Wyatt shook his head. “You did make some changes, and I’ll acknowledge that it took hard work. But the way I see it, the changes were all superficial, and you were motivated to make them only because you still felt broken and in need of fixing. I’d like to see you work toward being glad you’re a woman, just as I have come to be glad I’m deaf.”

Erin cocked her head a little to give him a questioning look. “Are you truly glad of that?”

He chuckled. “I won’t say it isn’t difficult to be deaf, Erin. I’m just saying I’ve accepted it. I’m grateful for all the things that being deaf has taught me. I believe I’m a better person, kinder and more compassionate, than I might have been if I’d been born without the disability. When you work your way up to being able to celebrate who you are, you’ll be a better and kinder person, too.”

“Am I unkind now?”

His smile faded. “Not intentionally, but in ways I think you’re blind to how your behavior affects other people.”

Erin’s heart caught, because she’d never set out to hurt anyone.

“Take Tex, for instance,” Wyatt went on. “He’s getting up in years. Physical labor is starting to tax him, and he’s struggling to hold his own, fearful that he may be replaced by a younger man. Slade would never do that to him, but Tex worries about it. Have you ever stopped to consider how your fierce determination to hold your own has pushed Tex to work harder than he would if you weren’t showing him up?”

“Oh, my God.” Erin’s stomach knotted. “I really like Tex. I never intended to make him look bad.”

“I know that. It’s just that you’ve been so focused on trying to make yourself look good that you’ve paid little attention to how the people around you feel about that, Tex especially.”

As Wyatt walked away, Erin felt as if she’d been turned into a pillar of salt for looking back at something forbidden. He was so right. She’d tried to outdo all the men here and increased Tex’s angst about growing old. She’d been angry about being born in a weaker, female body.

And she still was. She needed to work on fixing that, only in the right way this time.

* * *

It had been five days since Julie had gotten sick with the flu virus, and she had returned to work that morning, feeling one hundred percent back to normal. When she closed up the Morning Grind at five that afternoon, she decided to walk to Blackie’s pawnshop to thank him properly for taking such good care of her while she’d been ill. He’d proven himself to be a good friend, and she hoped to take him out for dinner to show her appreciation.

As she crossed the town center, she saw him out on the sidewalk, locking his shop door. She broke into a scampering run across the circular thoroughfare to the corner, waving her arm. “Hey, Blackie! Hold up a minute!”