A Box Full of Trouble

by Carolyn Haines

  “All you need to do is keep watching out for yourself and I’ll keep sending a patrol car through as often as I can.”

  But Dirks could tell neither the sheriff nor Avery believed, any more than he did, that those measures would be a deterrent to whoever was behind what was happening. At this point, he suspected that not even locking Danson up as the sheriff wanted to do would alter what had been set in motion.

  * * *

  Dirks waited until they’d finished a meal that was well-prepared and all the more enjoyable for the company he was keeping before he said the things he knew would return that furrow between Avery’s brows and maybe even tempt her to bite her nails again. He might have waited even longer but his thoughts were too close to the surface, as close to the surface as his growing feelings for the woman across from him.

  “You’re staring at me,” she told him.

  “You’re beautiful.” And that was the absolute truth.

  “It’s not that kind of a stare.”

  “Busted,” he tossed her own word back to her, “but you are beautiful.”

  She blushed and the look was good on her but she was as strong as he’d told her she was and not to be distracted. “Let’s go back to the ‘busted’ part. What is it you’re not saying?”

  “I’ve started an investigation into your ex’s activities.”

  “Why?” she asked clearly dismayed. “I told you he has nothing to do with Summer Valley any more. The property, the horses, everything is one hundred percent mine and what I want to do, what I will do, for the veterans has nothing to do with him.”

  “But he’s put you, and the horses, at risk.”

  “That’s my battle.”

  Not alone, he wanted to tell her. He was wise enough to refrain.

  “All you need to do,” she persisted, “is determine if I’m solvent - which I am - and whether I’m capable of meeting the needs of wounded veterans - which I am. If you can’t see that by now, I don’t think there’s anything left I can show you to prove it. That frustrates me.”

  “I’ve seen what I need to see to know that.” He felt a pang at the way her face lit at the words.

  “So you’ll approve Summer Valley for the equine therapy program?”

  He was glad they were through eating because he knew she wouldn’t have kept her appetite with what he was going to tell her next.

  “There’s a problem.”

  Her shoulders dropped ever so slightly but he saw it, saw the brief flash of happiness in her eyes fade.

  “Okay.” That one word was all she said but her expression said volumes more.

  “Summer Valley Ranch was approved for the VA’s equine therapy program nearly a year ago,” Dirks admitted.

  Avery stared at Dirks, her expression one of total disbelief. “That can’t be. I’ve been waiting forever just to hear back on my application.”

  “During the past year monthly checks have been sent, signed, and cashed for daily equine therapy for four different veterans who don’t exist.”

  “You’re not making any sense.”

  But Dirks saw a flash of some hidden something in those beautiful eyes that suddenly made him doubt, made him wonder if his attraction to her had caused him to make a mistake. But he’d started on this path, and even if it led someplace he didn’t want to go, he had no choice but to continue the discussion.

  “The person on our end has been terminated and charged with fraud.”

  “And on this end.” She was watching him steadily, with that same unreadability he’d seen in her the first time they’d talked, the first time they’d shared a meal. And he realized that had only been a few days ago. Despite his feelings for her, he forced himself to remember that he’d known her barely a week. The fact that he’d researched her, dug into every facet of her life for several long weeks didn’t make for knowing a person.

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  “Well,” she said and though her tone remained calm and even, he could hear the underlying bitterness, “I’m sure you’ve plundered through all the dirty laundry of my life with Craig. You’ll know those checks didn’t come to me, haven’t been deposited to the ranch account or my personal account.”

  Spine straight, she placed her crumpled linen napkin on the table. “I’d like to go back to the ranch now.”

  Still wondering if his emotions had control of his good sense, Dirks reached across and took her hand to keep her from getting out of her chair. His orders were to keep the details of their investigation from her but if she were guilty, she already knew them. If she wasn’t, if she was the victim of her ex’s guilt, his investigation had just turned an unexpected corner. “The funds were mailed to a post office box in Alexander City, made out to you, signed with your signature. After our guy was identified, that post office box was closed.”

