The Way Home. Irene Hannon

“Let’s just say I don’t think I’ve seen the last of Amy Winter.”

      Bill chuckled as he reached over to open the door.

      “This could be interesting. Two people equally unwilling to bend. You’ll have to keep me informed. In the meantime, we’d better get on with the jury selection or there won’t even be a trial to write about.”

      As Cal followed Bill into the room, he gave one last fleeting thought to Amy Winter. Bill had called her a “looker,” and his colleague was right. But that wasn’t why she lingered in his memory. He’d met plenty of attractive women, and he’d rarely given them a thought once out of their presence. No, it wasn’t her looks that intrigued him. It was the look that had appeared in her eyes, then quickly vanished, when he’d spoken harshly to her. For the briefest of moments she had seemed somehow…vulnerable was the word that came to mind. Yet that seemed so out of character for someone in her profession. Reporters got the cold shoulder all the time. Surely they built up an immunity to it. Why would she be any different?

      And she probably wasn’t, he told himself brusquely. Most likely he’d imagined the whole thing. Besides, why should he care? Amy Winter was a stranger to him. And a reporter to boot. She was aggressive, ambitious, competitive, single-minded, brash—qualities he didn’t particularly admire in either gender. He ought to just forget her and hope she honored his request to back off.

      Except he didn’t think she would.

      And for some strange reason, he didn’t think she was going to be so easy to forget.

      Chapter Two

      Amy took a sip of her drink and glanced around glumly. A charity bachelor auction was the last place she wanted to be on a Saturday night. If her TV station hadn’t bought a table and their lead anchorwoman wasn’t the MC—making this a politically expedient event to attend—the proverbial wild horses couldn’t have dragged her here. Spending an entire evening watching women bid on dates was not exactly her idea of a compelling way to use her precious—and rare—free time.

      “Why the long face?”

      Amy turned to find one of the younger copywriters from her station at her elbow. She shrugged, groping for the woman’s name. Darlene, that was it. “I can think of other places I’d rather be.”

      “Yeah? Spending an evening mingling with a bunch of hot-looking guys doesn’t seem so bad to me. Have you checked out the program?” She waved it in front of Amy’s face. “It’s got all their pictures and bios.”

      “No. I’m not planning to bid.”

      “I wasn’t, either, until I got here. But I met several of the auctionees during the cocktail hour and now I’ve got my eye on Bachelor #12—over there, by the bar.” She gazed at him longingly. “Man, a date with that dude would be worth a couple hundred bucks! Did you meet anyone interesting?”

      Amy shook her head. Actually, she’d only just arrived, putting off her appearance as long as possible. It had been a grueling and frustrating couple of weeks and she was exhausted. Though she’d tried repeatedly to contact Cal Richards—even waylaid him a couple of times enroute to the courthouse—and spent hours in the courtroom after the trial began, he’d hardly spoken to her. Apparently he’d said everything he intended to say at the one encounter when he’d made it clear what he thought of the news media.

      Amy sighed. She hadn’t given up on finding an angle on this story. But the assistant prosecuting attorney wasn’t making it easy, that was for sure. Still, she was due for a break. In fact, she deserved one. After all, she’d paid her dues. She’d put in the long hours, sacrificed her personal life, worked the midnight shift in the newsroom, all in the name of career advancement. And she’d accomplished a lot. But not enough. She had her sights set on an anchor slot. And she’d get there, just like Candace Bryce, she vowed, as the celebrity MC stepped to the microphone.

      “Ladies, please take your seats so the wait staff can serve dinner—and we can get to the real purpose of this evening. You’ll have about an hour to enjoy your food and plan your strategy. Bon appétit!”

      “Our table’s over there,” Darlene indicated with a nod, leaving Amy to follow.

      Amy knew most of the women from the station either by name or face, although she didn’t consider any of them “friends.” The broadcast news business was too competitive to foster real friendships. She smiled pleasantly and sat down in the one empty chair, her back to the stage. Obviously her table mates had vied for the seats with the best view, she thought wryly. As far as she was concerned, they could have them. She’d much rather focus on the chocolate mousse promised for dessert than the dessert the other women had in mind.

      By the time the mousse was served, Amy was beginning to plan her escape strategy. She’d put in her appearance, been noticed by Candace and stopped on the way to the ladies’ room to chat with the station manager. Her duty was done. In another few minutes she could sneak out, head back to her apartment, take her shoes off, put on some mellow jazz, dim the lights and do absolutely nothing for what little remained of the evening. It sounded like heaven!

      As Candace stepped once more to the microphone, a buzz of excitement swept over the room and there was a rustling of paper as the women reached for their programs. While the ladies focused on the stage, Amy focused on her dessert.

      The first auctionee was introduced to cheers and whistles, and Amy rolled her eyes. How could grown women behave in such a sophomoric way? she wondered in disgust. And they complained that men acted juvenile! She eyed the exit longingly, but it was too soon to leave. The bidding had barely begun. Resignedly she reached for one of the programs and fished a pen out of her purse. She might as well put the time to good use. In the car this evening, on the way to the dinner, she’d had some ideas about the trial coverage and she wanted to jot them down before they slipped her mind.

      As Amy made her notes, she tuned down the surrounding cacophony of sound until it was no more than a background buzz. She’d learned that technique early in her career, when she realized she would often have to compose broadcast copy in the midst of chaos for live feeds. It was a skill that had served her well in the years that followed.

      In the one real conversation they’d had, Cal Richards had suggested some angles for her coverage that she hadn’t yet explored. She’d also picked up a few ideas since sitting in on the first couple of sessions of the trial. They had all been filed away in her mind for emergency use, just in case she wasn’t able to break through his wall of reserve. Up until now, she’d been confident she’d find a way to do that. But her confidence was beginning to slip, she admitted. She’d tried everything she could think of, and the man simply refused to budge. It was time to put some of her emergency plans into action.

      Amy ran out of room and turned the page to continue her scribbling. Her name fell on Bachelor #5 just as Candace introduced him.

      “Now, ladies, here we have a real coup. One of Atlanta’s most eligible and elusive bachelors, who only agreed to participate because of his interest in Saint Vincent’s Boy’s Club, which will benefit from this event. He’s gorgeous, articulate, charming and very available. If I wasn’t already married, I’d bid on this one myself. Ladies, please welcome one of Atlanta’s finest assistant prosecuting attorneys, Cal Richards.”

      Amy practically choked on the sip of coffee she’d just taken as the room erupted into wild applause and more catcalls. She stared at his name and photo in the program, then jerked around to confirm that her nemesis was, indeed, present. Sure enough, there he was, looking incredibly handsome in his tux—and extremely uncomfortable in the glare of the spotlight, judging by the flush on his face and his strained smile. Cal Richards, who shied away from publicity, was allowing himself to be ogled by a roomful of raucous women and auctioned off for charity! It was incredible! It was unbelievable! It was…the chance she’d been waiting for, she realized with a jolt! If she bought a date with him, he’d have to talk to her, she reasoned, her mind clicking into high gear. Sure, there was a chance he wouldn’t tell her anything of value. But she was pretty good at ferreting