Fall To Pieces

by Jami Alden

  After a few long seconds she finally said, "You did it! You finally did it and you didn't even tell me!"

  "Did what?" Sadie mumbled. She studied the toes of her boots, as if that could make up for the blush she knew was coloring her cheeks a vivid red.

  "Please. When did it happen?"

  Knowing denial was fruitless, Sadie lifted her gaze to meet Molly's. "Tuesday night."

  "You had a date with Tucker on Tuesday!"

  "Yeah, well, after..."

  "Shut up! You left your date with Tucker and went home and had sex with Dylan? You dirty girl." Molly’s lips curved in a sassy smile. "So what's going on? Are you guys dating? Is it serious? What about when he leaves?" She lowered her pitch on the last word and leaned toward her.

  Sadie felt her own smile droop around the edges. This, she acknowledged, was why she hadn't gone home that first night and called her best friend. She didn't want to face the questions, didn't want to have to explain.

  She shrugged, hoping it came off as nonchalant. "We're just having fun."

  "Really?" Molly sat back in her chair and gave her a probing look. Of all people, Molly knew that Sadie had never had sex with a guy just for "fun."

  She braced herself for a barrage of questions, for Molly to demand to know why now she was suddenly indulging, if she was sure she knew what she was doing, if she was sure she wasn't going to get hurt.

  Instead, Molly shocked her by quirking a delicately arched brow at her and said, "Well from what I can tell he must be showing you one hell of a good time. So?"

  "So, what?"

  "So, what's he like?" Molly leaned forward eagerly. "Are the rumors true? Can he go all night? Is it true that he's hung like a rodeo bronc?"

  "Molly!" She said with a startled laugh. "I'm not going to tell you that!"

  "Come on." Molly pouted. "We're best friends. We're supposed to give each other the play by play!"

  "Maybe when we were eighteen"—or in Sadie's case, twenty two when she'd finally lost her virginity. And the play by play had taken all of five minutes. What happened with Dylan? There weren't enough hours. "Besides, it's not like I'm bugging you for details about what you and Josh are doing. For all I know he's asking you to spank him while you tell him he's a bad baby."

  "I wish it were that interesting," Molly said, slumping back in her chair. "Come on, how am I supposed to get my jollies if not vicariously through you!"

  "Uh, how about with your fiancé?"

  Molly wrinkled her nose and waved her hand. "You know how it is with me and Josh."

  "No, I don't," Sadie said quietly. To be honest, she didn't understand anything about their relationship. Like, how despite their engagement, Josh never seemed to be around, there was no date set, and this was far from the first time Molly had alluded to a less than satisfying sex life.

  Truthfully, she didn't understand why Molly was with Josh at all. But she knew better than to push the issue. She knew if she asked, at best, Molly would brush her off with a fake smile and reassurances that they were "just fine."

  "Josh and me... sex has never really been the most important part of our relationship. I mean, it's not like we never have it," she continued hastily. "But sometime I just wish someone would put that look you're wearing on my face, you know?"

  Sadie wondered if Molly was aware she'd substituted the pronoun "someone" for her finacé's name.

  "I wish," Molly continued, a far away look in her eyes, "someone would, like, throw me down on the bed. You know? Just pin me down and have his way with me."

  Remembering Dylan kneeling behind her last night, his palms gripping her hips like he was never going to let her go... yeah, she knew exactly what Molly was talking about.

  The sound of a throat clearing in the doorway startled both of them. Molly's gaze darted to the doorway, and Sadie knew from the hot flush staining her cheeks exactly who it was.

  "Hey Brady," she said as she turned. Now this, this was a man who could give Molly exactly what she claimed she wanted. And if she wasn't mistaken, Brady was more than willing to take on the task.

  Too bad Molly was so stuck on Josh, Sadie doubted she'd ever give Brady a chance.

  ###

  Did Molly have any idea how much she was fucking torturing him, Brady wondered?

