Hooper, Kay - [Hagen 09] by It Takes A Thief (V1.0)[Htm] Page A

everything unless that's what
you're prepared to lose," he said.
    Dane smiled slowly. "Isn't that the truth?"
    The conversation died away at that point, but when
Garrett Kelly reentered the room five minutes later, he didn't seem
to notice. They had all heard the slam of the front door and a car
roaring away minutes before; he said nothing about that. He was
perceptibly distracted, frowning a bit. But his voice remained
calm and even when he addressed his guests.
    "Dinner will be served in an hour, gentlemen.
Please make yourselves at home. I have a few calls to take care of,
and then I'll rejoin you."
    There were more polite murmurs, following him back out
the door.
    Dane set his untouched drink aside and said, "I
think I'll walk in the garden before dinner." He didn't wait for
anyone to offer to join him, but went out through a set of French
doors leading onto the veranda.
     
Four
     
    Dane moved lazily until the overgrown garden hid him
completely from anyone in the parlor, then quickened his pace. It was
a simple matter to cut through the garden toward the front of the
house, and he was easily able to keep out of sight in the wilderness
of untended plants and trees while he circled around and headed for
the patch of woods to the left of the lane where Jennifer had agreed
to meet him.
    And she was waiting for him, her small car parked just
inside the woods on a rutted track. She wasn't sitting in the car;
she was pacing violently beside it.
    Dane approached her just a bit warily, intrigued by the
sheer unexpectedness of her temper. Granted, she had said that her
temper was a force of nature, but her cool blond loveliness and
serene grace had painted a rather different – and deceptive –
picture.
    "Are you married?" she inquired fiercely the
instant she caught sight of him.
    He blinked, stopping by the car. "No, I'm not."
    "My mother wanted me to ask." Jennifer was
still pacing, obviously so angry she was hardly paying attention
to what she was saying. "I'm glad you're not. Mother probably
would have poisoned your wife."
    Dane leaned back against her car and folded his arms,
patiently waiting for the storm to subside even while thoroughly
enjoying the spectacle. "Why would she have done that?" he
asked.
    "To get her out of the way, of course. She said
divorce would be easier, but I know my mother. Poison in the
tea, or something. The Borgias were Italian, you know."
    "Yes, I remember that." Dane was having a
difficult time holding back laughter, but at the same time he was
fascinated by what Jennifer seemed to be telling him.
    "Then beware," she said darkly, still pacing.
"As far as I know, Mother isn't related to them, but you just
can't be sure about these things. I can't control her. We'll be lucky
if she hasn't already ordered wedding invitations."
    "Whose wedding iIs she planning?" Dane asked.
    "Ours," Jennifer snarled. "Damn. And just
because I had to say something when I hadn't gotten any work
done. How was I to know she'd go all maternal and Italian on
me just because I said I was thinking about a man I'd met? I couldn't
have known she'd do that, could I?"
    "Definitely not," Dane said solemnly.
    "She doesn't even know you, and she's
probably thinking up names for babies. I've never heard such –
Desperation, she said. Passion. Real men, she said, and
essences." Jennifer stopped pacing suddenly, an expression
of uncertainty passing over her face. "Essences?" she
repeated, as if the word sounded odd.
    "Sounds fine to me," he offered helpfully.
    Jennifer stared at him for a moment, and the doubt
vanished to be replaced by a return of her glare. "What price
honor?" she demanded intensely.
    That one appeared to come straight out of left field,
and Dane coped with it in some bewilderment. "Hypothetically?"
    "No, not hypothetically! You. Your honor. How can I
trust you if I don't know that?"
    It was, Dane realized, a serious question despite the
apparent mental contortions that had brought her to it. Before he
could