Grace Under Fire (Buchanan-Renard 14)

“And your sisters?”

“Yes.”

“But they weren’t around all that much, were they? Kiera was away at college and medical school, and Kate went away to college, then got her graduate degree in business—”

“Okay, no, they weren’t home all that often, but I knew they would be there if I needed them.”

Several minutes passed in silence, and then Michael said, “Were they home when your mother got sick?”

“Off and on,” she answered. “Toward the end our aunt Nora moved in to help.”

He nodded. “I understand now.”

“Understand what?”

“You have tremendous empathy for others, and that’s why they’re drawn to you.”

“They? Who are you talking about?”

“Terry, the nurse,” he said. “And the orderly. What was he telling you? He looked agitated.”

“His name is Cruz, and he was upset. He told me he’s one of six children, and their single mother raised them. Now she’s sick, and none of them want to take her into their home and care for her. The more he talked, the more he realized that her children have an obligation to take care of her.”

“What do you think?”

“Brothers and sisters and parents should be loyal to one another, no matter what.”

He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. “I agree.”

Michael was slowly beginning to realize how much he liked being with Isabel. When he first met her at Dylan’s wedding and wasn’t trying his damnedest to avoid her, he had thought her opinions were naive, but now he realized how strong her character was. He had learned not to trust anyone but his family and his SEAL team brothers. Trust was unconditional with all of them. Outsiders weren’t to be trusted. In his past line of work, that was the reason he stayed alive.

“Do you trust Dylan unconditionally?” he asked.

“Yes, I do.” There wasn’t any hesitation at all.

“Do you trust me unconditionally?”

“Yes.” Again, no hesitation. Before he could gloat, and Isabel was sure that he would, she added a caveat. “And I can’t give you a reason why.”

On one hand, Isabel aggravated the hell out of him, and on the other, she made him feel good. His only explanation was that his reactions to her were just plain crazy.

“I’m not going to ask if you trust me unconditionally,” she continued, “because I know the answer. You’re too cynical to trust anyone out of your core group.”

He didn’t disagree. Instead, he changed the subject. “There’s the bridge to home. Notice the sign on that post?”

“Yes.”

“What does it say?”

Here we go again. Isabel silently groaned. “Do not pass. The sign says, ‘Do not pass.’ Michael, are we going to argue again?”

Fortunately, her cell phone rang before he could get worked up thinking about their near misses while she was driving. She didn’t bother to see who was calling. A minute later she wished she had. James Reid was on the line, and he was even more eager than the last time he’d called.

She decided to share the conversation with Michael and put Reid on speaker.

“You don’t want to miss out on this fantastic opportunity, Miss MacKenna. Really, you don’t. The price the Patterson Group will pay is quite high.” He added, “Yes, it is. You won’t get that much from anyone else, but you must act now. The deal could go away,” he warned. “And we don’t want that to happen.”

Isabel thought Mr. Reid sounded like a spokesman in a late-night television infomercial.