Gift of Gold

seven. How’s that?” Verity opened her reservation book and jotted a note.
    “Sounds fine. You’ll want to meet our guest, Verity.”
    “Who is it?”
    “Caitlin Evanger” Laura waited for recognition to hit.
“
The
Caitlin Evanger? Caitlin Evanger, the artist?”
    “One and the same,” Laura affirmed proudly.
    Verity was entranced. “I heard she was a total recluse.”
    “She is. She’s got some physical problems. Apparently she was in a serious car accident years ago and never fully recovered. She came to Sequence Springs to take the waters, as they say in Europe.”
    “I’ll be thrilled to meet her,” Verity declared, aware of Jonas listening in on the conversation as he moved around the dining room setting up tables.
    “Don’t make a big deal out of it,” Laura warned. “She hates attention.”
    “Don’t worry. I’ll try not to embarrass you with a lot of fawning and groveling. See you at seven, Laura.” Verity hung up the phone and grinned at Jonas. “How about that? We’re going to be feeding a famous artist this evening. Caitlin Evanger. Ever hear of her?”
    “I think so.” Jonas folded a napkin with great precision and placed it properly on the table. “The name is vaguely familiar. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of her work, though.”
    “I have,” Verity declared enthusiastically. “There was an exhibition of her stuff a few months ago in San Francisco. I went to see it. Her paintings are absolutely fascinating, Jonas. There’s this incredible, hard edge to them and yet they’re not cold or lifeless. You can almost feel the passion under the surface, but you get the impression that it’s a very dangerous passion and therefore it’s overlaid with this amazing sense of discipline, if you know what I mean.”
    Jonas cocked one brow and gave her an odd look. “I think I know what you mean.”
    Verity felt a slow warmth rising in her cheeks. She wasn’t certain she wanted to analyze Jonas’s glance. It seemed safer to change the subject. “Good grief, I wonder if I’d better rethink the dinner menu. Maybe I should substitute orange and jicama salad for the carrots in dill sauce. Carrots are so ordinary.”
    “The way you do carrots in dill is anything but ordinary,” Jonas said brusquely. “Don’t worry about the menu for tonight. I’m sure your celebrity guest will be able to find something on it to suit her.”
    Verity gnawed thoughtfully on her lower lip. “Do you really think so?”
    “Tell you what. If she doesn’t like what she sees on your list of specials, I’ll run into town and get her a hamburger.”
    “Sometimes your sense of humor leaves a lot to be desired, Jonas.”
     
    At five minutes after seven that evening, Jonas found himself seating Rick and Laura Griswold and their guest, Caitlin Evanger. He had met Rick on Monday and liked him. Griswold was about Jonas’s age, with thinning hair and an easygoing smile, although tonight the smile seemed a bit forced. He kept himself in good shape and had the kind of outgoing personality that resort managers need. It was obvious that both he and his wife were very proud to be escorting their important client this evening, but it was equally obvious that they were finding the honor somewhat wearing.
    Jonas had to admit that Caitlin Evanger was impressive. Definitely not the kind of woman who would be overlooked in a crowd. There was a sense of drama about her that made itself felt instantly.
    She was tall, almost as tall as Jonas, with short, silvery blond hair that she wore slicked straight back from her high forehead. Physically, she appeared to be about thirty, but there was something in her face, a hard, weary cynicism, that gave Jonas the impression she was a lot older in some ways.
    Her features would have been riveting at any age. Her stark hairstyle focused attention on her high, aristocratic cheekbones and small, perfectly shaped mouth. Jonas wondered idly if that mouth had ever been shaped into a genuine smile. He seriously doubted it.
    He didn’t notice the jagged scar that marred her left cheek until she turned her head. The contrast between her beautifully classic profile and the savage line of ruined flesh was startling, but not nearly as startling as the cold gray stare that met his polite glance.
    It was the kind of look that chilled a man straight to the bone. Caitlin Evanger’s gaze took in everything around her and made it clear that she would never be impressed by anything the