“Any connection to the robbery at the pharmacy here from year before last?”
“Not as far as we can tell. Those guys were put away.”
“Is it just in Lawley or do you suspect something broader?”
“The robberies seem localized, but there’s been some evidence of sales around the county. So you bring anybody in on drugs that aren’t prescribed to them, I wanna know about it.”
“I can do that. I’ll have Rowan go back through the DUIs we’ve brought in during that span and see if she can’t find out who was on something other than alcohol and whether they had a valid prescription.”
“I appreciate it. How’s she working out for you? She been able to shake the city off enough to settle into small-town policing?”
Another Texas transplant, Rowan Beale was the only member of Wishful PD newer than Ethan himself. The great niece of Robert Curry, the long-time Chief who’d stepped down after a heart attack last fall, she’d blown the door wide on corruption inside her home department in Houston and wanted a change. She’d moved to Wishful to be closer to her great uncle, and to escape the fallout from that scandal.
“She’s a good officer. Solid. Steady. Eager to prove herself. She’s settled in well, and the others seem to be good with her.”
“I expect the fact that she’s dating Nash Brewer helps with that.”
Yeah, it hadn’t hurt that one of their reserve officers was vouching for her. “You’re not wrong. So, how’s married life treating you?”
Judd’s expression softened. “Better than I could ever have imagined. I owe a great part of that to you.”
“You’d have found Autumn without me.”
“I found her quicker with you. I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Thank you. You ever need an assist for anything, you let me know. I’m there.”
“God willing, I won’t ever have to call in that marker, but I certainly appreciate the offer.”
A tap sounded on Ethan’s office door and Autumn poked her head in. “Sorry I’m late. The book was really cooking.”
Judd hauled her in for a thorough kiss. “Hey, Firefly. Good day?”
Autumn sighed. “Good day. Better now.” She tipped her head to her husband’s chest.
They made a picture of marital contentment that had Ethan’s gut twisting. Had he and Becca ever been that easy together, even at the beginning? It had been so damned long and there’d been so much contention at the end, he couldn’t remember.
Autumn straightened. “Y’all ready to head out? I’m starved.”
Ethan checked his watch. “Clay ought to be just starting his second set by the time we get there.”
They caravanned up to The Mudcat. The parking lot was so full, they had to park down the block and walk a bit. In the seemingly wall-to-wall people, Ethan expected to be able to slip in unnoticed, but from his position on the stage, Clay was apparently watching out.
As he wrapped an old Sammy Kershaw number, he called out. “There’s my brother from another mother. Ethan, get your ass up here and play one with me.”
All eyes turned to him. He pointed to his duty belt and shook his head. “Still on duty, bro.”
Clay sighed, hamming it up for the crowd, who’d all turned to gape at Ethan, but Ethan recognized the legitimate disappointment in his friend’s face. “Fine, fine. How ’bout some Clapton, y’all?” It shocked Ethan not at all when he immediately launched into “I Shot The Sheriff.”
With an eye roll, Ethan lifted both middle fingers in a salute that had Clay grinning. He was really gonna have to break this streak soon. Making his way over to the table Judd and Autumn had managed to snag, Ethan’s gaze zeroed in on a familiar blonde head that had his mood shifting. Miranda was out of the lab coat, perched on a high chair in jeans and a gray sweater that clung in all the right places.
“So that’s the way the wind blows,” Autumn drawled, as he sat and tried not to wince at the pull of stitches. “I totally called it at the ER last fall.”
Ethan swung his head around to face her. “Huh?”
Laughing, Judd said, “Don’t even try to hide. She has a sixth sense about these things. She’s won more pools down at Dinner Belles than anybody else in town.”
“Pools about what?”
“Who’s gonna end up with who,” she explained.
“Y’all bet on that?”
“Honey, we bet on everything. Not a lot going on in our sleepy little town, in case you hadn’t noticed. Don’t know if they’ve started one up on you yet.”
“You can always call Omar and get a head start on that,” Judd pointed out.
“I just might.”
Recognizing the futility of protest, Ethan said nothing, glancing back at Miranda. She looked his way and lifted a hand in a quick wave. He couldn’t even stop the curve of his lips. What was it about this woman that pulled him?
“You should go talk to her,” Judd said.
Ethan didn’t need to start anything. He needed to focus on the job.
“She’s single,” Autumn added in a sing-song voice.
Clay’s words from last week echoed through his head. You need to get back out there.
What the hell? It can’t hurt to test the waters. “Order me a Coke, will you?” Ethan slid off the stool and headed across the bar. “Cam, Norah, Doc.” He nodded at each of them in turn, eyes lingering on Miranda.
“Unlike you, I’m off-duty. I think you can call me Miranda.” Her lips curved in an inviting smile.
“Fair enough.” Ethan managed to shift his attention to her cousin. “Cam, are you having any luck tracking down those roses for me?”
“Got a couple leads. Should know something by the end of the week. They’re pretty rare, so gonna be pricy.”
“Still cheaper than the fines Chester keeps racking up, and more likely to keep the peace with his neighbor. Anyway, that’s not actually why I came over here.” He swung his gaze back to his quarry. “Miranda, you want to dance?”
“I’d love to dance, but as your doctor, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, what with the stitches. I did tell you no exertion.”
“Then I guess it’ll have to be a slow one.” He didn’t know what had gotten into him, but flirting with the pretty doctor was more fun than he’d had in ages.
“Clay doesn’t tend toward the slow,” she observed.
Turning toward the stage, Ethan caught Clay’s eye and shot him the hand signal they’d developed as wingmen back in college. Help a brother out. Clay winked, wrapped the Clapton, and launched into the intro for a slow Chris Young cover.
Ethan turned back to Miranda and held out a hand. “Problem solved.”
Her smile turned feline and his blood leapt as she placed her hand in his. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Cowboy.”
Chapter 5
As Ethan led her through the crowd to the tiny patch of dance floor not already packed with Clay’s fangirls, Miranda felt all the eyes in the room fall to them. She wondered if Ethan knew what he’d done by asking her to dance here, now, with most of Wishful’s single gals present to see. His intention might have been a simple dance, but he was effectively declaring his interest in the most public fashion possible. Since it was exactly what she wanted, she wasn’t going to complain.