Sean's Reckoning by Sherryl Woods Page B

here.”
    Sean tucked a finger under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze, “I’m going to do my best not to hurt you, either.”
    She shrugged as if her feelings were of no importance. “Yeah, well, like you said, you can’t always protect people from pain. It’s part of living.”
    “You learned that lesson from your ex?”
    “Among others,” she said tightly.
    “Care to elaborate?”
    “Not really. The important thing is that I survived.” She met his gaze. “So did you.”
    Long after Sean had walked Deanna and Kevin back home, her words lingered in his head. He doubted she realized the significance of what she’d said. She’d managed to remind him that for most of the past decade—no, even longer than that—Sean had not only survived, he’d worked hard to keep himself safe from being hurt.
    But only today had he realized that he—very much like Deanna, whether she realized it or not—had also kept himself from really living.

Chapter Seven
    “W hat the devil is this?”
    From her place at the reception desk Deanna heard the shout of the senior law partner in his office. She exchanged a glance with Ruby.
    “Mr. Hodges sounds like he’s on a real rampage,” Deanna said in a whisper. “I wonder what it’s about.”
    Before they could even speculate, the intercom on her desk buzzed.
    “Deanna, Mr. Hodges would like to see you,” Charlotte Wilson said, her tone somber. “Have Ruby cover the desk for you.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Deanna said, her palms sweating. She gave Ruby a shaky smile. “Pray for me.”
    “Don’t let the man bully you,” Ruby advised.
    Stomach churning, Deanna walked down the corridor to the suite of offices belonging to Jordan Hodges. A glance at Charlotte’s face was not encouraging. Thesecretary, who usually maintained a facade of icy reserve, looked as if she wanted to cry.
    Deanna stepped inside the office and waited.
    “Don’t just stand there. Come in and close the door,” her boss said, regarding her with a scowling expression.
    She shut the door and crossed the room. “Is something wrong?”
    “I’ll say something’s wrong,” he said, his expression grim. “I found these papers on my desk just now.” He waved an envelope in her direction. “They were supposed to be across town on the desk of opposing counsel. Care to explain why they’re not?”
    Deanna stared at the envelope in confusion. True, it was her job to see that the outgoing mail went out each day, but she wasn’t the one who addressed it. “I have no idea. What does it say on the envelope?”
    “The address label is quite clear,” he said, waving it under her nose.
    She snagged a corner of the envelope and studied it. Sure enough, it was addressed to a lawyer in downtown Boston. “Sir, I know I’ve been a little frazzled lately, but if this envelope had come across my desk addressed like this, it would have gone out,” she said confidently. “It wouldn’t have gotten mixed up with the incoming mail.”
    The color in Mr. Hodges’s face had finally begun to return to normal. He sank into his chair. “It’s not like you to make a mistake like this,” he agreed, studying her with concern. “You say you’ve been frazzled. Is something wrong I should know about? Your boy’s okay?”
    She was surprised by the question. She rarely mentioned Kevin around the office. “Kevin’s fine.”
    “Something else, then?”
    Deanna hadn’t wanted to get into her personal problems at work. She never wanted her boss to think that she had so much going on that she couldn’t concentrate on her job. It was a sure way to get fired.
    “It’s okay,” he encouraged her, pinning her with a steady gaze. “Just tell me.”
    No wonder the man was considered a shark in court, Deanna thought. He was relentless and he managed to cross-examine a witness with that same look of compassion on his face that he had right now. She could almost believe that he really cared about what was going on in her