“Sure,” Joanna said. “I will. First thing Monday morning.”

At that precise moment, Joanna’s cell phone-buried in her purse-began to ring. For a second or so, Joanna was tempted to ignore it-simply not to answer and let whatever new crisis was at hand handle itself. But when the irksome crowing made people turn and stare, the unwelcome attention got the better of her.

“Hello,” Joanna said.

“Joanna? It’s me, Marianne. Where are you?”

Marianne’s voice sounded odd. “We’re at Daisy’s,” Joanna told her. “We’re waiting for our food. Why, is something wrong?”

“Wrong?” Marianne babbled. “What could be wrong? I just got off the phone with Tommy. He told me what’s going on. I’m pregnant, Joanna. Jeff and I are going to have a baby! Do you believe it? I can’t!”

Joanna was stunned to silence. After all the years of Jeff’s and Marianne’s trying to have children and failing, after finally adopting the girls and then losing Esther, it didn’t seem possible. Feeling her eyes fill with tears, Joanna tried to stanch the flow by shutting them. But it didn’t work. The tears leaked out anyway. They ran down her face and dripped off her chin. With her eyes still closed, Joanna felt Butch’s hand reach over and cover hers.

“What is it?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”

Opening her eyes, Joanna gave Butch a teary but radiant smile. “It’s Marianne,” she said. “She’s pregnant. She and Jeff are going to have a baby!”

That announcement was followed by a burst of cheering and clapping. Junior, caught up in the excitement, joined in as well, cheering louder than anyone. There was so much noise that Joanna could hear Marianne was speaking but she couldn’t make out the words. Joanna signaled for people to quiet down. Eventually they did.

“Sorry, Mari,” she said. “I couldn’t hear. What were you saying?”

“Tommy really let me have it for not seeing a doctor sooner,” Marianne said, “but I was scared it was going to be had news. After what happened with Esther, I didn’t think Jeff could stand another disaster, and I knew I couldn’t. I’m already almost two months along, Joanna. Two whole months! By next June, Ruth will have a little brother or sister. What do you think of that? What are the people at Canyon United Methodist going to think?”

“Does that mean you’re not quitting?” Joanna asked.

Marianne laughed. “Of course I’m not quitting, but the first thing I have to do is rewrite my Thanksgiving sermon once more. The bulletin’s going to be out of date, but that’s all right, too.”

“Hold on a minute, Mari,” Joanna said. “I have to ask someone a question.” She turned to Butch. “What do you think about having a pregnant minister?” she asked.

“It doesn’t bother me,” he said.

“But for a wedding?” she asked. “What about that?”

Butch shrugged. “That’s fine, too.”

“What about April then?”

Butch’s face split into a wide grin. “April would be just fine, but what pushed you over the edge? I thought you weren’t ready to think about setting a date.”

“Daisy,” Joanna said, holding the phone away long enough to give Butch a brief kiss.

“Daisy?” he asked.

“That’s right,” Joanna said. “You heard her. She told me not to be too predictable.”

When dinner ended, Joanna’s Bronco and Butch’s Subaru were the last two cars in the parking lot. With an almost full moon rising overhead, Butch gathered a shivering Joanna into arms.

“Any plans for the weekend?” he asked.

“No. Why?”

“I had thought we’d be going to Tucson this weekend to look for a ring, but now that the ring situation is under control, I’ve decided to spend my ring money on something else.”

“What?” Joanna asked.

“Don’t you want it to be a surprise?”

“Tell me.”

“After you told me about your Colt misfiring, I did a little research. It turns out Colt 2000s are notorious for doing just that-misfiring. You need a new gun-another Glock maybe.”

“But, Butch,” Joanna objected, “I paid a ton of money for that gun.”

“And it doesn’t work,” Butch replied. “If you’re going to be my wife and sheriff, too, you’re going to have a gun that works.”

“Right,” Joanna said. “It looks like we’re going shopping.”

About the Author

J.A. Jance is the author of the J.P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady series, and two standalone thrillers. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.