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honest face.”
    “Is that why you followed me? Because I have
an honest face?” she asked incredulously, her eyes widening in
disbelief.
    “I’m a great judge of character
. Most of the
folks I’ve seen hanging around these places give me the willies.”
He paused for a second, then flashed her an artless smile. “You
kind of give me the willies, too, but I like your willies.”
    “I’ll just bet you do,” she drawled, shaking
her head, trying not to encourage him. “Okay, Mitch. Let’s suppose
I decide to play for you. What’s in it for me? I don’t need the
money.”
    She hated the way his face brightened when
she said those last words. Couldn’t he see it was hopeless?
    “That works out great
for me, because I don’t
have any money. I’ve worked out a plan—”
    “Wait
a
minute,” she interrupted, holding up her hand. “You want to hire
someone to play a fast game of poker and you don’t have any money
to stake them
with?” There she was,
shaking her head again. “Go home, Mitch Summers,” she said,
dropping back in her chair.
    This
nice guy
was in deep trouble, but there wasn’t anything she could do about
it. Unless
he
was going to ask her for money. She hardened her resolve and waited
for his response.
    “I can’t go home,” he said
.
“Dumonde owns it now.”
    Resolve went out the window as shock drained
the energy from her body. She slid down in her chair in a very
unladylike posture.
    “Your
brother
conned you out of your house?” Unbelievable. “
I thought you said you were a good judge of character.”
    For
the life of her Anna couldn’t figure out why she was taking his
problem so personally. Maybe it was because St. John was such a
haven of stability in her life. If he had ever turned on her the
way Mitch’s brother had turned on him, she would have thrown in the
towel, given up on all of humanity. And yet here was Mitch Summers,
reaching out to a total stranger just because she had an honest
face.
    She thought about that too. No one had ever
described her face as honest before. Beautiful? Many times. Honest?
Never. She was honest, to a point,
which was why her chances were slim
against Dumonde. But how could Mitch Summers know it with such
certainty? What had he seen in a stranger’s face across a crowded
casino in San Francisco that had brought him to the islands—with no
money?
    “It’s my third-best thing
,
judging character,” he assured her
.
“And its not just a house. It’s a ranch that Steve and I both own,
except he was supposed to sell me his acreage. Unfortunately the
house sits on the land that Steve lost to Dumonde.”
    “Sue him,” she said bluntly.
    “There weren’t any contracts. Code of the
West, family honor, and all that.” He shrugged. “Besides, I don’t
really blame him. Gambling is a sickness in some people, and Steve
is one of those people. But I think he’s learned his lesson this
time. Contacting you was his idea.”
    “I never met your brother.”
    “He heard about you and saw you play at Mr.
Wong’s a few times.”
    Anna leaned forward, her brow furrowed. “You
need a keeper, Mitch Summers, or a guardian angel. The man cons you
out of the roof over your head and you still take his advice?”
    “Not completely. That’s why I didn’t
approach you in Frisco. I wanted to check you out first. I’m not
much of a gambler, but lady, anybody could see the way you blow
their socks off—in any game.” He paused for a moment as he refilled
their glasses. “The job of guardian angel is open, if you’d like to
fill out an application.”
    “Where did you get the money to bankroll
your traveling?”
    “I took out a second mortgage on a few
acres, got plenty of papers from that deal.”
    “At least your track record is improving.
What’s your plan?” She wanted to bite her tongue for asking. It was
begging for trouble.
    “Percentages, that’s the key. I’ll give you
two
percent of the land you win,
with a buy-back contingency. And