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Nodding his thanks, Buck moved away from the desk and started down the hall As he approached the door, he felt his throat tightening up again and sed nervously

The door opened before he reached it A burly man in shirtsleeves and a tie stepped out, his mouth curved in a polite smile of inquiry “Mr Haskell?”

“Yes, sir” Buck halted, auto his shoulders in reaction to the authority the man exuded

“We have been expecting you” The man stepped to the side and motioned for Buck to precede him into the room

He hesitated a split second, then h the doorway It was one of those grand offices with lots of glea wood, bookshelves, and an oversized desk with a pair of facing chairs But it was the petite, dark-haired woman, dressed in a flashy denim outfit, who claimed his attention She stood by the , her back to the door

She al turn to face hie would forget Even as it made its impact on him, Buck remembered exactly where he had seen her before It stiffened hi interview vanished completely

Her glance bounced off Buck and centered on the le Thank you”

Swiveling at the hips, Buck looked back as the burly ht bow and withdrew from the off

ice, closing the door behind him When Buck turned around, she had moved away from theto approach hi inspection of her eyes on him

“We haven’t been formally introduced, Mr Haskell” There was a musical quality to her voice, with just a touch of Texas in it “I am Tara Calder”

She extended a hand to him It took Buck a full second to react to it “Sorry I’ hands with people We didn’t do much of it in prison” A fact he wanted out and on the table froy or explanation Buck s of how hard it would have been for hier

Her hand gripped his only briefly Her skin felt as soft as a baby’s to hiht a whiff of perfume and kneas probably the expensive kind

“Please, have a seat, Mr Haskell” She gestured to the chairs with a graceful sweep of her arm

He looked at the chairs, but didn’t move, his hands tucked back in the pockets of his windbreaker “I was told to come here for a job interview”

“That’s what this is,” she assured hi her dark eyes “Perhaps I should have explained—I was Ty’s first wife For reasons of my own, I chose to keep the Calder name after we broke up”