Page 24 of Stone Cold Sinner

“Nope. Don’t do it. You dip that first bite and give it a try first. If you hate it, I’ll leave you alone, but my money is on the life-changing experience you’re about to have.”

“Life changing, huh? Guess it can’t hurt… Or get any worse.”

Coy did as he was told, albeit with reluctance, and took a bite. Despite his efforts, he couldn’t help but grin. In an effort to hide his satisfied palate, he turned and looked out the window.

“I can see your stupid smirk in the side view mirror, Coy.” She snickered. “Told ya.”

“I have to give it to you. This is pretty good. Who would’ve thought,” he admitted, stuffing his face with another hearty bite. “Lola, do this?”

“You know Lola?”

“Nah, but I heard about her BLT. Best around. Guess that kid got somethin’ right.” Coy laughed.

“These things are famous around here. Only thing on the menu other than appetizers. On Christmas and Easter, you can order it with ham on it, too.” She laughed.

“Wow. That’s… very Coyote Creek.”

“Isn’t it, though?” She snorted as she continued to indulge. “Never thought I’d miss this place and didn’t realize I had until I came home.”

Coy watched as her eyes scanned the street ahead, an amused grin on her face and an approving sparkle in her eye.

“That’s right. You were gone quite some time, serving… what branch?” he asked.

“That’s classified,” she deadpanned.

“Classified. Wow. You did pretty well for yourself. But you know, I could probably find out where and what with a single phone call.”

“I’m sure you could, Stone. But you won’t.” She shot him a warning glare. “You know better.”

“That I do.” He snickered. “Always been a little afraid of you.”

“As you should be,” she teased.

“What brought you back here?” he asked, “Sounds like you had a good thing going for you.”

“A lot of things, really. Things I couldn’t manage from overseas anymore.”

“Okay, you were stationed overseas.” He nodded, tucking that bit of information away. “Noted. What kind of stuff? Family?”

“A whole lot of family stuff. First, it was my dad passing suddenly. It was so out of the blue. He was a relatively young guy, healthy as could be. I still don’t understand how a guy like him has a heart attack like that –– then a stroke while in the hospital.”

“I remember that and was sorry to hear. Such a tragic loss. I was overseas myself, or I would’ve returned for the funeral, but unfortunately, couldn’t get away.” Coy placed his hand on hers briefly as if offering sympathy and understanding.

“I know you would’ve. You two had a special relationship.”

“After my own dad passed, your dad sort of… took us all under his wing. Looked out for us.”

“He was your daddy's best friend their whole lives. He loved y’all like his own,” Kenzie shared. “He was proud of you. Said so, often, and also how much your Pop would’ve been proud.”

“Well, that’s nice to hear. I’m glad Cut had him. Don’t get me wrong — our Mama was a force and handled things pretty well after our Pop passed, but I know George Stoddard made sure they had everything they needed and saw to it we all stayed in line and went easy on Mama.”

“That sounds about right. Being the sheriff kind of helped him in that department where we were all concerned.”

“I reckon you’re right about that. And now you have his badge.” Coy pointed to the Sheriff’s badge resting on the center console of the car.

“When he passed, Uncle Glen was voted Sheriff. He was a shoo-in, given he’s daddy’s twin brother.”

“That’s why you came home? To inherit the badge from old Glen?”

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