  Not that he wasn't equally to blame. He should have walked away as soon as he realized Molly was occupied, instead of getting caught in the tractor beam of their conversation.

  If he had he wouldn't be standing there like an idiot, trying to keep his tongue from hanging out as he imagined giving Molly exactly what she wanted.

  What they both wanted, he amended as he shifted against the sudden tightness of his fly.

  He could make her feel so good, send her all the way to the fucking moon and back, given half a chance.

  A chance he'd never have, he thought, thanks to a single phone call.

  Brady, I need you.

  A summons he couldn't possibly refuse.

  "Did you need something?" Molly said tightly.

  Even with the heaviness dragging at him, his lips tugged at the sight of her trying to compose herself, looking all uptight and proper despite the flush riding high on her cheekbones.

  "Sadie and I are kind of in the middle of something."

  He cocked an eyebrow. "So I gathered. Sorry to interrupt. When you're finished here, I need to talk to you about something."

  ###

  Even in her flustered state, Molly could hear something in his tone that sent a wave of uneasiness through her.

  "Sounds serious," Sadie echoed her thoughts.

  Molly shook her head, reassuring herself that Brady was always prone to surliness. "I'm sure he just wants to fight with me about installing a new oven. He's got his eye on some combo thing that steams and roasts and..." She shook her head, stemming the babble. "Whatever it is, he can wait."

  Sadie nodded and reached for the stack of papers Molly had put in front of her. "We should get on with it, anyway, since I still have about a hundred things to do before dinner time."

  Molly watched, dread growing in her belly as Sadie started to scan the papers. "So have you figured out what's going on?" Sadie asked. "Did you figure out where the money is?"

  Molly licked her lips, trying to figure out the easiest way to tell her best friend in the world that while she was busy working her ass off to get the business back on track, someone she trusted had been undermining her nearly every step of the way.

  In the end, there was really no option but the brutal truth.

  "That's the thing, Sadie. The money didn't just get deposited to the wrong accounts. It's gone."

  Chapter 12

  "What do you mean? How can it be gone?" Sadie shook her head in disbelief.

  Molly licked her lips. "From what I can tell, someone has been moving money into a brokerage account for at least the past two years—that's as far back as the paperwork you gave me goes."

  Sadie slumped back in her seat, feeling like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. "You mean, like embezzlement?"

  "Exactly that."

  Sadie shook her head again. "No, no. Who would do that?"

  "Who has access to the accounts?" Molly asked softly.

  "Right now just me. But before that, Dad, June, and Pete."

  "I seriously doubt it was your Dad," Molly replied.

  But that left... no, Sadie didn't want to believe it. If not for her own sake, for her father's. Pete and June had worked with him for decades. They were like family. Were either of them truly capable of such a thing?

  "How much is gone?" she said, dread twisting her stomach at the grim expression on Molly's face.

  "In the last two years, it looks like over a hundred thousand dollars."

  She drove home on autopilot, her mind churning as she struggled to process this latest bombshell. Along with the devastation, came frustration. With her father, for his stubborn refusal to ignore Sadie's advice to have Molly or another professional go ove
r the books on a regular basis.

  I'm capable of running my own damn business, he'd said. I don't need some outsider poking around, questioning how I do things.

  But while her father knew more about breeding and training quarter horses than anyone west of the Mississippi, when it came to the finances he didn't care as long as the money kept coming and he paid his taxes on time.

  Over a hundred thousand missing. And that was just in the last two years. Who knew how long it had been going on?

  She pulled up to the house, parked her car, and just sat there as if paralyzed from the devastating blow. She heard the low rumble of the tractor and looked up to see Dylan pulling up along side the barn. She hadn't realized how late it had gotten, that he was already coming in from the hay meadow for supper.

  Even the sight of him wasn't enough to break through the dark gloom settling over her like a wet wool blanket.

