things such as when he read a new book at bedtime or saw something cool in the night sky.
âHe did. Thatâs why Iâm complaining. Just got him off to his playdate and Gabi and I are finally alone.â
Hunter laughed. âSorry, dude. Iâll keep this short. Coach has had two strokes and a heart attack. He wouldnât really talk to me or give me permission to go through his stuff. Iâm working another angle.â
âWhat angle?â
âCoachâs daughter.â
âCoach has a daughter?â
âYeah. Sheâs...smart and funny.â
âPretty?â
Pretty? âSheâs got eyes the color of the water around Arubaâremember that old wreck we went scuba diving in?â
âYes.â
âWell, her eyes are that color.â
âDang, Hunter, you soundââ
âLike an idiot,â he said. âI know. But sheâs different, King. Not what I expected.â
âSo youâre working her to get to the files?â
Was he? He had a plan. Seduce her and get what he wanted. Last night the plan had been screwed up by the wine and her defiant attitude in eating with him while gossips looked on. But this morning he was back on track.
âYeah. Itâs complicated, though.â
âWomen always are. You want me to talk to her. That way you donât haveââ
âNo. Iâll do this. When have I ever asked you to do anything for me?â
âNever. We each carry our own weight but weâre teammates. Weâre like brothers, Hunter. Iâm here if you need me.â
âThanks, King. Same. I got this,â he said. âIâm going for a run and then...how do you feel about hosting Ferrin and me for dinner?â
âWhy?â
âI want her to know you and me. To understand that weâre not asking for the files for any reason other than to clear our names.â
âOkay. Iâll check with Gabi and let you know when we can do it.â
He hung up with King and went for his run. The mountain paths he ran on out here in California were very different from the âhillsâ near where heâd grown up in Texas. Back home, they had gently rolling slopes; he never used to strain when he went uphill the way he did here.
He rounded the last bend and ran up to his front door past a car he didnât recognize. He stopped short on the bottom step that led to his porch. His interior designer had furnished the patio with two large California cedar deck chairs.
Ferrin sat in one of them. She had a foam cup in one hand, her sunglasses were pushed up on her head and she had her legs delicately crossed. She wore a pair of faded jeansâthey looked soft. She had on a pair of flip-flops and her painted toenails were a deep red color.
âHello.â
âMorning,â she said. âI hope you donât mind but I thought maybe we could spend the day together.â
He ran through his schedule in his head. He had a meeting with his assistant this morning and a fundraising briefing in the afternoon with a local small-town peewee football league that he was sponsoring. They needed gear for the league.
âIâve got a couple meetings, but otherwise Iâm free,â he said. âWant to come inside? We can figure this out.â
âYou work?â
He gave her a look over his shoulder. âMy dad would disagree because Iâm not out on the ranch helping him. But yeah, I work.â
âWhat do you do?â
âI run a foundation that encourages kids to participate in sports and funds sporting groups in low-income areas. Trying to level the playing field.â
âWow,â she said. âI had no idea.â
âI know. My involvement in the foundation is low-key. Itâs easier to give away the money if we donât associate me with it.â
âThatâs not fair. You were cleared of any wrongdoing back in college. Iâd think that
Janwillem van de Wetering