A Soldier's Return. Judy Christenberry

she could go on the condition that she didn’t reveal her identity. He told Rebecca she was his assistant.”

      “And she bought that?”

      “She did until Vivian told her differently. Once Vivian met her, she insisted she come back to Dallas to meet her sister.” Carrie smiled. “You see, Vivian sees with her heart, not her head. She’s different from most rich people, and that’s how she raised Vanessa, too.”

      “Is that when Will fell for her?” Jim asked, doubt in his voice.

      “I don’t think it was that fast. Will had been married before to a lady who wanted money, however she could get it. She divorced Will to marry a man almost twenty years older than her because he was wealthy.”

      “It makes it seem unlikely that he’d fall for Vivian, then.”

      Carrie chuckled. “He was a goner when he saw Vivian’s generosity to Rebecca, offering her a home, helping her return to school full-time, becoming Joey’s grandma. That’s how she convinced Will without even trying. He realized she was different from the rich women he’d met in the past.” Carrie paused, then gauging Jim’s expression, said, “All of which is a long explanation so you’ll understand that we know a great deal about you.”

      He looked confused. “I don’t see how Will’s love life explains why you already know a lot about me.”

      “It explains how Will wouldn’t invite you to come meet your family unless he believed you wouldn’t disappoint Vivian and your sisters. We’ve talked to many of your superior officers. We know about your returning to college to get a degree and moving up in the officer ranks. We’ve talked to men who served under you.” Carrie stopped talking because of the frown on Jim’s face.

      “And what did you find that made you think I’d be a good P.I.?” he demanded.

      “You’re smart, decisive, caring, honest,” Carrie said. “You can handle yourself in a fight, you majored in computer science and you’re a good friend.”

      “You already knew about my degree when Will asked about my computer skills?” Jim asked, one eyebrow raised.

      Carrie had the grace to look a little embarrassed. “Yes. We weren’t sure how you’d feel about having been investigated.”

      “I don’t like it one damn bit!”

      Carrie kept her gaze fixed on her plate, pretending to ignore Jim’s glare.

      “If someone you loved wanted to find a stranger, wouldn’t you investigate the person before you introduced them?” Carrie asked gently.

      After a moment of silence, Jim said, “Yeah, I would. But that doesn’t mean I want to work as a P.I.”

      “Never said it did,” Will agreed, suddenly appearing at the table. “But I hope Carrie explained everything to you. We need some help. If you don’t agree to work for me, I’ll have to find someone else.” Will sat at the table and waved for the waitress to bring his breakfast.

      “Tell me about the work.”

      Will began to tell him about cases they had pending, between bites, pointing out that most of their cases involved investigating people trying to trick the insurance companies. “Occasionally, we take cases that the police have given up on. Or cases like Vivian’s.”

      “No divorce cases? No tailing cheating husbands?”

      “I try to avoid them.”

      Jim looked at Carrie. “What do you do?”

      “The same work as Will.”

      “You actually tail people?”

      “Of course.”

      “You carry a gun?”

      “Yes.”

      Jim raised his cup and took a long drink of coffee. Then he looked at Will. “How about a trial run? I’ll work for you for a week, no pay. If I like the work, we’ll talk.”

      “That’s more than fair. Let’s shake on it,” Will said, extending his hand to Jim.

      After shaking Will’s hand, Jim extended his hand to Carrie.

      Reluctantly, slowly, she gave him her hand, hoping he wouldn’t realize she was shaking more than his hand. She had a thing about shaking hands. It told her a lot about a person. But she already knew about Jim. Shaking his hand only confirmed her attraction to him. To the real Jim.

      “Well,” Will said, “shall we go to the office? If you can catch on to what we do on the computer, Carrie has some fieldwork to do. You can use her desk.”

      Jim again looked at Carrie.

      All she could manage was a nod agreeing with Will’s statement.

      “Are you going to stay here for the week? That will be kind of expensive.” Will paused and then said, “Since you’re working for free, you could stay with us. We really do have plenty of room.”

      “I don’t think—”

      “Then I’ll have to pay you a salary for the first week.”

      “No, I—”

      “Vivian will ask. She’d be horrified at my taking advantage of you.”

      “Fine. You can pay me minimum wage for the week. Until I catch on, that’s all I’ll be worth anyway.”

      Will blinked several times. Then he said, “It’s a deal. But we’d still like to have you move in with us.”

      “That’s very kind, but no thank you.”

      Carrie smiled. Jim had just proven her right. She’d told Will this morning she didn’t think Jim would go along with his offer.

      “So you’re going to stay here?” Will asked.

      “I’m going to look for an apartment, but I’ll stay here until I find something.” Jim stood. “I need to go get my jacket. I’ll be right back.”

      Once Jim had left the table, Carrie grinned at Will. “I won that bet,” she pointed out.

      “Yeah, you did. I’d hoped I could persuade him.”

      “I know, for Vivian. But they’ll get to see him often and he’ll get used to a big family after a while.”

      “I guess it has been kind of sudden.” He stood. “We’d better head for the office.” He waved the waitress over for their bill.

      “Can you show him what we need done on the computer?” Will asked as he paid.

      “That shouldn’t be a problem. It’s not that difficult.”

      “Then what will you do?”

      “Fieldwork, like you said.”

      “Nothing dangerous, right?”

      Carrie shrugged her shoulders. “I have a couple of specific cases in mind.”

      “Which ones?” Will asked.

      “The Moore case…and maybe the Riley case.”

      “No! I’ll do that one, Carrie. I told you that one is dangerous. That man is amoral. He won’t hesitate to kill anyone who’s trying to stop him from getting his money.”

      “And that’s why I have to do it. He would suspect you, but he won’t suspect me.”

      “No. I won’t allow you to go alone.”

      “Trouble in paradise?” Jim asked, coming up alongside them.

      “Carrie wants to do something dangerous, and I won’t let her,” Will said firmly.

      “It’s obvious you just want to protect her,” Jim said, raising one eyebrow.

      “I