Dakota tilted his head to one side. “You were her lover?” he asked with no pretenses. The way the man spoke, as though he knew Terrell’s grandmother very intimately, seemed to suggest only one logical conclusion.
He laughed and slapped his knee in delight. “Good lord, you got a tongue on you, boy. I wish. Let me tell you, Maria was the most beautiful girl for miles back in the day. I woulda sold the Devil my left arm just to take her out. But she had none of me, that’s for sure. But I don’t blame her. She coulda done much better, and she did.” After a heavy pause, as he seemed to remember days long past, he continued. “Nahh, but Maria and I, a bunch of us, we all got similar interests, you understand? One way or another. I see you do, too.”
Dakota instinctively rested his hand on top of
