“I laud your caution, Sheriff...”
“Adam Kendall.”
“You’re named for one of the town’s founders.” Peter narrowed his gaze as if having to search for the detail. “That Adam Kendall was a lawman, too. A Texas Ranger, if I’m not mistaken.”
“He was.” The sheriff took a sip of his coffee then sat back. “Being law officers is the only thing we have in common, he and I.”
Peter gave high marks to the man’s perception. “That’s too bad. Well, like I said, I laud your caution. So go ahead and ask me anything you like. My life is an open book.”
Peter remained relaxed in a situation he knew would make a lot of men nervous. He could keep his story straight and would even insist on giving Adam his driver’s license so the man could “run him.”
Nothing untoward would come back, of course. Peter’s bosses had worked long and hard to make sure his cover ran deep.
Chapter 6
Tamara hadn’t known family dinners could be like this.
She wasn’t exactly certain how it happened, but somehow she wound up having dinner with the entire Kendall family. The meal proved delicious, noisy, organized, and fun.
“I wanted to drive by that hangar y’all are supposed to be building,” Jake, one of Morgan and Henry’s brothers, said. “Nearly drove past it, it’s so…” He looked right at Tamara and said, “itty-bitty.”
Henry grinned, and Morgan looked down at his plate. Tamara could only laugh.
“Don’t you worry, brother,” Jordan said. “We’re going to take up a collection and buy you a pair of glasses, so you can see better. Just as soon as we find someone who can make a pair that’ll fit over that big honking nose of yours.”
A man appeared at the door of the dining room, wearing a khaki-brown uniform and an apologetic expression. “Sorry I’m late, Mother. Hey, Jordan. Good to have you home, brother.”
“Adam! I was beginning to worry,” Samantha said. She got up and gave him a hug, just the same as she’d done when Jordan had come in a few minutes before.
Tamara had expected that hug because Morgan had explained that Jordan had been gone for several weeks, tied up in negotiations for his construction company. Adam, however, lived in Lusty, so Samantha likely saw him every day. “Sit down, sweetheart, and dig in. This is Tamara Jones, no relation that we can figure to the Lusty Joneses.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say she isn’t—” Henry’s drawl drew Tamara’s glare and his mother’s immediate censure.
“Henry!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Ah, the little lady who crash-landed on the airstrip this morning,” Adam said as he sat down.
Samantha turned to her. “When they were children, they would all harass and tease each other and guests unmercifully,” she said sweetly.
“You mean, kind of like the way they’re doing now?” Tamara asked.
“Exactly!” Samantha smiled.
“Uh-oh. Our Tamara is a sharp cookie,” Taylor said to his sons. “You best watch yourselves. You’ll be sliced and diced in no time.”
Tamara’s mouth opened at being referred to as theirs.
“So why are you late, lawman?” Morgan asked Adam. “Sudden crime wave hit Lusty?”
“Aunt Anna called, concerned about a stranger who came into the museum just before it closed.”
“That poor woman!” Samantha said. “She still hasn’t gotten over what happened to Kelsey last summer. I’ll rearrange my schedule and spend some time with her.” Samantha looked up at Adam. “Did she have any cause to be concerned?”
“Not as far as I have been able to determine. Man’s name is Peter Alvarez. Actually, he’s descended from the original Mendez family. He checks out fine. He’s just a man who found himself out of a job and who decided to look up his roots, far as I can tell.”
“Oh yeah? Old? Young?” Jordan asked.
“He’s thirty-five. Why?”
“Well, if he’s going to be hanging around town for a while, maybe he’d like to earn a few bucks. I was planning to hire someone to give us a hand with the build.” Then Jordan flashed Tamara a look of mock deference. “Not that I don’t think you’ll be a really big help.”
Tamara snorted then flexed her nonexistent left bicep. She couldn’t fully explain the emotions that had been running through her the last half hour or so, but she felt happy and amused.
The men exchanged a look that nearly had her giggling.
“I’ll give you his hotel and room number after dinner,” Adam said to his brother.
“Eat, boys,” Samantha said.
“Yes, ma’am,” the men chorused as one.
Tamara had to admire the way Samantha Kendall managed her family. It took a woman of superior intelligence and strength to keep eight men in line, in her opinion.
“Morgan, did you invite Tamara to Susan’s wedding on Saturday?” Samantha asked.
“Not yet, Mother, but I plan to,” Morgan said. He turned his gaze to her. “Susan is Susan Benedict, one of our cousins.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate a perfect stranger coming to her wedding,” Tamara said.
“You’re pretty darn good, but I wouldn’t necessarily say you’re perfect,” Henry said. “After all, you’re itty—”
“Don’t say it.”
Tamara grinned at Samantha because they’d both spoken at the same time.
“And actually, Susan, Colt, and Ryder would be delighted for you to attend,” Morgan said.
“Colt and Ryder. Those would be the bridegrooms?”
“See?” Morgan said. “Only one day with us, and you’re not confused at all.”
“No,” Tamara said. She met his gaze, and then Henry’s. “I think I’m finally figuring things out.”
As an answer to a proposition, it wasn’t the most poetic of sentences she could have come up with. But considering she’d delivered it in front of what could only be called a small crowd, Tamara thought she’d gotten the message across in as private a manner as possible.
* * * *
Tamara eased the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe into the laneway, bringing it to a gradual stop. She sighed with relief and turned off the engine. Not usually a white-knuckle driver, she nonetheless had been the entire short trip from the Kendall’s home—what they called the
