LITMIR.BIZ

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      Liz glanced from father to daughter. She wanted to refuse. But she couldn’t tell them she didn’t enjoy Carter’s company. Neither could she say she was in a hurry to get home so she could call a friend in L.A. Reenie and Isaac would both know exactly who she was talking about.

      “I guess I’ve got a few minutes.” Slipping into the chair Senator Holbrook held out for her, she helped herself to a cookie from a plate on the table. If she had to join the fun, she might as well indulge. It wasn’t as if she’d eaten much dinner.

      “Are you excited about opening the shop?” Celeste asked.

      Liz dusted a few crumbs from her lap. “I am,” she said, without adding that she was worried about the competition from Mary Thornton, now that Mary had had a two-month jump on attracting chocolate-loving patrons. “But I was hoping to be ready in time for Memorial Day.”

      “You’re not going to make it?”

      “No.”

      “Why not? Keith promised he’d help you,” Reenie said.

      “You know him.” When she said this, Liz could feel a spike in Carter’s interest level, and she figured he was sizing up the relationship, wondering how she and Reenie could be so friendly. Liz knew it was remarkable that they had overcome the past. But Reenie was a remarkable woman, and what had happened wasn’t her fault. “He doesn’t know enough about carpentry,” she explained. “And I’m having trouble finding someone else I can afford.”

      “What about me?” Isaac said.

      Liz shook her head. Isaac wasn’t any better at construction than Keith, and besides he was always so busy. “You already have your hands full.”

      “There’s Gabe,” Celeste said. “You’ve seen his furniture. He can build anything.”

      “He and Hannah should be back from Boston in a few days,” the senator added.

      Liz exchanged a quick glance with Reenie. They both knew her brother and his wife, Hannah, wouldn’t be home for some time. They’d met a doctor in Massachusetts who thought he could restore some of the mobility in Gabe’s legs, maybe even get him out of his wheelchair. He was scheduled to have surgery a week from now but because of the risks, he’d made Reenie promise to keep it a secret from his parents and Hannah’s sons. Her two boys were staying at home—when they weren’t at the Holbrooks’—since Kenny at nineteen was old enough to care for his ten-year-old brother.

      “Maybe I’ll talk to him when he gets back,” she said noncommittally.

      “Meanwhile, Carter could get you started,” the senator said. “He grew up building homes with his dad. Didn’t you, Carter?”

      Carter put his drink on the table and sat back. Liz could feel his eyes on her, but she refused to look directly at him. She sensed he knew she and Reenie were harboring some kind of secret, even if the Holbrooks didn’t. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to cut through pretenses. “What is it you need?” he asked.

      She was reluctant to tell him. Even if he had the ability to help her finish the store, she didn’t want his assistance. She’d find someone else eventually—or muddle through on her own.

      “Liz?” Reenie prompted.

      “Just a few improvements,” she said at last. “Flooring, paint, some shelves and display cabinets. But please don’t trouble yourself. I’m sure you’re far too busy to be bothered.”

      “The job should probably wait for Gabe,” he agreed.

      Carter didn’t like her any more than she liked him, Liz realized. That was apparent. But he’d said Gabe’s name with enough emphasis that she shot Reenie another glance. Did he know?

      Reenie managed a tiny shrug to indicate she had no idea.

      “Or someone else,” Liz muttered.

      “Why wait?” the senator asked. “Besides taking a few calls, there’s not much Carter can do for me until the computers arrive. And we’re a week away from that at least.”

      Carter’s forehead creased. “I was thinking about driving to Boise to work out of the capitol office until we were up and running here.”

      The senator bit into a chocolate-chip cookie. “Don’t bother driving to Boise,” he said. “There’re too many people at the capitol already.”

      “But the painting might be difficult,” Liz interjected. “I was hoping to create a marbled effect.”

      The senator brushed some crumbs from his mouth. “You can create a marbled effect, can’t you, Carter?”

      “I’ve never done it before.”

      “Don’t you have a book or magazine on it?” Senator Holbrook asked Liz.

      Reenie and Isaac knew she did. She’d shown it to them. “Yes.”

      The senator finished his cookie. “Carter?”

      “I suppose I could take a look at it,” he said.

      “Good. Help Liz for the next week or so, then we’ll see where we’re at with the office.”

      Liz waited for Carter to refuse. She guessed he wanted to. But he managed a pleasant voice when he answered. “Okay.” He shifted his gaze to her. “What time would you like me to meet you there tomorrow?”

      There was no polite escape. She’d thrown out a problem and the senator had solved it. “How about six?” she said, still hoping he’d balk.

      One eyebrow slid up. “Six?”

      “I thought we’d get an early start. But if you’d rather sleep in…”

      “No. Six is fine.”

      Liz knew there was a lot going on behind the unaffected mask he wore, but he gave away nothing.

      “Carter would work around the clock if I let him,” the senator said. “He’s amazing.”

      “Yes, he is.” Liz held her breath when her voice came out a little flat, but Isaac immediately jumped in to cover for her.

      “Sounds like you’ve done a variety of things in your life, Carter. How’d you get into politics?”

      Carter finished his drink. “I considered it as a profession years ago. I’m just coming back around to it.”

      “Do you think you’ll ever run for office?” Liz asked, remembering Keith’s question to her.

      “No.”

      Reenie’s chair scraped cement as she scooted forward to reach the cookies. “Why not?”

      “I don’t have the right makeup.”

      “What kind of makeup does it require?” Liz asked.

      He smiled as if he understood that she was tempting him into making a blunder. “Diplomacy. The ability to call your enemies friends. My enemies are simply my enemies. But a politician doesn’t have the luxury of living in black and white.”

      “You can say that again,” Holbrook said with a laugh. “Problem is, in politics your friends and enemies are never clearly defined in the first place. That’s why I need someone like Carter to help me keep them straight.”

      No longer enjoying her cookie, Liz set the last of it down on a paper plate. “So you’d call yourself a particularly good judge of character, Carter?”

      “I’m…cautious,” he said. “It’s necessary in my line of work.”

      “There’s nothing wrong with being cautious.” Isaac took Reenie’s hand, in a casual gesture but when Carter wasn’t looking he shot Liz a glower that told her to back off a bit.

      For the sake of politeness, she wanted to—but she couldn’t.

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