Free Unmasked by Ingrid Weaver

that I mucked myself up good. He’s considering prescribing a gris-gris.”
    “He sounds like a character.”
    “He is that, but he’s also a brilliant doctor. His research into nanotechnology and laparoscopic neurosurgery is cutting-edge stuff.” He glanced at her sideways. “No pun intended.”
    She knew he’d meant to make her smile, but she couldn’t, not about this. “I hope everything works out for you, Jackson. You know that, don’t you?”
    “I know. Same goes for me. I hope you work through your troubles, too.”
    They drew near the nightclub at the end of the block. The wail of a saxophone spilled through the open doorway, adding yet another layer to the melody of the street. Charlotte waited until they had passed and the noise had faded before she spoke again. “I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday,” she said. “It was inexcusable for me to be so touchy about the hotel.”
    “I’m glad you were. Otherwise you might still be trying to treat me like a stranger.”
    Put like that, she couldn’t regret what she’d said, either. It felt good to be able to talk to Jackson like this again. “Well, I am sorry,” she persisted. “You were only trying to be my friend.”
    “Stop apologizing. I do tend to stick my nose in where it’s not wanted,” he said wryly. “And speaking of that, I’m guessing that your family doesn’t know how bad things are with the hotel finances. Otherwise you wouldn’t have been bottling things up that way.”
    “You guessed right. They know our finances are precarious, but they don’t know how close we are to losing the hotel. I’ve been shielding them from the full extent of the problems.”
    “Because of Anne’s heart condition?”
    “That’s the main reason, yes.”
    “And because the hotel means more to you than it does to the others.”
    She closed her hand into a fist and gave his chest a light thump. “I can’t believe you still know me so well. It’s been two decades.”
    He paused under the streetlight on the corner and tipped up her chin with his knuckle. His gaze moved slowly over her face. “I know who you used to be, but I’m not sure about this person you are now.”
    “Have I changed that much?”
    “Some. When did you start straightening your hair?”
    “My hair? I’m surprised you noticed.”
    Still using his knuckle, he brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “I remember winding your curls around my fingers.” One side of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “I also remember getting your hair tangled in my watchband one night when you were trying to sneak past your papa.”
    She gave a startled laugh and touched his arm. “Oh, I remember that. I was so late I thought I’d be grounded for life if I got caught. You wanted to break your watch apart so I wouldn’t cut my hair.”
    “Your hair was so beautiful, I couldn’t let you lop it off.”
    “And I couldn’t let you break that watch. You won it at the science fair.”
    “So you ended up tucking my watch into your curls and wearing it to bed.”
    “It worked. I didn’t get grounded, but I had a heck of a time combing that watch out in the morning. Thank goodness Renee helped.”
    He smoothed his palm along her hair. “So when did you get rid of the curls?”
    “Oh, ages ago. I think it was before my divorce.”
    His smile dimmed.
    What was it about Jackson that made her speak without thinking? Charlotte looked at her hand where it still rested against his arm. And why did she always seem to end up touching him?
    A group of people staggered past them from the direction of the nightclub, their voices raised in slurred conversation. Someone stumbled into her shoulder, giving her a good excuse to start moving again.
    Jackson remained silent until they had rounded the corner and were within sight of the parking lot. “I should probably tell you I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you and Adrian,” he said.
    “It’s all right,” she began.
    “But I won’t