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“I do like them, and I’ll take it, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind…but I’m not too proud to eat leftovers, either, if you can’t eat it all.”
Nola grinned. She liked Wade. He was easygoing and funny—like Tate used to be.
“Follow me,” he said, and led the way back to the cots.
Tate and Cameron had turned a box upside down to make a table and were digging sandwiches out of a big sack when they walked up.
“She wants one,” Wade said. “I tried to talk her out of it, but she stayed firm. However, I called leftovers if she has any.”
Tate accepted the jealousy he was feeling as inevitable and turned away.
Cameron handed her a sandwich. “Here you go. Have a seat. We have things to talk about.”
* * *
Back in the kitchen, Peg was looking for Nola as Leon took a bowl of chili from the counter and sat down away from the others.
“Where’s the girl? Doesn’t she know to come back here to get her food?”
“I told her,” Bill said as he added salt to his own bowl.
“That doesn’t need salt,” Mary said.
“Does so,” he said, and covered it liberally.
Mary glared.
Peg walked to the doorway and looked out across the gym, saw Nola sitting with the FBI agents and then went back inside.
“She’s eating with the Feds,” she said.
Mary frowned.
Bill snuck an extra handful of crackers, crushed them on top of his chili and quickly stirred them in before the women saw him.
“Why are the Feds here?” he asked as he took a big bite.
“I have no idea,” Peg said as Laura walked in.
“Do we have any left?” Laura asked.
“Enough for you,” Mary said.
A minute later Laura took a bite of her chili and then reached for the salt.
Bill laughed when Mary gave Laura a hard look, too.
“What?” Laura asked.
“Nothing,” Mary said. “So why are the Feds here?”
Laura shrugged. “It has to do with some of the bodies they recovered from the flood, but other than that, I’m not sure.”
Leon glanced up. “They’re here because of that Stormchaser dude. They were in Natchez, too. I saw them on the news.”
“So why is Nola eating with them?”