“Oh. My. Holy kamoley!” The clerk rose to her feet, cutting Sarah off, and was staring at Mick with a dawning smile on her face. Must be a fan, Mick thought. Sometimes being a famous director could be a pain in the ass, but in a circumstance like this it could be quite helpful. “Mick Talford . . . is that you?” She said it with a familiarity to her tone. As if she knew him.

Mick didn’t want to contemplate the possibility of his ugly past rubbing up against Sarah’s predicament, even peripherally. He was tempted to grab Sarah’s arm and haul her out of there, marriage license be damned, but he didn’t. He stayed put. “Sure is,” he said. “How are you doing?” A generic enough response. Covered all bases. He hoped he’d read the situation wrong and the clerk was indeed a movie buff.

“Look at you. All grown up, and my goodness you look fine.” Shit. “I haven’t seen you in a coon’s age. But I’ve been following you in the papers.” Maybe we went to school together? He stared at her hard, racking his memory bank but coming up blank. The woman was dressed in a paisley cotton dress, a white cotton sweater with the sleeves pushed up. Her face was pleasant enough. Forgettable. He’d almost swear he didn’t know her, but something about her voice niggled at him.

Sarah faced Mick. The hope and relief in her smile almost blinded him. “You guys know each other?”

The woman laughed, good humor dancing in her eyes. “He has no idea who I am. Do you, Mick?”

“Well, I . . .” There was no good way to answer that.

“That’s okay. You were young, and I . . .” Another hearty belly laugh tumbled out. “It would be an understatement to say I look a little different. Popping five kids out will do that to a woman.”

“Five kids?” Mick was stalling for time. “Incredible.”

“Yep.” She extended her left hand toward the bullet-resistant window and wiggled her fingers, the simple gold wedding band catching the light. “Got married to a real nice man. Has a steady job with NV, our electric utility company. You still don’t recognize me, do you? Want me to give you a hint.” She smiled big, and that’s when he noticed the missing molar and a memory flashed to him. In the party room at Desert Rose, a john had been throwing back drinks when Chastity approached. The guy flipped, hauled off, and decked her. Knocked out her tooth.

“Don’t need one,” Mick replied. “Good to see you, Chastity.”

Chastity’s grin grew even wider. “You do remember.” Her face lit up as if he had just given her a diamond necklace.

“Of course I do. Just took a minute to place you.”