"What about-"

The buzz of his intercom interrupted him. Jeff frowned. His assistant, Brenda, knew better than to bother him and Zane while they were involved in tactical planning. She would only do so if there was an emergency.

"Yes," he said, as he tapped a button on his phone.

"Jeff, I know you're busy but you have a call from a downtown shelter. About a Ms. Churchill and her daughter. I didn't know…" His normally take-charge assistant sounded fairly flustered. "Is she a friend of yours? Or should I take a message?"

All of his senses went on alert. "Put the call through," he instructed.

There was a moment of silence, followed by Brenda's voice politely saying, "Mr. Ritter is on the phone now."

"This is Jeff Ritter. How can I help you?"

"Oh, Mr. Ritter. Hi. I'm Julie, a volunteer at the shelter. Ashley and Maggie Churchill are here. The problem is Ashley is very sick. Too sick to stay, but she's refusing to go to a hospital. As she only seems to have the flu, I can't blame her. But we don't have the facilities to take care of her. We found your card in her jacket pocket and I was wondering if you're a friend of the family."

Jeff knew what she was asking. Would he take responsibility? He reminded himself that Ashley Churchill had already refused his offer to pay for a hotel. Then he remembered the defeat in her eyes when she'd seen the ruin that was her home. She was sick, she had a child and nowhere to go.

It wasn't his problem, he reminded himself. He didn't get involved. Not ever. According to his ex-wife he had the compassion of the devil himself and a heart made of stone. Telling the shelter volunteer he wasn't anything to the Churchill females was the only thing that made sense.

"Yes, I'm a friend of the family," he said instead. "I'll be right there to pick them both up. They can stay with me."