Chapter 1 (Part 2)

Mason walked in to the bar just as George Jones was winding down " He stopped loving her today" on the juke box.  "Hey Mason," The cute blonde bartender drawled as he walked by. "Hey Jenny," he  replied with a playful grin. Jenny and he went way back. They graduated high school together and there were a few stolen kisses and high school dances in their past. She had started tending bar when she was 17 and had been serving beer to the locals and patrons from there ever since. The only thing that had changed over the years was a string of dead beat boyfriends and a now 2 year old son named Max.  

The boys were all crowded around the pool table, beers in hand, already starting the evening off.  "Want a beer Mason?" Jenny asked as he headed towards the back. "Sure thanks Jenny, your the best." he replied with a wink. She smiled coyly and handed him his beverage. 

"Mason! Get over here! Johnny's trying to cheat again!"

 "Johnny, you ought to know better by now, you're to big a guy to hide what your doin with those iron skillets you call hands." Mason chuckled joining the ring around the pool table.

Johnny started to laugh and completely scratched on the shot he was trying to make.  "Why do yawl always assume I'm cheating? Just because I mop the floor with yawls sorry tails, doesn't mean I'm cheating!" 

Johnny was 6'' 7in tall. When in uniform he was pretty intimidating, that is until he opened his mouth. He had a hard time hiding his "teddy bear" nature once he started talking.  He and Mason had worked together for a few years, on and off in the same rotation. "Well I'm here now, so I guess we'll just see about that." 

This was the start of a long evening filled with male ego at its height. At the end of the night it was hard to tell who had came off ahead in the game. Slowly, one by one the guys headed home to there families until it was just Johnny and Mason left, sitting at the bar talking about the job and a few interesting cases that had come their way recently. Jenny was washing the last of the glasses about to close down for the night when the bell over the door gave a slight stir. They all three turned to see who was coming in at this late hour, and were surprised at what they saw. She was about 5'7 with long copper hair that seemed to shimmer in the soft lighting from the bar.  "Excuse me." Her voice was  syrupy smooth and she smiled as she talked. "Im sorry, I'm sure yawl are closing up for the evening but I'm not from around here and I was wondering if I could get some directions."  Mason and Johnny stared at her for a minuet, no words coming to mind. Jenny glanced at them snidly and just rolled her eyes. "Sure, where is it you're trying to go?"

She walked a little farther into the dimly lit room. " Well, that's just the problem. I haven't been here since I was a little girl. My Grandparents live here and I used to spend my summers with them. Its been a long time, and I really have no idea where to find them." 

Mason finally seemed to get his wits about him. " Well, we know just about everyone in this town, what are your grandparents names? Maybe we can point you in the right direction." 

"Well, their names are Anne and Joe Walker. My grandfather's really sick. Cancer. That's why Im here."

At this, the three at the bar all seemed to have the same startled thought at once. This was her.