LITMIR.BIZ

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      The place smelled delicious, with the aroma of grilled meats and baking bread in the air. The sound of voices was mostly a low hum. She couldn’t make out what was said in any conversations, but that was fine with her.

      Even so, none of the tables in this busy joint was completely immune from eavesdropping by the nosy locals who frequented it. In a way, that was a good thing. Word would get out that Kathlene had publicly dined with those friends she’d been talking about. Nothing sneaky about that. Not worth anyone spending any time puzzling over or talking about.

      Unless, of course, those friends of hers were successful in outing, and taking federal custody of, some or all of the sportsmen. If word got out, that might be something worth more than some lunchtime gossip.

      In any event, this wasn’t Kathlene’s usual midday meal. Her favorite lunch on days she was on duty was to grab a sandwich to go at one of the chains where she could choose everything from the bread to the meat and all other ingredients. That way, she could stuff it with all the salad makings she could want.

      It was too hard to eat salads in patrol cars. And fortunately, the guy who was usually her partner, chosen especially for that role by her buddy Sheriff Frawley, could also get all the unhealthy menu items he wanted, too.

      That way, Deputy Jimmy Korling didn’t gripe at her. At least no more than usual.

      Today he had griped, though, since she was actually taking an hour to have lunch by herself. Well, not exactly by herself. With her old college buddy Jock and his traveling companion, Ralf.

      “Can I bring you a drink to start with, Deputy Baylor?” The server had obviously read Kathlene’s name tag. She wore a dress with a short skirt covered by a dainty apron—the kind of woman, Kathlene was sure, that Sheriff Frawley expected all his female deputies to be. Not that she had anything but complete respect for this server, who also wore a name tag. Hers said she was Addie. But Addie had chosen to take on this kind of job.

      Kathlene hadn’t.

      “Just a cup of coffee,” Kathlene said, smiling. “And a recommendation for what I should order after my friends arrive.”

      As she said that, she glanced past the server’s shoulder toward the front entrance. There they were—Jock and Ralf were just entering the restaurant. As they looked around, Kathlene half stood and waved.

      “Are your friends here now?” Addie asked.

      “Yes. I’m sure we’ll be ready to order soon. Your suggestions?”

      Addie described the specials—a turkey club sandwich, a meat-loaf platter, the soups of the day. By the time she was through, she went over them again as Jock and Ralf pulled their chairs from beneath the table and took their seats. “I’ll give you a few minutes to decide,” she said after taking their drink orders.

      Kathlene noticed how the pretty brunette server’s eyes skimmed approvingly over Jock, who smiled back. Oh, yeah, the server had noticed how sexy he was. How could she help it? But that didn’t matter to Kathlene. Couldn’t matter.

      So why did she want to shake the waitress and tell her to go get their drinks? Fast.

      “Do you have any other recommendations?” Ralf asked. This time his T-shirt was blue with a circular logo representing the Montana flag in the middle, along with the state motto “Oro Y Plata”—gold and silver. He’d definitely done his homework before coming here, probably ordered his shirt online. His toothy grin was friendly, not suggesting at all that he was anything but what he pretended to be: a visitor who’d come here along with a friend on a road trip.

      Jock, on the other hand, was also in jeans but with a snug black T-shirt on top. It hugged his ample muscles and emphasized the tightness of his hot body. He wasn’t smiling at Kathlene, though. Instead, his hazel eyes regarded her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. Curiosity? Irritation? Challenge? Maybe all of the above—but she was entitled to feel each of those emotions even more than he did.

      Although she had no doubt that he believed otherwise.

      She turned back to Ralf. “I don’t eat here often, but when I do I usually order one of the specials. I’ve never had a bad meal at this place, though, so just pick whatever sounds best to you.”

      At least here, sitting at a table, she could order a salad. The Cobb salad at this café was one of the best she had ever tasted, so she knew that would be her selection.

      The server returned. Ralf ordered the meat-loaf special, Jock the sandwich and Kathlene her salad.

      Then it was time for them to put on their act, pretend for those surrounding them to be longtime friends.

      But Kathlene needed to give these men a reminder. They’d apparently tried to do something without her last night. Today, to maintain cordiality in their relationship, she could understand and agree with it, but only on a limited basis. And she would first make it clear that they hadn’t gotten rid of her for this evening.

      “So did you sleep well last night?” she began, aiming an enormous, friendly smile toward Jock.

      His return grin was wry—an utterly sexy look on his craggy face. “Sure did. How about you?”

      “Eventually, sure. But you know, I remembered something I wanted to tell you after I left and decided to go back rather than to just call you. Imagine my surprise when I saw you driving away down the road.” She kept her smile large but her voice was very low. “I knew you didn’t intend to check on that...place I’d told you about, since you’d have let me know and invited me to come along, as we agreed. Sure enough, I noticed that you’d stopped not there but farther down the road, only...” She wasn’t quite sure how to continue. Things had become murky after that, and she hadn’t really been able to observe either of these men or what they’d been up to. She’d essentially lost them in darkness, and neither had shown up in the area she expected they would.

      Addie returned to their table and placed their food in front of them. “Enjoy,” she said, “and let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

      Oh, there was something else Kathlene needed, all right, but the server wasn’t the one who could help her. Addie lingered a bit more than necessary, refilling their water glasses and making a point of joking a little with Jock, who responded as if he enjoyed it. As if flirting with their waitress was the best thing that had happened to him that day.

      Which only annoyed Kathlene all the more.

      Ignoring Jock, she turned to Ralf after Addie had left. “I admire the way you discovered that old, abandoned house down the road, but I wasn’t sure what you were up to.” Once again, she kept her voice muted even as she all but batted her eyelashes at him so anyone observing them would think she was having a grand old time flirting with her buddy’s friend. “Just looking for a closer venue to use as headquarters for the investigation we’ll be conducting at the ranch?”

      Ralf’s features seemed to grow even darker. He glanced at the man who was evidently his commanding officer.

      “You could say that.” Jock’s smile was rigid now, his voice low but sharp. “And we will include you when it makes sense. But it didn’t last night during our preliminary recon.” He paused, and his hazel eyes grew icy. “You have no business following us. For all you know, there could have been some major danger there and we might not have known you were around to help protect you.”

      That again. He seemed determined to keep her out of danger, out of trouble. The idea should have warmed her, but instead it made her chill. Had they made no progress at all after her demonstration that she could protect herself, at least in hand-to-hand combat?

      But this wasn’t the place to encourage a major argument with Jock Larabey. Not with so many people around who might overhear them, especially if they raised their voices.

      “I get it,” she said as neutrally as she could. “But look, I really need to be able to trust you both. At least tell me what you’re going to do, where you’re going

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