Eli chuckled at that. “Don’t borrow trouble, kid,” he counseled. “You’ll run into plenty without even trying.”

As they reentered the restaurant, the band was tuning up, and Carly was onstage, microphone in hand. Her proud parents, Cord and Shallie, sat at a nearby table, flanked by friends, all of them beaming up at her in happy expectation.

Eric gave his uncle one last rueful glance and went to join them. He and Carly had gotten off to a rocky start, since Carly apparently didn’t go for guys with criminal tendencies, but once Eric had straightened out, they’d gradually started spending more and more time together.

At last, Eli got a chance to speak to Brynne.

“I’m just here as a friend,” he joked, raising both hands, palms out.

Brynne smiled. “That’s too bad,” she said.

Eli was once again thoroughly taken aback. He couldn’t think of a damn thing to say—nothing sensible, anyhow.

“Looks like you’re on duty, all right,” she observed, taking in his uniform.

“Yep,” he agreed, loosening up a little now. “Took time to polish my badge for the occasion, though.”

That smile. Dear God, it should have been registered somewhere, if not as a lethal weapon then at least as an unfair advantage.

“I’m impressed,” Brynne said, and that rattled Eli even more than the smile had because he didn’t know if she was serious or pulling his leg. “Surely you can stay long enough to eat something and hear Carly sing. She’s really very good, as you probably know.”

Eli flung a glance toward the daughter that might have been his, but wasn’t. “She’s amazing,” he said. Then he turned his full attention back to Brynne, which was a semi-reckless thing to do, given how good she looked. “No time, I’m afraid. I’ve got to check something out.”

“Something to do with Eric?” Brynne asked, raising one perfect eyebrow.

Her lips glistened with a transparent pink gloss of some kind, and she smelled like wildflowers.

“Sort of,” he replied.

“Which means you can’t talk about it,” she guessed, smiling again.

“It’s no big deal,” he told her, hoping that was true. “Don’t go ruining your evening by worrying about it.”

“Can you come back at midnight?” Brynne asked.

The sudden change in subject matter surprised Eli. “I will if I can,” he said. He didn’t make promises he wasn’t sure he could keep, even small ones. “Right now, I’d better get going. I left Festus in the SUV, and he’ll be getting impatient—not to mention cold.”

Without a word, Brynne picked up a paper plate and began adding small bits of dog-friendly food to it—a tiny square of cheddar cheese, a few cocktail wieners, random party nibbles.