Heart of the Hunter by Bj James Page B

and collected and wasn’t sure at all what she was getting herself into.
    Jeb moved through the gallery, pausing before this painting and that. Patting the head of a bronze retriever and the nose of a perky chipmunk. When he drew near the wolf’s head, Annabelle was waiting as he knew she would be. As Mrs. Atherton said, sooner or later.
    â€œAhh, Annabelle.” He smiled down at her. “I imagine you have some questions for me.”
    â€œYou bet I do.” She jerked her head toward the wolf, a magnificent rendering that captured danger and spirit without taming either. “Judging from this little conversation, it sounds as if you might be trying to live up to your reincarnation here.”
    â€œIn other words, you think I’m trifling with your boss lady.”
    â€œAre you? Did you?” Blunt question, brooking nothing but truth. Jeb would give her that, in part. He wondered what she would think of the whole of it.
    â€œIf by trifling, you mean did I sleep with Nicole last night. The answer is no, Annabelle.”
    â€œBut she said—”
    â€œShe said I put her to bed. And I did. Alone.”
    The dark, Gypsy mane swayed about plump shoulders as a skeptical chin jutted at him. “Suppose you explain how that came about.”
    â€œAll right.” Jeb traced the proud profile of the wolf, then dropped his hand away. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
    â€œNicole, and anyone who might hurt her, is my business.”
    â€œNot that it’s any of your business,” Jeb repeated mildly, “but I’ll tell you.”
    â€œSo tell.” Annabelle’s tiny feet were planted firmly before him. With her arms folded over her considerable bosom, she was the embodiment of the immovable object. “I’m waiting.”
    â€œIt’s simple. She’d had a rough day, little or nothing to eat. Fatigue, frustration, hunger and two quick glasses of red wine combined for an unexpected circumstance. When I arrived at her door, she was, shall we say, a bit unsteady on her feet.”
    â€œNicole never drinks too much.”
    â€œI can’t and won’t dispute that. It wouldn’t have been too much then, if someone had seen to it she hadn’t neglected to eat.”
    â€œYou mean me.”
    â€œNo, Annabelle, at least not just you. Nicole herself should have seen to it.”
    â€œShe was distracted, and then Mrs. Atherton came in spewing her ugliness.” She was quicker to defend Nicole than herself.
    â€œDid Nicky say what was bothering her?”
    â€œNicole, Nicky as you call her, doesn’t talk about her problems. She’s a good listener if you need one, but she doesn’t expect the same in return.” Black eyes narrowed as a thought occurred. “She’s never mentioned any family, or you. I knew she was from California, because I’m good with accents, remember. We do talk about it and her schooling. Not a pleasant experience from the little I can gather. But nothing else.”
    â€œDoes she mention her brother?”
    â€œOnly to say you were her brother’s friend. And that was only after I grilled her unmercifully the day you first came to the gallery.”
    Jeb wanted to hear more, but he dared not raise this astute woman’s mistrust any more. “She’s done well here.” A gesture encompassed the gallery, Charleston, the island. “How did it all happen?”
    â€œIt happened because she’s a smart, savvy lady. Because she worked like a slave, practically nonstop from the first.”
    â€œWhat was the first? Help me understand, Annabelle.” He could have been an interested old friend, a hopeful lover. His first judgment of her career was of a wasted mind, but as he recognized her instinctive knowledge and understanding of the world of art, he viewed her choice in a new perspective.
    Annabelle inclined her head, as if she understood his burning need to