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find—continued to surprise her.
    A large, hulking figure filled the doorway. “Roy, what we got here?”
    Addie glanced up at the sheriff she’d met earlier.
Ryan something
. His skin was slightly tinted, and she remembered he had a Native American name.
    “Howdy, Chief Blackhorse.” Chloe smiled, an annoying smirk on her face.
    Ryan stepped into the inn. “It’s Sheriff Blackfeather, ma’am.” He dragged his gaze from her and looked around, giving a low whistle.

    “Well, Sheriff.” Chloe stood, hands on her hips. “Doesn’t look like you or Barney Fife here managed to do your job very well. How could you let this happen? We’ve come all this way only to discover our home is in ruins. How are we supposed to stay here? Seems to me your department ought to take some responsibility. Put us up in a nice hotel for awhile until we get this mess taken care of.”
    Addie watched and could almost see him reining in his temper. What the hell was Chloe thinking?
We have to live in this town. Why alienate the sheriff, for crying out loud?
She stepped forward. “I’m not going anywhere. This place was my dream—
is
my home. It’s going to take awhile, but I’ll clean it up.” She stared at Chloe. “We don’t need a hotel.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Her friend rolled her eyes and blew a breath upwards, causing her bangs to flutter.
    “Listen.” Ryan addressed himself to Addie. “Roy’s going to take some pictures. Then I’m calling in a cleaning crew to shovel out the worst of this mess. We should be able to get the trash out, at least.”
    “And the bugs.” Mel shuddered.
    Ryan kicked a mouldy pizza box, and insects crawled in every direction. “Christ on a crutch! That’s fucking disgusting. I’ll call Joe Knapp over in Sheridan. He’s the best exterminator I know. I’m sure he can be over here later today and spray real good, once the crap is out.”
    He turned to Roy. “Photograph everything. Dust for fingerprints.”
    “You got it.” Roy went to work.
    Addie stepped closer to Ryan. “I appreciate this, but I really can’t afford much right now. I’ve got a cheque coming from my father’s estate, and once I get it, I’ll be fine. But at the moment—”
    He raised a hand. “No problem. We’ll just do what needs to be done, and worry about settling up later. You should check on your insurance, too. There’ll be a deductible, but this should all be covered.”
    “Insurance!” Addie’s mind raced.
I’d forgotten about that
. Had the policy already gone into effect?
Please let the inn be covered by insurance
. That might save her.
    He touched her arm. “You have insurance, right?”

    Addie laughed, waving him off. “Of course, I do. I’ll just need to call my agent.”
    Whoever the hell that is
. She remembered someone insisting she needed coverage, but not much more than that.
    “All right.” He looked at her one more time. “Roy, let me know when you’re finished.
    I’ll round up a crew to send in here with shovels. It won’t be perfect, but hopefully by tonight it’ll be more liveable.”
    “Thank you, Sheriff,” Addie told him sincerely.
    “Call me Ryan.” He smiled.
    The corners of his eyes crinkled, and she realised how nice he looked. She’d never been too friendly with cops, but this one seemed okay. Addie nodded at him.
    “See you later, Ryan.” Chloe said loudly.
    “You can call me Sheriff,” Ryan muttered under his breath, barely loud enough for Addie and Mel to hear. He winked at them and walked out.
    Addie grinned as she watched him go. For the first time since she’d arrived, she actually felt better. It might have been the offer of help or the reminder of her insurance policy. She couldn’t shake the feeling it had something to do with the woman standing next to her. Mel’s emotion had touched her deeply. It was entirely out of the blue, and way more feeling than Chloe seemed to have for the situation.
    “I’m going to run home and