Edward had known it would only be a matter of time before it came up, but even he was surprised by the venue.

They walked out to the church steps and down toward the parking lot. He aimed for the car, preferring to avoid the topic.

But Abigail wasn’t having it. She planted herself in their path. “Heaven knows we’ve tried over the years. Tried to force her to see the error of her ways. She has no call to go stirring up painful memories for a lark. She needs to grow up and get serious.”

Edward shook his head. “She’s a grown woman, Abigail. It’s not my place to get in the middle of this.” Nor was it theirs. But he’d been blessed enough to have never lost a child so he had a difficult time saying that part aloud.

“She’s shaming this family by siding with his people.”

Polly’s pretty green eyes narrowed and her grip on his arm tightened. “Now, Mrs. Lassiter, I surely do hope you don’t really feel that way. Why your Caroline is such a beautiful, successful young woman. Family minded. Sometimes our loved ones have opinions we don’t agree with, but we love them just the same.”

Abigail took Polly’s measure. Polly was no slouch herself though, and gave Abigail a similar look. Abigail broke her gaze first as she sniffed. “She should show her love by not demeaning the murder of her mother. You and Edward are good influences on her. I’m simply asking him to exert some of that in the right direction so she can have a home in this town.”

“We’re glad to have her on board at the firm. And most assuredly happy to have her in town. She’s an asset to us and I hope we can be one to her as well. It was very nice to chat with you both, but Polly and I need to get home. We’ve got kids and grandkids coming over for lunch.” Edward kissed Abigail’s cheek and squeezed James’s shoulder and firmly stepped away, guiding his wife toward the car.

He had some thinking to do because this situation wasn’t going away. He liked Caroline, and he knew she’d be in for a bumpy road as she settled back into Petal.

Chapter Four

“Ready to head to the courthouse?” Edward paused in her doorway. She’d been there since about seven and had already put the cases and files in order and begun to get her schedule organized.

She stood, grabbing her suit jacket and sliding it on before hoisting the strap of her bag onto a shoulder. “Yes. Thank you.”

Edward, Peter and Justin had all offered to let her come along as they went to the courthouse, and she’d eagerly accepted. It was good to get to know what their schedules looked like when they were working and to be introduced to people that way. They tended to see you as a colleague that way instead of perpetually the new girl.

Edward was the only one in the firm who currently practiced criminal law so he also offered to take her to the jail. Given the firm’s location and the types of cases she’d most likely get, she’d end up at one of the local county lockups and some of the outlying city jails. Occasionally she’d need to go to one of the over thirty prisons in the state. But she knew a few of them pretty well already, especially the Georgia Diagnostic Classification State Prison where her father had been on death row for fourteen years.

As they walked, Edward motioned across the street. “How about you let me take you to lunch afterward? It’s meatloaf sandwich day at the Sands, and chances are better than even that there’ll be cherry pie.”

“I haven’t been there in ages.” The diner had dominated Main Street in Petal since before her parents had been born. It had also been the chief competition to her parents’ family-style diner and café out on the main highway.

So many memories greeted her every single day she woke up back home in Petal. Which seemed stupid when she’d been back to visit at least twice a year since she left. It wasn’t like she’d totally left it behind.

Edward’s eyes went kind. “We can go elsewhere if you like.”

“No. No I’m fine. It’s not like I can avoid going to diners my whole life. Anyway, diners are the best source for gravy and gravy-related products. Like I’m giving that up?”

At the end of the block, they paused at a hail for Edward.

Edward smiled as he turned to face the living incarnation of every single hot-cop fantasy she’d ever had.

“Hey, son.”

Edward hugged his oldest son and turned to Caroline. “Caroline Mendoza, this is my son Shane. He was recently elected police chief here after running the sheriff’s office for years. Shane, this is Caroline, though you might know her from school.”

He shook her hand as he gave her a once-over with cop eyes. Albeit gorgeous ones. She was used to cops looking at her like that, especially if they were just meeting her in her official capacity. Over time she’d made friends with a lot of the cops she dealt with after they got to know her and realized she wanted justice just as much as they did. She was fair, though, without vanity she could say she was damned good at her job. But she didn’t cheat or lie to win, and despite its failings, she did believe in the system.

Shane Chase was a cop, and she was not only a defense attorney, but new to his town and to his dad’s firm. He’d suspect her until she proved she was worthy of his trust, and she was all right with that.

“I think I was too far ahead of her in school to have been there at the same time.” Shane turned his attention back to Caroline, and while it was clear he was still going to keep an eye on her, his expression was friendly. “Welcome back to Petal, Caroline. How are my dad and uncle treating you?”