Joe held back a smile, shaking his head, amused. Dolly gave an annoyed huff, but paid and stomped out.

“Every single woman in town is going to be bringing in dog treats now.” Beth straightened, handing the leash to Joe.

“None of them mean it.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I still aim to make you go to lunch with me.” Buck barked. “And you too, Mister Buck. I haven’t forgotten the promise of the ham sandwich.”

He opened the door, locking it in his wake after he put out the lunch sign. “I need to lock the garage. Hang on a sec.”

He needed to hire someone else. Which was actually a good thing.

“There’s a nice shaded picnic table behind the salon. We of course have a very lenient dog policy.” She said this as she knelt to get eye to eye with the dog. He liked how she was with Buck. It wasn’t fake at all. She was as goofy with Buck as she was with Joe.

“He’s going to leave me for you at this point.”

She grinned, standing. “We can get sandwiches and stuff at the Honey Bear. I called ahead so they’d be ready. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Ever since you mentioned food, I’ve been starving.”

She handed him the leash again, and took his arm. He should have stopped her. But he didn’t.

She indicated the table under a big oak tree as they walked past the salon. “It’s the Murphy version of a break room.”

He laughed and very nearly leaned in to kiss her temple. “Why don’t you and Buck head over. I’ll grab lunch and be back in a few.”

“Fine. I’ll get some water for him. To wash down the ham sandwich.”

He walked a block down and then across the street to the Honey Bear bakery and café. William worked there, Joe knew, as a baker. The early hours and solitary nature of the job suited his friend well. Joe got that too. He liked his job. Liked solving problems with an engine on his own. Puzzling through and going step by step to finish.

No one got on his nerves. He had no boss to take orders from either. It was just him and the thing he was best at.

He recognized the woman at the counter, and she grinned, holding up two big bags. “Got your order ready.”

“That’s some kind of service. Thanks.”

She wouldn’t take his money though, saying that Beth was like family and they had a deal with the ladies at the salon. He shoved a ten in the tip jar and headed out.

But when he got back across the way, she was lying on a blanket with Buck, scratching his belly. The dog opened one eye as Joe approached.

“He likes to drink from the hose. I told him he could have it from the bowl, but he snorted at me and got dog snot and spit on my leg. We had a talk about such behavior, and he assures me he won’t be repeating that again.”

She got to her feet, joining him at the table where she’d laid out some paper plates and stuff. He thought he’d be cool, sitting across from her, but that only meant he saw her face fully. The way her hair lifted now and again on the breeze.

He unpacked the bags and found she’d ordered two large sandwiches and a potato salad for him.

“Lots of food here. Thanks.” He tipped his head. He liked that she’d handled the order, that she’d figured he’d be so hungry. Though he wasn’t a fan of the idea that they didn’t let him pay.

“I figured you’d be hungry. Tim can put away like four sandwiches when he’s been out on calls all morning. It’s meatloaf-sandwich day.” She shrugged as she unwrapped a plain ham sandwich on thick-cut white bread. “This is okay, right?” She meant giving it to Buck.

Joe laughed. “He’s a garbage disposal. Considering what I routinely have to make him stop eating, a ham sandwich is a good deal.”

She grinned, breaking it into a few pieces and handing them Buck’s way. He groaned and then devoured the food.

“I like to pay my own way.”

She looked up from her potato salad. “What?”

“They wouldn’t let me pay. When I picked the food up.”

“William has baked for them for nine years. We trade haircuts and the like for food.” She shrugged. “You can pay me back with other services. If you like.”

An image of just exactly what she could exchange with him burned through him like a fever.

“It’s a small town, Joe. That’s how things work. Have you been gone so long you forgot? These sandwiches aren’t a handout.”

The thing about Beth is that she had the ability to put him in his place without making him feel chastised. And, he realized, he’d pushed a button he hadn’t meant to.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. You’ve built something here with your sisters. Hell, so have William and Tim. Nathan. All of you Murphys have dug in and made something of yourselves. You did something nice and I was a jerk.”

She sighed, absently petting Buck, who shot him a baleful look. “We’ve all got our issues. Apology accepted.”

“I feel like an ass**le.”

“You can take me to dinner next time. Make it up to me.”

“We’ve talked about this already.”

“You’ve blathered on and on about how I’m William’s sister, and I’ve already told you that doesn’t matter. Not in the way you keep insisting it does.” She studied him carefully and licked her bottom lip.

At his reaction, which was a startled sort of groan, she smiled. “You should know your resistance will only make your surrender all the sweeter.”