A Time To Keep

Dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin, Gwen sighed and closed her eyes. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I took the first bite,” she said when she opened her eyes to meet his amused stare.

“You’ve never eaten a po’boy?”

She went completely still. “A what?”

“Po’boy.”

Gwen blinked once. “Don’t you mean poor boy?”

Shiloh was hard pressed not to laugh. “It is not poor,” he said, enunciating the r. “It’s po’ like in Edgar Allan Poe.”

A hint of a smile crinkled her eyes at the corners. “But wouldn’t it sound better to say poor rather than po’?”

Shiloh lathered tartar sauce over his po’boy, then added a liberal amount of pepper sauce. “It takes too long to say poor. Po’ works for us down here.”

Gwen reached for the coffee mug and took a swallow. It was strong and slightly bitter. She peered at Shiloh over the rim. “You all talk funny down here.”

He eased the mug from her hand, smiling. “It’s not you all, but y’all, Gwen.”

“Hey, you’re drinking my coffee,” she said in protest.

Shiloh took a long swallow before refilling the mug. His eyes narrowed. “I offered you my po’boy, not my coffee.”

Leaning back on her chair, she regarded him for a long moment. “Silly me for not remembering you’re a cop.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

Ignoring his defensive tone, Gwen reached over and patted the back of his hand. “Isn’t drinking coffee and eating doughnuts a prerequisite for becoming a police officer?”

Shiloh’s left eyebrow lifted slightly. “So, Miss Beantown, you’ve got cop jokes. For your information we don’t eat doughnuts down here.”

“What do you eat?”

“Beignets.”

It was Gwen’s turned to lift her eyebrows. “I’ve never eaten one.”

“You po’ deprived little thang,” he teased. “There’s nothing better for breakfast than café au lait and beignets.”

Gwen wanted to laugh at his tortured expression. She hadn’t known Shiloh Harper twenty-four hours, yet there was something about him that made her feel comfortable enough to verbally spar with him. There was something about him that said he was so very sure of himself and his rightful place in the universe.

“I’ll make certain to sample one.”

Shiloh rested his chin on a fisted hand. “I bet you won’t be able to eat just one.”

She assumed the same gesture, smiling. “That’s one bet you’re going to lose.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I’m very, very disciplined.”

“Don’t you mean anal?”

Her dark eyes widened. “No!”

The beginnings of a smile touched Shiloh’s mouth. “I think you protest too much.”

“I’m not as anal as I am focused.”

He lowered his hand without taking his gaze off the face of the woman sharing his table. He liked Gwen—her face, softly curving body, quick mind and witty repartee.

“What are you focused on now?”

“Fixing up my new home.”

“And after that?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” he repeated. “What about a job?”

Gwen’s body stiffened in shock that caused the words to wedge in her throat. “Are you interrogating me, Sheriff Harper?” she asked, recovering her voice.

“Of course not, Miss Gwendolyn Paulette Taylor.”

A wave of heat swept up from her chest to her cheeks. “There’s no need to call me by my government name,” she said, frowning.

Shiloh threw back his head, laughing loudly, as everyone in the restaurant turned in his direction. Most couldn’t remember the last time they’d heard Shiloh Harper laugh aloud. It was before his divorce and before Sheriff Virgil Harper died in the line of duty. Suddenly aware that he’d attracted attention, he glared at those staring at him and Gwen. One by one they turned away and went back to whatever it was they were discussing.

Gwen took another bite of her sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. Even if she didn’t tell Shiloh of her plans, there was no doubt he would soon find out.

“I’m a journalist.”

His sober expression did not change. “Radio, television, or print?”

“Print.”

“Perhaps Nash McGraw could use you. He’s the editor-in-chief of the Teche Tribune, and lately he’s been putting out the paper using a skeleton staff.”

“Is it a weekly?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“If you run into him, please let him know that I’m interested in something part-time.”

A hint of a smile crinkled the skin around Shiloh’s eyes. “What else are you interested in?”

A shiver of annoyance raced up her spine and she had to admit that the man sitting across from her was good. He’d befriended her the night before and now had offered her his lunch while subtly interrogating her. She was a new resident, and he was probably intrigued that a single woman from Boston would relocate and take possession of a house sight unseen.