Page 32 of Evidence of Deceit

Claire jumped. “Oh my. You are quiet, aren’t you?”

“Tricks of the trade, babe.” He gave her a half-grin. “I’ll try to make some noise the next time.” He indicated she should follow him.

Joe had made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast and had set the table.

“I smell coffee.” She desperately needed a cup, although it was later than she usually drank coffee.

“One cup of coffee coming up.”

Claire sat down, and her mouth watered. It had been hours since she ate, and she was starving.

“Eat while the eggs are hot.”

They ate in comfortable silence. “Joe, I’m surprised youbought a house. You’re a single guy, and houses are a lot of work.”

“Surprised me too. Especially here in Black Pointe when I swore I would never come back.” He settled back into the chair.

“So why did you?”

“When I left the Navy and the government job, I felt I wanted roots. The only roots I had were with Mr. and Mrs. G. Then I got the offer from Sam, and here I am. Besides, Mark moved here, and we were SEAL buddies.” He shrugged. “I like stability.”

She patted his hand. “I understand stability. I love Black Pointe. When I left for college, I always thought I would come back here, but life got in the way.”

She gave him a small smile. “Sam seems to run a tight ship. Do you like working for her?”

Joe leaned his head back and sighed. “I do. I like the hours, the lack of excitement most of the time, but occasionally, a case gives us more excitement than we want. It’s what I need right now.”

“Ever get married?”

His eyes widened.

“No, I take that back. That’s too personal,” she quickly said.

“It’s okay. No, never even came close. I never found anyone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Oh.”

“Marry me, Joe. We’ll run off and see the world.” She looked into blue eyes as guileless as the blueish sky.

He patted her cheek. “Oh, sweetheart, your parents are expecting you to go to college. You need to go, find a man who will love and support you in all your endeavors.”

“But we love each other,” she protested. “Come to college with me.”

Joe gave her a small smile. “You know I can’t afford it,and Mr. and Mrs. G. can’t afford to pay for a foster kid, or any kid, to go to college. Besides…” His eyes got a faraway look. “I need to get out of this place. I’ll never get a good job with my reputation, plus I want to see the world before I settle down.”

She put her hand on his. “We can see it together after college.”

“Sure, babe. It’s a date. Now give me a sweet kiss.”

A goodbye text was all he sent the day after graduation—her heart broken by circumstances.

“Turnabout is fair play. Why did you marry Keith?”

She hesitated, wondering how to answer what should be a simple question. However, nothing was simple as far as Keith was concerned.

“He was a good friend of a man I was dating. He was charming and witty, loved the same things I did. At least, I thought he did. When I broke up with Mason, Keith started asking me out, bringing flowers, tickets to the opera, art shows, telling me what a great artist I was.” She fiddled with her fork. “How can I explain how utterly charming he was until he wasn’t?”

“I know you skimmed over this, but can you tell me when the abuse started?” Those blue eyes of Joe’s were now a dark navy.

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