  She watched as he climbed down from the cab and started towards his cabin, doing a double take when he noticed her sitting in her car.

  He started over and she forced herself to unbuckle her seatbelt and open the door with fingers that had gone numb.

  His wide smile was quickly replaced with concern as he caught sight of her face, and he quickened his pace. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

  All she could manage was a shake of her head. "I need to talk to you."

  The groove between his eyebrows deepened. "Okay."

  Just then she spotted Pete, emerging from the barn. Anger rushed through her as she wondered if her father's best friend and right hand man had betrayed them. "Not here," she said and started for his cabin.

  He'd barely closed the door before the story came spilling out.

  "Oh," he said looking oddly relieved.

  Her head snapped back. "I tell you that either Pete or June has stolen at least a hundred thousand dollars from my father and all you can say is, 'oh’?'"

  "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly. He settled his hands on her shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. "It was just, the look on your face, I thought you were going to tell me you had cancer, or were pregnant or something."

  Sadie gave a shaky little laugh. "Interesting that you'd lump those two together."

  He chuckled too, then quickly sobered. "Are you sure?"

  She nodded.

  "Have you told your dad yet?"

  "I can't, not yet," she said with a violent shake of her head.

  "You don't think he should know?"

  "It will break his heart, maybe literally."

  "You can't have people working here who are stealing from you."

  She shook her head again. "I've already set it up so I'm the only one who can move money in or out. We have to wait until we finish with the hay harvest and can pay down the loan. I'll tell him once things are more stable."

  And then... would they be able to recover the money? Would her father press charges? A lump rose in her throat at the thought. "I knew things could be worse, but I never expected this."

  He pulled her into his arms, and through the soul crushing betrayal, she felt some of the tension ease from her body at his touch.

  She let herself melt against his chest, inhaling the scents of hay mixed with honest sweat. "It's going to be okay, Sadie. We're going to get through this."

  We. It was such a small word, and yet it made her feel like an anvil had just been lifted off her shoulders, knowing she wasn't totally alone in this.

  He brushed a kiss on her cheek as a knock sounded at the door.

  He went to answer, and Sadie cringed when she heard June's voice announcing dinner would be on the table in ten minutes.

  Was that really the voice of a thief?

  "Sadie and I are going to have dinner at my parents' house tonight," he said.

  "You could have told me before," June replied, sounding miffed. "Would have saved me from wasting food."

  Dylan apologized. "It was a last minute thing."

  It was certainly news to Sadie. He closed the door on June and turned back to her. "I hope that's okay. I figured you'd want a little more time to cool off before facing them across the table."

  "It's great," she said, happy for the reprieve. "But will your mom be okay with us just showing up?"

  He took off his ball cap and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. "She's been after me all week, complaining she never sees me since I moved out here, but I keep putting her off."

  "I don't want to intrude on your time with them. You can just drop me at Adele's—"

  He held up a hand. "No, really, if you're there it will distract my mom from hovering over me, worrying that I'm working too hard and putting too much stress on my leg."

  "Are you?" Sadie said. She felt a flash of guilt over the fact that with all of her focus on the ranch, she hadn't stopped to think that the physical nature of the work might be too much on Dylan's recovering body. "You seem so strong, sometimes I forget the only reason you're even here is because you were so badly hurt."

  He gave her an exasperated look. "If anything it's good for me. Working out and PT has gotten me back in shape, but in my line of work most of the physical strain isn't going to come from any kind of structured exercise. Besides," he said, pulling her close once more, "you of all people should know just how physically capable I am."

  Her cheeks warmed as he pressed his lips to hers. She gave herself up to it, and for a brief moment all of the stress drifted away.

  He lifted his head. "Let me get a quick shower and then we'll go."

  "Okay if I hang out here?" She reluctantly let him go. "I'm afraid if I go to the house I'm liable to punch someone."

  "Make yourself at home."

