• • •

“What are you doing here, Jimmy?” Monty asked. Gods, this was the worst possible place to have a family reunion. Bad enough to have his men witnessing this contretemps, but he didn’t want to speculate about what Burke was thinking. And he didn’t want to consider what the terra indigene thought about Jimmy showing up here with Sandee and the kids, Clarence and Fanny.

Jimmy had never done an honest day’s work in his life, preferring shady deals and manipulating people, but had managed to stay out of jail for the most part. Communication with Toland was spotty at best, and he didn’t think any cop from Lakeside would get much help from the Toland police force. Despite that, Monty didn’t think it would take Burke more than a day to pull enough strings to have a copy of Jimmy’s rap sheet. And if Burke couldn’t pull those strings, ITF Agent Greg O’Sullivan, nephew of Governor Hannigan, certainly could.

“Came to see family, like I said.” Jimmy’s smile widened as Twyla approached the table. “Mama. As pretty as ever.” He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. “Stand up, boy. Let your grandma have that seat.”

“I want a cookie,” Clarence said, eyeing the baked goods in the display case.

“I want a cookie too,” Fanny said.

“We should all have something,” Sandee said when Nadine approached the table. “I’ll have a diet soda and a piece of pie. What kind of pie you got today?”

“Sit down, Mama.” Jimmy resumed his seat. “CJ’s a big shot now, so he can treat.”

Monty watched the way Nadine looked at Jimmy and Sandee. Members of the HFL movement had burned her business and home to the ground and had intended to kill her in that fire. She should have received counseling. Instead she’d thrown herself into working with Tess, and there had been too many other crises to deal with since the fire, so he hadn’t thought about how well she had handled the trauma. Seeing the look in her eyes now, he braced to block an attack.

And then there was Tess. After that wave of dizziness, he didn’t dare look at her face, but looking toward her shoulder, he could see the red hair coiling.

“Sure,” Monty told Nadine. “My treat.”

“This time,” Tess said, her voice strangely harsh.

“No pie today,” Nadine said. “Have some cherry fruit tarts—and one raspberry tart left. No soda of any kind. No diet foods of any kind.”

“Well,” Sandee huffed. “What kind of place is this that you don’t sell diet?”

Tess laughed, a terrible sound. “You whine about not having a diet drink but you want to eat pie?”

“How about a cookie and a serving of milk for the children?” Monty suggested.

“I want—,” Clarence began.

“If you don’t want what is offered, you don’t have to eat it,” Twyla said. “But you don’t get anything else.”

“House rules, Mama?” Jimmy didn’t raise his voice, but his anger came through loud and clear. “You don’t have a say about my kids.”

“Cookie and milk or cookie and water,” Tess said, threads of black appearing in her hair. “This is my shop, and those are the choices I’m offering.”

She walked away. After a moment, Nadine went with her.

“Hey, you didn’t take my order,” Jimmy protested.

“If you value your life, don’t push her,” Monty whispered.

Sierra moved closer to the table but didn’t join them.

“Why are you here, Jimmy?” Monty asked again.

“You don’t care, so why are you asking? You warned Mama and Sissy to get out of Toland, even paid their way. But not a fucking word to me, CJ.”

“I was told there was no way to reach you,” Monty replied quietly, not looking at his sister. “No one had a working phone number.”

“You could have found me if you’d wanted to.”

“You would have wanted me to locate you through the Toland police?”

No answer.

“Got out of Toland before everything shut down,” Jimmy said conversationally, turning toward Twyla. “Thought we could stay in Hubbney, but too many people were scrambling for a place there.” Now he looked at Monty. “Heard you could put us up while I figure out what to do.”

When Monty didn’t say anything, Jimmy looked at their sister, and that look accused her of lying to him. Had Sissy lied or just misrepresented the living arrangements because she hadn’t understood the situation?

“Jimmy could stay with me,” Sissy said.

Twyla turned to look at her. “Child, you’ve got two single beds for the girls and a single bed for yourself. You’ve got a kitchen table and four chairs. So I guess Cyrus, Sandee, and the children could sleep on your living room floor, but that’s about all you have to offer right now.”

The look in Jimmy’s eyes was so ugly, Monty wondered if he’d escalated to physical abuse once Sissy had left home. Elayne hadn’t wanted to spend time with his family, so his time with Sissy had been limited to an occasional lunch or times when Lizzy had visited Grandma Twyla and Sissy was there with her girls. When she was with Mama or with him, Sissy was the strong, bright girl he remembered. But her response to Jimmy’s presence wasn’t healthy.

“What about you, Mama?” Jimmy turned to Twyla.

“I have an efficiency apartment. One room with a single bed.”