his first real look at her. A pretty woman, with light reddish-brown hair. She reminded him of his brother Rafe’s sisters-in-law, who all had varying shades of red hair. Some even had long curls like that.
The woman looked at the occupants of the table, settling on Travis. She smiled a very pretty smile. Travis relaxed. This woman wasn’t exactly intimidating. Now, the guy beside her—he was a different story. Hard as bricks and sober as a judge.
“Dr. Miranda Talley. I’m with PAVAD. This is my colleague, Supervisory Special Agent Allan Knight.”
Lacy shifted next to him, leaning forward as the woman looked toward her. “I believe we’ve met in St. Louis. At Payton Lucas’s baby shower?”
The woman’s smile widened. “Yes, of course. You’re friends with Carrie Lorcan and Paige Brockman. I work with Paige frequently. Knight here is…acquainted…with the Brockman brothers.”
Some of Travis’s tension lessened at the familiar names. Travis’s oldest brother, Marc, had married Paige Brockman’s sister, Ariella. His brother Rafe had married Carrie Lorcan’s sister.
One big happy family, and he liked it that way.
“All this is fine and dandy, but can we get down to business? Why were we brought here?” the man in a business suit asked.
“Don’t mind him; I suspect he’s chronically cranky.” Dr. Talley smiled at one of the waitresses. “I’m starving, Darcey. I’ll owe you if you—”
“Move you to the front of the line? You know what Grandma will say. No special privileges for family. You can wait your turn. Consider it punishment for not calling ahead. One of us would have stayed behind to get you.”
“I think she’ll understand this once. Help your favorite cousin out.”
Dr. Talley sank into the chair next to Clint. Knight followed her, sitting absolutely straight in the chair. He reminded Travis of his brother Rafe before Rafe’s hellion of a wife had gotten ahold of him and made him a better man. Starchy and precise. And pissed off at the world. Of course, Rafe’s anger had been due to trauma. Travis understood that a little more now than he had at first. Almost losing Lacy had made it clear.
Dr. Talley turned toward the sheriff and Clint. “So what’s going on here? This seems like a strange little mashup.”
Clint leaned forward. “I’m the one who requested you, Randi.”
“I figured as much.”
“We’ll talk more in my office,” the sheriff said. “I don’t think our business needs mentioned here. No offense to your family, Dr. Talley.”
“Please, it’s Randi, Joel. You know that. The first guy I ever kissed was Levi, after all. And you’re the one who caught us on your daddy’s couch—just in time.”
“Who you dumped for Clint here,” one of the waitresses said, putting a cup of iced tea in front of Dr. Talley. “Grandma and Daddy were scandalized. Especially Daddy. How dare you break it off with a Masterson for a Gunderson. The scandal! I tried to tell them you weren’t going to marry a Masterson, a Gunderson, or a Tyler, but…”
“Go away, Marin. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Whatever. But your aura is glowing yellow again. You should really take care of that.”
“Go away.” Dr. Talley was calm, easy. Confident. She waited until the waitress disappeared. “Sorry about that. There’s a reason I went into abnormal psychology—mostly to deal with my younger sisters and my cousins.”
Knight practically growled. The guy had a real impatient streak. “Can we stay on task here, Dr. Talley?”
Dr. Talley grabbed her bag, then promised yet another waitress they’d talk later, then stood. “Well, then. Time to get this party started. I want answers. I’ve waited fourteen years to find out what happened to Monica Beise’s family. No time like the present to get started. Then I’ll get Knight here back to the inn so he can tuck himself in for his nine o’clock bedtime. He apparently gets cranky as the sun goes down.”
8
Dr. Miranda Talley was going to be a real pain in his ass. The sunny cheer already grated.
Knight finished his dinner without a word, letting her and Gunderson talk quietly. Gunderson was showing Dr. Talley photos of a pretty, blond baby girl. Talley was cooing, leaning against Gunderson’s shoulder. Like she’d sat there three thousand times before. No doubt she had. He wasn’t stupid. Gunderson and Talley had slept together. It was in the way they looked at each other.
Knight studied her over the top of his hamburger and fries, trying to figure out if that was true.
Shame hit him. He knew he was being an ass. He hadn’t missed the looks