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He believed her. Just as he believed he was the only person in the room who knew the real reason for her enthusiasm.
Standing up, he turned and extended a hand toward the deputy. “Morris.”
J.C. gave a curt nod, his gaze shifting between Dale and Heather. “Nichols. What brings you into town so early?”
Dale debated how to answer. Clearly, Heather had kept her word and not mentioned her concerns about the corruption case to her brother. He didn’t want to be impressed with the young woman, but like a pro, she’d followed his lead when he approached this as a social call. It was the simplest solution until they sorted out a few details.
“Your sister.” Predictably, Morris took a big-brother stance. “I thought she’d enjoy a new sushi place in Columbia.”
“Sushi?” Morris aimed the question at his sister. “I thought you were on the schedule at the shelter tonight?”
“Big brother really is watching around here.”
That’s what worried him about this whole thing.
With a put-upon sigh, she held up her phone. “For your information, I have already changed shifts. I’m entitled to an unexpected evening out with a handsome man.”
Handsome? His reflection didn’t frighten him, but he decided an early exit was better than giving her enough rope to hang them both.
“I’ll be back this evening,” he said to Heather, picking up the to-go cup she’d poured for him.
“Can’t wait.”
Her smile lit up her face, lit up the whole diner really, and sold the encounter as a budding romance. Good thing too, because what he had in mind to drop a net on the officials she suspected, had to work from the first moment.
No room for error.
He walked to his car, waiting for the inevitable interrogation from Deputy Morris.
“A minute, Nichols?”
“That’s about all I have,” he replied.
“Why didn’t you call?”
“Call who about what?”
Morris looked as indignant as a brother could look. Dale wondered if he might have been driven to the same sort of behavior if life had been different. He didn’t want to antagonize the deputy, but he couldn’t blurt out the facts here on the street. Not when Heather had gone above and beyond to keep her brother away from the situation.
“You could have asked her out with a phone call,” Morris pressed.
“And miss all this?” He raised his coffee cup to his lips, savoring the scent and smooth taste. “It was last minute,” he added. “I thought it best to make the pitch in person.”
“A long way to drive for a date.”
“Something that should please you.”
“How so?”
“Shows I think she’s worth the extra effort,” Dale said. He’d reviewed every angle of this on the drive and practiced the phrases until he could deliver them naturally.
“You don’t know her.”
“Are you suggesting she isn’t worth it?” Dale put a hard edge on the words. Not out of some misplaced affection for Heather Morris—he barely knew her. But he wanted to put a swift end to this conversation before it escalated.
“I don’t trust you.”
That startled Dale. With a shrug, he opened his car door, refusing to dignify the outrageous, brotherly remark with a reply.
