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Harlan was a good listener.

Ruby Tuesday. I-15.

“How about stopping for a late lunch?” I asked and nobody seemed to object. Teenaged boys could always eat a burger—if they had to.

I chose Ruby Tuesday because Annie and I had eaten there once before, and the food was good. The hostess seated the five of us at one of the big corner tables to give us more room.

When the girls came home tomorrow afternoon, there’d be seven of us sitting around the kitchen table at the ranch and it would be crowded. I was starting to feel like old man Walton.

Sitting together at one end of the table, Annie and I had a beer while the boys crowded together and got to know Harlan a little better. He was quiet and so was Davey, so mostly they listened to Jackson rattling on about everything he knew about life on the rodeo circuit.

Harlan couldn’t keep his eyes off Annie, she was so beautiful. He’d never been close to anybody that had that kind of …whatever it was called. She looked like one of those gorgeous celebrities in a magazine—not that he’d read many magazines.

She had a Beretta sticking out of her waistband and he’d noticed the hilt of a knife sticking out of her black boot. He figured Travis was telling the truth about her being armed.

When there was a lull in the conversation, Harlan said, “Travis told me you might teach me to shoot while you’re staying at our ranch.”

She smiled at him, and a funny feeling that he’d never had before kind of shivered through him...all kind of warm and syrupy.

“Sure, I can do that sugar. I’d be happy to. Everyone needs to know how to defend themselves.”

Annie ordered burgers and fries for her boys and Harlan said he’d have that too. Travis went along with the crowd and Annie was the only one who chose the salad bar.

Davey could barely finish his burger, but Jackson ate his meal with no trouble. “Mom, can I have pie?”

“Look on the menu and see what kinds they have, sugar.

“Apple, coconut cream and cherry,” Jackson read from the menu. “I’ll have coconut cream.”

“You want pie, Harlan?” asked Travis,

“I’ll try the coconut cream.” He turned to Annie, “Will you make the banana butterscotch one while you’re here?”

She giggled. “Did Tammy make that for y’all? She’s been practicing her pie-making.”

“Yeah, she did. I could’ve eaten the whole pie myself it was so good.”

“I’d be happy to make one for you, Harlan.”

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

It was close to five o’clock when we got back to Coyote Creek. I had to make a quick stop at the station to feed the prisoners, then I locked everything up for the night.

“Too bad we have to come back here on the weekend to feed them,” said Harlan.

I laughed. “Yeah, too bad for us, but they might be happy to see us bringing them some food and a drink.”

Wild Stallion Ranch.

The boys made several trips to the truck carrying in the luggage, the groceries, and the beer. They plunked all of it down in the kitchen and we sorted it out from there.

Annie took charge of the food detail and she put things away in the pantry and the fridge and kept out what she needed to make dinner.

While she cooked, Harlan and the boys went to the barn to feed the horses and bed them down for the night. I wasn’t comfortable leaving Outlaw and Windrider in the corral overnight because of the bears. They even clawed at the barn doors and made the horses nervous.

I sat at the kitchen table and while we had the house to ourselves, Annie and I talked and drank a couple of beers and got caught up. I never mentioned the Olivia thing and she didn’t give me any details on her sex life either. It was best that way. When we were apart, we were separate people with separate lives. When we were together like we would be for the next few days, we were a couple who hadn’t seen each other for a while. Like that.

When the boys came in, they washed up, then Jackson and Davey set up their video game in the living room.