the shop and a lot of the time Iâm here.â
âComplain to my boss.â
âIt wouldnât do any good. Besides,â she said with a shrug, âIâm not fighting it. The cops canât be everywhere.â
âThe muggers can. The last one was two doors down and twenty-one hours ago.â
She grimaced. It was the rash of muggings, robberies, and assaults that had made Archer decide to assign a Donovan International security guard to Timeless Dreams, and her. Today he had informed her that Walker was her new shadow. When she had retorted that she couldnât see how much good Walker would do leaning on a cane, Archer had just looked at her and then gone back to trying to sort out Donovan International contracts in a world where national boundaries changed with the six-oâclock news.
âAbout that insurance,â Walker said again.
âIâm checking out the cost of separate insurance for the necklace, just for the Savannah show and the travel out there.â
âNo one will handle it without an appraisal. A real one, from a GIA-certified lab or one of equal reputation.â
Silence.
âAre the stones with an appraiser now?â he asked.
âNo.â Reluctantly she added, âI havenât found a qualified appraiser who could guarantee getting them back to me in time to set them in Melâs necklace for the Savannah show.â
âArcher wondered about that.â So had Walker, but he wouldnât earn any points mentioning it.
Faithâs mouth flattened. Her brother had done more than wonder about it. He had quizzed her almost as thoroughly as Walker and a lot less patiently. âI told Archer Iâd take care of it.â
âNo problem. Iâll appraise the rubies for you.â
âYouâre a certified appraiser?â she asked, surprised.
âI know rubies. If I say theyâre worth a million, Archer will insure them for a million with Donovan money.â
âI didnât know you were a ruby expert.â
âThereâs a lot about me you donât know,â Walker said neutrally. And thank God for it. âWhere are the rubies now?â
âRight here.â
As she spoke, she opened one of the belly drawers in the long workbench and pulled out a small cardboard box. It held a bunch of slim, neat little paper packets stacked on edge. Each jewelerâs packet held a single gemstone.
âJudas Priest,â Walker muttered. âNo wonder Archer told me to practice being your skin until you handed the necklace over. You donât even keep the damn rubies in a safe.â
âI have to work with the damn rubies,â Faith pointed out with transparent sweetness. Her smile was a double row of hard white teeth. âThatâs what I do. Design and execute jewelry. Contrary to what my brothers think, Iâm a big girl who is quite capable of running her own business. Handling valuable gems is part of that business.â
âMost people with a million in loose gems have an armed guard at the door.â
âI have a man with a cane.â
âSure enough, you do. Ainât it grand.â
This time Faith didnât miss the steel buried in his gentle drawl. âIâm glad itâs good for someone,â she said under her breath.
Walker heard. âAnd that someone isnât you?â
âItâs not the first time the man had all the fun.â
âAre you comparing me to a certain pile of road apples?â
âRoad apples donât have lapis lazuli eyes.â
Walker opened his mouth, closed it, and shook his head. âHelp me out here. Iâm pretty sure I just lost the direction of this conversation. What does lapis have to do with horseshit?â
âExactly. Youâre not lost at all.â
Suddenly he laughed, enjoying her quick, slightly skewed sense of humor.
Despite having promised herself that she would keep Walker at a coolly