She was wearing her bathrobe over a pair of cotton pajamas, there were fluffy slippers on her feet, and her head bulged with pink foam curlers.

She helped herself to coffee, gently hushed Bandit and Smoky, and joined Cord at the table, motioning for him to sit back down as she settled herself in the chair to his right.

“Is something wrong?” Cord asked. He’d never seen Tina dressed—or not dressed—like that, let alone with curlers in her hair and her face bare of makeup. “Mitch is okay?”

“Mitch is fine, and so is Carly, not that you asked about her,” Tina replied, sounding a shade terse.

“I was about to!” he insisted.

“I’m here because I might not have a chance to talk to you once the day gets started, what with your chores and the new client coming and all.”

Cord wasn’t all that reassured since Tina could have called him. Under different circumstances, the pajama tableau might have seemed amusing, but he’d begun to feel a little anxious. “Is this about Carly? Did something happen?”

“No,” Tina answered, sharpening the word to a fine point. “Nothing happened. The poor girl took a hot bath last night, crawled into bed and fell asleep right away. In fact, she’s probably still sleeping.”

“Did she tell you anything?”

“No,” Tina repeated. Maybe the coffee was mellowing her out a little. “But she did tell me, before her bath, that it would be all right if I washed some of her clothes. I asked her first, of course.”

“Tina. What’s the problem? Is there a problem?”

“This coffee is terrible,” Tina said, before going back to the pot for a refill.

“Damn it, Tina,” Cord growled once she sat down again. “What are you getting at?”

Tina sniffed, as if she’d taken offense, then relented. Slightly. “Everything that child owns is in that awful backpack of hers. I had to open it if I was going to do her laundry, didn’t I?”

Cord said nothing.

“Anyway, Carly needs new clothes. Especially underwear.”

“Is that what you came here to say? That Carly needs some decent clothes? Hell, I could have told you that last night. You saw what she was wearing!”

Tina puffed up with annoyance. “Will you just shut up and listen, Cord Hollister? Or are you going to keep interrupting me?”

Cord drew a deep breath, let it out slowly. Relaxed his shoulders. “I’m listening,” he said, pleasant as could be.

He’d just remembered that J.P. had invited himself and Eli to supper tonight. They were supposed to make a plan regarding Carly.

He’d told J.P. to bring food, but that didn’t mean he would. Cord figured he’d have to prevail on Tina for help with the barbecue supplies. Before he could mention it, though, she returned to their original discussion.