Her Small-Town Sheriff

No matter how much the tension between father and daughter pulled on her heartstrings and made her want to help chase their worries away.

Chapter Three

Two days after Sheriff Winters and Heidi visited Phoebe’s store, she stood in back of the soda fountain, serving George and Lela Raggs.

The bells above the door jingled and a moment later, Molly breezed through with some flowers in one hand. Wedding samples, Phoebe presumed.

Phoebe waved a greeting and Molly gestured back, then hung at the front of the store while Phoebe finished doing business.

Phoebe handed George and Lela their cones. “Let me know how you guys like that new mango ice cream,” she said. “Feedback so far has been positive.”

“Sure thing, Phoebe,” Lela said. “Although you know my favorite will always be Rocky Road.” George and Lela, newly retired and loving it, came in every Tuesday and Thursday at precisely two in the afternoon. Today marked the only time in recent memory that Lela had ever ordered anything but a single scoop of Rocky Road. George, on the other hand, was all over the ice cream board, and rarely ordered the same thing twice.

“Lots of people like Rocky Road,” Phoebe said. Including the sheriff—but she wasn’t thinking about him. “Don’t worry. I’ll always have that flavor around.”

“Excellent,” George said. “We’d hate to have to go somewhere else for our ice cream fix.”

“I’d hate that, too,” Phoebe replied with a smile, even though she was the only dedicated ice cream store in Moonlight Cove proper. “You two are some of my best customers.” Sure, lots of tourists frequented her store. But she also had a core group of locals who came in on a regular basis, even when the rain started and the tourist season took a nosedive. Without them, her business would languish in the off-season.

“Say,” Lela said, her forehead crinkling. “We didn’t see you at church on Sunday. Everything okay? You’re usually a regular.”

Phoebe picked up an ice cream spade and started smoothing the top of the Rocky Road. “Um…yeah, yeah. Everything’s fine. I had to work.” True enough. She had come in and done the weekly supply ordering.

“Oh. Okay,” Lela said. “Hope you’ll be able to come next week.”

Phoebe smoothed the top of the Rocky Road until it was a literal work of ice cream art, then moved on to the chocolate chip. “I hope so, too,” she said truthfully, though she doubted her sentiments would come true. Since Justin died, she’d dutifully attended church, hoping to bridge the chasm Justin’s death had caused between her and God through faithful, regular worship. Yet somehow that strategy hadn’t worked, and lately, she’d avoided services, feeling as if her efforts were futile and useless, not to mention frustrating.

A big rut, for sure, one she didn’t know how to dig her way out of.

After a bit more small talk about the new restaurant that was rumored to be opening in town, George and Lela said goodbye and headed out into the sunny May afternoon to enjoy their cones as usual—weather permitting—on the benches perched along the edge of the covered boardwalk that lined both sides of Main Street.

Wistfulness rose up in Phoebe; what would it be like to be retirement age and still have the love of your life by your side?

She would never know.

Pushing aside a hollow feeling of loss she didn’t want to dwell on, Phoebe wiped her hands, then turned her attention to Molly, determined not to let herself wallow. “Hey, you. What’s up?”

Molly held up the flowers in her hand. “What do you think of this color scheme?”

The bouquet held a gorgeous collection of pink, purple and white flowers, interspersed with fluffy greenery and baby’s breath.

“I love it,” Phoebe said. “Meg really outdid herself.” Meg Douglas had recently moved to town to help run the local flower store, Penelope’s Posies, with her mom, Penelope Marbury, who was thinking about retirement now that Matchmaker Molly had found her a man. Happily, Penelope and Hugh Jeffers, a local Realtor, were engaged after Molly had set them up six months ago.

“I like it, too,” Molly said, eyeing the bouquet from all angles. “And the flowers will go really well with the bridesmaid dresses I’ve picked out.”

Phoebe’s lunch gurgled, and the theme to a once popular children’s show starring a big purple dinosaur went skipping through her brain. She shifted on her feet and bit her lip, determined not to tell Molly she wasn’t terribly keen on the dress Molly had chosen for her attendants.

Okay. So she hated the purple satin number with the puffy sleeves. But she would dutifully wear it for her best friend without complaining because that’s what bridal attendants had been doing at weddings since the dawn of time and invention of satin.

“Yes, they will go well with the dresses.” She smiled. Big. Like a huge, toothy dinosaur. “The purple especially,” she added, even though she feared she was going to look like a shiny grape on the altar. Or maybe an eggplant.

Molly beamed. “Oh, good. I’ve been really hung up on the flowers.”

No kidding. This was the fifth bouquet Phoebe had seen in the past two weeks.

Molly continued on. “Grant says to just pick something, but it’s been hard to find just the right combination.”

“Well, looks like you’ve got a winner,” Phoebe said, nodding toward the flowers, which were truly gorgeous. Unlike the dress she’d be wearing, which hovered more around fruitlike than gorgeous.

Nodding, Molly set the flowers down. “I hope so, but now that I’ve picked the flowers, I need to rethink the cake. Any chance you can go to the bakery tonight after work for a tasting?”

“I can’t.” Phoebe moved the tip jar over an inch so it was in its normal place. “Tonight’s the first night of the grief-counseling class I signed up for.”

Molly hoisted up a brow. “So you finally gave in to your mom and agreed to go?”

Phoebe let out a breath. “Yeah. I’m not really that hot on the idea, but she really wants me to, and I’ve never been able to say no to her.” She made a face. “Plus, she signed me up, so it’s a done deal.”

Molly sat on a stool. “Well, I think it’s great you’re going.”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure how talking about losing Justin can do any good.” Sometimes it felt as if nothing could help soothe her grief.

“You’d rather just ignore the hurt and grief, wouldn’t you?” Molly grimaced. “No offense, of course. I don’t pull punches.”

Phoebe wouldn’t expect her to. “I’m not ignoring it,” she said, making sure the metal ice cream scoops were arranged in their water bins just so.

“Maybe not totally…”

Phoebe paused. “I’m doing the best I can.” But was her best good enough? And without God to help her…well, she was struggling, and she wasn’t a total idiot. Which was why she’d agreed to the counseling class.

Molly came over and hugged her. “I know, hon.”

Phoebe hugged her back, thankful for Molly’s support.

With a squeeze to Phoebe’s arm, Molly pulled away. “So how’s it going with the sheriff’s adventuresome daughter? When I came in yesterday for my ice cream fix, she didn’t seem too happy to be here.”

“Not so good.” Phoebe headed back behind the counter, glad Heidi had filled Molly in on why she’d be working here. Phoebe didn’t like hiding things from her best friend. “She’s shown up the last two days looking as if she’s been sentenced to hard labor for the Grinch, and any attempts I made to draw her out were shut down with sullen silences and huffy looks.”

“Didn’t you say when we talked on the phone the other night that she seemed pretty amenable to working here when you and Carson came up with her punishment?”

“I thought so,” Phoebe said, shrugging. “But she’s got a bee in her bonnet again, and her attitude is making me feel about an inch tall.”

“Did you really expect her to embrace her punishment?” Molly asked with a rueful look as she plopped down in a stool opposite the counter. “C’mon. Be real.”

“No.” Phoebe chewed her lip. “But I thought maybe she’d loosen up a bit.”

“She’s twelve, Phoebs. Loose and relaxed isn’t even in her vocabulary.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I was just hoping…”