Betrayal of Trust by Tracey V. Bateman

awake. Thought so.” Raven grinned and held out her hand. “I’m Raven. Nice to meet you.”
    Without moving a muscle, the little girl sized her up. “You knew I was faking?”
    “I figured.”
    “How’d you know?”
    Clearly, the child wanted to avoid making the same mistake twice.
    “You fidgeted in your seat like you were having trouble sitting still, and your eyeballs were moving too much under your eyelids.”
    “Hmm.” Finally, the little girl accepted Raven’s hand. “Jamie. Named after my Gramps.” She gave a little sigh. “He died when I was seven.”
    “Your Gramps was a great man. I liked him very much.”
    Jamie’s eyes grew wide. “You knew him?”
    “I did. A long time ago.”
    The little girl hesitated a minute, still sizing Raven up like a judge in a hog contest at the county fair. “My Dad said you almost married him.” She leaned forward. “Why’d you call it off?”
    Raven distinctly remembered Matt’s promise to “introduce her as an old friend from college.”
    She glared at him. He gave a sheepish shrug, but his boyish grin didn’t offer much apology. “Sorry. She forced it out of me. What can I say? I’m weak where the women I love are concerned.”
    The look accompanying his last statement made his underlying message quite clear, and Raven was glad the little girl in the back seat prevented any further exploration of the topic. The kid might come in handy after all if Raven wanted to stave off any sort of personal conversation while she was working on the story.
    “So?” Jamie’s childish impatience rang in her voice, reminding them she’d voiced a question and wouldn’t be put off. “Why’d you break up with my dad?”
    “Hey, sport.” To Raven’s relief, Matt interjected. “What’s with the third degree? Give Raven a break, huh?”
    Jamie shrugged. “Just wondering.”
    “My past relationship with Raven is between us.”
    “Okay.” She shrugged and stared out the window. “But I figure she must not be very smart if she dumped you.”
    Raven laughed. She couldn’t help herself. This kid was great. Spunky, way too smart and wise beyond her years.
    Matt’s frown deepened. “Jamie, we had a deal. Stop it, already, and apologize to Raven.”
    “Sorry.” Yeah, right, she was sorry.
    “Hey, no problem. You know what? You’re right. I was a dope back then.”
    “Does that mean you want him back?” Jamie’s tone was fierce, almost threatening and Raven wasn’t sure if the little girl didn’t want her back in Matt’s life, or if she simply didn’t want him to be hurt again.
    “Jamie…” Matt’s voice took on a new firmness. A stern parental tone that relayed to his daughter enough was enough.
    Jamie released a little sigh and clammed up. Matthew reached across the seat and gave Raven’s hand a squeeze. “Sorry about that. She promised to behave herself.”
    Raven relished the warmth of his fingers. How long had it been since she’d actually wanted to be touched by a man? “I enjoyed the mental stimulation. You’d be surprised how little challenge I get these days.”
    “Anyone want to play a game?” Jamie asked.
    Matthew removed his hand from hers. Raven shifted slightly so she could look in the back seat without whiplash. “What kind of game?”
    “License plates. You have to see how many different states you can find.”
    Raven nodded and scanned the back of the car in front of them. “Okay. I see Michigan.”
    “Hey! That doesn’t count. I go first.”
    “Why do you get to?”
    She gave a scowl and a breathed out a huff. “Youngest always goes first.”
    “Not where I come from. When I was growing up, Ialways started the games, and I’m the oldest kid in my family.”
    Jamie gave her that wise beyond years look again. Then nodded. “Fine. Oldest goes first. How old are you?”
    “Jamie!” Matt’s face reddened.
    Still loving the challenge, Raven waved off his protest. “No problem, Matt. It’s not like you don’t know my