Page 79

“Happily?”

Grady coughed into his fist to cover a laugh.

Jeremiah gave Willow an incredulous look while Dale laughed. Before anyone could respond, someone from the crew called Fen's name.

His shoulders sagged as if doing his job was a tremendous inconvenience. “Duty calls.” He eyed Dale and Jeremiah again. “Please don’t leave before I get back.”

As they watched him walk away, Jeremiah narrowed his brow. “What the hell just happened?”

Willow patted his arm. “I think you made a new friend.”

Dale chuckled. “Pretty sure we both did.”

Movement near the RV caught Grady’s attention. Amanda stepped out and strode toward the Rock Heritage Hat & Boot Co.

For several seconds, the noise and activity surrounding him seemed to fade into the background.

Her hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders, catching the sunlight whenever she moved, and she wore a silky blouse tucked into fitted pants that hugged her in all the right places. A pair of heels made her legs look even longer, and the whole outfit probably cost more than he wanted to know.

She looked beautiful.

Then again, she always did, whether she was wearing an eighties costume, jeans splattered with paint, or the stylish everyday clothes she usually favored. But seeing her like this—confident, professional, and completely at home amid all the chaos —felt different.

Several members of the production team fell into step with her as she crossed the blocked-off section of the street. One of them said something that made her stop and turn. She listened, asked a question Grady couldn’t hear, then nodded before they continued toward the shop they were filming in.

She moved through the activity around her without hesitation. Crew members greeted her as she passed. Someone called out a question that she answered without breaking stride. Another person hurried ahead to hold the shop door open for her.

Watching her here made Grady realize how little of this side of her he’d ever seen.

This wasn't Amanda visiting Antelope Rock and helping Edith. It wasn't the woman who'd rambled herself breathless in Edith's driveway because she'd been worried he thought she'd lied to him, or the one who'd teased him over dinner and ridden beside him through the Wyoming countryside.

This was Amanda in the world she'd built for herself. And Grady wasn't sure where he fit into it, if he did at all.

A man handed her a tablet. She studied the screen, then pointed toward the shop and said something Grady couldn't hear. Another crew member joined them, and after a brief discussion, both men nodded and headed toward the entrance.

Grady smiled.

Bossy.

He couldn't hear a damn word she'd said, but he knew bossy when he saw it. Apparently, everyone around her was used to it. No one seemed offended by her taking charge. If anything, they appeared to respect her for it.

He’d been curious to see her in her element. Now that he was, he couldn’t help wondering how many other sides of Amanda he still hadn’t discovered.

“Close your mouth, Sheriff.”

His gaze shifted to Willow. “My mouth isn't open.”

“Might as well be.”

The knowing amusement on her face made him regret not paying attention to his surroundings. He gave her a look that should've warned her off.

Naturally, it didn't. Willow's eyes narrowed with far too much interest as she shifted her attention from him to Amanda and back again. “Interesting.”

Shit.

“Don't start, Willow.”

She blinked at him, feigning innocence. “I didn't say anything.”