Page 182 of Taken Away

The woman slipped her sunglasses off with a practiced flick, tucking one arm into the neckline of her dress. Her eyes—sharp, bright blue, still devastating—swept the room like a spotlight.

“Well, hey there,” Anne Langford said, mouth curving into a slow smile. “Y’all still serve strangers in this place?”

Half the men in the room straightened before they realized they’d done it.

Red set his burger down very carefully.

“I’ll be damned,” he muttered under his breath.

Willow set the coffee pot back on its burner and came out from behind the counter, dish towel still slung over her shoulder.

“Anne McAllister Langford,” she said. “You march that Florida tan over here right now and hug my neck before I decide I’m seein’ things.”

Anne laughed—a warm, throaty sound that rolled through the café.

“Willow,” she said, gliding across the scuffed linoleum. “You got prettier and meaner. I’m so proud.”

Willow snorted and let herself be hugged.

Mary Lou pushed her chair back with a scrape and stood halfway.

“I knew it,” she said, voice wobbling. “I told June it was just a matter of time.”

June’s hand tightened around her coffee cup. “I didn’t say she’d never come back,” she murmured, eyes glued to Anne. “I said she’d make an entrance.”

Anne released Willow and turned toward their table.

“Mary Lou,” she said. “Still talkin’ more than you breathe?”

Mary Lou barked out a laugh. “You know I am.”

Anne bent and hugged her, bracelets clinking, her expensive perfume cutting through the smell of coffee and griddle grease.

“And June Wheeler,” Anne said, straightening. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Liar,” June replied.

Sam Talley tipped his cap from his stool.

“Anne,” he said. “Heard you were terrorizin’ the state of Florida.”

She flashed him a wink.

“Somebody’s gotta keep those golf course boys honest,” she said. “Might as well be me.”

Scout had stopped mid-bite, fork hovering over his plate of pancakes. At the window table, Luke had closed his file without realizing.

Red watched, jaw clenched around something that wasn’t quite a smile.

She crossed to the counter, heels clicking, and slid onto the empty stool between Red and Ned.

Willow poured a fresh mug of coffee and set it down in front of her.

“What can I get you?” Willow asked.

“A miracle,” Anne said. “But I’ll settle for a Blackwood Burger and whatever dessert my hips are gonna regret.”

“Burger and chocolate pie,” Willow said.