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weren’t stupid. I always hated that you thought so.”
    “Uncle Colt?” Emma interrupted. “I’m hungry.”
    “Just a minute, hon.” He waved her away and focused on Leah. “You used to get so mad
     at me for saying that. Remember?”
    “Uncle Colt?”
    “Because it wasn’t true,” Leah insisted.
    “Uncle Colt?”
    “Tell it to my transcript,” he countered.
    “Uncle Colt?”
    “There’s more than one kind of smart,” Leah pressed.
    “Uncle Colt?”
    “Only one kind that counts for anyth—”
    “UNCLE COLT!”
    Colt sucked a loud breath through his nose and closed his eyes while fishing inside
     his pocket for a dollar bill. Damn it, he was finally beginning to crack Leah’s shell.
     If he could only get rid of Emma for a few minutes…
    He pushed the money into her little fist. “Go find Miss Darla at the front desk. She’s
     selling Hershey bars for the school marching band.”
    Emma’s face brightened. “Reese’s Cups too?”
    He gave her another dollar. “Buy one of each.”
    “Thanks, Uncle Colt!” After hugging his arm, Emma skip-ran from the room and left
     them in peace.
    Colt tried resuscitating the conversation, but when he returned his gaze to Leah,
     he found her studying him in open-mouthed surprise.
    “You’re letting her have chocolate,” she peered at the old analog clock on the wall,
     “at nine in the morning?”
    “What?” Colt shrugged. “It’s not gonna kill her.”
    Those warm blue eyes turned frosty, and just like that, he lost her. She held out
     one hand. “Where’s my license?”
    Wait, what had he done wrong? A little candy never hurt anyone. And what did Leah
     care? Emma wasn’t even her kid. Oh, all right, he knew it wasn’t the best move, but…
    “My license,” she repeated.
    “Can’t find it.” Scooting back, he pulled his drawer completely open and pointed inside
     to show her. “Want to stay while I keep looking?”
    “Forget it. I’ll just swing by the courthouse and get another.”
    “No, wait.” He couldn’t let her do that. Holding onto her license gave him a sliver
     of hope—no matter how slim—that she’d stay in town. “I think I gave it to Horace.
     When he comes off patrol duty, I’ll ask him.”
    She heaved a sigh. “Fine.”
    “I’ll track you down once I have it. You gonna be at Trey Lewis’s party tonight?”
    Her eyes flew wide. “Why? Are you ?”
    Colt wasn’t book smart, but he had enough intelligence to understand that Leah hadn’t
     expected him at the potluck. Nor did she want him there. He didn’t hesitate to tell
     her, “No, I hate those kinds of things.”
    “Oh.” Her shoulders relaxed a few inches. “Too bad. I’ll bet he’d like to see you.”
    “I’ll catch him another time. Small town, remember? We’re bound to run into each other,
     probably before lunch.”
    Leah grumbled something that sounded like, “Tell me about it,” and with a halfhearted
     wave good-bye, she made her exit.
    Colt hoped he’d told a convincing lie. The last thing he wanted was for Leah to hole
     up inside her daddy’s house again. She didn’t know it, but Colt had big plans. Big,
     sneaky plans.
    Tonight, he’d get Leah back in his arms or die trying.

Chapter 5
    Leah straightened the bodice of her cherry-print sundress as she crossed the dark
     parking lot, gravitating toward the sound of Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup.” The sharp
     autumn breeze brought goose bumps to her bare arms, but she resisted the urge to return
     to the car for her sweater. She knew from experience how sweltering the fellowship
     hall could get when filled to capacity, and judging by the distant din of laughter
     and conversation, the party was already in full swing.
    The familiar scents of Lit’l Smokies and Hawaiian Punch greeted her beyond the hall’s
     double doors, bringing back a flood of childhood memories—everything from her baptism
     social to the youth group mixer where she’d stolen her first kiss from Josh