Yes. A thousand times yes. But would she wonder about every gesture, every word he uttered? Wonder what was true? Wonder if he’dhurt her again?
“I’d feel better if I had a drink of water,” she said lightly and brightly. Aka it probably came out sounding more high-pitched and fake than the time she’d told her last good foster mom that her hot dishcasserole was delicious, and didn’t cop to it being a flavorless, gluey disaster. “Come on inside.”
If the marshal saw through her less-than-subtle topic change, she didn’t say anything. Until she got two steps through thedoor. Then gasped and muttered, “Wow.”
Sierra turned with a glass in each hand. Charcoal sketches covered the couch, the table, and the stairs. “Oh, I’m sorry. Myplace isn’t usually this much of a mess. I was, um, sprint sketching against a stopwatch, so I just kept flinging papers everywhereas I finished.”
“You timed yourself drawing these?”
She filled the glasses, hoping Delaney wouldn’t mind tap water with no ice. Her tiny house didn’t have room for a freezer.“A friend suggested that I do sketches for people on the boardwalk. And I definitely need money. But if I’m going to do it,I need to be able to finish in less than ten minutes. Today was a test to see if I could.”
“You did all these in ten minutes?” Delaney stooped to pick up a sketch of Elena, all sex and attitude. Then Norah, shovingat her hair with her prosthesis. Mick with his grump face on underneath the USMC cap he always wore. Carlos, grinning likea fool as he totaled the nightly receipts.
“Most were faster. I’m headed down there this afternoon to see how it goes. I just have to figure out how much to charge.”
“I’ll give you fifty dollars.”
Um, wow. “You don’t even know these people.”
“I don’t want one of them. I want you to draw the person I’m going to describe to you.” Delaney snapped her fingers, thenpointed at Sierra. “Can you draw Wayne? Something we can run through facial recognition, add to the BOLO?”
“I don’t have to.” Sierra took the stairs two at a time. When she came back down, it was brandishing a handful of papers.“I did these the day I ran away. While everything was fresh in my mind. Wayne, his house, Mrs. Newberry, Rick, the namelessmuscle-guy who stayed in the room with Wayne. I’ve got it all.”
Shuffling through them, Delaney’s mouth dropped open. “These are terrific.”
“I had a lot of alone time, being on the run. Gave me the opportunity to polish each one.” Sierra grabbed her pad. It soundedcrazy. But fifty dollars was more than enough to make her not question it. “Let me set the timer.”
“No need. I just want the finished product. However long it takes.” Delaney stacked the sketches and sat on the couch. Thenshe started reeling off characteristics.
Sierra sat cross-legged on the floor and just listened for a bit. Then she held up a hand, stopping the flow of information,and started to draw. They went back and forth like that enough times that Sierra lost count.
Finally, Delaney leaned forward and just stared at the paper. “That’s good.”
“Great. I captured the spirit of your imaginary friend,” she joked.
Delaney went outside, retrieved her pack, and pulled out her wallet. She handed Sierra a small laminated photo from it. “That’swho you drew. My father.”
It looked . . . well, not exact, by any means. But Sierra would give herself a pat on the back for getting darned close. Closeenough that the resemblance was super obvious. “If you have a photo, why’d you put me through that little exercise?”
“You’re fast. You’re intuitive. I think you have the makings of a good law enforcement sketch artist.”
Random. But just the idea sent a thrill of excitement racing up her spine. “For the police, you mean?”
“The police, the Marshals, the FBI, you name it.” Delaney carefully tucked the photo back away. Then she propped her elbowson her knees. “There isn’t formal training for this job. You just need to have the skills. It would only be sporadic. You’dneed to travel up to Eugene and Portland, for sure. But it’d be a way of using that education you gave up, and a way of helpingus put criminals away. Plus, not to be too blunt, but it looks like you’d welcome the cash.”
Talk about a way to make her feel strong again. Using her talent for good. That would go a long way to restoring her karmic balance over all the replica paintings she’d done that had been sold asoriginals.
“It sounds amazing. But I don’t have a car. I can’t afford one.”
“Well, you wouldn’t start right away. We’d want to get this mess with Wayne out of the way first. I’m fairly certain, witha victim this wealthy, that there’s a reward you’ll be able to collect for providing information on the crime. Then we couldprovide transport, put you up in Eugene for a week while you train with one of our artists.”
“I’d really like to do that.” Sierra bit her lip. She didn’t want to come off as dismissive or ungrateful of the massive opportunityDelaney had just handed her. And yet she’d never be able to live with herself if she didn’t at least try to get her planned future back. True strength was about reaching, striving for something with no guarantees.
Her mouth suddenly felt dry. Her skin too tight. What . . . what if she applied that reasoning to the situation with Flynn?The rest of her life hadn’t come with a guarantee. Why on earth did she assume that falling in love would?
Grabbing for the forgotten water, Sierra downed it in three fast gulps. “Could I push my luck and ask for another favor?”
“This job offer isn’t a favor, trust me.” Delaney beckoned for her to continue with one hand. “But sure, go for it.”
“I still want to teach. Without proof of my degrees, though, it’ll be impossible for me to get a job anywhere.”
“That’s it? You want transcripts?”
“Yes. They don’t exist for Sierra
