Alex turned in the direction Pat Chastain had indicated and
located the fourth man, whom she hadn't noticed until now.
Flaunting etiquette, he was still slouched in a chair in the
corner of the room. Scuffed cowboy boots were crossed at
the ankles, their toes pointing ceilingward and insolently wagging
back and forth. His hands were loosely folded over a
western belt buckle. He unlinked them long enough to raise
two fingers to the brim of a cowboy hat. "Ma'am."
"Mr. Lambert," she said coolly.
"Here, sit yourself down," Chastain offered, pointing her
toward a chair. "Did Imogene offer you some coffee?"
"Yes, but I told her that I didn't care for any. I'd like to
get to the purpose of the meeting, if we could."
"Sure enough. Junior, pull that other chair over here. Angus."
Chastain nodded for the older man to sit back down.
When everyone was reseated, the district attorney returned
to his chair behind the desk. "Now, Miss-- Well, I'll be
damned. During all the introductions, we failed to get your
name."
Alex held center stage. Four pairs of eyes were trained on
her, curiously waiting to hear her name. She paused for dramatic
effect, knowing that divulging it would cause a profound
reaction. She wanted to witness and catalog their
individual reactions. She wished she could see Reede Lambert
better. He was sitting partially behind her, and the cowboy
hat hid all but the lowest portion of his face.
She took a breath. "I'm Alexandra Gaither, Celina's
daughter."
A stunned silence followed the announcement.
Pat Chastain, befuddled, finally asked, "Who's Celina
Gaither?"
"Well, I'll be a sonofabitch." Angus flopped backward in
his chair like a collapsing inflatable toy.
"Celina's daughter. My God, I can't believe it," Junior
whispered. "I can't believe it."
"Somebody want to fill me in, please?" Pat said, still
confused. Nobody paid him any attention.
The Mintons openly stared at Alex, searching her face for
resemblances to her mother, whom they had known so well.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed that the toes of
Lambert's boots were no longer wagging. He drew his knees
in and sat up straight.
"What on earth have you been doing with yourself all
these years?" Angus asked.
"How many years has it been?" Junior wanted to know.
"Twenty-five," Alex answered precisely. "I was only two
months old when Grandma Graham moved away from here.''
"How is your grandma?"
"She's currently in a Waco nursing home, dying of cancer,
Mr. Minton.'' Alex saw no merit in sparing their sensibilities.
"She's in a coma."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Thank you."
"Where have y'all been living all this time?"
Alex named a town in central Texas. "We lived there all
my life--at least, as far back as I can remember. I graduated
high school there, went to the University of Texas, and then,
straight into law school. I passed the bar a year ago."
"Law school. Imagine that. Well, you turned out fine,
Alexandra, just fine. Didn't she, Junior?"
Junior Minton turned on his charming smile full blast. "I'd
say so. You don't look a thing like you did last time I saw
you," he told her teasingly. "Best as I recall, your diaper
was wet and you didn't have a single hair on your head."
Considering the reason for this prearranged meeting, his
flirting made Alex uneasy. She was glad when Pat Chastain
intervened again.' 'I hate to butt into such a touching reunion,
but I'm still in the dark."
Angus enlightened him. "Celina was a classmate of Junior's
and Reede's. They were best friends, actually. Rarely
did you see one of them without the other two when they
were in high school. Crazy kids."
Then, his blue eyes turned cloudy and he shook his head
sorrowfully. "Celina died. Tragic thing." He took a quiet
moment to collect himself. "Anyway, this is the first time
we've heard a word about Alexandra since her grandma,