Lee and Hallie plopped down simultaneously in the two chairs facing Kit’s massive desk.
Hallie knew she was in for it. Kit looked mad enough to grow horns. And he had every right to be, too, since she’d tried to bamboozle him. She should have told him honestly why she needed the money. She had waged a mental battle, quick as it was, between swallowing her pride and lying. Lying won. Was it her fault she couldn’t think when he was around? Her brains turned to mush, and she did the most childish things.
There was little chance she could continue to lie. Besides which, she couldn’t think of a good story when her mind and stomach were all queasy.
Kit sat down behind his desk, afraid to take his glaring eyes off Hallie, for he knew that, given the chance, she would be gone in a flash. He noticed that Lee appeared to have recovered and was watching Hallie, chest level, as she squirmed.
“I suppose I should tell you what was going on before you arrived.” Kit had the sudden urge to draw Lee’s attention away from Hallie’s attributes.
Lee’s face took on a knowing gleam. “Oh, you needn’t do that, my father told me all about it when I was twelve. In fact, he took me to this—”
“Spot, Lee! You’re not funny. This is not funny. Dammit!” Kit saw Hallie flush bright red at Lee’s inane teasing. “This is serious. She needs money for something, and Jan is still gone.” He turned to her. “Tell us, Hallie, and no more of those theatrics.”
“I need five hundred dollars,” she mumbled.
“Speak up, girl, I didn’t hear you.” His voice was so loud that she cringed. Good, he thought, a little fear should wrangle the truth out of her.
“I need five hundred dollars,” she said in a voice loud enough to be heard in Sacramento City.
He ignored her impertinent tone, although his spanking hand began to itch. “Why?”
“Because of the shoes,” she answered vaguely.
“What shoes?” Kit and Lee questioned together.
“Why Liv’s shoes.” Hallie’s tone was inflected with reason.
Kit sat there...waiting for more.
Lee leaned over and patted her hand gently. “Don’t be upset, my dear.” He smiled reassuringly. “You just take your time and tell us the whole story.”
Hallie took a deep breath despite the look it was giving her, and blurted out the whole tale. When she got to the part where Abner Brown demanded his money, she paused, for Kit’s neck was turning a dark red. Attributing it to rightful anger for her girlish foolishness, she rattled on, “I know it was stupid to climb that tree, but I had to get those shoes. I never thought the limb would break and I know five hundred dollars is a lot of money but he said he was going to report me to the Sheriff. I try so hard with the children and all and Da’s been gone and I’m—” She could feel tears of humiliation rise as she bit back the wordsI’m scared.
“Hallie.” Kit spoke her name quietly. “You should have told me what happened in the first place. Abner Brown is taking advantage of you. Let me take care of him.”
“But I’m the one who should take care of it. It’s not your problem, and while Da’s gone, I am the head of the family. I have to learn to deal with these things. I’m an adult.” In a disgusted voice she added, “I’m not a child.”
“Your father is our friend. He would want us to watch out for his family. You’re a woman, Hallie,” he said. “And a young one at that.” Kit smiled. The poor girl needed some masculine reassurance. “This is something that is better handled by a man.”
Hallie looked at Lee, who was nodding in agreement. Did they really think men were so superior? They probably thought she was too young to handle her own problems. Well, she couldn’t change her gender or her age, so that didn’t leave her anything to argue with. Men and their stupid egos!
Lee rose and helped an agitated Hallie from her seat. “You go on home and don’t worry about Mr. Brown. Just leave him to us.”
Kit stood, plucking his hat and coat off the rack behind him. “That’s right, Hallie. Just run along and don’t worry your pretty head about him.”
Hallie knew she had been dismissed. She and her pretty head.
She moved silently to the door. Turning, she said, “You’re right, I should have come to you first. After all, if a smart woman needs water to clean up a mess, she doesn’t haul it from the river herself. She finds two asses to do it for her!”
The door slammed shut.
“I think she’s mad.” A perplexed Lee turned toward Kit. “Why do you suppose that is?”
Kit shrugged on his coat. “Who the hell knows? That kid is a hellion. Nothing she does makes any sense at all. She comes right in here out of the blue and accuses me of cheating her father. She tells half-truths, fakes tears, and then gets violent when I try to teach her a lesson.” Kit rubbed the back of his knee.
Lee listened but appeared to have trouble suppressing his grin. “Is that what you were doing when I came in? Giving lessons?”
Kit had the grace to blush, especially since his mind was on the same track as Lee’s. He didn’t like feeling out of control. And he’d felt that way.