  Every bit of color drained from her face. “You’re crazy or you’re lying.”

  “You know I’m not. I wouldn’t say it if I couldn’t prove it.”

  She snatched her hand away and got to her feet. “One thing you can’t prove is that I signed those checks because that never happened. I’ll get my own ride back to the ranch. I don’t want to talk to you or be around you, not right now.”

  Dirks watched as she exited the restaurant with a quiet dignity that pulled at him, made him regret having been the one to tell her why he was really there, regret having hurt her. One thing he didn’t regret was being the one sent to investigate her. He might later, if she really was guilty as his superiors were convinced, but if she wasn’t guilty after all, he was going to be the one to prove her innocence.

  He supposed she’d go straight to Sheriff Farley to get that ride back to the ranch, but he didn’t take any chances with her safety. He paid the check quickly and followed her. From across the street, he watched as she and Farley exited the sheriff’s office together before he got back in his truck and trailed them back to the ranch.

  Chapter Eleven

  Avery felt as if she’d been slapped. She’d walked the few blocks back to Ben Farley’s office without even noticing her surroundings. She was grateful the sheriff hadn’t asked a single question when she stepped back into his office and asked if one of his deputies could take her home. He’d simply picked up his western style hat and walked her out to his patrol car.

  Ben remained mercifully uninquisitive, commenting upon the opening of the new barbershop in town, the weather, anything except what had caused her to leave Dirks alone someplace in town and find her own way home. He pulled to a stop in front of her house and got out with her. Shooting a warning glance at the truck and driver that had followed them back, Ben gave her a hug. “Do you want me to run him out of here?”

  Avery followed the direction of his gaze to Dirks’ truck. She hadn’t been aware that he’d been that close behind them but she couldn’t have said she was surprised by the fact either.

  “Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. He’s government and he hasn’t done anything wrong – at least not according to the law.”

  “Makes me no mind, Avery. You want him gone, he’ll be gone.” Ben smiled faintly but his eyes held a glint of steel. “I like him well enough, but you’ve got a place in my heart and always will.”

  “Same here, Ben,” she said huskily. “I’ll be okay. Thanks for getting me home.”

  “If you need me, call me. I’ll always come. You know that.”

  “I do know.”

  She watched as the sheriff got back in his car and pulled away. He stopped briefly and put his window down to say something to Dirks. She couldn’t hear and didn’t care. The feeling of numbed disbelief had given way to a burning anger. And it didn’t help that the anger was directed more at herself than anyone else. Apparently, Dirks was just doing his job. If she was a casualty, well, business was business.

  Although she could feel his gaze on her as she walked back into her house to change, she was careful not to even glance at him. So much for feeling attractive, for being
attracted. She had a ranch to run. Sooner or later, she and Dirks would have to talk again, she knew. She was under investigation and if she ran him off, the government would just send someone else.

  The government. Realization hummed through her veins. That she was under scrutiny of federal authorities scared her. It was one thing to be judged fit or unfit to be part of a VA program. Being judged guilty or not guilty, subject to being charged with fraud against the federal government, was another thing entirely. A truly frightening thing.

  The whole time she changed back into jeans and tee shirt, her mind spun with the implications. She knew she was innocent. Still, if Dirks was right in everything he said – and there was probably little possibility he wasn’t - it meant someone had forged her name and taken money intended to help wounded veterans, maybe even set her up to take this fall.

  That last thought had her pausing as she unpinned her hair and pulled it through the back of her ball cap.

  That someone could only be Craig but her mind reeled to think he’d been either that desperate or that determined to destroy her. But if Craig had meant to set her up for jail and take control of the ranch, why hadn’t he? Cold feet? Or was it only and ever the money? Only and ever his gambling debts driving him? And how could she prove his guilt and clear herself?

