Free A_Wanted Man - Alana Matthews by Intrigue Romance

time, then said, “Ms. Pritchard?”
    Still no response.
    He was about to prompt her again, when she finally opened her eyes and said, “It was Megan. Megan and her friends.”
    “They came to you for help?”
    She nodded. “This morning. She and her friend Billy, and another man named Brett something—I didn’t catch his last name.”
    The potato chip lover.
    But Harlan wanted to make sure. Reaching into his inner jacket pocket, he brought out the surveillance photos and showed them to her.
    “Are these the men?”
    Gloria watched as he leafed through the photos, then squeezed her eyes shut again and nodded. “Yes.”
    “Did they force their way into your house or did Jonah invite them in?”
    She looked at him now. “If you knew Jonah, you wouldn’t even have to ask me that question.”
    “But I didn’t know him, ma’am, so I’d appreciate it if you’d answer it.”
    She hesitated, then said, “Jonah worshipped Meg. Loved her more than he ever loved me, that’s for sure.”
    “Even when she brought people like Billy Boy Lyman to the house? He’s not exactly what most grandfathers would consider boyfriend material.”
    “Jonah wasn’t your typical grandfather.”
    “Meaning what?”
    “It’s no secret what the Pritchard family roots are. Even though we’ve come a long way, and try to pretend we’ve elevated ourselves, people around here know exactly what we used to be.”
    “Which is?”
    “Outlaws,” Callie told him. “They earned their fortune the easy way.”
    Gloria looked at her, annoyed. “ Easy has nothing to do with it. That seed money may have bought our land, but our fortune was built through legitimate hard work.” She returned her gaze to Harlan. “My great-grandfather was Jeremiah Pritchard. Before he split off and started his own gang, he used to ride with Robert Leroy Parker.”
    “You mean Butch Cassidy?” Harlan said.
    She nodded. “One of Wyoming’s favorite sons. But Jeremiah had his fans, too, and there’s no denying he helped turn Williamson into the town it is today.”
    “Oh, brother,” Callie muttered.
    Gloria stiffened. The malice in her eyes was hard to disguise. “Poor little Callie. Wants so desperately to be part of this family she can’t stand the idea that we’ve actually accomplished something over the years.”
    “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Callie said.
    “Don’t I? I know you think that just because your slut mother spread her legs for my brother, that somehow makes you—”
    “Shut up,” Callie told her, and Harlan could clearly see that Gloria’s words had cut very deeply. He thought for a moment he might have to hold Callie back, but she quickly got control of herself.
    He had no idea what was going on here. Callie had never once talked about Gloria Pritchard in their time together, but it sounded as if there was a blood connection between these two.
    Was Callie Gloria’s niece ?
    If so, that would make Meg Pritchard her cousin. And that was a clear conflict of interest.
    “Is there something we need to talk about?” he said to Callie.
    “No. Nothing.”
    But as much as she tried to hide it, he knew she wasn’t being straight with him, and behind the quiet anger there was vulnerability in her eyes. A vulnerability he recognized.
    She and Gloria spent the next few seconds silently eyeballing each other, until Harlan said, “So what are you trying to tell me, Ms. Pritchard? That because you come from outlaw stock that this somehow made Jonah respect a punk like Billy Boy?”
    “Jonah grew up worshipping his grandfather and his outlaw ways. He was always drawn to people who rebelled against authority. People like Billy and his friend. And Megan, of course.”
    “So then what happened? What went wrong?”
    “I’m not sure,” she said. “I was upstairs and heard them shouting and when I came down to the living room, Meg had a gun pointed at my father.”
    “And where were Billy Boy and Brett?”
    “They were