Beauty and The Beastly Rancher. Judy Christenberry

of the frilly stuff like his mom did. And her furnishings looked old. Okay, so he’d make a new list and only include men with a good reputation and good money. It occurred to him that that list might be pretty short unless he decided to include himself. But, he wasn’t looking for marriage. Was he?

      When he drove into town early that morning to leave the lease with his lawyer, he actually ran into Patrick Wilson, the man who headed his list for Anna.

      “Hey, Pat! What are you doing out this early?”

      “Heck, Joe. I’m not out early. I’m just getting back. I had a call about two.”

      “Everything’s okay, I hope,” Joe said, a polite hint for more news.

      Patrick sighed. “Andy Elkins fell and broke his leg and got a concussion. He’ll recover, but it’ll take a while.”

      “Andy? What was he doing up at two in the morning? He’s eighty-seven!”

      “Making a trip to the bathroom in the dark.”

      “That’s too bad. I guess it’s a good thing you don’t have a family with the hours you keep,” Joe said frowning.

      Patrick looked surprised. “I guess you’re right. Doctors’ marriages aren’t too stable from what I’ve observed. It would take a strong woman to deal with my life.”

      “Yeah, I guess so,” Joe said, thinking he needed to mark Patrick off the list.

      Patrick jabbed him with his elbow. “Don’t be telling anyone that. You’ll ruin my social life.”

      “I won’t,” Joe said. He waved goodbye and continued into his lawyer’s office. But under his breath he muttered, “I guess we’ll see who’s next on the list.” He had to find a better husband than Patrick. This was going to be hard.