In Which Introductions as Well as Decisions Are Made - Part 3

"Well, hi there little lady, welcome to the wild west." Harlan intoned in what Squig thought to himself had to be the worst John Wayne imitation he had ever heard.  Wayne's voice was low and masculine and Harlan's was hi and squeaky.  Somehow the two just didn't seem to mesh at all.

Annie seemed taken aback, too.  She looked up at him thoughtfully for a few seconds, and then extending her paw, said primly. "Hello, Deputy Katz, it's nice to meet you."

"Now, now, what's with all this formality?"  He said, thankfully in his own voice.  "You and me are going to be really good friends.  Now I know, even though you ain't related to the boss, you call him Uncle Squig.  So maybe," he stroked his chin while he thought, and then smiling, chirped, "I could be Cousin Harlan?"

Ignoring the two shocked faces in front of him, he continued, "But then since I didn't live with you back east, maybe I could be Cousin Harlan once removed."

"Finally noticing that this was not going over very well,"  He said, "OK, how about cousin Harlan, twice removed? Don't like that, there's always second cousin Harlan twice removed?"

Squig was at the point of telling him, if he didn't shut up, he was going to be cousin Harlan permanently removed, when an achingly familiar voice purred, "Hi there cowboy, come her often?"