Page 11 of Deception

“I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks.”

They both fell silent as the server brought her tea and took their orders of hamburgers and fries.

When they were alone again, he tilted his head. “How are you?”

She lifted her shoulders in a noncommittal shrug. “Good.” His arched eyebrow challenged her. “Really,” she said, and his features softened.

“I’m glad. I worried when I learned you’d moved out of violent crimes since you were so good at it.”

Madison traced a finger down the condensation on her glass. “How did you know I moved?”

“One of the FBI agents in Chad’s office told me.”

“I see. I suppose he was bragging about how they’d run me off.”

“It wasn’t like that. He thought it was a shame the way some of the men refused to work with you.”

Any park ranger or ISB agent assigned to the vast Big Bend area of Texas needed the FBI’s collaboration, and the men in Chad’s office made it plain they wanted nothing to do with her. “I needed a change of scenery. And I like white-collar crimes. Most of the time no one dies.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up. Could we start over?”

“I don’t know.” She cocked her head. “Why are you reaching out to me now?”

“Dad. He wanted to make sure you knew how much he appreciated you risking your life to save Noah.”

“Really? I got the impression he never liked me.”

“Unfortunately, that’s my father. Until people get to know him, they perceive him as a little bit arrogant.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out photos and handed them to her. “But he sent you these.”

Noah had lost his mom and dad within a day of each other. His mother when the men Chad hired to kidnap the boy killed her, and his dad to Madison’s bullet. She flipped through photos of the boy riding a horse, swimming, playing with his friends, and saw no signs of trauma in the now eight-year-old boy’s face or eyes.

“How much does he remember?”

“None of it, thank goodness—he’s adjusted really well. My sister adopted him, and they live just outside of Dallas in a small house next door to Mom and Dad. Noah gets ongoing counseling, and so far, he seems okay.”

“Good.” There hadn’t been many days that she hadn’t thought about the boy she’d rescued, and she was relieved to know that he appeared to be whole. She slid the photos across the table to him. “Thank you for showing those to me.”

He slid them back in front of her. “Dad thought you might like to have them.”

“Thanks.” She must have misjudged the elder Turner, and the gesture touched her. Madison tucked them into the side pocket of her bag. The waitress approached and set their burgers and fries in front of them. “This looks good.”

He picked up one of the crispy fries and bit into it. “The fries at least are as good as they look.”

She followed suit and agreed with him. Both fell silent as they sampled the food. The burgers were as tasty as the fries.

When Steven polished off the last of his burger, he sat back in his chair. “How long do you expect to be in Natchez?”

“However long it takes for the case I’m working on.”

He laughed. “Spoken like a true agent, whether FBI or ISB.”

She couldn’t keep from smiling at his remark. “It won’t be all business, and it’ll be a chance to spend time with my grandfather since I’ll be staying with him.”

“Judge Anderson.”

She tensed. How did he know who her grandfather was? Hershoulders relaxed. Chad, probably. She’d talked about the judge to him. “And you? I don’t expect you came all the way from Texas just to see me.”

---