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I stopped as Sawyer himself appeared between my parents He took ?" he asked in his personable waiter voice

"Delicious," Dad said He ordered dessert

My lared Sawyer noticed and smiled at her Oh, Sawyer

As soon as he’d disappeared into the kitchen again, she told me, "I meant to scare the life out of him I don’t want that boy anywhere around you, after what I just found out about his father Did you know--"

"Sylvia, don’t," Dad said

My rew up here in town and actually robbed a bank branch right down the road in Clearwater? That hits a little too close to home Seth said it wasn’t one of my branches, but--"

"Seth," I repeated The only Seth I kneas Aidan’s dad, orked as an assistant district attorney for the county "Did you call Aidan’s dad right here from the restaurant so you could convince me how terrible Sawyer is? You ht?"

"He didn’t have to look it up," my mother said ominously "He’s the one who put that man in jail"

I could not believe this Granted, Mr De Luca sounded like a shadier and shadier character as ue rurowing respect for Sawyer

I looked to Dad for help He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose like he was counting to ten Barrett reached over to my plate and stole another of ical fallacy, guilt by association You da you for what your--"

"Kaye," Dad said sternly

My mother always sounded stern Dad never did His use of that tone was so surprising that I was shocked out of what I was going to say

Which was exactly what he’d intended And it was probably for the best Because I’d been about to point out thatheroin in the neighborhood where they grew up She’d been sixteen years old