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she’d done the night before. Alex again wondered exactly what had happened. It was frustrating to not remember.
    “There a Starbucks anywhere in town?”
    He looked at her blankly. “You mean that coffee place?”
    Alex held on to her patience. “Yes, the coffee place.”
    “No, we ain’t got Starbunkers. The café down the street serves breakfast, and their coffee is good.”
    “Thanks.” With a smile she didn’t even remotely feel, Alex left the hotel.
    The morning air was crisp, making her still-wet hair supercold against her face. It didn’t matter; she needed to keep herself up after the night of drinking and a day of nonstop driving. As she walked toward the Camaro, the Big Horn Mountains were suddenly there.
    She stopped, struck by the beauty she had almost completely forgotten about. They were majestic—a corny word to use, but the one that fit. The peaks were already covered by snow and it was only the beginning of September.
    Alex took a deep breath, realizing she was smelling nothing but air. No pollutants or car emissions, just plain old air. She sucked in another lungful before climbing in the car to head to the café.
    If she was right, it was Talulah’s Café, a woman who had been a friend of her mother’s. Alex’s heart thumped at the memory of having Saturday lunch there with her mother every week. It wouldn’t be easy to walk back in, but seeing as how it was apparently the only place in town to get coffee, she didn’t have a choice.
    Alex pulled into the parking lot and sat there for a few minutes, staring at the sign. No longer Talulah’s; the sign read LOBOS CAFÉ and had a multicolored wolf, similar to a Mexican Huichol, on it The outside had been a bright blue; now it was a desert brown with green trim.
    Knowing Talulah wasn’t there actually made it easier to get out of the car. This would be the first place she entered that she’d been in before, albeit under a different owner. Her stomach clenched as she walked in the door and the bell tinkled merrily above her.
    She was feeling far from merry that morning.
    An older woman with blond hair liberally laced with gray smiled at her. “Table for one?”
    “Large coffee with cream. To go.” Alex wasn’t ready to spend any amount of time in town yet, least of all in a place with so many memories of her mother. The table by the window had been their spot, and she couldn’t even bear to look at it, even if the table-cloths were different—hell, even the tables and chairs were different. Instead, she didn’t take her eyes off the waitress.
    “A good breakfast goes a long way. Are you sure you just want coffee?” The waitress eyed her as if Alex were a friend of her daughter’s she needed to take care of.
    “My stomach couldn’t handle anything but coffee right now, but thanks.” Her smile was shaky but she managed one anyway.
    “Okay, wait right here and I’ll get it for you.” The waitress went behind the counter and began pouring the coffee.
    Alex told herself not to take her gaze off the woman. She didn’t need another challenge that morning; going to the ranch would be hard enough. But it was as if there were a train wreck to her left and she could barely keep from turning her head.
    “Here you go, honey. That’ll be a dollar sixty-five.”
    Alex started at the sound of the other woman’s voice, unaware the waitress had returned. “Oh, yeah, wait just a sec.” She fumbled with her purse, pulling out a crumpled five-dollar bill from the pocket inside. “Keep the change.”
    Although she could hardly afford to give away a dime much less three dollars, Alex needed to get out of there. Immediately.
    “I can’t take a three-dollar tip for coffee.” The waitress was still protesting as Alex took the cup from her and smiled.
    “No worries. I’m sure it’s good coffee.” She got out of the restaurant, and its memories, as fast as she could without spilling hot brew down her arm. Jesus, she didn’t imagine it would