"What do you want to know?" he asked. "Should I give you a list of references?"

That would be a start, she thought, but didn't dare speak the words.

Surprisingly Jeff reached out and touched her cheek with his fingers. Just a fleeting moment of contact, during which she felt heat and amazing gentleness.

"Don't be afraid," he said quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you or Maggie. You're sick. You need a place to stay. I'm offering one. End of story. I won't hurt you or pressure you."

"But…"

"You have anywhere else to go?" he asked.

She shook her head. She wished the answer were different, but it wasn't. Her solitary job meant she didn't have any work friends, and she was always rushing into class from dropping Maggie off at school or hurrying out of class to pick up her daughter, so she'd never had time to make friends at the university. Her only acquaintances were her neighbors who were in the same situation she was.

"Mommy, here are your shoes."

She was more awake now and could offer her daughter a hug and her thanks when the happy little girl returned with her athletic shoes.

Before she could bend over and loosen the laces, Jeff took them from her and began slipping the right shoe on her foot.

The touch of his hand on her ankle was surprisingly intimate. She felt embarrassed and light-headed. The latter sensation could have been from the fever she was fighting, but she didn't think so. Still, it was equally unlikely it was because of what Jeff was doing. He was being kind, nothing more. He was a stranger. A slightly scary stranger. She thought of him as an ice-cold killer, not an attractive man.

"Mommy helps me with my shoes, too," Maggie offered, leaning against Ashley. "With my pink shoes, she has to tie the bow two times instead of just one, 'cause they're so long." Her voice indicated her reverence at the additional work her mother was willing to perform.