Page 94 of It Runs in the Family

He handed me the bag of donuts and my coffee, then pulled away from the window. “How do we get to Frontline Road?”

That was a great question. Frontline Road pretty much ran the width of the county. I should have asked Tim to be more specific.

“I don’t know. Let me text my cousin.”

I pulled out my phone and texted Tim.

Do you have more information about the woman on Frontline Road?

Not much. They’re being pretty quiet about it.

Do you know what area it’s in? It’s important.

If I get it, can I count on you to come to our Thursday meeting?

“Dammit.”

“What’s wrong?”

Boone pulled into a parking spot in the strip mall.

It was time to pull out the dirt I had on him.

If you don’t give me the location, I’ll tell Granny you’re the one who stole her last jar of pickles.

You don’t have to be a bitch, Iris. This is gonna take a few minutes.

I glanced up at Boone. “Tim’s getting it.”

He shifted the car into park and reached for the donut bag, pulling one out and taking a huge bite. “How is it you don’t know how to get to the road? I thought you’d lived here all your life.”

“I know how to get to the road, just not which part we need to go to.” Then the other part of his statement hit me. I turned to him and narrowed my eyes. “I never told you I’d lived here all my life.”

He let out a huff. “It’s not hard to figure out. Your grandmother and your ten million cousins live here.”

I snatched the bag and grabbed one of the donuts. “Shows what you know. I didn’t move here until I was five.”

He lifted his brow in question.

“My mother… she’s a bit of a free spirit.” I took a sip of my coffee and groaned with pleasure. “I’m not sure what Rise-n-Shine does, but they have the best coffee.”

Boone gave me an amused look. “You need to get out of Mesquite County, because this coffee is only slightly above average.”

“Yeah?” I said with a sneer. “It also doesn’t cost six dollars a cup.”

A smile spread across his face. “True.”

My phone vibrated with a text, and I glanced down at the screen.

Two miles east of the intersection at Hecker Road. Now put that pickle threat to rest. It’s getting old.

Like hell I would. It was the only threat I had to get information from him when he was reluctant. He might be a nutcase, but he was usually right about the things I asked him about.

Which made me wonder if I should give more credence to his conspiracy theories. But that was a worry for another day.

“I have the location. Two miles east of the intersection of Hecker and Frontline Road.”

Boone plugged it into his map app on his phone, his voice tight when he said, “That’s less than a mile from the Dalton County line.”