“Crowgard cozies?” she asked.

“More thriller than cozy, I think.” Simon tapped the box. “Jesse Walker says Intuits like the stories, but I’d like to know if you think the stories would appeal to the terra indigene and the human pack.”

“So I’m like a book reviewer for the store?”

He nodded, watching her. It suddenly occurred to him that this was a new thing, something not part of Meg’s routine. Would it upset her? No, she looked intrigued.

Meg set the box aside. “I have to finish sorting the mail first.” She blinked at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

He glanced at the clock. He was late for his meeting with Captain Burke.

Giving the tip of her nose a quick lick, Simon walked out of the sorting room. He looked back when he reached the door. Meg was sorting the mail, but she kept glancing at the box.

Feeling lighter, as if they’d had a few minutes of playtime, he wondered how many pieces of mail the ponies would have to redeliver because he’d found the right distraction.

• • •

Sitting in A Little Bite with Jana Paniccia, Monty smiled at the young woman. Early that morning, Captain Burke had taken her to the firing range to review her skill with the weapons commonly used by the police. Kowalski and Debany had been tagged to test her hand-to-hand and self-defense skills. And he and Burke had reviewed her transcript. Now, while Simon Wolfgard was listening to Burke’s opinion of Ms. Paniccia’s ability to serve as a deputy, Monty was here to talk—and to listen.

“Waiting is always hard,” he said. And the hardest part for him, for Burke, even for Kowalski and Debany, was wondering if they were sending a young—and female—officer too far into the unknown, where her new boss would either accept her or eat her.

“It’s brutal.” Jana glanced toward the archway leading into Howling Good Reads.

“Going to Bennett is a big decision. It won’t be like anything you’ve known. It certainly won’t be like living in Lakeside.” While that was certainly true, Monty wondered if the town would be run like a Courtyard with a larger business district.

“I know. But it’s a place ripe with possibilities.” Jana laughed a little. “I loved stories about the frontier and the sheriff squaring off against villains who wanted to take over a town that was the only human place for hundreds of miles. My favorite stories usually had a feisty woman who was held captive and whacked one of the villains with a frying pan and escaped in time to warn the sheriff.”

“You wanted to be the feisty woman?”

“Well, no. I wanted to be the sheriff, and in my versions of the stories, the feisty woman was my sister or cousin. Sometimes the captive was a brother who had never done anything else with a frying pan in his life, and sometimes it was a brother who wanted to own a restaurant someday and really did know his way around a kitchen.”

“But you wanted to wear the badge and carry the gun?”

Jana nodded. Then she sucked in a breath as Simon Wolfgard and Captain Burke approached the table.

Simon held out two envelopes. “Your travel letter and your pass for the train fare are in the first envelope. You need to show the pass and letter when you board the train at Lakeside and again when the train stops at the station closest to the regional boundary between the Northeast and Midwest. That’s the only way you’ll be allowed to cross to another region. The second envelope has a letter to Tolya Sanguinati, which includes the résumé you gave me. It also includes the address of the house where you’ll live if Tolya feels you are suitable to be a deputy in Bennett. Barbara Ellen, Officer Debany’s sister, is willing to share the house with another female. As the houses are cleaned up and made available, Tolya wants permanent residents to move out of the hotel to make room for temporary workers and travelers. If you don’t like the house or don’t want to share, you can stay at the hotel for a while.”

“Having a housemate would be great,” Jana said, gripping both envelopes.

“The train leaves tomorrow morning. We’ll pick you up in our van so there will be room for everything you want to bring with you.”

“Thank you.” Jana sniffed. “I’ll be ready.”

Simon studied her face. “Your eyes are watering and your nose is runny. Are you sick?”

She shook her head. “Just really happy.”

He studied her face a little longer, then walked away.

Monty handed her the paper napkins that were on the table. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

“Congratulations, Deputy Paniccia.” Burke held out his hand.

Jana stood up and shook his hand. “Thank you, sir, but I don’t have the job yet.”

“I’m confident that you will. Let us know how you’re getting on.”

“I will.”

Burke stepped away from the table. Monty pushed his chair back, ready to return to his duties. When Jenni Crowgard rushed up to the table, both men hesitated.

“Are you going to Bennett?” Jenni asked. “Do you have a pen pal? The Ruthie explained what that is. I could be your Crowgard pen pal and send you news from Lakeside.”

Lots of emotion invested in this, Monty thought as he watched feathers appear in Jenni’s long black hair.

Jana stared at the feathers, then, with effort, focused on Jenni’s face. “Yes, I’m going to Bennett. I promised to write to Merri Lee, but I don’t have any Crowgard pen pals, so I would enjoy writing to you.”