  Sighing, Avery pulled on her socks and boots. Dirks had made it clear that he believed she was the guilty party. Or had he? She got to her feet then just stood, thinking. Dirks hadn’t said ‘signed by you’. He’d said ‘signed with your signature’. She wasn’t sure if there was a difference in his mind. He hadn’t espoused any belief in her innocence, just stated the bare facts and rather baldly at that. Even if there was a difference in his mind, the only difference would be in whether or not she went to federal prison for something she hadn’t done. It wouldn’t change that she had almost trusted him, almost let herself feel something for him. Never again. She’d trust herself, her horses and the team that had proven their loyalty to her over and over again.

  The thought of prison terrified her, the thought of what would happen to her horses in that eventuality, brought a cold clamminess to her skin. She had to force herself to breathe against the weight that pressed down on her. No, she wasn’t going there again, either. She wasn’t, wouldn’t be helpless. She’d already proven she was a fighter and she’d fight this with her last ounce of strength and willpower. She would not be a victim, not to Craig or anyone else.

  “Meow.”

  Avery glanced down in surprise. “Trouble. I didn’t hear you come in.” Scooping the cat up in her arms, she took comfort from the warmth of his body, the feel of his sleek fur against her arms. She still wasn’t sure why he’d shown up in her life and he might be hers for only a little while, but she’d enjoy him until he decided it was time to return home to Tammy Lynn.

  * * *

  Carlee stepped into the kitchen from the garden door just as Avery walked through from the hall. “Hi,” Carlee said, studying her closely. “I was just checking on you.”

  “I’m fine.” Avery did her best to smile normally. “Any reason I wouldn’t be?”

  Carlee gave a laugh that didn’t sound the least bit happy. “It just never seems to end, does it?”

  “Has something else happened?” Avery felt her heart clutch.

  “No, thank God. I’m just feeling edgy, I guess.”

  Carlee was normally such an undemonstrative person that it caught Avery off guard when the young woman stepped closer and leaned her head against Avery’s shoulder. She gave her stepdaughter a light hug and was neither surprised nor offended when Carlee moved away again almost at once. Craig had told her once that, after Caren’s death, Carlee’s mother had ceased to show any sign of affection to either her husband or her remaining daughter. Carlee had withdrawn more and more and it was still rare for her to initiate touching any human though she was openly affectionate with the horses and Avery had long suspected she had some feelings for Tucker that she was careful to hide when he was watching.

  “Jake Everett is supposed to be here in about half an hour. Hopefully I’ll find out why he’s dragging his feet over the fenced riding path.”

  The project she’d mentioned to Dirks, and never had the chance to elaborate on, was a safe place she’d designed for sightless clients to ride with some sense of independence. When finished, it would be a riding path with tall, sturdy fencing, lined on the inside with thick shrubs. It would be a means for those without sight but who wanted a sense of independence, like Sergeant Mallette, to ride in safety. If they inadvertently guided their mount too close to the fence, their knees would hit heavy shrubbery rather than unyielding posts and boards. When finished, the route would wind over a full five acres of level ground. With a raised platform, she’d be able to see the rider at all times and reach him - or her - within minutes if need be.

  “I’ll go with you to meet him,” Carlee said.

  “Well, you’re always welcome but I can deal with whatever is keeping Mr. Everett from completing his work here. If I have to, I’ll fire him and find someone else to finish the job. I don’t care if it is mid-stream of the project.”

  “I’m going.” Carlee was adamant. “He might not take kindly to being fired.”

  Avery shook her head in exasperation. “Carlee, I’ll be fine. Again, you’re welcome but there’s no need.”

  Carlee ignored that. “We can take the ranch truck.” She hesitated. “Maybe later we can go for a ride. Just us.”

  And that was when Avery got it, saw the uncertainty, the hint of insecurity. Carlee had clung to her side when she and Craig first married, transitioned to a poised young woman in the years after, but returned to a more fragile state as Craig had slowly deteriorated, destroying Avery’s trust and their marriage. Carlee would never cling but it was clear she needed to be close to Avery for now.

