“C’mon, Stef, you know this ain’t our call.” He moved fast around the front of the cruiser, and as I reached him, I could smell the chai as he offered it to me. They could not miss the irritation in my tone.īoth men got out, both smiling at me, and I noticed that one of the deputies, Owen Walker, had a cup in his hand. “Really,” I called over to the two deputies in the car. “What he said,” she shot back at her eighteen-year-old as I left with the jingle of bells at the front door.Īs I started toward my car, my snazzy red and black MINI Cooper, I saw the police cruiser parked beside me and the SUV that had me blocked in. “Respect your mother,” I said, grabbing my bags. I enjoyed the mother-daughter interaction, which was mostly exasperated and sarcastic. “For crap’s sake, Mama, I wasn’t raised in a barn.”

“I was gonna ask,” Donna said, clearly exasperated. “Can I have Parker carry that out to the car for you, Stef?” Mrs. What was nice was that more often than not, someone who I thought was just waiting to do or say something hateful or snarky was actually just looking for the opportunity to offer a warm handshake or a smile. And while those who whispered when I walked by, muttered under their breath, or tossed off slurs when my back was turned were in the minority, there were still enough sprinkled around town to make me conscious of where I chose to conduct my business and spend my money.Īfter so long, I knew where I would and would not be accepted, but now and then, people still surprised me. In the small community of Winston, where her store was, the people were divided between those who didn’t give a damn that I was gay and lived with my boyfriend, rancher Rand Holloway, owner of the Red Diamond, and those who were vocally and adamantly opposed to the idea. Rawley, who owned the store, came out of the back to see me. So since I had decided to cook, I had to stop and pick up supplies, and I was standing in the checkout line when Mrs. Even after two years, I still got excited at the thought of going home and being there when the man I loved walked through the door at the end of the day. Originally I had told him that I would have to stay late for a department meeting, but it had been cancelled, and instead of going for drinks with the others, I bailed. I wanted to surprise Rand when he got home, with me being there and with dinner. EVEN though it was late for it, just after seven, I had stopped at the local market to pick up groceries on the way back to the ranch.

After the Sunset by Mary Calmes