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allowed her to hear both ends of the interview, though the echo effect was disorienting.
    A firm grip on the bed rail and a tapping right foot allowed her to vent a little of the frustration building inside her.
    Ward hadn’t been completely forthright with her the other day, which made his strong-arming her into doing an investigative piece on Neil all the more unconscionable. Carolina wasn’t interviewing Sheriff Herberger as much as babysitting him, a task one of the techies like Adrian could have easily handled. The questions she’d been given for the sheriff were actually being asked by Rowdy. Her job was limited to going over the list with Sheriff Herberger before the interview and coaching him with his responses if necessary.
    Right. The sheriff might have undergone major surgery two days ago, but twenty-six years as an elected official had honed his public-speaking skills, enabling him to carry off a simple radio interview with ease.
    Carolina watched him and wavered between telling Ward off when she got back to the station or being a good girl and just shutting up. This could be a test, she reasoned. If she pitched a fit, Ward could use her reaction to shoot downher next bid for a better assignment…and the next, and the next.
    If they turned out like the one she was doing on Neil, maybe she should consider changing careers.
    A few tentative forays into researching the death of his wife had produced little more than what Ward had already learned and nothing that implicated Neil. Carolina hoped additional digging would provide the same. Then she’d go to Ward and tell him she couldn’t find dirt because there wasn’t any.
    She tried not to think about the—in her opinion, nonexistent—possibility that Neil had acted irresponsibly and caused his wife’s death.
    Sheriff Herberger caught her eye. She smiled encouragingly, giving him a silent thumbs-up. For someone who’d just had a heart attack followed by a triple bypass, he looked good.
    Then again, the man was made of granite, as his record proved. He’d seen a lot of change in the past quarter century and endured his share of difficulties, both professional and personal. He’d stood strong for what he believed in, even when those beliefs weren’t popular, and was a staunch advocate for the rights of the people who’d elected him.
    He was also a longtime friend of the Tuckers, especially Carolina’s uncle, who’d managed the ranch before her cousin Jake took over. From tales her uncle told, he and the sheriff had run around together as teenagers and young Otis Herberger had tangled once or twice with the law before deciding to switch sides.
    “Well, thanks for having me today, Rowdy,” he said into the phone.
    “We’re glad to hear you’re doing well.”
    While the sheriff and Rowdy were wrapping up the interview, Carolina’s thoughts drifted to the station and what she’dsay to Ward when she got back. It took a moment for her brain to register that Neil’s name had been mentioned.
    “I’d be back on the job tomorrow if those dang doctors would let me,” Sheriff Herberger continued. “In the meantime, I’m sure Deputy Sheriff Lovitt will do a bang-up job, no pun intended.”
    The sheriff and Rowdy both laughed.
    “He’s kind of a serious guy, isn’t he?” Rowdy asked.
    “When it comes to work, yes. But off duty, he can relax and kick back with the best of them.” Sheriff Herberger glanced at Carolina and winked.
    She felt her cheeks warm. Did he know about the double date she and Neil had shared last year? Touching a finger to her earbud, she smiled back while trying to appear preoccupied with the broadcast.
    The sheriff and Rowdy exchanged a few final comments, then said goodbye. Carolina went over to the sheriff and helped him hang up the phone, which was on the nightstand and beyond his reach.
    “How’d I do?”
    “You were great.” She patted his arm, the one without tubes and monitors attached to it. “A real pro.”
    “I