  “A ride sounds wonderful, Carlee.” Avery didn’t have to pretend her pleasure at the thought. It would be good to get away, just enjoy the horses as the afternoon faded and the blistering heat eased.

  Carlee grinned. “Good. Now let’s go tackle Mr. Everett. Figuratively, that is,” she added with a wink.

  * * *

  Jake Everett stepped out of his truck as they approached. He leaned one hip against the hood and watched as they climbed down from the ranch truck and walked toward him. Behind him five acres of the flattest land on her ranch had been studded with tall, sturdy posts waiting for boards to be run at several different levels.

  “Mr. Everett,” Avery offered her hand and, though the man took it, she could both see and feel his reluctance to do so.

  He was a lean man, weathered by the work he did in the sun and the wind, the heat and the cold. His company had a solid reputation for delivering quality work on time. Avery knew because she’d vetted that company well and selected it, and him, with care. It had surprised her when he and his crew had simply stopped work mid-stream without so much as a word to her. She’d waited until the work was a month past due before contacting him, more because those final days of court had drained her than for any patience on her part. She’d paid half of the total up front, trusting that Jake Everett would live up to his promise. What he’d done so far was quality work, but now she needed it finished.

  Because the man didn’t show any inclination to address the problem, Avery decided to take the bull by the horns. “I appreciate you coming out to talk with me. I would’ve appreciated more if you’d finished the job on time like you promised.”

  He flushed a dark red. “And I would’ve appreciated not being put in the position I’m in with the lumber yard.”

  Avery realized that what she’d taken for embarrassment was anger, pure and simple. “What do you mean?”

  “Ma’am, half that material you ordered - and then had hauled away from the lumber store without paying - has nothing to do with what I’m doing out here for you. I’ve built a reputable company with hard, honest work. I don’t want my name associated with anyt
hing less than honest dealings.”

  Avery felt a slow burn heat her from the inside out but she could feel Carlee bristling beside her and placed a hand on the girl’s arm. “Mr. Everett, I don’t know what you’re accusing me of or what you’re talking about. I’ve paid for everything that’s been delivered, everything you’ve put in the ground and what’s laying there stacked, ready to be put up. Just like I paid you up front, believing you’d do a good job.”

  “And that’s just what I’ve done. A good job. And I’ll finish once you’re square with the lumber yard and I can look Stu Sykes in the eye again.”

  “Who?” Avery stared at him in complete bewilderment. “Who is Stu Sykes?”

  “Owns a lumber yard near Jackson’s Gap.”

  Carlee wasn’t being silent. She shook off Avery’s hand and stepped forward with a fierce glare. “I don’t know Stu Sykes and I’ve never placed an order with that lumber yard. That is not where we got the posts or any of the rest of the material. We got everything here in town, local. Just like we buy everything else. Local. I paid for it myself and watched it being unloaded.”

  Jake Everett rubbed the back of his neck as he looked from one to the other. Clearly, being on the receiving end of the wrath of a young woman wasn’t his idea of a good time. He focused on Avery. “If you buy everything local, why’d your husband call and ask me where to get the best deal? Hell, I even told Stu he could let the man send someone to pick it up - that I didn’t have a doubt in the world you’d put the check in the mail that same day like he promised.”

  Before Avery could even open her mouth, Carlee said the dirtiest word Avery had ever heard her utter.

  “I’ll pay Mr. Sykes tomorrow. From my own account. You just finish this job like you promised and you’ll get paid the second half of the money like you were promised.” Carlee swung on her heels, then swung back. “I’ll tell you one thing, Mr. Everett, you’re no more a man than my dad. A real man wouldn’t have just walked away from a commitment. A real man would’ve had the brass to come speak his mind up front instead of waiting for his client to call and ask what the hell was going on. Avery is the most honest woman you’ll ever meet. She pays every bill before it even comes due. Ask anyone in town. You and your Mr. Sykes are dumb as dirt to take the word of a jerk you don’t even know, over the phone and hand him thousands of dollars’ worth of material.”