Angel Mine

“I do,” Heather said, since nothing more seemed to be expected. This situation was getting increasingly fascinating. She couldn’t help wondering, though, just how wise it was to spill her secrets to the man married to Todd’s boss. She knew how much Megan relied on Todd. How would she feel about anything or anyone who upset the man’s orderly existence? Just to protect her own interests, would she throw a monkey wrench into Heather’s plan?

Heather was still debating what to do an hour later when Jake Landers finally came through the door, looking harried and nothing at all like a lawyer. Instead, in his worn jeans and chambray shirt, he fit her notion of a rugged cowboy to a T. Rugged and handsome, Jake exuded masculinity.

“What’s the big emergency?” he asked Flo.

Flo jerked her head in Heather’s direction. “You have a client.”

Jake gave Heather a once-over, then focused his attention on Flo once again. “I thought I told you not to schedule any appointments without consulting me, not until this baby thing is wrapped up.”

Heather stifled a grin at his naive belief that there would be a time in the near future when the “baby thing” would be wrapped up. Wasn’t she here precisely because that never happened?

“Your wife is pregnant, not sick,” Flo told him. “I’m sure she can spare you for a few minutes. Besides, this isn’t just any client. This is Heather Reed.”

When Jake failed to look impressed, Flo added pointedly, “Liza Whittington, you know, on ‘Heart’s Desire.’”

Jake looked more perplexed than ever. “Excuse me?”

“On television,” Flo said. “The soap. The one I watch during lunch.”

Understanding dawned, though the man hardly looked as if he’d finally realized he was in the presence of greatness as Flo seemed to be implying. He shot an apologetic look at Heather. “Sorry. I don’t watch a lot of daytime TV.”

“It’s okay. I’m not on anymore, anyway.”

“Jason shot her,” Flo said. “Good riddance, too.” She regarded Heather apologetically. “Sorry, but you have to admit you were a real schemer.”

“The worst,” Heather agreed. It was what had made the part so appealing initially. It had been a chance to play against type. Usually she was somebody’s perky sister. Only later, when she’d realized the ramifications with the fans, had she regretted the decision to take the role.

Jake appeared to have heard enough about the soap opera. After one last scowl at Flo, he motioned for Heather to follow him.

In his office, he gestured toward a credenza along the wall. “Coffee?”

She shook her head. He poured some for himself, then took a seat behind an impressive desk. That desk, combined with the bronze sculpture she recognized as a Remington, reassured her that despite his reportedly lackadaisical ways, Jake Landers was very successful at what he did. But could she trust him?

Right now he was studying her with what she supposed passed for an appropriately somber, lawyerly look, though on the soaps the men cast as attorneys rarely had such a twinkle in their eye.

“What can I do for you?” he asked. “I don’t do a lot of entertainment law.”

“I seem to remember that you played a big role in getting that syndicator to back down when he threatened to pull the plug on your wife’s syndication deal,” she said, recalling what she’d read in the trade papers at the time. She’d followed the story avidly, just as she did anything that might include a mention of Todd. Of course, if anyone had accused her of that, she would have denied it.

Jake grinned. “Let’s just say that in that instance I was highly motivated.”

Heather fiddled with her bangle bracelets, something she did only when she was nervous. Finally she said, “Look, maybe you should tell me about this lawyer-client confidentiality thing before we get started.”

He nodded. “Okay. Anything you tell me, I am ethically bound not to repeat.”

“Not to anyone?”

“Not to a living soul.” He regarded her closely. “You haven’t killed someone, have you?”

Startled by the question, Heather stared at him to see if he was serious, then caught that twinkle back in his eye. Normally, she enjoyed black humor, but at the moment she was way too tense to appreciate it.

“No, of course not,” she said. “Nothing like that. It’s just that you know the other person involved.”

“I do?”

“Todd Winston.”

Jake nodded slowly, apparently digesting that. “Is he in some sort of trouble?”

She grinned at his disbelieving expression. “I know. Hard to imagine, isn’t it? Dudley Do Right in trouble.”

“Todd strikes me as a very ethical man.”

“He is,” she agreed, then took a deep breath and added, “He’s also the father of my child.”

Jake very nearly choked on the sip of coffee he’d just taken. “Would you mind repeating that?”

“Oh, I think you heard me.”

“Does he know about this?”

She shook her head.

“I see.”

“Is this going to be a problem for you?” she asked, regarding him with concern. “I know how tight he is with your wife. That’s why he and I broke up, in a way.”

Jake held up his hands. “Whoa! Back up. What does Megan have to do with this?”

“Nothing, not directly, anyway. It’s just that when Todd went to work for her and gave up the dream we shared to be on Broadway together, it pretty much ended our relationship. We split up.”

“And you had his baby?”

She nodded. “After he’d left.”

“And he doesn’t know?” Jake asked again, as if he might have misunderstood her the first time.

“Nope.”

“How old is this child?”

“She’s three.”

Jake whistled. “Does he know you’re here now?”

“Not yet. I just got in. I took a room at a motel, but Henrietta gave me a job at her place across the street. She said I could use the apartment upstairs for as long as I’m here.”

“You don’t plan to stay?”