dubious. “Honest?”
“Honest.”
He took a crumpled bill from his pocket and handed it to her. Grace smoothed it out, folded it and put it in her pocket.
“Now you have yourself a lawyer,” she said. “With me on your side, nothing will happen to the two of you unless we all agree it’s for the best.”
“All of us?” Jamie repeated skeptically. “That means me and Josh have to say yes, too?”
“Absolutely,” she assured him.
Michael regarded her with surprise. Surely she knew that making such a promise was risky. What if the court overruled their judgment? Just as Jamie had said earlier, grown-ups in general and judges in particular could be notoriously capricious, even in interpreting the letter of the law.
Jamie seemed to be wavering, his distrust of the system weighing heavily against his longing to ride one of the horses.
“Do I get to pick which horse?” he asked.
“As long as whoever comes to give the lesson approves it,” Michael said. When Jamie looked ready to protest, he added, “Just to make sure you won’t get hurt. Once you’ve had your lessons, you can ride any horse around here.”
“Satisfied?” Grace asked.
Josh stared up at his big brother hopefully. “Is it okay?”
Jamie shuffled his sneakers in the dirt, trying very hard to bank his obvious excitement. “I suppose.”
“All right!” Josh shouted, slapping Michael’s hand in a high five.
Michael had to admit, he felt a little of the child’s glee himself. A glance at Grace suggested she was just as happy. A smile had spread across her face and lit her eyes. Only Jamie refused to give any outward hint of his exuberance. All alone, he headed back into the barn. After a slight hesitation, Josh trailed after him.
“I guess you’re pretty proud that your divide-and-conquer technique paid off,” Grace said, a surprising hint of condemnation in her voice.
“I’m glad we have the information we need,” he agreed. He met her gaze evenly. “But I wish there had been another way to get it. I don’t want those boys to lose their trust in one another.”
She regarded him with obvious relief. “Good. Then you won’t try that again.”
“Since you obviously disapprove of my methods, does that mean you don’t want the ill-gotten information?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Of course, I want it.”
“The last name is Miller. The mother is Naomi. Any luck with your other calls?”
“Nothing so far, but it’s hard to get a line on something like this without giving away more than I’m getting. It’ll be easier now that I’m not just trying to track down two needles in a very large haystack.”
Michael regarded her worriedly. “Grace, how much trouble will you be in if someone wants to make a big deal out of the two of us letting those kids stay here instead of turning them in right away? I imagine there are pretty strict regulations governing this sort of thing. We can’t just decide to keep the kids here without somebody’s approval, right? Not even for a few days?”
“I can handle it. What about you? If some newspaper gets wind of your involvement, this could land on the front pages of the papers all over Texas.”
“I’ve weathered worse,” he assured her. It came with the territory. There were a lot of people eager to dig up dirt on a family as powerful as the Delacourts. There wasn’t much to be found, but a lotcould be made of a little indiscretion if a reporter cared to put a negative slant on it.
“All that matters is getting those boys settled someplace where they’ll be together and happy,” he told her.
She smiled up at him then, one of those bright, sunny smiles that held nothing back. Drawn to her, he slipped closer, and before she could realize his intention, he leaned down and touched his lips lightly to hers. Silken heat, whisper-soft against his, her mouth was every bit as wickedly tempting as he’d recalled. He had to force himself to stop at just one kiss.
“Thank you
“Honest.”
He took a crumpled bill from his pocket and handed it to her. Grace smoothed it out, folded it and put it in her pocket.
“Now you have yourself a lawyer,” she said. “With me on your side, nothing will happen to the two of you unless we all agree it’s for the best.”
“All of us?” Jamie repeated skeptically. “That means me and Josh have to say yes, too?”
“Absolutely,” she assured him.
Michael regarded her with surprise. Surely she knew that making such a promise was risky. What if the court overruled their judgment? Just as Jamie had said earlier, grown-ups in general and judges in particular could be notoriously capricious, even in interpreting the letter of the law.
Jamie seemed to be wavering, his distrust of the system weighing heavily against his longing to ride one of the horses.
“Do I get to pick which horse?” he asked.
“As long as whoever comes to give the lesson approves it,” Michael said. When Jamie looked ready to protest, he added, “Just to make sure you won’t get hurt. Once you’ve had your lessons, you can ride any horse around here.”
“Satisfied?” Grace asked.
Josh stared up at his big brother hopefully. “Is it okay?”
Jamie shuffled his sneakers in the dirt, trying very hard to bank his obvious excitement. “I suppose.”
“All right!” Josh shouted, slapping Michael’s hand in a high five.
Michael had to admit, he felt a little of the child’s glee himself. A glance at Grace suggested she was just as happy. A smile had spread across her face and lit her eyes. Only Jamie refused to give any outward hint of his exuberance. All alone, he headed back into the barn. After a slight hesitation, Josh trailed after him.
“I guess you’re pretty proud that your divide-and-conquer technique paid off,” Grace said, a surprising hint of condemnation in her voice.
“I’m glad we have the information we need,” he agreed. He met her gaze evenly. “But I wish there had been another way to get it. I don’t want those boys to lose their trust in one another.”
She regarded him with obvious relief. “Good. Then you won’t try that again.”
“Since you obviously disapprove of my methods, does that mean you don’t want the ill-gotten information?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Of course, I want it.”
“The last name is Miller. The mother is Naomi. Any luck with your other calls?”
“Nothing so far, but it’s hard to get a line on something like this without giving away more than I’m getting. It’ll be easier now that I’m not just trying to track down two needles in a very large haystack.”
Michael regarded her worriedly. “Grace, how much trouble will you be in if someone wants to make a big deal out of the two of us letting those kids stay here instead of turning them in right away? I imagine there are pretty strict regulations governing this sort of thing. We can’t just decide to keep the kids here without somebody’s approval, right? Not even for a few days?”
“I can handle it. What about you? If some newspaper gets wind of your involvement, this could land on the front pages of the papers all over Texas.”
“I’ve weathered worse,” he assured her. It came with the territory. There were a lot of people eager to dig up dirt on a family as powerful as the Delacourts. There wasn’t much to be found, but a lotcould be made of a little indiscretion if a reporter cared to put a negative slant on it.
“All that matters is getting those boys settled someplace where they’ll be together and happy,” he told her.
She smiled up at him then, one of those bright, sunny smiles that held nothing back. Drawn to her, he slipped closer, and before she could realize his intention, he leaned down and touched his lips lightly to hers. Silken heat, whisper-soft against his, her mouth was every bit as wickedly tempting as he’d recalled. He had to force himself to stop at just one kiss.
“Thank you
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