"Thanks, Hugh. It's good to be back."

"And I really would marry you and let you support me. We could let Nick run the practice, and I'd concentrate on opening a new world for you. Did I ever tell you that I minored in gigolo at college?"

She smiled. "And I'm sure you're very qualified. Good-bye, Hugh."

The smile still lingered as she hung up the phone. Everything was easing back into the same comfortable path as when she'd left. Tomorrow would be hectic and demanding and she would welcome it.

But right now she needed quiet time for herself. She didn't want any intrusive thoughts that might jar her.

Like Jude Marrok.

She rejected that thought immediately. She had seldom met a more disturbing man, and she did not want to be disturbed. She would be just as happy if she never saw him again.

Not likely. He would be back for Ned.

And then she would decide whether to turn him over to Marrok.

Conflict. Aggression. Battle. They all loomed on the horizon when Marrok showed up.

Not yet. Those might come with Marrok, but he wasn't here now. She didn't have to deal with anything more unsettling than the problem of staying awake until Janet called her for supper.

Take advantage of these moments.

The house phone rang.

She stiffened. No ID. Let Janet answer it?

No, face it.

She picked up the receiver. "Hello."

"I hear you were batting around the Ca rib be an," Lester said softly. "How many men did you sleep with on that pretty island?"

Hang up? No, he'd just call back. Let him get the poison out, and he might give her peace tonight. "None. If you know I was on Santa Marina, you know that I was on a job."

"Yeah, everyone in towns says how noble you are, but we know different, don't we? You only go away because you want to fuck, and you know I'd kill you if I caught you with any man here. I'd kill you both."

Threats and obscenities. He never tired of them. "That's ridiculous. I was on a job."