The Judge. Jan Hudson

      “Yep.”

      A few people were waiting for tables, but Frank waved to someone. “There are Dad and J.J. Come on, we’ll join them.”

      “Oh, I don’t want to horn in when you’re having lunch with your family.”

      “You wouldn’t be horning in. Come on.”

      He steered her to the table for four.

      J.J. and the older man stood as they approached, and Frank introduced Carrie to his father. Wes Outlaw was tall like his sons and she could see the family resemblance except that his dark hair was gray, his fingers were knobby and his waist had thickened a bit. He had the same great smile, and it flashed across his weathered face when he told her to call him Wes.

      “I was just telling Carrie about Mama’s great-uncle Heck.”

      “Ah, the cattle rustler,” Wes said.

      “And the moonshiner,” Carrie added.

      Wes grinned. “Nobody around here was bothered much by the moonshining—fact is, most folks bought a jug from him now and then, I understand. But stealing cows is serious business.”

      All three of the Outlaws were raconteurs, and they kept her entertained during lunch with funny stories about some of the lawless characters in the county’s history. They seemed to enjoy topping one another’s yarns.

      As they lingered over coffee and dessert, Carrie laughed as J.J. told in great detail about the night that a young man and his friends had a few too many beers and put a pig in the mayor’s Cadillac. “That pig made a big mess,” J.J. said.

      “It didn’t,” Carrie said, laughing.

      J.J. grinned. “It did. All over everywhere.”

      “I had a hard time,” Frank said, “keeping a straight face when those kids were brought before me.”

      “What did you do to them?”

      “Gave them a stern lecture and made them put in a lot of hours of community service.”

      Carrie glanced at her watch, then looked around the room. The place was almost deserted. “Sorry, but I have to go.” She reached for her wallet.

      “Today’s on me,” Frank said.

      “I’ll get the next one.” Why had she said that? What happened to the resolution that she wasn’t going to spend any more time with Frank Outlaw? She mentally shrugged. What was the harm? She enjoyed his company; she liked his family. No big deal. In a few weeks she’d be in West Texas or Oklahoma on her next project. She was going to take a page from Amanda’s book and live for the moment.

      She said her goodbyes and went to her room to work.

      “MIND IF I CATCH a ride back to the courthouse with one of you?” Frank asked over a second cup of coffee.

      “Be glad to drop you off,” his father said. “Say, I like your young woman. Seems to have a head on her shoulders.”

      “She’s not my young woman,” Frank told him. “She’s just someone in town for a few days to do some research.”

      “What kind of research?”

      “Genealogy,” J.J. said.

      “And titles and missing heirs,” Frank added.

      “Hmm,” Wes said, rubbing his mouth the way he always did when he was thinking. “What kind of titles?”

      “Land, I imagine. She spends a lot of time in the tax office.”

      “Did you invite her to go with us to the musical Saturday night?” J.J. asked Frank.

      “Uh, no.”

      “Why the hell not? She’s single, good-looking and fun to talk to. Ask her.”

      “I’ll think about it.”

      J.J. gave an exasperated snort. “I’m going to the kitchen to see Mary Beth.”

      Wes pushed back his chair. “You ’bout ready to go?”

      “Anytime. Just don’t you start on me.”

      “Start on you? About what, son?”

      “About Carrie.”

      His dad held up his hands in surrender. “I won’t say a word.”

      CARRIE WORKED in her room for the entire afternoon. There were some serious gaps in the information she’d gathered so far. She was going to have to run down some deeds, land titles and some missing heirs. She hadn’t lied about that to Frank. One of the tough things about her job was locating heirs when property owners died and didn’t leave a will. Texas had very specific guidelines about who inherited in such cases. Figuring out who owned what could get complicated.

      This part of her job required patience and persistence. It was often easier simply to talk to the existing landowners and get information to at least point her in the right direction, but since Uncle Tuck wanted things kept quiet as long as possible, she was handicapped in her search. If she ran into too many problems, she’d have to start questioning the locals. Maybe that’s where Millie the librarian might help.

      After working at her computer for several hours, Carrie felt as if she was going cross-eyed. She saved her work, then stretched and got up. No wonder her eyes were tired. It was growing dark. But at least her material was organized, and she was ready to start work at the county clerk’s office the next day.

      She thought about jogging, then remembered that this was the night Mary Beth taught aerobics. She ate an apple, washed her face, then changed into her sneakers and workout clothes.

      By the time Carrie arrived at unit two, several women had gathered.

      Mary Beth looked up and saw her. “Hi, Carrie. Come on in and let me get you acquainted with everybody.”

      She led her to two women and introduced her to Ellen, a blonde who was in real estate, and Dixie, a brunette who was in remarkably good shape for a mother of six children. Mary Beth said, “These two are my best buddies from high school. Can you believe that we used to be cheerleaders together?”

      Carrie laughed. “I was a high school cheerleader, too. It seems like eons ago.”

      She also met Dr. Kelly Martin, a stunning green-eyed redhead, whose long curls were held atop her head with a big yellow clip.

      “Dr. Kelly is the person you want to see if you break your leg or get the flu,” Mary Beth said. “The best doctor in Naconiche.”

      Dr. Kelly grinned and stuck out her hand. “Hi, Carrie. I hope you don’t need to see me professionally. Are you new in town?”

      “No, just visiting for a few weeks.” Carrie studied the doctor’s face. “You look very familiar to me. Have we met?”

      “I don’t know. I was just thinking the same thing. I grew up in Dallas. Did you?”

      Carrie shook her head. “Did you go to the University of Texas?”

      “Sure did.” She smiled knowingly, then mentioned the name of a sorority.

      Memories flashed through Carrie’s mind, and she smiled as well. “Kelly Martin. Now I remember. You were a year or two ahead of me. But your hair was long and straight then, and you wore glasses.”

      “I’ve had Lasik on my eyes, and I don’t have time anymore to blow-dry this mop into submission every morning. It’s great to see you again. You look gorgeous as always. It’s those eyes I remembered.” Kelly turned to Mary Beth. “Would you believe that Carrie and I were sorority sisters at UT years ago?”

      “You’re kidding! That’s wonderful.”

      “Are you going to be in town over the weekend?” Kelly asked Carrie.

      “Sure