Chapter Three

Jason understood when to tread carefully, so he studied the suddenly panicked look on Faith’s face and decided to tackle things from another direction.

“Okay you obviously don’t trust me … yet. So let’s start this way. I’m going to get your business back up and running.” He’d prove to her she could believe in him and he wouldn’t let her down.

She frowned, shaking her head. “I called everyone in the area and some beyond. People are booked up.”

He raised an eyebrow at the challenge and pulled out his cell, dialing one of his contractors who’d done work at Club TEN29 and who owed him a favor.

“Sam? It’s Jason Dare.”

“Hey, man. How are you?” Sam Fremont asked.

“I’m okay. You? How are Lisa and that princess of yours?” he asked of the man’s daughter.

“Doing well. The doctors say just two treatments left,” he said, his relief obvious in his voice.

“Good! Listen, I’m sorry for the short notice, but I have a friend with an issue.” He went on to explain about Faith’s graffiti and the glass on the door. “How soon can you get someone out here to fix both?”

Sam had access to glass cutters, window cleaners, and anything else Faith might need.

“I’ll come over myself to assess the situation and handle what I can. What I can’t, I’ll call in reinforcements to fix. Be there in an hour. Just text me the address.”

“Great. I owe you one. I’ll be here to meet you in an hour,” he repeated for Faith’s benefit, whose eyes opened wide.

“How did you do that?” she asked, as he typed her address and store name into his phone for Sam.

He didn’t find it easy to talk about this, but it was a step toward building trust, and if he was going to keep her safe, he needed to understand what she was up against. It was more than neighborhood kids. That much he knew.

He cleared his throat and looked into her pretty green eyes. “Sam’s daughter was diagnosed with childhood leukemia and he panicked. He was a freaking mess.”

“I can’t even imagine,” she said, her heart in her voice.

“Well, my sister lived through it when she was young. She had a bone marrow transplant.” The necessity had led Jason’s two-timing father to reveal to his wife that he needed to have his full siblings tested to see if they were a match. Their lives had all blown up at the time.

“Jason, I’m so sorry.” Faith reached out and held his hand. “How is she?”

“Fine now. Healthy. A mom.” He grinned at that. “But I got her in touch with Sam and his wife, Lisa. She talked them through the process, kept them calm, reassured them when she could.” He shrugged. “Sam feels like he owes me.”

He shook his head, and when things came back into focus, he realized Faith had tears in her eyes.

“You have a big heart,” she murmured.