“Come in,” she called, thinking it must be the receptionist.

In walked a tall, rawboned cowboy with skin tanned the color of a new penny. He wore jeans, a checkered shirt and a pair of scarred boots. A Stetson hat hooded his dark eyes, and somehow, with the red bandana around his neck, he looked both rough and dangerous.

“You’re not Doc Lindsey,” he said accusingly.

“No,” she agreed tartly, “I’m not.”

“Oh, good,” Mrs. Colson said, following him into the room. “I see your one-o’clock appointment is here.”

“My one o’clock appointment?”

“Where’s Doc?” the cowboy demanded.

“He’s gone fishing. Now you sit down,” Mrs. Colson directed in steely tones. “You’re Miz Waterman’s first patient, and I don’t want her getting a bad impression of the folks in Pepper.”

“I ain’t talkin’ to no woman about Heather.”

“Why not? A woman would be far more understanding than Doc.”

The cowboy shook his head stubbornly.

Personally, Sherry agreed with him.

“Don’t you argue with me, Cody Bailman,” Mrs. Colson said, arms akimbo. “And don’t you make trouble for Miz Waterman. She’s a real sweetheart.”

Cody shifted his hat farther back on his head. “It ain’t gonna work.”

“That’s right. It ain’t gonna work unless you try.” The receptionist took Cody by the elbow and marched him to the chair on the other side of the desk. “Now sit. You, too, Sherry.” Neither of them bothered to comply, but that didn’t disturb the receptionist. “Cody’s here to talk about his daughter. She’s twelve and giving him plenty of grief, and he comes here for advice because…well, because his wife died about ten years back and he’s having a few problems understanding what’s happening to Heather now that she’s becoming a young woman.”

“Which means I’m not talkin’ to some stranger about my personal affairs,” Cody said.

“It’ll do you good to get everything out,” Mrs. Colson assured him. “Now sit down,” she said again. “Sherry, you sit, too. If you stand, it’ll make Cody nervous.”

Sherry sat. “What should I do?” she whispered.

“Listen,” the older women instructed. “That’s all Doc ever does. It seems to help.”

Doc Lindsey apparently served as Pepper’s psychologist, too. Sherry had received some training along those lines, but certainly not enough to qualify as a counselor.

“I’m not talkin’ to a woman,” Cody said.

“Did you ever consider that’s the reason you’re having so many problems with Heather?” Mrs. Colson pointed out, then stalked over to the door. As she reached for the knob, her narrowed eyes moved from Cody to Sherry, and her tight features relaxed into a smile. “You let me know if Cody gives you any problems, but I doubt he will.” She dropped her voice. “What Heather really needs is a mother. In my opinion, Cody should remarry.”

“You volunteering for the job, Martha?” Cody said.

Mrs. Colson’s cheeks reddened. “I’m old enough to be your mother, and you darn well know it.” With that she left the room, closing the door behind her.