“This is not a burger,” Harlan commented, staring down at half a cow sitting on a giant bun resting on a mountain of fries. “This could feed a small country.”

“You told me to order for you,” Dallas said, cracking a smile for the first time since his phone had rung with the bad news.

“And you assumed this caloric monstrosity would be what I normally eat?”

“No,” he admitted coyly. “I just wanted to see your face when it hit the table. Totally worth it.”

“Glad you’re in a better mood,” she said, making her first attempt at getting her hands around the burger. “Should I cut this in half? That knife won’t work. Do you have a Samari sword?”

“Not on me,” Dallas said, mockingly patting his front pocket. “Come on, just pick it up and eat it.”

“Switch with me,” she pouted looking at his average size burger and moderate amount of French fries. “I’m not going to eat this. I’ll just sit here and complain.”

“Fine,” he said swapping the plates. “I’m not afraid of it. Plus I’m sure you’re used to getting your way. I’d hate to interfere with that.”

“Ha.” She laughed loud enough for a few other people in the place to turn toward them. “I’m used to getting my way? That’s ridiculous.”

“Come on,” he scoffed. “I know how wealthy the Kalling family is. Your one brother is in Texas making a fortune on oil. Emmitt might not be flashy with his money, but I know he’s got plenty.”

“Money doesn’t make your life perfect,” Harlan argued, feeling annoyed that she had to defend how shitty things could be even when you were rich. “You were watching tonight, right? You saw my blind date turned out to be a kid who grew up down the street from us. Or I should say he’s still growing up. That was mortifying. Made worse only by the fact that my ex-husband witnessed it all.”

“He’s a real gem, huh?”

“I’m supposed to realize by now he won’t turn back into the man he once was, and we can’t just pick up where we left off. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. But Rylie might be too far gone to let back in my life; he might not ever be the father I dreamed he would be to our girls. Money can’t fix that.”

“He’s been following you for a while,” Dallas explained, taking the steak knife and trying to slice the burger in half. “You don’t make it very hard. You should vary your schedule, do some unpredictable things that keep him guessing.”

“Tonight was spontaneous,” she argued, thinking about how far off the rails it had all gone. If she’d been given a hundred guesses of where she’d be right now, who she’d be with, she never would have said she’d be with a hot stranger at a burger joint in the middle of nowhere. A man who wasn’t her blind date in the first place.

“He’s persistent. It might be time to file a restraining order against him.” Dallas took another attempt at cutting the burger from the other side.

“He hasn’t hurt me or even threatened to hurt me. Not overtly. At best I could petition for a harassment prevention order.”

“If you do, you might have to give up the hope that you can get back together,” Dallas said in a leading, almost arrogant tone. “It’s hard to come back from that. Kind of makes it official.”

“I don’t need the judgment. I get enough of that from my family. Excuse me for holding out a little bit of hope that the plans I made for the rest of my life might actually come together. Sorry I hope I might be able to salvage some part of all the dreams I once had.”

“No one gets that,” Dallas said, a stormy look in his eyes. “There is no happy ending. There is no dream come true. Stop imagining what your life is supposed to be and start living the one you have. If you don’t want him following you around then file the paperwork. Hold him accountable. Move on.”

“You were ready to murder a man tonight. I’m the one who needs to move on? Are you living the life you have or are you fighting old battles?”

“Noted,” Dallas sighed.

“How can you even say your friend is innocent? There is nothing in life that is so irrefutably true that it can’t blow up in your face. No one is infallible. People snap, they change, they let you down. I’m sure you think you know he’s innocent—”

“He didn’t do it.”

“I’m saying I’m sure you believe that, maybe you’re even right, but it doesn’t change the fact that anyone can fail you, anyone can do the unthinkable under the right circumstances.”

“You’re jaded,” Dallas said, his brows knit together with worry. “I know Tim better than I know myself. He was the best of us, the heart of our group of friends. I know he’s innocent.”

“I kind of miss what it feels like to believe in something so fiercely. I miss trusting in people like that.”

“It’s not all or nothing. Some people break your trust, some people stab you in the back, but there are others you just know you can count on. Tim is one of those guys. Get yourself some people like that and you’ll be all right. But for now we just eat our troubles away,” Dallas said, lifting the giant burger up and comically taking a huge bite.

“You’re going to choke to death.” Harlan laughed. “You look like a fool.”

“A satisfied fool,” he said, his elbows propped on the table as he readied for another bite.

“Tell me about the case,” she said, her face falling serious. “Why don’t they think he’ll be granted the new trial?”

