Page 49

Something in the room shifted.

Maybe it was only me.

Judy walked into the Last Stand Tavern with two men behind her.

She wore dark pants, a white shirt, and a black jacket with a badge clipped near her waist. Her dark hair had been pulled into a low knot. Sunglasses rested on top of her head.

She looked nothing like the seventeen-year-old girl I remembered.

And exactly like her.

The softness had sharpened.

Her shoulders were straighter. Her expression was controlled, and her eyes moved across the tavern before she took another step.

Doorways.

Windows.

People.

Exits.

She studied the room the way I did.

Whatever she had spent the last eighteen years doing, it had taught her to watch everything.

One of the men behind her carried an evidence case. The other looked at the food on a nearby table with such longing that it proved he was hungry.

Rylie moved first.

“Judy!”

Judy turned.

Surprise broke through her professional expression.

“Rylie?”

They met near the door and hugged.

Judy held on for only a second, but when she stepped back, she smiled.

The years disappeared from her face.

I remembered that smile.

I remembered wanting to see it again.

That had been a long time ago.

Trigger joined them.

Rylie kept one hand on his arm.

“This is my husband, Trigger.”

Judy looked at him.