Free A Rare Chance by Carla Neggers Page B

father’s name, your date of birth—”
    â€œGod, I hate computers.”
    She flew around, suddenly uncomfortable, unable to get a decent breath in the cloying air. She stormed back up the aisle toward Number Two, not caring if Cam Yeager followed. How dare he investigate her like a common criminal? If they were in this mess together, his idea of “together” and hers were entirely different. He wasn’t even close to treating her like an equal partner.
    â€œHelps to be an ex-cop,” he said behind her, unrepentant.
    She tore open the door to Number Two, holding on to it as she glared back at him. “Did it say Scag and my mother never married?”
    â€œPretty much.”
    Groaning in frustration, she pushed through into the middle section of the greenhouse. She stood in the narrow aisle of pebbles, letting the drop in temperature and the steady flow of cooler air from the fans calm her. She could sense Cam’s presence behind her, hear the creak of the aluminum door as it shut. He was in full control of himself, maybe in his view of her too.
    â€œI suppose your computer also told you I got a C-plus in Algebra II in high school.”
    â€œNo, but you graduated college magna cum laude.”
    She fastened her gaze on a perfect oncidium. Its sprays of small, delicate flowers, its symmetry and beauty, all helped ease the tension that had gripped her. It was inexplicable, uncontrollable. What did she care if Cam Yeager knew about Scag? If he saw just how incorrigible she was when it came to orchids? She needed only to focus on what he was up to regarding Pete Darrow and the Readings, not on what he knew about her and her past. She didn’t care if he approved of her. She didn’t care if he understood her.
    Slowly, her muscles loosened, her breathing calmed, and she was able to unclench her jaw.
    Cam Yeager was a challenge. He was not a crisis.
    â€œThe bosses know Scag’s back in town?”
    She shook her head, still unable to speak. Was Yeager determined to stay one step ahead of her? Or would he level with her one of these days, tell her everything he was holding back?
    â€œWhat about Pete Darrow?” he asked.
    â€œI don’t think so,” she said.
    â€œHe’s going to find out. Count on it. Look, Gabriella, I have nothing to gain from shooting your star out of the sky.” His voice softened, and he moved closer, not quite touching her. With the orchids, the narrow aisle, the close confines of the small greenhouse, she was even more intensely aware of him. “I’m just trying to keep an old friend from self-destructing, if that’s what he’s doing. But you need to know what you’re up against. If you have anything to hide, Pete Darrow’s going to find out what it is.”
    â€œI have nothing to hide.” She brushed back her hair, perspiration dampening her forehead. Why did she feel as if she did have something to hide? “Pete Darrow can dig all he wants. He won’t find anything.”
    â€œAny reason he might think you know anything about Joshua Reading’s attempted kidnapping that you haven’t mentioned?”
    â€œNo. I resent your even asking.”
    He shrugged. “I’ll go up any dark alley, Gabby Starr. You might as well learn that about me. If it’ll get me where I want to be, I’ll go.”
    â€œMust have been a real treat being your partner.” She felt lightheaded, everything on the verge of spinning out of control. “Look, the only ‘secret’ I have is that I haven’t told anyone my father’s in town. Frankly, it’s nobody else’s business.”
    â€œWould the Reading brothers think they ought to know?”
    â€œThey might. It’s not that they object to Scag, but they wouldn’t like the publicity he could generate. They prefer to control when and how their names get in the paper. They know that part of the way I go about things