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every day for the last two months. Ever since Sheriff Winslow stopped letting him help out in Bramble.” She walked around her desk and sat down on the yoga ball she used as a chair. “Of course, I can’t blame Sheriff Winslow. Kenny is a little like my second cousin on my mama’s side—a few marbles short of a bag. But he has a good heart.” She looked up at Dusty. “And it really wouldn’t hurt to let him be your deputy.”
    “Not a chance. I don’t have time to babysit Kenny Gene. Not with everything else on my plate. Did you find me a new housekeeper yet?”
    “I’m afraid not. Women in the town aren’t willing to put up with your ornery nature for anything less than a wedding ring.”
    “Then I guess I’ll just have to clean house and do laundry myself.” He blew on the coffee.
    “And from the looks of that wrinkled shirt, I’d say you were doing a fine job of it.” Cora twisted around on the huge white ball and pulled open a drawer in the filing cabinet. “Since you came in alone, I figure the pepper sprayer got away. Did you send out an APB? Or did you want me to?”
    Dusty’s shoulders tightened. “I took care of it.”
    It was a lie. He hadn’t sent out an APB, and he didn’t plan to. Not only because he was embarrassed about being bested by a woman but also because he didn’t want just anyone bringing her in. He wanted to keep that pleasure for himself. He hadn’t gotten her license plate number, but how many Smart Cars could there be with Texas plates? And the woman was definitely from Texas—east Texas. Her thick country twang was a dead giveaway.
    Dusty took a sip of coffee. As always, it was strong, black, and perfect. He really should get Cora Lee a good Christmas present this year.
    “Could you pull up all the Smart Cars registered in Texas?” he asked.
    Cora’s gaze lifted, and a smile seeped across her wide mouth. “The guy who got the best of you drove a Smart Car?”
    “He didn’t get the best of me,” he said. “He just took me by surprise, is all.” Cora turned away, but her shaking shoulders were a dead giveaway. Okay, so maybe he wouldn’t splurge on a nice gift. “Did I get any messages while I was out?”
    Her shoulders stopped shaking, and when she turned, her smile was much more sympathetic. “You sure you want to deal with that right now?”
    He paused with the cup halfway to his mouth. “Heather?”
    Cora Lee nodded. “She wants you to call her back.”
    The tension in Dusty’s shoulders tightened into two hard knots.
    “See if you can get me that list of Smart Cars,” he said as he headed back to his office.
    Once inside, he changed into a clean but wrinkled shirt before sitting down behind his desk and turning on his cell phone. He hated most technology, but cell phones were the worst invention since flavored coffee. The only thing they were good for was causing accidents and making people rude. He didn’t know how many accidents took place because of texting or how many times he’d lifted a hand in greeting only to be ignored by the person in favor of the phone glued to their ear.
    Heather, on the other hand, slept with her cell phone. He didn’t even hear a ring before she picked up.
    “I want you to stop calling Emma,” she snapped. “She gets very emotional after she talks with you, and her therapist says it could be the reason that she isn’t sleeping all through the night.”
    Dusty probably should’ve listened to Cora Lee and put off the phone call. He was in no mood to deal with his ex-wife. His next words proved it.
    “Fuck the therapist.”
    Heather gasped. “You know how I feel about foul language, Dustin. And the therapist is only trying to help our daughter through this difficult time.”
    “Your so-called therapist is another one of your hired ‘experts’ who screwed me over in court and gave you full custody. So I don’t give a shit if you like my language or not.”
    “She was only doing what’s best for Emma.”
    He