moment she walked into Murphy’s, she found herself feeling better. Unlike bars that were located in the larger cities, Murphy’s didn’t shun ample lighting, opting instead to lean toward atmosphere that was created by a lack of darkness. Because of the bright lighting, there were no shadows to hide in, no dimly lit areas to gravitate toward that would enable the patrons to observe without being observed.
Shania quickly looked around. As usual, she noted, Brett was tending bar. Married to one of the town’s two doctors, whenever Alicia worked late at the clinic, Brett was the one who worked late at the bar. In any given emergency, he and his brothers traded off shifts, although Murphy’s was doing so well, they could afford to hire a bartender for the nights that none of the brothers could be here.
“Don’t usually see you here, pretty lady. I know that my paper’s overdue, but I’m still working on it,” Brett told her with a wink. Wiping down the bar, he gestured toward a stool directly in front of him.
“I’ve got a feeling you’ll be working on it a long time,” she told him, sliding in on the stool.
“You could be right,” Brett responded. “So, what’ll it be?” he asked, flashing a welcoming smile at her as he retired the cloth he was using. “Or are you just here for some good conversation?”
“I’ll have whatever you have on tap,” Shania told the man.
“Coming right up,” Brett responded. As he spoke, he filled up a mug. There was foam taking up two thirds of the space. Placing the mug down on the bar right in front of her, Brett took a closer look at her expression. “Something wrong?” he asked her gently.
Shania squared her shoulders. “Why does there have to be something wrong?” she asked, drawing the mug closer to her.
“Because it’s a school night and you’re here, having a beer,” Brett pointed out.
“I drink beer,” she protested defensively.
“Didn’t say you didn’t,” he answered. “Just not used to seeing you drinking it here.”
She couldn’t really argue with that. Shrugging off his observation, she told him, “Maybe I just came out to make contact with my fellow man.”
The look on Brett’s face told her that he knew it had to be more than that, but he wasn’t about to challenge her.
“This is the place to do that,” Brett agreed. Someone called out to him. Brett glanced over in the patron’s direction, then excused himself. “Sorry, Shania, duty calls.” He hesitated just for a moment. “You’ll be all right?” he asked.
Shania nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’m not fragile,” she assured him.
“That’s good to know,” a deep voice behind her told her.
Not so much startled as surprised, Shania turned around to see who the voice belonged to and found herself looking up into the softest brown eyes that she had ever seen. With broad shoulders, a taut, trim waist and standing approximately six one, the rest of the man was even more strikingly impressive.
“Fragile women don’t have an easy time of it,” the man said.
There was something about the man that looked vaguely familiar, but she was fairly certain that she had never met him.
“And you know this how?” Shana heard herself asking the dark-haired man.
“Years of experience,” he answered.
Shania saw the badge he was wearing and she made the logical assumption. The man had to be one of the sheriff’s deputies. She also guessed that given the man’s high cheekbones, he was also at least part Navajo, which instantly gave them something in common.
But rather than comment on that—it sounded like such a line to her—Shania took another sip of her drink. The beer tasted particularly bitter, but she had gotten it expressly for that very reason. The bitter drink would keep her from having another—if she finished this one at all.
“Are you saving this seat for someone?” Daniel asked her, nodding at the empty stool beside her.
Her hands tightened around the mug she was holding. “No, I’m not saving it.” Her voice sounded almost tinny, she thought disparagingly.
“Then you don’t mind if I sit down next to you?” Daniel asked, still not making a move to slide onto the stool.
Shania shrugged, doing her best to seem nonchalant. It occurred to her that she had spent so much time looking out for Wynona, she had forgotten how to socialize on her own.
“It’s a free country,” she replied, taking another sip, a longer one this time.
Daniel slid his long frame onto the stool, setting his drink—a beer—down on the bar in front of him. His eyes skimmed over the woman next to him. The second look was even better than the first. Simply dressed, the dark-haired woman was nothing short of a knockout.
He hadn’t come here looking for anything except for people who didn’t look at him hostilely the way that Elena had. But, having found someone who definitely captured his attention, he wasn’t in a hurry to leave.
“I haven’t seen you in here before,” Daniel commented.
“There’s a reason for that,” Shania replied, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she faced the long mirror that ran the length of the bar.
Daniel’s eyes met hers in the mirror and he said the first thing that occurred to him. “It’s your first time here?”
“No.” While she didn’t frequent the saloon on anything that would have passed as a regular basis, she had been here a few times since her return to Forever. But she’d never seen him during any of those times.
“I’m confused,” Daniel admitted.
This time she did look directly at him. And then she smiled. “Happens to the best of us,” she told him.
His smile was slow as it spread over his lips—and extremely compelling. She could feel something inside of her responding to it.
“I’m also intrigued,” Daniel said.
Finding it disconcerting to make eye contact, she lowered her own. “I can’t help that.”
“Oh, but you might be able to,” Daniel told her. Even though he continued sitting exactly where he was, it felt as if he had somehow drawn closer to her.
Shania had to concentrate in order not to fidget. “Oh? And just how do you propose that I do that?”
“Propose?” he repeated, the smile on his face deepening. He had dimples, she realized. One in each cheek. She found herself growing more intrigued than she wanted to be. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Daniel told her. “Although, the evening’s still young.”
Mention of the time had her looking at her watch. “Actually, it’s getting late.”
Daniel glanced at his own watch. It was only a few minutes past eight.
“No,
