He guessed she was one of the Talley girls, then.
“You related to the owner, miss?”
She gave a solemn nod and a practiced smile. “She’s my grandmother. Flo’s is a family business. Darcey will be your server tonight. I’ll be happy to take your drink order. Tonight’s special is meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans, with red velvet cake.”
He requested a soda, then tried to engage her in conversation. She was shy. He easily sensed he made her nervous. Jim gave her his best smile, then ended the conversation.
The girl had lots of work to do. There was a huge crowd in here tonight.
She wandered off to seat more people. A blond woman more than worthy of a second look and a tall, lanky cowboy were right after him. Jim studied the couple. He didn’t recognize them, but that wasn’t surprising. It really had been years since he’d been in Flo’s. The cowboy spoke with a slight Texas drawl. Not local, then.
Another man came in, a rancher by the looks of him.
Right there next to him was Joel Masterson—and Clint Gunderson.
His eyes met Jim’s. Jim nodded once, trying to make himself look friendly, then looked down at the menu. Like it was coincidence they were there or something.
Jim finally looked up when another woman stopped by his table. The women in Flo’s were damned hot. He’d be coming in more often.
After all of this ended.
“I’m Darcey,” she said in a warm, sexy voice that sounded familiar. “How are you today?”
“I…I…” Jim stuttered, looking at the blonde. “Have we spoken before? You sound familiar.”
She laughed. “I’ve heard that before. I work for the radio station here in the county. I’m usually on for a few hours each day.”
“Darcey’s Daily?”
“That’s me. I work here of the evenings. My grandmother owns the place.”
“Your sister the hostess?”
“Cousin. I have a few others working tonight, too. It’s a family business.”
“I see.” Jim gave his order, trying not to stare. Another waitress went by, another blonde.
He jerked when she squealed. She placed her tray down on the table next to his and practically threw herself into another woman’s arms. The woman had just entered with a real stuffed shirt just behind her.
“Excuse me, that’s my cousin. She’s a bit excitable. We weren’t expecting her sister tonight.” There was surprise and happiness in Darcey’s tone. Jim got it.
The tall, pretty woman was another one of Flo Talley’s granddaughters.
Jim studied the newcomer quickly. It took him a moment, but he saw the credentials sticking out of her back pocket. Just the top of the folio. And there, on her left hip, rode a holster.
This…was the FBI.
The tall, skinny girl had grown up to be a real looker. Worth more than a second look.
And she was there to find out what had happened to Helen. She’d remember him, remember him being around back then. No doubt it was just a matter of time.
Suddenly, the idea of those onion rings weren’t sitting all that well, after all.
7
Travis was ready to get out of Masterson County again.
He still saw that skull in his dreams sometimes. Even nine weeks later.
He’d been back to Wyoming four times since the afternoon they’d discovered the body. They’d found a ranch that would work for their herd a few miles from the one where the poor woman had been buried. Phil’s nephew had agreed to run it for them—in exchange for the back half of the property, plus the house.
It would work out well for them in the long run.
And Travis wasn’t stepping foot back on the Beise property again.
Tonight, he’d been asked by the sheriff to meet him at the diner before he and Lacy headed back to Finley Creek in a few days.
After the hell he and Lacy had gone through back home when she’d nearly died, he was a little jumpy when it came to Lacy’s safety in general. Having Lacy anywhere near Wyoming had not been his first choice. But she’d insisted. She didn’t want to be separated from him all that much right now, any more than he did from her.
Since the massive storms that had hit their county back at the tail end of July, she’d been working longer shifts at the ER to help out. It was showing. His wife was exhausted.
Morning sickness wasn’t helping, either.
Lacy sat cuddled up to his side on the bench seat in the diner. Phil’s son-in-law—the sheriff—sat across from them, Phil at his side. The DCI agent sat in a chair pulled up to the end.
All eyes in the diner were on Clint Gunderson. And they weren’t necessarily friendly. Travis shifted his shoulder a bit more toward the other man as a sign of solidarity. Clint hadn’t struck him as a bad guy at all.
Travis felt for Clint. He hadn’t asked to be raised by a monster.
They were waiting. For the FBI. Travis shifted in his seat. They were going to give their statements to the FBI, then hopefully he’d get to take Lacy back to Phil’s and tuck her in. Hold her and forget that being in Masterson was bringing up memories of things neither one of them wanted to think about.
The door opened, and a couple stepped in. Clint tensed and shifted to watch. Travis followed her gaze.
The woman came straight to their table. A man trailed behind her.
The waitress nearby squealed and hurriedly set their food on the table, then turned to the woman who had just entered. Another waitress danced by.
Pretty girls, the lot of them. Pretty soon, there were seven women embracing amid excited chatter.
Clint stood. He stepped toward the new woman; arms open. She pulled back from the gaggle of waitresses and turned toward Clint. “Clint!”
“Come here, honey.”
There was real affection between the two. Travis had no doubt about that. Lacy leaned closer. Travis wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.
Gunderson finally pulled back from the woman. Travis got his first real look at her. A pretty woman, with light reddish-brown hair. She reminded him of his brother Rafe’s sisters-in-law, who all had varying shades of red hair. Some even had long curls like that.
The woman looked at the occupants of the table, settling on Travis. She smiled a very pretty smile. Travis relaxed. This woman wasn’t exactly intimidating. Now, the guy beside her—he was a different story. Hard as bricks and sober as a judge.
“Dr. Miranda Talley. I’m with PAVAD. This is my colleague, Supervisory Special Agent Allan Knight.”
Lacy shifted next to him, leaning forward as the woman looked toward her. “I believe we’ve met in St. Louis. At Payton Lucas’s baby shower?”
The woman’s smile widened. “Yes, of course. You’re friends with Carrie Lorcan and Paige Brockman. I work with Paige frequently. Knight here is…acquainted…with the Brockman brothers.”
Some of Travis’s tension lessened at the familiar names. Travis’s oldest brother, Marc, had married Paige Brockman’s sister, Ariella. His brother Rafe had married Carrie Lorcan’s sister.
One big happy family, and he liked it that way.
“All this is fine and dandy, but can we get down to business? Why were we brought here?” the man in a business suit asked.