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As soon as they were alone, his friend leaned forward. “How are you? I heard they kept you in debrief for a few weeks.”
“I’m okay, Jeremy. Standard operating procedure. It hasn’t fully hit me yet that I’m done with that life.” He shrugged. “How are you? Any trouble kicking free from your employer?”
“Not really. As you say, S.O.P. You know the stats as well as I do. There are only so many years one can go under, play that game, and stay alive. Or stay sane.”
“Who the fuck says either one of us is sane?”
Jeremy met his gaze. The man’s green eyes fairly laughed. “You’ve got me there.”
A few seconds later, the waitress returned and set a cup of coffee and a small basket with creamers in front of Jeremy. “Here you are, sir. Do y’all need more time to decide what you’ll have?”
“I’m ready. Jeremy?”
Jeremy nodded. “I’m going to have a hamburger with bacon and cheese and fries, please.”
The woman made note then turned to Marc.
“I’ll have the taco soup and the pulled pork sandwich.”
“Do you want fries with that?”
“Sure. I’ll live life on the edge for a change.” He thought Jeremy was going to choke. Marc hadn’t intentionally timed his quip with Jeremy’s first sip of his coffee. It just worked out that way.
Their waitress smiled, even if she didn’t understand the joke. She scooped up the menu and headed off, likely to put in their orders.
“So, how long do you think we have to wait?” Marc sat back, actually feeling relaxed, and waited for his friend to answer. This might be his hometown, but Jeremy had been here most recently.
“Did you notice the cameras?” Jeremy asked.
“I did. Two up high at each entrance to the parking lot. They looked high tech, and that’s no surprise. Likely feed into a computer recognition program, probably installed in the sheriff’s office.”
Jeremy nodded. “My assessment as well. I would say, since we’re both driving our own personal vehicles, that we will probably be interrupted before we’ve finished our lunch.”
Minutes. Mere minutes until the next step would be taken. Before Marc could internalize that, before he could even begin to figure out what his reaction was going to be, or wonder who’d come to meet them, the waiting ended.
The door to the roadhouse was pulled open, and two men entered. A couple of formidable looking alpha-dogs whipped off their sunglasses and began to scan the crowd.
They spotted Marc and headed straight for him. The man in uniform was accompanied by another man, one Marc hadn’t seen in years. When he’d taken off, first to Waco, and then for parts not reported, this man, this oldest brother, had been in Chicago. And since he didn’t do anything without his next oldest brother, Marc took his presence in Lusty for a good sign.
Looks like I’m not the only one of Pamela Jessop’s chicks to come home to roost.
Marc got to his feet because his brother had just stopped walking, leaving a few feet between them.
“Son of a bitch.” That was all Dr. Robert Jessop said, but it was the tone and the smile and the slight misting of his eyes that mattered.
“Hey, big brother. Long time no see.”
“Jerk.” And then Marcus Jessop was yanked into his brother’s arms for a hug that was long overdue. It lasted more than a few seconds, and Marc felt his own eyes sting.
“Why am I not surprised to see the two of you together?” Sheriff Adam Kendall asked. He moved out of the way as their waitress arrived with a platter of food.
“Oh, hey, Adam. Dr. Robert.” The young woman sounded surprised to see them and likely surprised by the way Robbie still had his arm around Marc’s shoulders. She’d probably seen that hug, too. That stuff doesn’t matter. I’m home.
“Hey, Bailey. Robbie and I will have some sweet tea, please.”
“Sure thing. Just let me set these lunch plates out.” Marc noticed that she gave him and Jeremy a more thorough looking over. Curiosity fairly shimmered in her gaze, but she didn’t ask who they were.
She set down their meals, and Robert signalled Marc to slide in and get eating. “You’re damn skinny, little brother.”
