Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. “I forgot all about that. Then I’m sure that’s where they are.”

“You want me to take a ride downtown, bring them in for curfew violation?”

She chuckled. “No, though it would be hilarious. I can just see the look on Mom’s face. Busted.” Lauren dissolved in laughter. “She’s so proper.”

Brent laughed with her. “Yes, they’re old-fashioned, but good people.”

“I think so,” she said.

“Just like their daughter.”

“Brent, please,” she said, knowing where the conversation would go if she didn’t stop it now.

“So, how is Seattle?” he asked.

Glad he changed the topic, she said, “It’s beautiful. I’m looking at the Space Needle as we speak. The view from the penthouse I’m staying in is out of this world; you should see it.”

“Maybe I will someday. With you.”

“Maybe,” she said, then decided to steer their conversation in a totally different direction. “Brent, do you remember Lee Hessinger? We went to high school with her.”

“Absolutely. She’s a knockout, works at the post office, though I haven’t seen her there in a while. Why do you ask?”

“She has a fifteen-year-old daughter, Charlotte. I’ve sort of taken her under my wing. Lee has leukemia, and she’s in the hospital waiting to have a bone-marrow transplant.”

“Damn, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize she was sick, but it explains why I haven’t seen her at the post office. So, is she on a transplant waiting list?”

“Her daughter’s a match. I don’t have all the details, but Charlotte has to stay in the hospital for a few days, just to make sure she isn’t sick or has the flu, something like that.”

“What can I do to help?”

This is the Brent she adored, always quick to step in when he was needed. Obviously, he was the sheriff, so helping people was part of his DNA, as it was of her own.

What did she want him to do? “I may be out of town a few days longer than I’d originally planned. I wanted to see Charlotte before she went into the cancer-center hospital in Chapel Hill where they’ll do the transplant, but once she’s there, she’ll be in isolation for a few weeks. I don’t know how you feel about this, but I want someone to know, in case—well, in case something were to happen to me.”

“Lauren, don’t talk that way; you’re fine.”