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“That might be a good start,” he said and bit her earlobe.

She pushed away from him to see him grinning like a thief who’d just lifted Bill Gates’s wallet.

“Sit on me, Katie, do whatever you like. I don’t want to sing or dance right this minute, what I do want to do is strip you naked and do everything I can think of to your injured body.”

“My very serious declaration makes you horny?”

“Let me tell you what it makes me. I’m going to very gently help you upstairs to the bedroom, and then I’m going to feast. I’ll set the alarm for about the time Sam and Keely come home from school.”

As he carried her up the stairs, just like Rhett Butler, he whispered in her ear, “I love you, too, Katie.”

Since Miles forgot to set the alarm, when Sam and Keely came running into their bedroom, they stopped in their tracks and looked at each other. They looked at their parents, sound asleep, Katie on top of Miles, the blankets, thankfully, drawn up to their ears.

“Hey, Papa, why are you home this early?” When Miles mumbled something, and waved a hand at them, Sam and Keely jumped onto the bed, laughing.

EPILOGUE

JANUARY

JESSBOROUGH, TENNESSEE

Hey, Sheriff, where you been? You’ll freeze your butt out there.”

Sheriff Katie Kettering pulled off her gloves and tossed her cream-colored straw hat onto the small table next to Linnie’s station, given to her by Sam for Christmas after her old one was destroyed in November. “It’s cold but the butt isn’t frozen yet,” she said, rubbing her hands.

“Perfect shot. You sail that new hat as good as the old one, Sheriff,” Linnie said. “You’re really late. What’s up?”

Katie shrugged. “Mr. Turner’s rottweiler, Sugar Plum, chased Benny Phelps all the way to Molly’s Diner, where he barricaded himself in, much to everyone’s enjoyment.”

Pete Margolis, one of the firefighters from next door, there to steal some of Linnie’s coffee, said, “Oh well, Benny’s the new postman and Sugar Plum just doesn’t know him well enough yet. What are you going to do about it?”

“When I took Sugar Plum home and explained the problem, Mr. Turner gave me some of Sugar Plum’s treats. Benny can try tossing them to her when he delivers the mail.”

“After a week of the treats,” Wade said, “she’ll probably want to deliver mail with him.”

Linnie said, “Mayor Tommy called, now he’s begging. He wants you to talk to some reporters from Knoxville, help put Jessborough on the map.”

“He just doesn’t give up, you have to give him that. Tell him no way, again, Linnie.”

“He also wants to know Miles’s timetable for moving the plant here. He’s all ready to shove it through the county planning commission, and he needs the plans for the plant. He said it should sail through, given Kettering Helicopters Inc. won’t be sitting any farther than fifty yards from the Benedict Pulp Mill.”

“I gave Miles a real good deal on the price,” Katie said.

“Mayor Tommy’s rubbing his hands together about all the new jobs he’ll get credit for.”

Katie said, “Tell Tommy that Miles will be here tomorrow. He can talk to him then.”

Deputy Neil Crooke stuck his head around the corner. “The toilet in the men’s room needs work, Sheriff.”

“Call Joyce at City Hall. She’ll take care of it.”

Wade said, “Oh yeah, Billy Bob Davis was hitting on his wife again, but when I went over there, she just snuffled and said she’d run into the door. There was nothing I could do.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “You know what, Wade, why don’t you and I go out to their farm and have a little chat with Billy Bob. Maybe if we rub his nose in some of the manure out there, it’ll help him listen better.”

Wade grinned and grabbed his leather jacket. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll follow you out there.”

Katie bundled up again, planted her straw hat on her head, and headed out, sucking in the sweet cold air. She walked to her newly repainted Silverado, all the bullet holes and dents finally repaired. She smiled toward the thick fog-covered mountains. She could reach out her hand and touch them, nearly. She hummed as she revved the powerful engine. She drove slowly down Main Street, making