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Don t you even think about it, he murmured with a soft warning.
You know how to wash dishes? She had been unprepared for his offer, not to
mention the shock that traveled up her arm. It seemed her body went on high alert
every time she got within ten feet of the man. She should have been insulted, the way
he laughed at her stubborn streak. But instead, it felt kind of nice.
Soapy water, elbow grease, rinse. Yeah I think I got it. But he was chuckling at
her. Jacob and I will do them, won t we?
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He looked at the boy, who obviously realized he was either going to have to do
dishes or hear about it for a very long time. Sure, I ll help. Jacob gave his mother a
lopsided grin.
Smart kid you have there, Brick offered with a playful twist to his lips.
Now she was extremely flustered. But you're a guest! Remember? I invited
you.
I know. Consider it your night off. Go find a book, he ordered.
His eyes told her he d give no quarter, and she realized it was a lost cause. She
couldn t remember the last time someone had thought enough of her to let her rest. She
offered Brick a grateful, if slightly shy smile, and gave Jacob a quick kiss on the head
before she made her way out of the kitchen.
Did she even own a book to read? She found an old novel, curled up on the
couch, and tucked her feet underneath her, but her mind wasn t on the writing. She
kept hearing snatches of youthful laughter echoed by another sound, a deep laugh that
made her insides turn to jelly and made it next to impossible to concentrate. She forced
herself to refocus, rereading the first three lines again and again. Finally, she just gave
up.
She rested her head against the back of the sofa and closed her eyes. Like an
unrepentant eavesdropper, she listened to the sound of dishes clinking and the rush of
water. It was relaxing in the way it felt so normal, just the three of them.
The three of them? Her head jerked up. What was she getting herself into? She
couldn t ever let herself think like that, not while there was Jacob to consider. She
refused to let her son become a victim of another bad relationship choice on her part.
The last thing she needed was for him to realize she didn t know how to keep a man
happy.
Ultimately, that was why Arthur had turned to other women, why she had no
choice but to leave him. If she had tried just a little harder& if she had made him see he
had a problem. She snorted quietly. Who was she fooling? She hadn t even seen the
problem for what it was, and she had slept next to the man every night for years. If only
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she d made the connection to his late nights and long weekends, if she had done
something& anything. Instead, oblivious to everything around her, she d walked in on
him and another woman, and her world had rudely unveiled itself for the ugly farce it
had become.
Her husband, the man she d loved, had a whole other life, a secret life. She d
known he gambled, but she d had no idea until the divorce how badly and to what
extent. Back then he had owed not just one or two, but nearly a half-dozen different
casinos, and not just a few hundred dollars, either. Thousands. Somehow, he'd come up
with the money to pay them.
Her thoughts stilled as an icy finger coursed down her spine, yanking her
upright as if a string through her spine had been pulled taut. A hollow, empty feeling
started to overcome her, as she watched her son and Brick, still joking, make their way
back into the living room.
Mom, I m going to go my room to read, Jacob called out as he left the room.
She nodded her head, scarcely acknowledging her son's departure. Brick sat on
the sofa next to her. She barely moved, eyeing him with a wariness born of suspicion.
How much did Arthur borrow from you? she asked without preamble, her words
emotionless.
Fifty thousand dollars. Why? Brick s gaze became unfathomable and she
stiffened as her anger and distrust rose to the surface again.
Was that the only time he had borrowed money from you? Tell me the truth.
He sighed. No. I leant him nearly twenty thousand several years ago.
Her lips felt numb. Why would you lend him money? Who was he to you? And
I need to know how I suddenly figure into all of this.
Brick sat back and squeezed his fist as if he held something, then flexed his
fingers. Why? Well, he needed it, for one thing. As to who he was, I met him on a
stateside trip. I m sure it was long before he met you. He was a civilian informant in
New York, a young one, but he d proven to be reliable. Somehow he managed to track
me down and used his good history to convince me to loan him the money. She
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listened in silence, not letting a single flicker of emotion cross her face. She felt frozen
on the inside. As for how you came into it, I explained that on that first day. Arthur
used the shop as collateral for this last loan." He looked at her, his expression puzzled.
"Why all the questions?
I just came to a very sudden conclusion, and I don t like it. First of all, she
started, squaring her shoulders and turning to face him on the sofa, I don t believe you
about that spy business. I met Arthur in college. Second, he wasn t old enough. He was
twenty-three, and had just finished with his own classes when I married him. She
couldn t stop the snide hitch in her words as she spoke. You're noble enough to not
take away the only means I have to make my mortgage payment, so why not take me
instead? She forced herself to remain calm even as every instinct told her to run, to not
believe anything he had to say. Her hands calmly across her lap, a simple camouflage to
her inner turmoil.
To his credit, Brick looked sincerely appalled. That's crazy!
You ve made it fairly obvious what you would like to do with me. And you've
won over my son, who is naturally suspicious of most men.
He shook his head. Wait a minute. You were in college when you met Arthur?
His eyes widened. My God, you didn t know! He lied to you.
What are you talking about? I didn t know a lot of things, but I found out quick
enough. She glared at him, daring him to be truthful.
No, you really didn t know. Arthur was thirty-nine when he died, he
explained softly. He was twenty-six when I found out he had married.
She gulped in a lungful of air. The one she d been using had forced its way
through her body with a painful punch. That s impossible! I knew him for years! I
lived with him, she choked out. Her heart started to race as this new picture was
brought for her to inspect, a picture of her life as she saw it, and of Arthur s. It was
simply unbelievable that she could have been so blind to the world around her.
He gentled his voice. I can pull his stat file if you want me to, and show you. He
said he was only twenty-three when you met him?
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She nodded once, weakly. He told me he had just turned twenty-three. I didn t
think anything about it. I was only eighteen. He had a nice car, and could buy drinks--
not that I drank, but --Oh, God. Is it true? Torn, she swept her hair out of her face,
feeling betrayed again. Tell me something about him, something that probably only I
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