  As he retreated down the hall, Sadie stepped into the kitchen to get a glass of water. As she passed the dining table she saw his closed laptop sitting on top. The last few nights she'd woken up alone, and walked out into the front room to find him typing away. At first she'd assumed he'd been writing emails, but the way he quickly closed it as soon as he realized she was there made her curious.

  But when she'd asked what he was working on he'd answered, "nothing” a little too quickly, and did nothing to allay her curiosity.

  Maybe he's going to online sex chat rooms! an evil voice warned her as she filled a glass from the sink. You should check out his browsing history.

  She immediately dismissed the idea as both stupid and immature. Besides, the intense expression she'd glimpsed on his face before he noticed her indicated much more serious subject matter.

  Subject matter he clearly didn't want to discuss with her. Which of course made her want to know that much more.

  Before she could give into the ill-advised urge to snoop, Dylan's heavy footsteps sounded down the hallway.

  Dressed in cargo shorts and an army t-shirt from his seemingly endless supply, his thick damp hair brushed back from his forehead, he looked so delicious he almost made her forget about today's calamitous news.

  She drained the glass, left it on the counter, and let him lead her by the hand out to his truck.

  Lost in her thoughts, Sadie stared blindly out the window as they made the ten minute drive to the Deckers’ house, located just a few blocks from the center of town. The small craftsman house looked exactly the same as it had the last time she'd visited in high school, the patch of lawn in front small but tidy, bordered by colorful azaleas.

  The cheery yellow paint and white window trimming looked like it had been freshened recently, and the concrete front steps were swept clean of any dirt or leaves. In the back, at end of the narrow driveway was the equally well-kept detached garage. For years Dylan's father had run his auto repair business right there on the premises, but a couple of years ago he'd relocated to a bigger commercial space off of Highway 191.

  Dylan held the front door open for her and she stepped into a space that wasn't a whole lot bigger than the cabin where he was currently staying. Dylan's mom, Vivian, was working at the kitchen
sink.

  She smiled with delight when she saw them, turned off the faucet, and quickly dried her hands. Arms wide, she walked over to her son and grabbed him in a fierce hug. "I've missed you," she said, going up on tiptoes to give his cheek a smacking kiss.

  "What's it been, barely a week?"

  "That's a long time when I was used to seeing you every day."

  Dylan shook his head, but a smile teased the corners of his mouth.

  She turned to Sadie and treated her to the same warm greeting she'd given Dylan. Sadie returned her hug enthusiastically.

  She'd always liked Vivian. She always greeted Sadie with a big smile and a plate of something delicious on the rare occasions she came to Dylan's house to help him study instead of going to her house or the library.

  "You have the figure to carry it," she used to say to Sadie, as she piled yet another cookie or slice of banana bread on her plate, so sincerely Sadie almost believed she didn't notice her too skinny body with elbows and knees poking out in sharp points. On the days Sadie beat Dylan to the house, Vivian would ask her all about school, her friends, and even offered a sympathetic ear when Sadie's parents split up and her mother moved to Arizona.

  "I know things are rough now," she'd said, "but you're a strong, smart girl and you'll get through it."

  As a strong, smart woman who had overcome her own tragic past, Vivian, Sadie knew, spoke from authority.

  "I was so happy when Dylan told me you'd be joining us tonight," Vivian said, darting a speculative look between them. "I can't remember the last time Dylan invited a guest to dinner."

  Dylan cleared his throat, and color slashed across his sharp cheekbones.

  "I had a really hard day at the ranch, and Dylan was nice enough offer dinner with you all up as a distraction." Sadie said quickly.

  "Sounds like you could use some adult refreshment," Vivian said and darted around the formica-topped island that separated the kitchen from the living room. "I"m having wine," she gestured to a glass of pale gold liquid resting on the counter next to the sink, "but we have just about anything you might want." She opened a cabinet next to the refrigerator that appeared to hold every variety of alcohol known to man.