Across from him, what little color Hope had in her face was leeching away, which told Newman he was on the mark.
“You’re one of the smartest people I know, Hope. Tell me how he forced you out of Wildlife, and on the run.”
“I’m not running.”
“Oh, so you went into the bar because your life is peachy, did you? You ended up giving those guys an eyeful because everything is coming up roses in your world?”
She didn’t meet his eyes.
“I wanted a change.”
“So the queen of clean, green, and healthy eating suddenly wants a career in chair dancing?”
She didn’t answer him.
“Come on, Hope. I’m a friend.” She gave him a look. “We come from the same town. That makes us look out for each other. You know how this works.”
“There’s nothing you can do about this, Newman. You can’t fix it like you do other things. You and your posse can’t help me. So let it go.”
“Your mother is a pretty kick-ass lawyer, for all she’s a royal butt pain.”
This made her smile, the left side of her mouth rising slightly, and her eyes softened. She was beautiful, he realized, looking at her. Really goddamn sweet. She’d just hidden it behind the attitude and clothes for years, and he’d been too stupid to see it.
“She can’t help. I just need to ride this out for now, then when it dies down I’ll go back to work.”
“Come on, spill, Hope. You need to talk to someone about this, because knowing you like I do, I know that so far you wouldn’t have unloaded on anyone.” He saw the flare of hope then, the need to unburden herself. “Even if you don’t want my help, it may help you get a better perspective if we talk it through.”
“Why do you want me to?” She cradled her mug between her hands. “I mean, we don’t really like each other, and yes, while I get the part about Howlers, I’ve never really been part of that.”
Her words made him sad. Had he and the others excluded her without realizing that she wanted to be included? The thought unsettled him. Newman didn’t like hurting people.
“I’m sorry if you felt excluded, Hope. That was never our intention.”
She waved a hand at him.
“That’s over, and I never wanted to be part of it anyway.”
But she had, he realized to his shame.
“So talk.”
The waiter arrived with their food, and he wondered if she was just going to stay silent. If in fact he’d leave her and know nothing about what had her running scared.
He transferred some bacon to her plate.
“I don’t need this.”
He ignored her and started to eat. Newman was a great negotiator; it was his strength. Usually he just needed to get in front of a person, and he could talk them round. Hope, however, wasn’t budging. So he went the indirect route to get her to talk. He’d converse until she told him what he wanted without realizing it.
“I saw your mom before I left Howling. She was ripping Buster a new one for not getting a piece of gum off the path outside his shop. It got stuck to her shoe.”
Hope’s shoulders tensed, and her fingers snapped the crust of the toast she was holding. “I bet.”
“She told me that if I saw you I was to tell you it was time to come home.”
She choked on her toast. After coughing and spluttering, she drank a few mouthfuls of her lemon and honey, then glared at him.
CHAPTER FOUR
