Page 155 of Five Mountain Daddies

“Some kid youare.”

I go over and kiss her cheek. “At least I’m not asking formoney.”

She makes a face. “Yeah, you got that going foryou.”

“I’ll see youlater.”

“Yeah,yeah.”

I grab my purse and hurry back outside and down to my car. I get my phone out and call Wyatt. He answers on the secondring.

“Can we meet up?” I say tohim.

“Hello to you too,” he answers. “Yeah, we can meet up. I knew you couldn’t stayaway.”

“Cut it out, I’m serious. My mom said something justnow.”

“What is it?” heasks.

“I’ll tell you in person. Meet me at the Great American,okay?”

“Okay,” he says. “When?”

“Right now. Tenminutes.”

“See youthere.”

I hang up my phone and start my engine. I’m not sure if what I’m thinking makes any sense, so I have to run it by Wyatt. He’ll know what to make of this, ifanything.

But I can see this. I can see how this might make sense. I drive fast, heart beating hard, nerves running all along myskin.

10

Wyatt

Absolutely not.” I shake my head, not even considering it. “Noway.”

“Come on, Wyatt, Just listen.” Cora pleads withme.

“Listen, you saw what happened last night. You were rightthere.”

She rolls her eyes. “Iknow.”

“So how do you think this is a good idea?” Iask.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, hesitating a second. I take a look around the room. The Great American is crowded for a Sunday morning. The coffee’s hot, though, and Cora’s looking at me with that concerned expression. Like she thinks I’m an idiot for being cautious orsomething.

“Atticus went to my mom’s like a month before he was killed,” she tells me finally. “She says he was looking for money, like usual, but he said somethingstrange.”

That gets my attention. “What did hesay?”

“He said that he had a job coming, and that he could pay her back once it worked out. His girlfriend was there,too.”

“Kristi?” I cock my head, eyesnarrowing.

“Bingo. And she mentioned someone named ‘J’ taking care ofthem.”

I sigh. I don’t like where this is going, not at all. “And you think that’s Jaxson.” It’s a huge assumption based off of the memory of her drunk mother and an offhand comment by anaddict.

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