(Untitled)

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill had another meeting with Kimbrell today. Lately it seems he sees more of that man than anybody else

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[justdidntseeit]

Late-afternoon sunlight is filtering through the windows by the time Kate unbuckles her tool-belt. After treating herself to a much-deserved shower in the guest bathroom, she heads into town to run a couple of errands.

When she walks into Milliways, a brown paper bag in one hand and Bill's truck keys in the other, she's more than a little surprised to spot the sheriff himself.

She approaches his table, a teasing smile curving her lips.

"Hey, stranger."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

The phone is beeping along to the buttons he's pushing, and he pauses a moment to crack his thumb.

This is gonna take forever.

Hearing her voice, he looks up, and her smile prompts one from him.

"Hey."

[justdidntseeit]

She carefully places the paper bag on an empty chair; her eyes flick to the phone in his hand.

"New toy?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

"Kimbrell," he answers, handing the phone over to her.

His smile thins out and he lifts his glass to take a drink.

"Said communication is important with everything goin' on."

[justdidntseeit]

She takes the phone, her own expression dimming a few notches.

"He isn't wrong, Bill," she says, half-apologetic.

[wheelsy_sheriff]

His eyes cut away from her, and he crunches hard on a piece of ice.

"It's not like I'm hard t'get a hold of."

Except of course, when he's trying to avoid the man.

[justdidntseeit]

She slides into a seat, setting his keys on the table's polished surface.

"Of course not."

She traces one corner of the phone in her hand with the pad of her thumb.

"This just makes it even easier."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He doesn't want to talk about it, so he focuses on his keys on the table instead.

Looking at them, and then the bag she set down on the chair, he returns his eyes to her.

"You go shoppin'?"

[justdidntseeit]

"In your mom's garden," she tells him, a quick grin gracing her mouth. "I think she sent a whole vine of tomatoes home with me."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Hearing that his smile returns, and he leans over trying to get a look into the bag.

"They're ripe already, huh? Summer's goin' quick."

[justdidntseeit]

The bag is filled with an impressive haul: tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers, and even a few peaches June insisted Kate take off her hands.

"I thought I'd make a salad to go with dinner. As soon as I mentioned it, she refused to let me go to the store."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

Bill reaches in for one of the peaches.

"Fresh salad is nice. What's it goin' with?"

[justdidntseeit]

"Steak," she says, appropriating Bill's soda and taking a quick sip.

"You can thank your newest deputy."

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He watches her, bemused, as she steals his soda.

The upward turn of his smile slips when he hears her last words, though he forces it back into place quickly.

"Oh yeah?"

[justdidntseeit]

"Mm-hmm."

She relinquishes his glass, missing the falter in his expression as she slides the Coke closer to him.

"He stopped by a little while ago to drop them off -- really thoughtful of him, isn't it?"

[wheelsy_sheriff]

He bites into the peach, teeth closing hard on the soft flesh.

"Yeah."