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“I know.”

Something about the simple answer made her smile. “You’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

An appreciative hum sounded from behind her. Amanda closed her eyes for a second and pinched the bridge of her nose. She'd temporarily forgotten about Fen, which was a mistake.

When she turned, he was already on his feet and approaching them, his sunglasses now perched on top of his head. His gaze traveled over Grady with absolutely no attempt at discretion, and Amanda knew that expression far too well. Fen had clearly decided the sheriff was much more interesting than anything she'd told him about Wyoming so far.

She gestured between them. “This is Fenton Albright, my assistant. Fen, Sheriff Grady Minor.”

“Well, hellooo there.” Fen extended his hand, then gave Grady another blatant once-over. “I suddenly have a much clearer understanding of Amanda’s inability to stay under the speed limit.”

She threw her hands up. “Fen.”

“What? I’m complimenting the man.”

Grady shook his hand, and the twitch at the edges of his mouth told Amanda he was enjoying this far more than he should. “Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, the pleasure is entirely mine.”

She groaned. Fen had no filter under normal circumstances, and apparently, putting an attractive sheriff in front of him had wiped out whatever little restraint he had left.

“You’re fired.”

He didn't even blink. “You can’t fire me. You’d have to organize your own calendar.”

Damn him. He knew exactly where her weaknesses were.

He finally released Grady’s hand and stepped aside, gesturing toward the porch with an exaggerated sweep of his arm. “Please, Sheriff. Continue with your manly home repairs. Pretend I’m not here.”

She gave her assistant a pointed stare. “That will be difficult. I know from experience.”

The laugh Grady had clearly been fighting finally broke free.

Traitor.

For the next hour, Grady worked on the steps while Amanda and Fen sat on the porch. Her assistant peppered him with questions about Antelope Rock and his job, which Grady seemed perfectly happy to answer. He asked just as many questions about Los Angeles and how Fen had come to work for Amanda.

She mostly listened, amused by how easily the two men got along. More troubling was the way Fen kept glancing at her whenever Grady spoke directly to her. She knew those looks, and nothing good would come from them.

By the time Grady finished replacing the damaged boards and reinforcing the loose railing, Edith had joined them on the porch. She inspected his handiwork with approval. “That’s much better. Thank you, Grady.”

“Happy to do it, Edith. Now I don’t have to worry about you breaking the other hip coming down these stairs.”

She sat next to Fen. “You should stay for dinner. Please—it’s the least we can do after you spent all that time fixing my porch.”

Amanda liked the idea. “You should.”

“Thanks, but Rissa’s home getting dinner started, and I told her I’d be back.” He glanced down at his T-shirt. “Besides, I could use a shower.”

Fen made a sound from his chair.

Amanda swung toward him. “Don’t.”

“I didn’t say anything, darling.”

“You were going to.”