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“I don’t have a picture of my parents,” said Harlan. “I don’t even know who they were.”

“Now you have Travis and he’s the best dad you could ever get,” said Tammy.

“Yeah, I like him, but I still don’t know how I got him. He just showed up at the detention center and picked me up when I got released on parole.”

“Fate,” said Tammy. “It was Fate. Same way he got me. Luckiest day of my life—well, getting beat up real bad by Tibor wasn’t the lucky part—but after that it was lucky.”

Harlan shrugged. “Guess it was. Was Tibor your boyfriend?”

Tammy teared up and didn’t answer.

Harlan said, “You don’t have to tell me.”

“He kidnapped me from the lady who took care of me after my mother dumped me and left. I was only ten and didn’t know what was happening. He kept me with him until Travis got me that lucky day.”

“He kept you for five years?”

“I didn’t know no different,” said Tammy. “I was scared when Travis took me to the hospital. I knew Tibor would come to get me back. And he did and he cut Travis. You see his left arm?”

“Yeah, I saw the scar amongst the tats. Where is that guy now?”

“He got out of jail and tracked me to Texas and Mama killed him in the middle of the night. She’s good with a gun.”

“Jesus, Tammy. That’s a horrible story.”

“Let’s forget about it. I’ll show you about the food.”

As they walked over to the bin together, Harlan asked, “Should we talk about me kissing you? I’m not sure I should’ve done that.”

“Only if you want to talk about it. I’m okay with it. I don’t have a boyfriend and I don’t think Travis will let me have one anytime soon. He’s strict with me like that.”

“Yeah, I got that impression when that Kirby guy at the gas station asked if he could take you out. Travis saidno fuckin way.” Harlan laughed and Tammy laughed too.

Sheriff’s Office. Coyote Creek.

When we got to Coyote Creek, Harlan and I got breakfast for the prisoners across the street from the station at the Mainliner Diner.

While the two brawlers from the roadhouse were eating, I brewed a pot of coffee for all of us. As soon as they had their required cup of coffee, I took them out of their cells one at a time and booked them.

Harlan watched carefully during the fingerprinting process and the taking of the mug shots.

I charged Dylan Kemp with felonious assault for using a knife on me, and his buddy, Pete Bannister, I gave public drunkenness. That was about the least I could charge him with. He was getting off lucky.

Harlan took the bag holding Kemp’s knife to the evidence cupboard and locked it up. We both owed statements of the fight to Molly for the report.

With the booking over with, I had to move on to something else I didn’t want to do—lunch with Olivia Best. I told my accountant, Julie Redmond, to handle the financial difficulties at the Inn, but Olivia wanted to do it face to face and I had to tackle the mess myself. I had to sit down with Olivia and listen to her money troubles whether I wanted to or not.

Because I dreaded being alone when I came face to face with her, I decided to take Harlan with me as a kind of buffer. That way, Olivia wouldn’t talk about our personal relationship, and I wouldn’t have to deal with that and the Inn stuff at the same time. I was a raving coward where women were concerned.

I figured with Harlan sitting at the table with us, Olivia couldn’t be mean to me, and she wouldn’t talk about the desk jockey from the bank. Batting zero on that one.

Coyote Creek Inn.

I was right on time for the one o’clock lunch and when Olivia saw Harlan with me, she was stuck for words. So far, so good.

Trying to legitimize his being with me, I gave it a shot, “Harlan was giving me a hand with the prisoners at the station. You don’t mind if he joins us for the lunch meeting, do you?”

Olivia had a lot of color in her face when she snapped out her answer, “Of course not. It’s only a business lunch to straighten out a few things here at the Inn. A mutual interest meeting for both of us, Travis.”