“You’re rejecting my proposal?”

“Yup.”

“I should’ve guessed,” Cody said. “I knew even before I opened my mouth that you were going to be pigheaded about this.”

“Don’t feel bad,” she said with feigned amiability. “I’m sure there are plenty of women who’d leap at your offer. I just don’t happen to be one of them.” She reached for the handle of the still-open door, and he was obliged to move out of the way.

“Good night, Cody.”

“Goodbye,” he muttered and stalked away. He turned back once as if he wanted to argue with her some more, but changed his mind. Sherry threw her car into gear and drove off.

* * *

“What happened between my dad and you after we talked?” Heather asked in a whisper over the telephone. She’d called Sherry first thing the next morning.

“Heather, I’m on duty. I can’t talk now.”

“Who’s sick?”

“No one at the moment, but—”

“If there’s no one there, it won’t hurt to talk to me for a couple of minutes, will it? Please?”

“Nothing happened between your dad and me.” Which of course wasn’t true. She’d been proposed to, if you could call it that, for the first time in her life.

“Then why is Dad acting like a wounded bear? Janey threatened to quit this morning, and she’s been working for Dad since before I was born.”

“Why don’t you ask your father?”

“You’re kidding, right? No one wants to talk to him. Even Slim’s staying out of his way.”

“Give him time. He’ll cool down.”

“If I could wait that long, I wouldn’t be calling you.”

“Heather,” Sherry said, growing impatient, “this is between your father and me. Let’s just leave it at that, shall we?”

“You don’t want my help?”

“No,” Sherry said emphatically. “I don’t. Please, drop it, okay?”

“All right,” the girl agreed reluctantly. “I won’t ask any more questions about whatever it is that didn’t happen that you don’t want to talk about.”

“Thank you.”

“I hope you know what a sacrifice this is.”

“Oh, I do.”

“You might think that just because I’m a kid I don’t know things. But I know more than either you or Dad realize. I—”

Sherry rolled her eyes. “I need to get off the phone.”

Heather released a great gusty sigh. “All right. We’re still going shopping for school clothes, aren’t we? Soon, ’cause school starts in less than two weeks.”

“You bet.” Sherry suggested a day and a time and reminded Heather to check with her father. “I’ll make reservations at a nice hotel, and we’ll spend the night.”

“That’ll be great! Oh, Sherry, I really wish you and Dad could get along, because I think you’re fabulous.”

“I think you’re pretty fabulous, too, honey. Now listen, I have to go. I can’t tie up the line.”

“Next time I call, I’ll ask Mrs. Colson to take a message. You can call me back later when you’re not on duty.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”