That evening, she made stew and dumplings, piling up Sterling Roose’s plate until it was almost overflowing. Cole, sitting opposite his good friend, laughed. “You reckon you can get all that down you, Sterling?”
“I reckon so,” said the wiry looking Roose as he attacked the stew with gusto.
“My,” said Julia, “seems to me you haven’t eaten for some time, Sterling. You need feeding up.”
Chuckling between mouthfuls, Roose reached for the nearby plate of bread rolls and tore one in half. “I guess you could say so,” he said then dunked the bread into the gravy and slurped it down.
“Sterling’s been helping out old Sheriff Perdew down in Paradise,” said Cole, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Really?” Julia asked and sat back, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with a serviette. “Don’t he fe
