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“Yes. And VIPs. She was talking to an Arab prince when I saw her this morning.”
“An Arab, like one of my sons-in-law.” Jonas nodded. “Girl must be pretty smart, to deal with them VIP types.”
“She is.”
“What’s she look like? Don’t suppose you thought to bring me a picture.”
“I have a couple of old ones. They’re black-and-white, and not very good.” Gray opened his briefcase and took out the photos of Dawn. Jonas took them and looked at them for a long moment before handi
ng them back.
“Can’t tell much from these,” he said, his voice rough, “‘cept that she seems to resemble her grandma some. She’s a pretty girl, I see.”
Beautiful. She’s beautiful. “Yeah. I guess she is.”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean? Is she short? Tall? Curvy? Skinny? What color’s her hair?”
“She’s a little taller than average. I guess you’d say she’s nicely built. Her hair’s red. Well, maybe not red, exactly, but sort of a deep strawberry-blond…” He stopped in midsentence, met the old man’s surprisingly clear gaze and flushed. “Okay. She’s a good-looking woman, if that’s what you’re asking.”
His uncle put his hands on his knees and rose slowly to his feet. “Not surprised. She has good genes. Well, go on. Tell me more.”
“That’s about it.”
Jonas snorted. “The hell it is! You ain’t said a word about what she’s like ‘cept that she’s smart and pretty, and I had to practically drag that out of you. Is she nice?”
“Nice?”
“You heard me. Nice. She got a sense of humor? Does she smile a lot? What’d you think of her?”
Gray could feel a knot forming in his gut. “I don’t see what any of this has to do with—”
“Is she married? Single? Come on, boy, tell me somethin’!”
“Married.”
“And?”
“And what? You asked me if she’s married. I told you, she is.”
Jonas narrowed his eyes. “Okay. You want to play twenty questions, that’s how we’ll do it. Who’s she married to? What’s he do for a living? Is she happy?”
Gray drew in a deep breath, then let it out. “She’s married to a man with a record.”
“Whoa. A prison record?”
“No. An arrest record, but he’s never done time. She doesn’t live with him. She ran away from him four years ago.”
His uncle leaned on the railing next to Gray. “Kids?”
“One. The father claims Dawn ran out and left him and the boy.”
“But?”
“But, I don’t believe him.” Gray turned toward Jonas. It felt good, finally, to say the words out loud. “I don’t know where the child is or what happened to him, but she wouldn’t have abandoned him. I can’t prove it—”
“Don’t have to prove it,” Jonas said softly. “Most times, a man knows all he needs to know about a woman without her telling him.” Minutes passed. The old man gave a deep sigh. “I told you this girl was my old friend’s granddaughter. Well, that’s maybe the truth…and maybe it isn’t.” He looked at the railing, ran his hand back and forth over the smooth wood. “Ben Lincoln and me were partners, same as I said, but we didn’t stop working together because we found out it would cost more to get the gold out of that jungle than it was worth. It was because I slept with his wife.”
Jonas stood straight, his eyes fierce as a hawk’s. The years seemed to drop away until he was as he’d been in his youth: tall, strong and arrogant in his conviction that he was lord of his universe.
