Angie nodded. "Thats my Conlan. "
"Wow" was all Lauren could say. He looked like Pierce Brosnan. She got out of the car.
He came toward her, his shoes crunching on the gravel driveway. "You must be Lauren. "
His voice was low and rumbly, as if maybe hed smoked or drank too much when he was young.
Lauren fought the urge to flinch. He had the bluest eyes shed ever seen and they seemed to penetrate her to the bone. He seemed angry with her. "I am. "
"Conlan," Angie said breathlessly, coming up beside him.
He didnt look at Angie. His gaze was steady on Lauren. "I came to meet you. "
TWENTY-SIX
HE WAS TRYING TO KEEP HIS DISTANCE FROM Lauren; Angie could tell. He wore his reporter detachment like a suit of armor, as if a few patches of hammered together metal could protect a mans heart. He sat stiffly upright at the head of the table, shuffling cards. Theyd been playing Hearts for the last hour, talking almost the whole time, although Angie wouldnt characterize it as conversation. An interrogation was more apt.
"And youve applied to colleges?" Conlan asked as he dealt the next hand. He didnt look at Lauren. It was, Angie knew, an old reporters trick. Dont look; theyll think its a casual question, one you dont care about.
"Yes," Lauren answered without looking up from her cards.
"Where?"
"USC. Pepperdine. Stanford. Berkeley. UW. UCLA. "
"Do you still think college is an option?"
The reference to the baby made Angie look up sharply from her cards.
Laurens gaze was surprisingly direct. It was clear that shed decided enough was enough. "Im going to college. "
"Itll be hard," he said, pulling out cards to pass.
"I dont mean to be rude, Mr. Malone," Lauren said, her voice taking on strength, "but life is always hard. I got a scholarship to Fircrest because I never gave up. Ill get a scholarship to college for the same reason. Whatever I have to do, Ill do. "
"Do you have any relatives to help?"
"Angie is helping me. "
"What about your own family?"
Lauren answered quietly, "Im alone. "
Poor Conlan. Angie watched him melt, right there at the head of the table with the cards in his hands. The reporter face gave way, leaving behind the sad, lined face of a man who was worried.
Angie could tell he was trying to back away from the emotion hed stirred up, but he was caught, trapped by the tears in a girls eyes. He cleared his throat. "Angie tells me youre interested in journalism. " There it was: higher ground.
Lauren nodded. She led with the two of diamonds. "Yes. "
Conlan played the king. "Maybe youd like to come to work with me someday. I could introduce you to some of the people there; let you see how reporters work. "
When she looked back on it, Angie saw how everything had changed in that moment. The interrogation vanished, leaving in its place a mini-party. For the next hour, they talked and laughed and played cards. Conlan told a series of funny work stories about stupid criminals. Angie and Lauren relayed some of their cookie-making mishaps.
At around ten oclock, the phone rang. It was David, calling from Aspen. Lauren took the phone upstairs.
Conlan turned to Angie. She wasnt sure, but she thought it was the first time hed dared to look at her.
"Why are you here?" she asked.