The Red Hat Society's Acting Their Age Read Free

flash of desperation, the lost look in them, was identical to what she’d glimpsed briefly in her own daughter’s eyes before Christy ran away.

Chapter 2
    M
ia walked into the main dining area, followed by Leanne and Aggie.
    Sheriff Cade Sloan stood just inside the front door. “Morning, ladies.” When he tipped his Stetson, Mia’s heart tipped, too. Although he addressed the three of them, his gaze stayed on her. His eyes were the hazy gray of a rainy afternoon and, as usual, spilling mischief. When Mia looked into them, she couldn’t look away; it was as if he wouldn’t allow it. She wanted to, though. Wanted to turn her back on the feelings Cade resurrected in her. Mia didn’t want to admit to herself that she could have such a strong attraction to anyone other than her husband. Dan still lived in her heart; any interest in another man felt like a betrayal.
    Besides all that, Cade seemed to be smiling to himself, and she couldn’t imagine what he thought was so funny. Maybe to him a fifty-year-old woman looked silly in overalls. Or maybe, in his mind, a woman her age was pushing it by wearing her hair in a loose braid over one shoulder. Or maybe a piece of last night’s broccoli was wedged between her front teeth. Who knew?
    No maybe about it, though, it was high time she stopped second-guessing herself whenever Cade looked at her. Especially on this particular morning when she had more important issues on
her
mind than what was going on in
his
.
    “Good morning, Sheriff.” Mia struggled to sound normal.
    Aggie echoed the greeting.
    “Cade Sloan, you’re sure on the ball this morning,” Leanne cooed in the honey-coated voice she used whenever she spoke to men. Young, old, good-looking or homely; it didn’t matter to Leanne. They all received the same treatment. Pushing hair away from her face, she said, “We—”
    “—don’t open for another hour and a half,” Mia cut in. “The coffee’s not even on yet.”
    A look of uncertainty crossed Leanne’s face. She stared at Mia with raised brows. “But, we do have
something
in back that might interest him, don’t we, Mia?”
    Mia sent her friend a quick, barbed glance. “The sweet rolls aren’t quite ready, Leanne.” She turned her brightest smile on Cade. “If you come back in a little while we’ll have a hot one waiting for you with plenty of icing. Just the way you like it.” With a scolding look, she added, “You know better than to show up so early, anyway.”
    Humming a nervous tune, Aggie lifted the top tablecloth from the stack on the counter and unfolded it as she moved around to the nearest table.
    Cade removed his hat, revealing short, dark hair, salted at the temples. He stepped further into the dining room with an easy, self-assured grace that might’ve seemed arrogant on any other man. “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t bother you at this hour, but I’ve got myself a problem.”
    “A problem?” Mia crossed her arms.
    Cade walked to the counter, but didn’t sit. He leaned back against it, elbows propped up, his hat beside him.
    “Late yesterday afternoon, Mack Holden caught a young girl lifting merchandise from his grocery store. The kid had stuffed her backpack with stolen food. A pair of pink suede boots are missing from Jesse’s Boutique, too.”
    “Little packrat,” Leanne murmured, generating a curious stare from Cade and sinking Mia’s heart.
    Aggie’s gaze darted toward the swinging doors that led to the back room then over to Leanne. “Would you help me with this?” she asked in a jittery voice. Her hands visibly shook as she smoothed the first cloth into place on a tabletop then grabbed another one from the stack. “I’ll get the centerpieces.”
    “I’ve been eyeing those pink boots at Jesse’s myself,” Leanne said as she moved around the counter to take the tablecloth Aggie handed her. “The girl has good taste.”
    Cade studied Leanne a moment longer before shifting his attention back to Mia. “Right as I