Texas Proud and Circle of Gold (Long, Tall Texans #52) - Diana Palmer Page 0,23
the job. I offered, but they shut me up immediately.”
“They did? Why?” Mikey asked.
“They say my restaurant allowance is abused.”
They all looked at him. He was substantial, but streamlined just the same.
A corner of his mouth pulled down. “They say I eat too much. Hey, I’m a big guy. It takes a lot of food. Besides, I hear some of the best food in Texas is at that café in Jacobsville.”
“It is,” Paul agreed. “Everybody eats there.”
“So would I, if they’d let me. The boss said we needed somebody who liked salads and tofu.”
Now they all really stared at him.
He glowered back. “She’s a vegan,” he said with spirit. “She gets upset if anybody mentions a steak.”
“Tyranny,” Paul teased.
“Anarchy,” Mikey seconded.
“She should move back east, where she’ll have plenty of company,” Jon agreed. “I’m not giving up steaks, and I don’t care if the SAC is a vegan or not.”
“That’s what I told her,” McLeod replied. His black eyes sparkled. “Shut her up for ten minutes at least. But that’s when she assigned me to him,” he indicated Mikey. “She thinks it’s a mean assignment.” He chuckled. “I didn’t try to change her mind.”
“Good thing,” Jon said. “I know your boss. She has a mean streak.”
“She mustered out of the Army as a major,” McLeod replied. “Honestly, I think she believes she’s still in it.”
“They make good agency heads,” Jon said.
McLeod nodded. “But I’m still not eating tofu.”
They all laughed.
“What about Cotillo?” Mikey asked after a minute.
“Why does that name sound so familiar?” Paul wondered. Then his face cleared. “Of course. It’s that town across the border, you know, the one where an unnamed person that we all know offed the drug lord El Ladron and his buddies in a convoy.” The unnamed person was Carson Farwalker, now a doctor in Jacobsville, who’d thrown several hand grenades under El Ladron’s limo and was never charged.
“There’s a cactus called ocotillo,” Jon Blackhawk mused, “but that little town over the border was actually settled by an Italian family back in the late 1800s.”
“Interesting,” Mikey remarked. He sighed. “But the man is more worrisome than the town right now.”
Faces became somber.
“When our CI finds out anything, I’ll pass it on,” McLeod said. “Meanwhile, he’s got somebody watching Carrera down in the Bahamas.” He indicated Jon.
Jon nodded. “Our field office has him under surveillance. And Carrera has some protection of his own, for himself and Tony Garza. You know, just because Carrera went straight doesn’t mean he doesn’t still have some pretty formidable ties to his old comrades. We understand he has two of them staying in the house with Della, his wife, and his two little boys.”
“Two of the best,” Mikey agreed. “I know them from the old days.”
“Mikey,” Paul said with real affection, “you never left the ‘old days.’”
“Well,” Mikey said with a sigh, “we are what we are, right, Paulie?”
“Right.”
* * *
Bernie didn’t really know how to dress for a drive-in movie, so she settled for pull-on navy blue slacks topped with a blue-checked button-up shirt and a long blue vest that came midthigh. She thought about putting her hair up in some complicated hairdo, but she left it long and soft around her shoulders. She’d toyed with having it cut. It was hard for a woman with disabilities to keep it clean and brushed, but she couldn’t bear the thought of giving up the length. She had all sorts of pretty ribbons and ties to put her hair up with when she went to work. Even jeweled hairpins for special occasions. Not that there had been many of those, ever.
She glanced in the mirror and smiled at the excited, almost pretty girl in the mirror. She was going on a real date, with a man who made movie stars look ugly, and he liked her. She almost glowed.
There was a hard tap on the door. She got her coat and purse and opened the door. Mikey was wearing slacks and a designer shirt under a nice jacket. His shirt was blue, like hers.
He grinned at her. “Well, we seem to match.”
“I noticed,” she teased.
He gave her a thorough appraisal and felt his heart jump as he locked eyes with her. She was unique in his experience of women, which was extensive. She was so different from the aggressive, sensual women he’d liked in his youth. His tastes had changed over the years. Right now, Bernie was the sweetest thing in his life. He hoped he wasn’t putting her in danger