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“Thank you,” Abby said with a shy smile. “I made it.”
His eyebrows arched. “You can do a lot of things.”
“I’ve had to,” she pointed out. “Now, how about Denver?”
He finished his cake and sipped coffee. He looked up at her. He sighed. She was beautiful, in her own special way, and he loved the way she looked at him. “Debby had a lover,” he blurted out.
Her lips fell open. “She what?” she exclaimed.
“She had a lover. They pretended to be married.” He leaned back, his eyes far away. “He was a doctor, too, working in the same field. He was married and there was no hope of a divorce, so they had an apartment they shared.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said, hurting for him. He’d loved Debby so much. It was heartless, what she’d done to him.
“She never meant for me to find out,” he said. “And Anyu was actually meant for the doctor she lived with.” His eyes closed. “It was a very bad day. I learned things I wish I’d never learned.”
Abby didn’t know what to say. She just looked at him, with her heart in her eyes. “Need a hug?” she asked softly.
He didn’t answer her. He just opened his arms.
She went to him and he pulled her down into his arms and hugged her close, rocking her. “I didn’t know how much I needed a hug until just now,” he murmured into the thick, soft, sweet-smelling hair at her throat. “I lived a lie and never knew it. Debby came up here once in a while so I’d think she still cared. But she never did. She’d leave me when I was sick and never think a thing about it. She chided me when I had to shoot someone I knew.”
“Why?” she wondered.
“Because she never loved me,” he said, and it tore his heart to admit it. “I was a nice smokescreen for her illicit affair. Since she was married and he was married, they put on a good show for the public. But that was all a sham.”
“She should have divorced you, even if she couldn’t marry him,” Abby said huffily.
“I was a fool.”
“No,” she said softly, smoothing her hand over his shirt. “You were just a man in love.”
He drew in a long breath, held her very close for a minute, and then loosened his arms so she could sit up, but he held her gently on his lap. “Speaking of men, what about Lassiter?”
“Lassiter.” She frowned. “Oh, the new guy who was in your office.”
“He’s in the jail now, actually,” he muttered. “He threw a punch at me.”
“Funny, he doesn’t strike me as a lawbreaker. A geek, yes,” she chuckled. “Did you see his shirt?”
He nodded. “He’s an odd bird. I put him in with Mr. Whatley.”
“Good idea. He’ll take care of him. Did you find out anything that would help his sister?”
“Quite a lot,” he said. “It got pushed to the back burner while I was finding out unpleasant things about my late wife.”
“I’m truly sorry about that,” she said, studying his dark eyes. “I know it must hurt like the very devil.”
“It did. Now I feel a little better. Thanks,” he added softly, and bent to kiss her very gently on her mouth. “You make the worst problems seem small.”
She smiled. The kiss had shaken her, but she marshalled her resistance and didn’t let it show. “I’m glad. Any time,” she added, smiling. “I don’t mind listening.”
“I noticed.” He tapped her on the end of her nose.
She grinned. “What about Mr. Whatley’s sister?”
“That’s an interesting tale, and I can’t share it just yet. I’m working on a plan to help save her.”
She pursed her lips. “I won’t ask how. Or who.” Her eyes sparkled. “I have a good hunch about what’s going on. But I won’t say a word. I promise.”
