Damn you, Edward, she thought again.

And abruptly, she became aware of the three state police officers who were standing at a discreet number of yards away. As well as the fact that she was blushing.

“I didn’t mean to complicate things,” Dagney said as he took her hand. “And if I’ve made this difficult, we can forget I ever crossed that line.”

“I, ah …”

“We’re just going to forget this, okay?” the governor concluded without any edge at all. “I’ll chalk it up to experience and move on.”

“Experience?”

He rubbed his jaw with his thumb. “I haven’t asked a lot of women out. Since my Marilyn died, that is. And you know, statistically, this increases my odds of a ‘yes’ at some point, and since I’m an optimist, I’m taking that positive away from this evening—along with those four mountains.”

Sutton laughed. “So other people have told you no? I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, actually … you’re the first one I’ve asked. But as I said, I’ve gotten a rejection out of the way and lived to tell the tale.” He smiled and reached out to her face. “Your mouth has fallen open.”

“I am just surprised.” She laughed. “That I’m your first—I mean, oh … crap.”

The governor laughed back and then grew serious. “It was so hard when I lost Marilyn, and it’s been a long time since anyone else registered, to be honest. And even though this will not make me look like a stud in the slightest … it’s taken me two months to get the courage up to ask you.”

“Two months?”

“Remember when I saw you at the capitol building in March? That’s when I decided I was going to ask you for a date. And then I chickened out. But you invited me here tonight, and I decided to go for it. Do not feel bad, though. I’m a big boy, I can take it—”

“I’m in love with someone,” she blurted.

The governor recoiled. And then cursed softly. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were with anyone. I would never have disrespected your relationship—”

“We’re not together.” She waved her hand. “There’s no relationship. It’s not anything that makes sense, actually.”

“Well …” Dagney stared into her eyes. “Edward Baldwine is a fool, then.”

Sutton opened her mouth to deny it, but the man in front of her wasn’t an idiot. “There’s nothing going on between us, and I guess I still need to get that through my head. And also because of my new role, it’s not a great time for me.”

“At the risk of being forward, I just want to say that in the future, I’m willing to be your rebound.” He laughed. “Yes, that is desperate, but I’m way out of practice with all this, and you are a very intelligent, very beautiful woman who deserves a good man.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.” He put out his palm for a shake. “But at least we’re going to see a lot of each other, especially with this new job of yours.”

“Yes, we will.”

She left his hand where it was and stepped in to embrace him. “And I look forward to it.”

He held her briefly and lightly and then eased back. “Boys? Let’s go.”

The state police escorted the governor over to the two black-on-black SUVs, and a moment later, the motorcade formed, a pair of police motorcyclists falling in line.

Sadness closed in on her from behind, giving a chill to the balmy night air.

“Damn you, Edward,” she whispered to the wind.

EIGHTEEN

The following morning, Lane stepped out of his bedroom suite at Easterly in a good mood. But that didn’t last as he looked down the hall, and saw luggage outside his grandfather’s room.

“Oh, no, you don’t.”

Stalking over to the stacked bags, he didn’t bother knocking on the partially opened door. “Jeff, you are not leaving.”

His old college roommate looked up from a prodigious pile of papers on the old desk. “I have to get back to New York, buddy—”

“I need you—”

“—but I’ve made sure I have everything ready for the Feds.” The guy indicated various printouts and held up a flash drive. “I’ve created a summary of—”

“You’re miserable on Wall Street, you realize.”

“—the withdrawals that I’ve found. It’s all right here. Just give them this drive, actually, and they’ll know what to do. They can call me with questions. I’ll leave my card and my cell phone number.”

“You have to stay.”

Jeff cursed and rubbed his eyes. “Lane, I’m not some magic talisman that’s going to make this all go away. I’m not even the best man for this kind of thing. I also have no official role at the company and no legal authority.”

“I trust you.”

“I already have a job.”

“That you hate.”

“No offense, but my paychecks are huge and they don’t bounce.”

“You have more money than you need. You may live in a modest Midtown apartment, but you’re sitting on a fortune.”

“Because I don’t do stupid things. Like leave perfectly good work —”

“Miserable work.”

“—for a forest fire.”

“Well, at least you’ll be warm. And we can toast marshmallows. Wassup.”

Jeff broke out laughing. “Lane.”

“Jeff.”

His friend crossed his arms over his chest and pushed his metrosexual glasses up higher on his nose. In his white button-down oxford and his black slacks, he looked like he was prepared to go to his office directly from landing at Teterboro, N.J., airport.

“Tell me something,” the guy started.

“No, I don’t know the square root of anything, I can’t do that pi thing to the nth degree, and if you ask me why the caged bird sings, at the moment, I’m feeling like it’s because the damn thing has a gun to its head.”

“Why haven’t you called the Feds yet?”

Lane went on a wander, heading over to the bank of windows that overlooked the side gardens and the river. Down below, in the morning sunlight, the Ohio was a gorgeous, shimmering pathway to Charlemont’s business district, as if those glass-and-steel buildings were some kind of nirvana.