Healing the Lawman's Heart. Ruth Logan Herne

join her, and then there’ll be no one to make your coffee,” Tina continued. She reached out and grabbed Julia’s hands as Julia sank onto a counter stool. “I don’t know the story, but I’m going to guess he cheated on you and you’re trying to figure out why.”

      Julia stared at her. “How did you know that?”

      “Because women tend to assume it’s our fault first.” Tina moved back behind the counter and started building Julia’s drink. “We see their cheating as the result of our lack, instead of their choice to stray.”

      “Which is ridiculous, of course,” Laura chimed in. “What does God tell us about women in Proverbs 31? That a woman opens her hands to the poor and reaches out to the needy. That she works for her family, and provides for them? I don’t recall seeing anything about being a size six, Julia. Or trying to reform ourselves to win affection. Shouldn’t we be loved as God loves us? For ourselves?”

      “It’s wonderful in theory.” Julia smiled at Tina when she set the steaming caramel coffee in front of her. “Unfortunately reality says something different these days.”

      “My dose of today’s reality is to head to work.”

      The sound of Tanner’s voice made all three ladies turn as he came around the corner from the main restaurant dining area.

      Laura smiled. Clearly familiar with Tanner’s tastes, Tina called a greeting, grabbed a large to-go coffee cup and moved to the espresso machine.

      Julia was glad she hadn’t been griping about Tanner when he walked in. She met his eyes as he approached the coffee counter. “Thanks for hanging with Zach this afternoon.”

      “Piper’s stepmother came over to make sure he was doing okay. He drifted in and out of sleep the whole time I was there, which meant I could cheer for the Pirates and no one reamed me out. I found it oddly disappointing.”

      “You’ll be safe for a while because he’ll be on heavy-duty pain meds for days.” Julia sipped her coffee, glad she hadn’t insisted on the plain black version. This amazing concoction was so much better. Or maybe it was her proximity to this puzzling man with soft but tough gray eyes. “But he’ll be glad you came by, Tanner.”

      Tina extended his coffee across the curved wooden coffee bar and waved off his money. “You know better, even though you’re not at this end of the lake all that often,” she teased. “Coffee for cops is on the house.”

      “You just want me to be nice to Max, since he’s new on the force.”

      “After ten years of military special ops, I can assure you that Max Campbell has plenty of tricks up his sleeve,” Tina told him, “so I’d be careful treating him like a normal probie. Just a word to the wise.”

      “I got to work with him last month.” Tanner raised his coffee cup in salute. “And he did okay. For a military guy.”

      Tina laughed. “I won’t tell him you said so because I know how the loyalty game plays out. But just so you know, he spoke well of you, too.”

      Tanner grinned. He turned back toward Julia. “According to your father, I’ll see you Tuesday night. Six o’clock. Your place.”

      He aimed a smile at the two women behind Julia, then walked out. Julia read their expressions, and put up her hands. “It’s not what you think, even though he’s funny, gentle, sensitive and wretchedly good-looking.”

      “It should be.” Laura exchanged a look with Tina, a look that said Tanner Reddington was positively swoon-worthy. “Oh, honey, I promise you. It should be.”

      “I have enough on my plate right now.” Julia watched Tanner as he crossed the parking lot. Tall, square-shouldered and decisive, he looked as good from behind as he did from the front, but something in his reticence tripped mental red flags. She switched her attention back to the women. “For the moment I’m trying to figure out what my ex-husband is up to all of a sudden. There is no time in the world for that. Unfortunately.” She waved toward the door Tanner had just closed.

      “Mmm-hmm.” Laura’s knowing smile said she wasn’t buying it. Tina’s said the same.

      For a moment, Julia wondered if that gleam in Tanner’s eye went deeper than gentle amusement. Was he interested in her?

      Of course not. He was always one step shy of rude during their conversations, and what she absolutely, positively did not want, ever again, was to have to prove herself to a man, because Laura was right. God’s command to man was to cherish women, to love them as he loved the church.

      She’d lived that failure once. She never wanted to face that outcome again.