Page 81 of Christmas with Three Cowboys

“Beady, brown eyes and the kind of sneer that made your insides squirm,” Lyle groans and rolls his eyes. “Ugh, I know the guy. He used to run the laundromat up on Fourth Street. Where did hesay he knew you from?”

“He claimed to be our friend. Mine and Jake’s. Jake confirmed his story, so it was the two of them against me.”

Lyle shakes his head again, this time in sheer disgust. “Bruce used the laundromat as a front to move drugs through Lincoln. We all knew about the place. I stayed away because… well, you know…”

“How long have you been clean now?”

“Four years,” he says.

“I’m proud of you. I really am.”

“And I’m proud of you for doing what you’re doing now. It can’t be easy, especially with the cartel trying to slit your throat. Jesus, Melissa, you sure drew the short stick on this one.”

I shrug lightly. “It’s not like I even saw it coming.”

“Bruce was working with Jake. That much I can tell you for sure. If Jake was moving drugs for the cartel, then he must’ve passed them through Bruce’s laundromat more than once. They did business together. That’s why he testified against you.”

“He knew details about me,” I reply.

“He knew what Jake probably told him,” Lyle says. “I guess you were right about him. You have a better chance of getting the truth out of Laurel if you find her and give her a good shakedown. Bruce will never fold.”

“I agree. If he was in business with Jake, he certainly won’t want to cross the cartel.”

“But Laurel…”

“I might be able to persuade her. She’ll need some incentive, though.”

Lyle gives me a cold smirk. “Do your cool ranch bosses have friends in the Justice Department? ’Cause y’all can just offer her some kind of deal, like no jail time if she confesses to perjuring herself in court. It should be enough.”

“Enough to aid in my case, but not to exonerate me. I need to bring Jake down altogether. I need proof that he planned the entire operation to frame me.”

“Well, Laurel may be dangerously stupid by nature, but even she has her limits. She kept some kind of evidence of Jake’s evildoing as an insurance policy. That girl’s a rat. The streets raised her, the Framptons abused her… she’s learned how to cover her back over the years. Find her, Melissa. Find her, and you might get closer to what you need.”

“I can’t thank you enough, Lyle.”

“I wish I could do more.”

“You’ve done plenty.”

He glances back at the patio door. “My break is almost over. You should go back in. I’ll bring your dishes in just a bit, alright?”

“Okay. You take care of yourself, yeah?” I tell him. This is probably the last time we’re going to see each other for a while or maybe forever. “I’ll leave you my number, in case you ever want to reach out, in case you need anything.”

Lyle cups my cheek and gives me a soft, warm smile. “You take care of yourself first, honey. Don’t you worry about me. I made it this far, right?”

The rest of our lunch at the Troubadour is quiet but delicious. Once we’re done eating, we bid Lyle farewell and leave him a generous tip along with the tab, then head out.

With all the information we’ve gathered so far, Mitch and I decide to survey the cabaret neighborhood and see if we can get a line on Laurel. Maybe, like Lyle said, she’s down on her luck again.

“How does it feel meeting up with an old friend like Lyle?” Mitch asks as we’re cruising through the neighborhood in the late afternoon. It’s getting dark, and the street lamps have come on, casting their warm glow over the snow-covered streets. It’s getting colder, too, as the moon is swallowed by winter clouds.

“It was weird at first,” I say, comfortable in the passenger seat next to Mitch. “I felt guilty, to be honest, for leaving him behind, for letting life get between us. Lyle is a wonderful guy. Stayed true to himself despite his slipups. I’m just happy to see he made it and that he found balance and is doing better.”

“You’re doing better, too.”

“I’m serving what’s left of a five-year prison sentence cooking on a ranch,” I reply, then immediately burst into wholehearted laughter. “Granted, I’m also in love with three amazing men and trying not to get myself killed by the cartel. We can agree it’s sort of a mixed bag, right?”

“That’s one way of looking at things. Hold on,” Mitch replies and pulls over.

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