Finally, she said, “That could put you in a very awkward position.”

“How do ya mean?”

Jessie stepped away from him and went to his freezer. She grabbed one of the pints of chocolate ice cream his sister kept there. She placed it in the microwave for fifteen seconds, grabbed a couple of spoons, and took the whole thing back to the kitchen table. She sat down, pulling her legs onto the chair. With a slight tilt of her head, she motioned for him to sit cattycorner to her.

“You met May’s daughter, Kristan, that night at the office.” She took off the top of the ice cream and immediately scooped up a spoonful.

“Yeah.”

“Danny isn’t her biological father. He met me and May when she was about seven months pregnant. Kristan’s real father wanted nothing to do with May or his child.”

“But now he’s back.”

“Now he’s back.”

She motioned for him to take some ice cream. He wasn’t a big fan of ice cream, but it was kind of like being around a smoker or a drinker. If you wanted them to talk, to give you information, you sometimes had to join in.

“If we thought he really wanted to know his daughter, the Pack wouldn’t have a problem. Danny probably wouldn’t be happy, but he’d follow my lead. But we don’t think that’s what this guy wants. We think he wants money, and he’s willing to use his daughter to get it.”

“Jessie Ann, I’m not sure why you didn’t tell me this in the first place.”

“Because her father is Walt Wilson.”

“Who?”

Jessie gave that soft smile that made him crazy. It was so misleadingly innocent. “Walt Wilson? Of the Wilson Pack? Your cousin?”

He shook his head. “Still drawing a blank.”

“Out of Smithburg, Alabama.”

Smitty thought real hard and then it hit him. “Oh. Oh, yeah. I remember.” He grimaced. “Lord, I made him eat shit one time.”

Jessie rubbed her eyes. “Tell me you didn’t.”

He stroked his jaw, trying to get so long ago into focus. “Yeah, I did. If I remember correctly, he was mean to Sissy. Made her cry. I don’t think either one of us was more than eight or nine. She was only six or seven. I was gonna make him eat dirt... but they used to have a dog.”

To his relief, Jessie laughed. “That is a horrible story.”

“I know. I know. I’m not proud telling it. But it’s the truth.” He took another spoonful of ice cream, enjoying it more than he thought he would. “And you didn’t want to tell me because you lived in Smithtown long enough to know the Smith credo.”

“Family first,” she recited. “Pack second. Everybody else dead last.”

Or dead, his daddywould always add. A credo the old bastard drummed into the heads of his children growing up. Every Smith in every town lived by it. And that way, everyone knew if you messed with one Smith—really, truly messed with them—you messed with all the Smiths. And no one wanted that laid at their doorstep.

“The Wilsons are blood,” she said.

“Barely.”

“Still. I lived in Smithtown long enough to know how this works. I have no doubt my Pack could take on the Wilson Pack and win. But all the Smith Packs... ?” She let out a breath and treated herself to more ice cream.

“Okay. You’ve got a point. So how about I do this. I quietly take a look into this—”

“Bobby Ray, I don’t want you involved.”

“Or you could let me finish,” he said gently. “I take a quiet look into this. Maybe with my help I can get him to back off. If all he wants is money. But if he just wants to see his daughter... ”

“Then we’re fine with that. We never lied to Kristan. She knows Danny isn’t her blood, but he is her daddy. That little girl’s got a big heart and I won’t have anyone crushing it.”

“Understood.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “But let me help.”

“Are you sure? I know how your father can be.”

“Let me worry about my daddy. He’s my cross to bear.”

“That’s a lovely way to see your father.”

Smitty grinned. “You always liked my old man, didn’t you?”

Jessie licked her spoon. “You know, he always made me laugh. And when he found me under tables—”

“Under tables?”

“At parties my foster parents made me go to. He’d never tell anybody I was there. Instead, he’d hand me a bottle of... well, a bottle of beer.”

Smitty placed his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. “Good Lord.”

“And he’d say, ‘Don’t worry none, little gal, you’ll be just fine.’ I had no idea what that meant, but it always made me giggle.”

“That could have been the beer.”

“Are you sure about this, Bobby Ray?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.

He dropped his hands back to the table. “I can always tell when you’re serious because you call me Bobby Ray.”

“This is serious. I won’t get between you and your family.”

“You’re not, darlin’. This is what one friend does for another. And we’re friends. Just like me and Mace.”

She gave him a wicked little smile. “You fuck Mace too?”

“Only when he’s feeling needy.”