“Then we're finding out what kind of people send an eighty-year-old widow a letter telling her to leave her own house without a court order.”
Tucker nodded.
“Agreed.”
Luke reached for his phone.
“I know an attorney.”
Bear glanced at him.
“Who?”
“My sister.”
Dean smiled.
“She's going to love this.”
Luke ignored him.
He stepped away from the table and made the call.
Bear turned toward Ruth.
“Have you eaten?”
She blinked.
“What?”
“Lunch.”
“Oh.”
She looked down.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Ruth gave a small, embarrassed smile.
“I was too nervous.”
Bear frowned.
Then he looked toward the waitress.
“Can we get her some soup?”
Ruth immediately shook her head.
“Oh, you don't need to—”
“And a sandwich,” Bear continued.
The waitress smiled.
“Already working on it.”
Ruth looked overwhelmed.
She reached into her handbag.
“I can pay.”
Bear gently closed the purse.
“Not today.”
Her eyes filled again.
“Please don't spend money on me.”
He studied her.
Then said quietly, “Mrs. Miller, your husband once shared his last clean water with me when we were both half out of our minds from exhaustion.”
Ruth stared.
Bear smiled sadly.
“I think I can manage a sandwich.”
She began crying again.
He looked toward Tucker.
“Hand me those napkins.”
Tucker pushed the entire napkin holder across the table.
Dean moved his chair so Ruth could sit near the end of the booth without folding her walker too far away.
Luke returned from his phone call.
“My sister says nobody gets to throw her out of a house based on a letter from a private company.”
Bear nodded.
“What else?”
“She wants copies of everything. She'll call us back after checking the county records.”
Ruth looked toward Luke.
“Your sister's a lawyer?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Is she expensive?”
Luke smiled.
“Terribly.”
Ruth's face fell.
Then he added, “But she owes me about twenty years of favors, so we'll see what we can negotiate.”
For the first time, Dean laughed.
Ruth smiled faintly.
Bear leaned forward.
“Tell me about Thomas.”
The old woman's expression softened.
“My husband?”
“Yes.”
She looked at the photograph lying on the table.
For a moment, it seemed she wasn't looking at two young soldiers anymore.
She was looking through decades.
“He came home from Vietnam very quiet.”
Bear nodded.
“He would.”
“He didn't like crowds. Didn't like sudden noises. Sometimes he woke in the middle of the night and sat on the porch until morning.”