“When I asked why more women weren’t at home while their husbands faced the cruel working world, Lorraine gave us a very sobering response, then hung up before we could explore her story in-depth.”
He stared her down. “With a week to think about it, are you now prepared to tell us if you were the betrayed wife or girlfriend of the man who hurt you? There are thousands of sympathetic listeners out there who want to know.”
Lacey’s gaze darted to the opal ring on his finger. “I might be persuaded to discuss my story if you were willing to let your listeners in on your marital status first,” she challenged. “You never talk about a wife and family. Does that mean you’re not married?”
The brilliant blue of his eyes intensified. “I make it a policy never to discuss my personal life over the air.”
“Don’t you think that’s rather hypocritical when you’ve just asked me to reveal something extremely personal?”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Why do you want to know if I’m married or not, Lorraine?”
She sucked in her breath. “I imagine everyone who listens to your show wants to know.”
“I find that a little hard to believe since I have no curiosity about the marital status of my callers.” His voice mocked. “That’s the beauty of Radio Talk. We block out the unimportant and tune in to real issues affecting lives.”
“Your marital status is a real issue as far as I’m concerned since it might explain your viewpoint on dozens of subjects in which you and I have a tendency to disagree.”
“Name one.”
“Living together. If you’re not married, then I can see why you sided with last week’s guest. If you are married, then I don’t imagine your wife is too happy with some of your opinions.”
“I wonder if my other callers are as curious as you are. Let’s go to the Utah county line. Hi, Nancy. You’re on Heart Talk with Max Jarvis.”
“How are you doing, Max?”
“I’m terrific, Nancy. Now is the chance to get in on this illuminating discussion.”
“Say, you know Lorraine has a point. I figure you’re happily married, otherwise you wouldn’t have asked that question about what ever happened to the woman who stayed at home while her hubby went off to bring home the bacon.”
Lacey watched his face, but his expression gave nothing away.
“Are you married, Nancy?”
“You bet ya. Forty years, to the same man.”
“Did you stay at home all that time?”
“Nope. He was a truck driver, but we couldn’t make ends meet so I drove a school bus nearly all that time to help pay the bills.” She paused. “Lorraine? Are you there?”
“Yes, Nancy.” Lacey spoke into the mike. “I’m listening.”
“Good, honey. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I can tell you’re in pain. To be honest with you, I guess I’ll never know if my hubby ever played around with another woman or not. But if I had found out, I probably couldn’t have changed anything, not with six kids.
“You sound pretty young. If your husband did step out on you, he’ll probably do it again and again. If you don’t have kids yet, then I say leave him if you haven’t already, and find a job that will take care of you. Good luck, honey.” The older woman sounded totally sincere.
“Thank you, Nancy,” Lacey murmured quietly.
“All right,” Max interjected. “Let’s go to one of our local lines. Hello, Stan. You’re on Heart Talk. Have you got something you want to say to Lorraine?”
“That’s right. Lorraine? Your voice is sexy as hell and you’re probably in your early twenties. I bet you’re a real looker and single. What’s your take on that, Max?”
Max flicked her a probing glance that made her heart turn over. “As my producer said earlier, if this were a television show, Lorraine would have no problem in the looks department. That’s as much as I can legally reveal.”
“Okay, Lorraine. Then let’s face it, there are a lot of married men out there who would like to get to know you, but the huge majority will never act on that desire.
“If you’re single, it’s a given that a small percentage of married men will lie to get what they want. But don’t blame all of us.
“If you’re married, then it sounds to me like your husband is a fool for straying so far from home, unless you’ve got something going on behind the scenes while he’s out there earning money to support both of you.”
“Single or married, I would never do that to a man with whom I was having a relationship. I’d break up with him first!” she countered indignantly.
“Unfortunately, statistics don’t lie and there are husbands who go home to their wives, only to find them involved with someone else,” Max inserted so swiftly, Lacey wondered if his remarks were rooted in personal experience.
“It happened to my brother,” Stan muttered.
“Thanks for the input, Stan. I’m sorry we don’t have more time to talk, but the phone lines are jammed with callers and I have to go to commercial. We’ll be right back.”
For the rest of the hour, people continued to call in with all kinds of advice for her, and the time was gone before she knew it. The talk show host for the six-to-nine segment had already come into the booth to get ready.
Lacey removed her earphones and rose to her feet, picking up her briefcase to leave.
“Where do you think you’re going in such a big hurry?” Max stood in the corridor outside the booth door, larger than life, blocking her exit. “After winning the poll on every issue hands down, the least you can do is have a drink with me on the way home so I’ll feel a little better.”
“You don’t fool me,” she murmured. “You loved every minute of your defeat.”
“You’re right,” he grunted. He folded his arms across his chest. “You saw the note Rob stuck on the window. We had a dozen first-time callers. The owner of the station will probably give me a raise. He wants you to come on the show again. So do L How about next week? The listening audience loved you. You’re one of them.”
Her pulse was racing too fast. “Thank you, but I’d like to stay a listener. I appreciate you giving me time on your program however. With your sense of fair play, I can see why you were brought to Salt Lake.”
Something flickered in the depths of his eyes. “You have my permission to call in any time and tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. That is—” his sensuous mouth quirked “—if you’ll give me equal time. I’m off for the night. Will you go out with me?”
A long time ago Perry had asked her the same question and she’d said yes. A month later she found out about his wife and children. Max Jarvis was tempting. She was tempted. But...
“I make it a policy not to go out with a man who can’t reveal his marital status over the air.” She glanced at her Mickey Mouse watch. After all these years it still worked perfectly, while two other expensive Swiss watches sat broken in her jewelry box. “I’m also a half hour late for home already.”
“Another time then,” he declared as if it were a statement of fact, then walked her to the front door. “We didn’t explore the football versus romance angle enough. I’d like to hear the rest of that argument sometime soon. I’ll call you.”
She