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Her smile was quick and bright and her nervousness had vanished. “I’dloveto meet him,” she said. And she meant it, he could tell.
He took her arm gently, turning her toward his pickup truck parked by the curb. Tyler sat in the passenger side with his window rolled down, waving at them as they came closer. Colby stood outside the truck, leaning against the door and talking to Ty through the rolled-down window.
Jim walked up to the truck, met Colby’s speculative glance and sent him a quelling one in return. Colby stepped aside to give the space to Jim and Kara. “Tyler, I’d like you to meet Kara Brand. She and I went to high school together. Kara, this is my son, Tyler.”
“Hi!” Tyler said. He gave Kara a thorough looking over, from her toes to her head. “Can you make cookies?”
Colby tried to smother a chortle and failed. Then he stuck out a hand. “Colby Benton,” he said. “Just along for the heck of it.”
“Good to meet you, Colby.”
Jim watched Kara’s face as she turned her attention back to his son and then he got stuck there. The former tension, that frown of unease, was completely gone. She was relaxed now, open, and her smile was so sweet it melted his bones.
“Not only do I make cookies, I make the best cookies this side of heaven.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh. The only person in town who can make them better is my mom.”
“Chocolate-chip?” Tyler asked.
“They’re my specialty. If you’re going to be in town long enough, I’ll make a batch just for you.”
“That would be great,” Tyler said, his eyes wide. “Do you have a pony?”
“No. Why?”
Tyler pursed his lips in thought, then lifted his gaze to hers again. “Well, how ‘bout a dog?”
“I don’t have a dog of my own, but my sister has one. And it’s as big as a pony, come to think of it.”
Tyler grinned. He was leaning out the pickup window, and Kara bent closer to him. “Doyouhave a dog or a pony?” she asked.
“Not yet. That was cool the way my dad saved you, wasn’t it?”
“Itwascool,” she agreed. She straightened away from the truck and turned to Jim again. “I didn’t even thank you for that.”
“Don’t. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“No big deal,” Tyler repeated. “My dad saves people all the time.”
“Oh, does he now?” Kara’s eyes sparkled with amusement. Amazing how relaxed and at ease she became as soon as she turned her focus to his son, Jim thought again.
Tyler nodded. “Uh-huh. He’s a p’liceman. So’s Uncle Colby.”
Kara tipped her head to one side and looked at Jim as if seeing him for the first time. “Jimmy Corona, a cop? It fits.”
“You think so?” he asked, and when she nodded he asked, “Why?”
She shrugged and a hint of nervousness returned to those huge eyes. She’d done something to her hair, something that made him want to touch it to see if it was as soft and thick as it looked. It was shiny and the curls bounced when she moved.
“So, um... where are you staying while you’re in town?” she asked, not meeting his eyes.
“Boarding house. We checked in this morning.”
“Mama would skin me if I didn’t invite you to dinner,” Kara said. “She and your father went way back, you know. Always stayed in touch, even after he moved away. I heard he’d passed. I’m sorry.”
“He had a good life. I still miss him, though.” Jim glanced at his son, wishing his father had lived to see his grandchild. Then he brushed that thought away. “To tell you the truth, it would be good to see Vidalia and catch up with the gang.” The memories were flooding back now. The Brand girls, five of them as he recalled, all of them raised by a single mother. “How are your sisters doing?”
