He might be able to assist you as soon as he gets back from helping his sister move to Utah.”
“When will that be?”
“Middle of next week, I think.”
Unfortunately, Maverick had only given her two weeks to meet the demands, and if the claims were true, she needed to find out as soon as possible. Brandee ground her teeth and weighed her options.
“Are the newspaper archives here?”
The curator shook his head. “They’re over at the library on microfiche.”
“Thanks for your help.” Brandee gave Reuben a quick nod before exiting the building and crossing the street.
The library was a couple blocks down and it didn’t make sense for her to move her truck. She neared Royal Diner and her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten breakfast. As impatient as she was to get to the bottom of Maverick’s claim, she would function better without hunger pangs.
Stepping into Royal Diner was like journeying back in time to the 1950s. Booths lined one wall, their red faux leather standing out against the black-and-white-checkerboard tile floor. On the opposite side of the long aisle stretched the counter with seats that matched the booths.
Not unexpectedly, the place was packed. Brandee spotted local rancher and town pariah, Adam Haskell, leaving the counter toward the back and headed that way, intending to grab his seat. As she drew closer, Brandee noticed a faint scent of stale alcohol surrounded Haskell. She offered him the briefest of nods, which he didn’t see because his blue bug-eyes dropped to her chest as they passed each other in the narrow space.
Once clear of Haskell, Brandee saw that the spot she’d been aiming for was sandwiched between an unfamiliar fortysomething cowboy and Shane Delgado. Of all the bad luck. Brandee almost turned tail and ran, but knew she’d look silly doing so after coming all this way. Bracing herself, she slid onto the seat.
Shane glanced up from his smartphone and grinned as he spotted her. “Well, hello. Look who showed up to make my morning.”
His deep voice made her nerve endings shiver, and when she bumped her shoulder against his while sliding her purse onto the conveniently placed hook beneath the counter, the hairs on her arms stood up. Hating how her body reacted to him, Brandee shot Shane a sharp glance.
“I’m not in the mood to argue with you.” She spoke with a little more bluntness than usual and his eyes widened slightly. “Can we just have a casual conversation about the weather or the price of oil?”
“I heard it’s going to be in the midfifties all week,” he said, with one of his knockout grins that indicated he liked that he got under her skin. “With a thirty percent chance of rain.”
“We could use some rain.”
Heidi dropped off Shane’s breakfast and took Brandee’s order of scrambled eggs, country potatoes and bacon. A second later the waitress popped back with a cup of coffee.
“Everything tasting okay?” Heidi asked Shane, her eyes bright and flirty.
“Perfect as always.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
When she walked off, Brandee commented, “You haven’t taken a single bite. How do you know it’s perfect?”
“Because I eat breakfast here twice a week and it’s always the same great food.” Shane slid his fork into his sunny-side up eggs and the bright yellow yolk ran all over the hash on his plate.
Brandee sipped her coffee and shuddered.
“What’s the matter?” Shane’s even white teeth bit into a piece of toast. He hadn’t looked at her, yet he seemed to know she was bothered.
“Nothing.” Brandee tried to keep her voice neutral. “Why?”
“You are looking more disgusted with me than usual.” His crooked smile made her pulse hiccup.
“It’s the eggs. I can’t stand them runny like that.” The same flaw in human nature that made people gawk at car accidents was drawing Brandee’s gaze back to Shane’s plate. She shuddered again.
“Really?” He pushed the yolk around as if to torment her with the sight. “But this is the only way to eat them with corn-beef hash.”
“Why corn-beef hash and not biscuits and gravy?”
“It’s a nod to my Irish roots.”
“You’re Irish?”
“On my mother’s side. She’s from Boston.”
“Oh.” She drew out her reply as understanding dawned.
“Oh, what?”
“I always wondered about your accent.”
“You thought about me?” He looked delighted.
Brandee hid her irritation. Give the man any toehold and he would storm her battlements in a single bound.
“I thought about your accent,” she corrected him. “It has a trace of East Coast in it.”
Shane nodded. “It’s my mom’s fault. Even after living in Texas for nearly forty years, she still drops her r’s most of the time.”
“How’d your mom come to live in Texas?”
Even as Brandee asked the question, it occurred to her that this was the most normal conversation she and Shane had ever had. Usually they engaged in some sort of verbal sparring or just outright arguing and rarely traded any useful information.
“She came here after college to study oil reserves and met my dad. They were married within six months and she’s been here ever since.” Shane used his toast to clean up the last of the egg. “She went back to Boston after my dad died and stayed for almost a year, but found she missed Royal.”
“I’m sure it was you that she missed.”
Shane nodded. “I am the apple of her eye.”
“Of course.” Brandee thanked Heidi as the waitress set a plate down on the counter. With the arrival of her breakfast, Brandee had intended to let her side of the conversation lapse, but something prompted her to ask, “She didn’t remarry?”
Never in a million years would Brandee admit it, but Shane’s story about his mother was interesting. Shane’s father had died over a decade earlier, but Elyse Delgado had accompanied her son to several events at the TCC clubhouse since Brandee had bought Hope Springs Ranch. Her contentious relationship with Shane caused Brandee to avoid him in social situations and she’d never actually spoken to his mother except to say hello in passing. Yet, Brandee knew Elyse Delgado by reputation and thought she would’ve enjoyed getting to know the woman better if not for her son.
“There’ve been a couple men she’s dated, but nothing serious has come out of it. Although she was completely devoted to my father, I think she’s enjoyed her independence.”
“I
