“Okay, but just think about this for a second, please, and don’t hate me for asking. Did you ever stop to think that the only reason you were in danger in the first place—at least as a kid—was because you were around Cam?”

I waited his requested second only because he was married to my best friend and I’d loved his. “No, Pat. I get that you might not understand this, but I’m his, he’s mine, and that’s not going to change. Ever. And I guess you have to choose between joining the rest of the old Alba gossips at the barbershop or opening your mind about Cam. Remember just how much Sullivan loved him. And no, he didn’t get Sully killed. By the time Cam got there, he’d already been shot. That”—I held up two fingers—“is now two, because that’s none of your business, either, but I know how much you miss Sully.”

Pat swallowed, and after what might have been the longest minute of my life, he finally nodded. “How’s the mine coming along?”

Thea visibly relaxed.

I took the olive branch and ran. “Good. They’re on track to have the 1880 tunnel open all the way to the third ventilation shaft by the Fourth of July. Cam figured that one would be the biggest draw. The rest of that tunnel and the other two will have to wait for next season.”

“That’s incredible. The Historical Society council was thrilled when they heard there would be a soft opening this year.”

“By thrilled, he means the clapping exceeding golf level,” Thea added as Tillie arrived with the food.

She juggled the plates with a dexterity I envied, then looked at me after setting my burger and fries in front of me. “You sure like the burgers and fries, huh, Willow?”

“Yep.” I reached for the ketchup. There was zero chance I was letting her get under my skin.

“I was just thinking it must be hard to stay in shape, seeing as you sit all day with your art stuff, right?” Her smile was faker than her eyelashes. “It must add up quick.”

“Oh, don’t worry about Willow.” Thea chuckled. “She gets plenty of workout time. At night. At Cam’s. You know…with Cam.”

My teeth sank into my bottom lip to keep a straight face, but Pat didn’t bother hiding his sputtering laugh. Progress. A few weeks ago, he would have seethed at Thea’s implications.

Tillie gave Thea a look that could have curdled milk.

“True,” I jumped in for fear that Tillie would come across the table at my friend. “And in fact, I was heading up to see him after this. Would you mind putting in an order now so it will be hot when we’re ready?”

Still glaring at Thea, Tillie took out her notepad and pen. “What would he like?”