?” Wes asked, and Jill was
amazed by how quickly he’d noticed her tiny Band-Aid.
    “Stepped on a piece of glass. It’s okay now.”
    “Why the hell are you running around barefoot?” His hands
were braced on his hips, and Jill saw Cheryl’s eyebrows rise at his tone.
    “Oh, I don’t know, Wes. Maybe because it’s six o’clock in
the fucking morning and I don’t sleep in shoes!”
    “Uh, Drake, why don’t you come on in the kitchen with me?
I’ll get the coffeepot going.” Cheryl opened the kitchen door, making a hasty
escape with the sheriff. It was on the tip of Jill’s tongue to beg her friend
to stay, but there was no use in putting off the inevitable. Madison was a
small town and there was no way she could avoid Wes forever.
    “Somebody threw something through my window. Cheryl and I
heard a loud crash and ran down to check it out. Shoes probably would have been
smart, but I’m functioning at half-mast without coffee.” She hoped her friendly
tone would make amends for her hostile response. Hell, for everything.
    He grinned, bending down to look at her foot. She was
surprised when he lifted it and kissed it as Cheryl had offered to do. “There,”
he said. “All better. Why don’t you go throw on some clothes and shoes and I’ll
take a look around in there? See if I can’t figure out who broke the window and
with what.”
    “May as well. Doesn’t look like I’ll be opening today. It’s
going to take some time to clean up all that glass, and then I’ve got to find
someone to replace the window. So thoughtful of the idiot to do this when it’s
cold as shit outside,” she muttered, her anger and frustration mounting again.
    “I’m your handyman. I’ll fix the window,” he said.
    “But you’re working,” she said, gesturing at his uniform.
    “Jill, how busy do you think the cops in Madison are? I’m
sure Drake can manage on his own today.”
    She giggled at the thought of a former DEA agent from the
big city following around a sheriff who made Barney Fife look like a brain
trust as far as law enforcement was concerned.
    “Does Drake let you put a bullet in your gun?” she teased.
    “Very funny, Jilly. Go get dressed. I’ll start cleaning up
the mess.”
    * * * * *
    When Jill came back downstairs, she paused at the door,
soaking up the sight of Wes standing next to Drake. His light-brown hair was
slightly mussed from the wind blowing through the big-ass hole in the front of
her diner. Drake nodded at something Wes said before walking out.
    “Drake leaving?” she asked.
    Wes glanced at her. He