Key Of Knowledge by Nora Roberts Page A

little much for you.”
    Jordan Hawke, she thought as a muscle in her jaw twitched. And she’d thought the day couldn’t get any crappier. “So, Brad took pity on you and gave you a job?” she said without looking up. “Are you going to get to wear one of the blue denim shirts with the little house on the breast pocket?”
    â€œI was in his office when you called kissing up to him for a price break. He asked me to come down and give you a hand because he got caught by a phone call before he could come himself.”
    Her hackles rose. “I don’t need help to buy paint.”
    â€œYou do if you’re seriously considering buying that sprayer.”
    â€œI was just looking.” Her mouth moved into a pout as she poked a finger at the machine. “Besides, what do you know about it?”
    â€œEnough to know if I say too much more about it, you’ll buy it just to spite me.”
    â€œThat’s tempting, but I’ll resist,” she shot back.
    He reached down, cupped a hand under her elbow to lift her to her feet. “Seems like you’ve had enough to deal with for one day. Heard you quit your job.”
    There was sympathy in his eyes. Not the smug and sticky kind, but a quiet understanding that soothed. “What, does Sandi report to you too?”
    â€œSorry, that name’s not on my list.” He gave her arm a careless little rub, an old gesture that both of them remembered as soon as he did it. And both of them took a half-step back. “Word travels, Stretch. You know how it is in the Valley.”
    â€œYeah, I know how it is. I’m surprised you remember.”
    â€œI remember a lot of things. One of them is how much you loved working there.”
    â€œI don’t want you to be nice to me.” She turned away to stare hard at the paint sprayer. “It’s screwing up my mood.”
    Because he knew she would work through it better if she was angry or occupied, he nodded. “Okay. Why don’t I help you take advantage of your friend-of-the-owner discount? It’s always fun to scalp Brad. Then you can verbally abuse me. That always cheers you up.”
    â€œYeah, it does.” She frowned a little, bumped the sprayer with the toe of her shoe. “This thing doesn’t look so tough.”
    â€œLet me show you some of your other options.”
    â€œWhy aren’t you back at Flynn’s hacking out a stale plot with cardboard characters?”
    â€œThere, see, you’re feeling better already.”
    â€œHave to admit.”
    â€œWhat we have here is an automatic paint roller system,” he began, steering her toward the machine Brad had recommended to him. “It’s small, user-friendly, and efficient.”
    â€œHow do you know?”
    â€œBecause when Brad told me to show you this one he used those specific adjectives. Personally, I’ve only painted a room the old-fashioned way, and that’s been . . .” He trailed off. “A long time ago.”
    She remembered. He’d painted his mother’s bedroom when she was in the hospital the first time. Dana had helped him, cutting around the trim, keeping his spirits up.They’d painted the walls a soft, warm blue so that the room would be fresh and peaceful.
    And less than three months later she was dead.
    â€œShe loved it,” Dana said gently. “She loved that you did that for her.”
    â€œYeah.” As the memory was painful on too many levels, he flipped the topic back. “Well, Brad’s got a list here of handy products and tools to make your home improvement project more enjoyable.”
    â€œOkay, let’s clean him out.”
    She had to admit that it added to the fun and interest of the expedition to have him along. And it was easy, a little too easy, to remember why they’d once been friends, once been lovers.
    They had a way of slipping into a rhythm, of understanding short-speak