“Two crew and seven passengers. The other one is bigger. It’s in New York at the moment, being used by some of the family there.”
“And what’s this, the poor relation?” Peter pointed at the Piper sitting on the other side of the Lear.
Jordan laughed. “No. That’s Tamara’s Piper. Or I should say, her uncle’s. She was ferrying it from Abilene to San Marcos when the engine decided to quit. We’re just giving it shelter until she can get it fixed.”
“The engine quit? My God, she had to land it dead-stick?”
Jordan nodded. “Sure as hell did. Morgan said she brought that baby in and set her down better than some air force pilots could have done.”
“Must have scared the crap right out of her.”
“You’ve got to figure.” Jordan led the way over to the lounge, a comfortable-looking room with glass walls, a sofa, some easy chairs, and a couple of vending machines. He walked straight over to one of the machines. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
Jordan wondered if he heard suppressed laughter in the other man’s voice, or if it was just his imagination.
“How do you take it?” Jordan closed his eyes at the unintentional double entendre. He supposed that no matter how much he lied to himself, his subconscious knew the truth and had determined that truth was going to come out, one way or the other.
Peter coughed, doing an admirable job of choking back his mirth. “Light and sweet.”
“That makes two of us.” Jordan pushed the buttons necessary to get the coffee. Armed with beverages, he turned to face Peter Alvarez and, he thought wryly, the truth.
“Thanks.” Peter took the offered cup, then stepped back a half pace.
He’s giving me room. Respecting my boundaries. Jordan didn’t know if he should be disappointed or grateful.
“Maybe we should sit down and talk about what else we have in common.” All humor had left Peter’s expression.
Jordan had been able to avoid meeting Peter’s gaze as he’d led him through the hangars and into the lounge. He had no excuse other than nerves to continue that ruse. So he met the other man’s gaze and felt himself fall just a little.
“Yeah.” Jordan exhaled heavily. “Maybe we should.”
* * * *
“I would have been happy to throw together a meal,” Tamara said as she scanned the menu. “I’m not used to eating out all that much.”
Henry raised one eyebrow as he met his brother’s gaze. “We have a better use for your energy in mind than cooking, Itty,” he said.
“Well, I did enjoy the last meal we ate here. What are you guys going to have?”
“You can never go wrong if you choose the special,” Morgan said.
“That’s what I was thinking.” Henry set his menu down. They were early for the dinner crowd, so the restaurant was only about half full. He’d been out of the country when Kelsey had come to Lusty and opened her restaurant. The first time he’d stepped into the place was after she’d already married his cousins. He’d have eaten here at least once a week out of family loyalty even if the food wasn’t the best restaurant fare he’d ever had.
“The special was fried chicken, wasn’t it?” Tamara closed her menu and set it down. “That does sound good. And since you do have a better use in mind for my energy that will probably be at least as vigorous as this afternoon’s workout, I don’t have to worry about the calories.” She looked up, and Henry could see her gaze go to the front windows. “Hey, isn’t that your brother?”
Since he had more than one, Henry turned to follow Tamara’s gaze. Adam strolled down the sidewalk toward the restaurant. He wasn’t surprised when Lusty’s sheriff came in and headed straight for them.
“Ma’am, are these disreputable characters bothering you?” Adam greeted Tamara.
“No, they’re harmless,” she said.
“Hey, I take exception to being thought of as harmless,” Henry said.
“Me, too,” Morgan agreed. “Just wait until we get you home.”
Adam chuckled as he pulled out the last chair at the table and made himself comfortable.
Henry met his gaze and got a bad feeling. He opened his mouth to object, but Adam shook his head.
Ginny Rose approached their table, carrying the tray of drinks—sweet tea—they’d ordered. Henry noticed her slight stumble when she saw Adam.
“Here you go,” she said as she set the drinks down.
“Hello, Ginny.”
No doubt about it, his brother’s voice dipped to a gentler level when he addressed the waitress.
“Good afternoon, Sheriff.”
When Adam continued to stare at her, she blushed, then said, “Adam.” She cleared her throat. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“Did you make the coffee?”
“Yes, I did. Just a few minutes ago.”
“Then I’ll have some of that, as you make a fine cup of coffee.”
“Of course. I mean, thank you. I mean, um, I’ll just go get it.”
Henry thought if her face got any redder she might be in danger of having a stroke. He flicked a glance at Morgan and saw his brother was watching the interaction between their brother and the shy waitress with interest, too.
Adam’s gaze followed Ginny as she went over to the beverage area. When she returned with his coffee, he thanked her, which only seemed to fluster the woman even more.
“If y’all are ready to order?”
They did, with Adam declining to order a meal but still watching her every move.
Henry thought Ginny’s retreat to the kitchen could be characterized as an escape.
Adam turned his attention to Tamara. “Ms. Jones, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions about the plane you flew into town in?”
Henry watched Tamara stiffen. “The Piper? I don’t know if I can give you a lot of answers, Sheriff, as that plane and I hadn’t been acquainted for long.”
“How did you come to be flying it, then?”
“Damn it, Adam.” Henry gave his brother as cold a stare as he could muster. There’d been a time when that look would have been enough to have his