“It’s just Melissa’s speculation at this point. She knows the judge and how he normally rules in these cases.”

“Is she a competent defense attorney?” Harlan asked, trying not to pry too much.

“She’s great. I found her through the Innocence Project, and she’s working for next to nothing right now because she believes Tim deserves a new trial based on inadequate representation. His court-appointed attorney was diagnosed with a degenerative disease three years before Tim’s case and his health was failing. Melissa lined up testimony from other lawyers who worked with him and even found evidence and leads that weren’t followed up.”

“When is the hearing?”

“It started today and most of the witnesses testified. She expects a ruling tomorrow,” Dallas said, clearing his throat uneasily. “Melissa says even if this doesn’t work there might be more she can do. But I can hear it in her voice. This is what Tim needs to get out.”

“Likely he’d only get a new trial, not any kind of acquittal. It’s not as though he’ll walk out of prison tomorrow.” Harlan was trying to be gentle but blunt. False hope didn’t help anyone in these kinds of situations.

Dallas shook his head as though he knew this to be true but wasn’t willing to accept it. “It could be the start of something. The tide’s finally turning. If she can get him a new trial, we can prove he’s innocent.”

“How?”

“The investigation was pathetic. They had complete tunnel vision. Tim was the easiest suspect, so they didn’t follow any other leads. I have ways of closing those gaps. I’ve outlined where the investigation could go from here. We don’t have the funds to run it independently.”

“Is this why you aren’t a police officer anymore?” Harlan asked, giving him the grace of staring at her French fries while he answered.

“You’re quick,” Dallas complimented, looking half impressed/half annoyed by her astute deduction of the situation.

“The crime and investigation weren’t in my jurisdiction. I was vocal, and I didn’t pull any punches. When I crossed a few too many lines, my captain told me to back off, mind my own cases, or leave my gun and badge. It was an easy answer for me. A piece of metal and a weapon don’t make you a cop. Those guys who arrested and tried to incriminate Tim give the force a bad name.”

“I hope he gets the ruling you’re hoping for,” Harlan whispered. “I hope it turns out well for you. But who exactly were you going to go kill tonight?”

“There’s a guy,” Dallas explained, then stopped abruptly. “It doesn’t really matter, but he was a witness in the case who lied on the stand. Larry Monroe. Nothing would make me happier than watching that guy suffer.”

“I’m sorry you’re dealing with all of this,” she sighed, leaning back in the booth, aware of the pain weighing him down. “I wish there was something more I could do. This is not how I imagined this night would turn out. I’m sure you could say the same.”

“How did you imagine it?” he asked, eyeing her seductively, the air around them changing, electrifying suddenly.

“I just needed something good to happen. I needed someone to look at me in that way, well you know, it’s just been a long time. I thought by this time of night maybe I’d be . . .” her words trailed off as she grew red with embarrassment.

Suddenly their eyes locked, the longing for physical touch grew bigger than any words she could string together. Harlan had come out tonight needing. Needing to feel good, to feel better, to have something just for herself. “. . . you know.”

“Check, please,” Dallas announced, his eyes never leaving Harlan’s as a fierce hunger spread across his face. Standing, he pulled her up and fished some cash out of his pocket.

“That’s too much for the bill,” Harlan said, watching him throw down a couple twenties.

“It’s the waitress’s lucky night,” he winked.

“Maybe she’s not the only one,” Harlan laughed as they sprinted out toward the car, her body pulsing with the anticipation of his touch. Her head whirled with the excitement of it all. It had been so long since she’d felt this way, since she’d been on the verge of something unplanned and exciting. Something that might actually, at least for a little while, turn out right.

“This is a terrible idea,” she cautioned as they slipped into the car and he fired up the engine.

“Absolutely,” he agreed, his large hand coming down on her thigh and sliding up high enough for his fingers to tantalize her throbbing need. “Should I drop you off at home?”

“No,” she said through broken breath as his fingers fluttered faster. “But where?”

“My place,” he asserted, and the power in his voice made her pray wherever it was they’d get there fast. She was a volcano that someone had foolishly tried to cap and contain. Tonight, in his powerful arms, she’d erupt just as the cosmos had intended. Tonight she’d remember the piece of her she’d tucked away and forgotten for too long. And then that would be enough. Harlan would take this spontaneous wild ride and then return to her life just as it was. One night with Dallas would be enough.

“Hold on tight,” he announced as he sped down the dark road and plowed forward with ferocious determination. “It’s going to be a wild ride.”