“Quit it with the swearing.” Cody rubbed his forehead. “And something else—we didn’t get back to the house until after two. The guest bed wasn’t made up.” He looked accusingly at his daughter.

“Oops.” Heather pressed her fingers against her lips. “I said I’d do that, didn’t I? Sorry.”

Sherry gave a discreet cough. “Uh, I’d better see about getting back to town.” With Doc gone she was responsible for any medical emergency that might arise. Not that she intended to be manipulated into staying. She still planned to take the time owed to her, with or without the sheriff’s approval.

“You want me to see if Slim can drive her?” Heather asked her father.

“I’ll do it,” Cody said casually, turning away from them. “But first we’ll have breakfast.”

“Breakfast,” Heather repeated meaningfully. She wiggled her eyebrows before slithering off the bed. “He’s going to drive you back to town himself,” she added, grinning at Sherry. Her smile widened and the sparkle in her eyes grew brighter. “Yup,” she said. “My dad likes you. This could be interesting. It’s about time he started listening to me.”

“I… We only met yesterday,” Sherry explained.

“So?”

“I mean, well, isn’t it a little soon to be making those kinds of judgments?”

“Nope.” Heather plopped herself down on the edge of the bed again. “How do you feel about him? He’s kinda handsome, don’t you think?”

“Ah…”

“You’ll have to be patient with him, though. Dad tends to be a little dumb when it comes to women. He’s got a lot to learn, but between the two of us, we should be able to teach him, don’t you think?”

Sherry had gotten the impression from talking to Cody that Heather was a timid child struggling with her identity. Ha! This girl didn’t have a timid bone in her body.

“I love romance,” Heather said on a long drawn-out sigh. She looked behind her to be sure no one was listening, then lowered her voice. “I’ve been waiting for years for Dad to come to his senses about getting married again. My mom died when I was only two, so I hardly even remember her, and—”

“Heather, your father and I’ve only just met,” Sherry reminded her. “I’m afraid you’re leaping to conclusions that could be embarrassing to both your father and me.”

The girl’s face fell. “You think so? It’s just that I’m so anxious for Dad to find a wife. If he doesn’t hurry up, I’ll be, like, twenty before there’re any more babies. In case you haven’t guessed, I really like babies. Besides, it’s not much fun being an only child.” She hesitated and seemed to change her mind. “Sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn’t. You know what I mean?”

Sherry would have answered, given the chance, but Heather immediately began speaking again.

“You like him, don’t you?”

Sherry pushed the hair away from her face with both hands. She didn’t need to look in a mirror to know her cheeks were aflame. “Your father’s a very nice man, but as I said before—”