Heart of Gold - By Tami Hoag Page 0,13
there’s a load of it to be had in the defense contracts game—honestly or otherwise. Greed is a great motivator.”
“Don’t I know it,” Alaina said, a hint of bitterness in her tone.
She was silent for a moment as she finished her cigarette and ground the butt out on the porch railing. She gave Shane a long, measuring look. “My friends and I moved here because we needed a change of scenery. We all came to a crossroads in our lives and decided to take the same new path. I wouldn’t hurt Faith or Jayne if you held a gun to my head. We’re friends; we care about one another.”
“And look out for one another?”
“Faith needs someone to look out for her. In spite of everything she went through with Gerrard, she’s too trusting.”
“And you’re not?”
“No. I don’t trust people, and I don’t romanticize their motives. If you hurt her, I’ll see that you pay for it.” She gave him a shrewd smile. “As you guessed, I have some very influential friends.”
“Why would I hurt her?” He dismissed her threat. A man who had nothing, had nothing to lose. “I’m here to see she doesn’t get hurt.”
Alaina’s gaze was steady and as cool as the fog that surrounded the house. “Then we won’t have a problem, will we?”
Shane tossed his cigarette off the porch as he watched her saunter toward the front door. More amused than angry, he asked, “Who appointed you watchdog?”
She tossed him a saucy look over her shoulder. “It’s a self-appointed role. I’m the only Doberman in the pack.”
“Somebody should call Clint Eastwood,” Jayne said as she carried plates into the kitchen, “to tell him this Callan guy has his voice.”
Faith’s smile was distracted and halfhearted at best. Jayne gave her a little nudge. “You do it, honey. I’ve been on Clint’s bad side since I told a few billion people his last movie wasn’t worth eating stale popcorn for.”
Faith stepped aside from the dishwasher and leaned back against the counter, hugging herself and fighting back tears that had been threatening for hours. She felt as if all her emotions were suddenly ganging up on her, and Jayne’s attempt to lighten the mood only made her feel worse.
“Hey,” Jayne teased gently, though her eyes were full of concern. “Don’t worry about Clint. He’ll bounce back.”
“I don’t think she’s upset about Clint,” Alaina said as she walked in. “It’s our own real-life version of Dirty Harry, isn’t it?”
The last subject Faith wanted to discuss was Shane Callan. Nor did she care to go into the strange emotions he drew out of her, charming her one minute and accusing her the next. She decided instead to focus on the reason Callan was there, which was equally unpleasant but easier to understand.
She gave her friends an apologetic look. “I didn’t want to involve the two of you in any of this trial business. I’m sorry.”
Jayne slid an arm around Faith’s shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Honey, what’s the use in having friends if you can’t depend on them in a crisis?”
Alaina crossed her arms in front of her and nodded decisively. “She’s right.”
“Thanks,” Faith murmured, wiping a tear from her lashes.
It had been years since she’d had the solid support of her friends. During her marriage to William she had had no one to depend upon except herself. Now Alaina and Jayne were offering her their shoulders to lean on, and she felt torn between the desire to accept and the ingrained habit of handling her troubles herself.
“I really wanted to believe I’d left everything associated with William behind when I left Washington,” she said, shaking her head in dismay. “Now I’ve got a federal agent skulking around.”
“Look on the bright side.” Jayne winked at her. “At least he’s not hard on the eyes.”
That was a fact, Faith thought. It was a fact that made her feel distinctly uneasy. There was something vitally, basically male in Shane Callan that all but reached out and touched the most feminine parts of her. Just the thought of his hard, aristocratic good looks was enough to send heat rushing under her skin. He was making her crazy. What was she doing feeling attracted to the man, knowing what he thought of her?
“He does a hell of a job of fraying nerves, though,” Alaina concluded.
Jayne gazed off into space. “He does seem rather hostile, doesn’t he? I wonder what motivates that feeling,” she said, trying to dissect Shane’s performance as if he were