I don’t know. I’m not exactly in the same line of work as they are.”
Which was splitting hairs, but she suspected he knew that.
“I don’t know,” he repeated. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
“I can understand that.” She knew why she did what she did, but didn’t like to dwell on the past, either.
They sat in a considerably more peaceful silence for a bit. Finally he asked, “What about you, Lia Woods? Did you grow up around here?”
“Down in the Kent Valley. My parents have moved recently to Arizona. I ended up here because my great-aunt on my dad’s side didn’t have any kids and left me her house when she died. I could have sold it and gone on with my life, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do something I’d always wanted to and take in kids.”
“You don’t hold an outside job?”
She shook her head and felt her braid bump on her back. “Not anymore. Some foster parents do, of course, but I tend to take the really troubled kids. Or ones like Walker and Brendan who need some special attention. While their mother was in the hospital, we spent as much time there as we were allowed. A nine-to-five job wouldn’t have been compatible with what they needed from me.”
“What’s next for them?”
That question surprised her. She’d expected something along the lines of Why foster?
“They’ll go up for adoption. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, their chances aren’t great. They’d be better if they get split up, but…God. I can’t imagine. They need each other.”
With quiet force, he said, “It would be an abomination to tear them apart.”
She swallowed emotion trying to spill out. “Yes. It’s not in my hands, although I’ll express myself forcefully if anyone suggests they be separated. I may never know, though. Usually I foster fairly short term. They might get sent elsewhere. It’s possible they’d thrive in a more typical family situation, or that their caseworker will decide they need a father figure. I tend to get more girls than boys.”
“Will they survive one more change?”
“I don’t know,” Lia whispered. “They’re…withdrawing.” It took her a few deep breaths to calm herself. “You got further with them tonight at dinner than I ever do. So maybe they do need a father figure.”
“But from what you said, they only had a mother. Why would they relate to a man?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
He frowned but didn’t move. He’d be a heck of a poker player, she found herself thinking. No tells. Did he ever fidget?
“I won’t have a lot of time,” he said abruptly. “I can’t make promises.”
Promises?
“But when I have a minute, I’ll try to talk to them.” The lines on his face deepened, or perhaps it was a trick of the light. No, not of the light; the dark. “They remind me of myself. They’re…trying to quit feeling anything at all.”
Dear God, Lia thought. Had this man succeeded? The idea appalled her, but in the next second she realized, no. No, of course he hadn’t, or they wouldn’t be having this conversation. He wouldn’t have spent however many years he had running away from home. He wouldn’t worry about two little boys he’d barely met. He was a federal agent, he might be a threat to her, but Lia suddenly knew with absolute certainty that he was also a good man.
His brother might have dealt him wounds that still ached when he moved wrong, but Duncan had truly saved an angry boy and helped him become this man.
She’d seen Duncan’s picture in the newspaper and thought he looked cold and unlikeable. How wrong could she possibly have been?
“Yes,” she said on a sigh, “I think that’s exactly what they’re trying to do.”
Conall rose to his feet, a smooth motion. “I’d better go relieve Jeff.” He held out a hand. “Ready to go in?”
She gazed warily at his hand for longer than was probably polite. Touching him might be…risky. Still, she reached out and let his hand close around hers.
And knew immediately that she’d been right.
His warm clasp felt better than just about anything she could remember. Strong, safe…and yet not safe. She lifted an astonished stare to his, to see…something on his face. Something fleeting, but she thought it might be surprise.
So he felt it, too.
With a gentle tug, he boosted her to her feet. They ended up no more than a foot apart. Her breath caught in her throat. Neither of them moved. He didn’t release her. She wanted,