Page 101 of Counter Attack

A shadow briefly crossed Kayla’s eyes, disappearing as herface brightened. “I’ve been involved in it forever, it seems. I was taking Taekwondo lessons by the time I was four. It’s almost second nature to me.”

“Enough talk,” Gram said. “Kayla’s staying for dinner. So let’s eat.”

It didn’t surprise Alex that Kayla accepted Gram’s invitation to join them. Most people who dropped by around dinnertime ate with them. Nathan sat in the chair beside Alex, and Gram had Kayla sit to Gramps’s right.

“Nathan tells me you’re working for him now,” Gramps said.

“Yes, and he’s written me a letter of recommendation to get into a select criminal justice program. That’s why I stopped by—he forgot to sign it. All I have to do now is scan it into my computer and send in the application.”

Gram tilted her head toward the girl. “So you want to be a police officer?”

“I think so. This class should help me decide.” She picked up the tall iced-tea glass and took a sip.

Alex forked a bite of lasagna. “Which school did you decide on?”

“Chatt State.”

“And she’ll have the same professor I had for that class,” Nathan said. “He’s really good.”

Gramps leaned forward. “Where’d you grow up?”

Alex almost missed the slight stiffening of Kayla’s shoulders.

“Chattanooga.”

“Really.” He frowned. “I thought I detected a stronger Southern accent than most people who grow up around here.”

She scratched her nose with the back of her hand, then shrugged. “Maybe it’s because my mom grew up around Atlanta. How about you? Have you always lived in Pearl Springs?”

“We surely have,” Gram said. “And Carson, I want you tostop grilling this girl.” She turned to Kayla with an apologetic shake of her head. “He’s so used to interrogating people, he slips into that mode when he shouldn’t.”

What was going on with her grandfather? If Gram hadn’t stepped in, Alex would have.

“No problem.” Kayla took a bite of the lasagna. “This is so good. Do you have a recipe?”

“I’m afraid it’s all up here.” Gram tapped her temple. “A little bit of this and a little bit of that.”

“Figures. Maybe I could come watch you the next time you make it.”

“I’d love that.”

Gramps cleared his throat. “At the risk of receiving my wife’s ire, may I ask why you relocated to Pearl Springs?”

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Ican answer that one,” Alex said. “Nathan offered her a job.”

When her grandfather shifted his gaze to Nathan, he shrugged. “I needed a part-time dispatcher when Jimmy Arnold left.”

“Well, good. I’m glad it worked out. One more question and I’m done.” He waved his fork between Alex and Kayla. “How did you two meet?”

She’d have to explain later to Kayla that her grandfather wasn’t singling her out—he’d been this way ever since Alex could remember, even when she was a teenager. Especially when she was a teenager. “We met when I was on an undercover job. She was a waitress at the Lemon Tree.”

“I quit right after that,” Kayla said. “And decided to go back to college.”

“Wise decision,” Gramps said.

They all fell silent as they finished the salad and lasagna and then Gramps looked around. “Any more of that lemon cake left?”

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