Her Balancing Act: Quinlan O'Connor Book 3

by Alyssa Bailey

  She reached to run her hand over his face. “My rough and tough cowboy cop, I love you too. I know you’ll do what you say, but could we still use protection until I’m ready?”

  “Yes, piscín, we can. Shall we use some now?”

  “Mmm, yes please.”

  The next couple of days flew by with Quinn exacting just what he needed and wanted from Cheyenne and giving her what she needed and didn’t always know she wanted. Quinn was on swings starting tomorrow which meant the three to eleven shift. He decided to finally have the talk with Cheyenne about the amount of time she spent on that one, not so new, account belonging to Martin Spencer. She was spending every available moment doing this rebuild. It wasn’t that her other accounts, all family businesses, was suffering, but her moods were beginning to deteriorate.

  “So, tell me about what you have found so far and do I need to look into illegal activity?”

  Cheyenne hesitated, not sure if she should spill everything or if he would be all right with the information she lightly sprinkled. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound but as she thought about it, she was feeling rather short on pennies, figuratively speaking, so she decided to tell only what he demanded she disclose.

  “Well, the funny thing about that is this. Since I have been doing the accounts for everyone else’s for so long, it doesn’t take that much to do them anymore.”

  “Cheyenne, I remember you setting up Jocelyn’s books for Haven’s House and it took a couple of weeks, and you created the whole system. With the Ranch, it didn’t take but about a month to do every one of the businesses and have them in order and you had plenty of time off in there. Of course, there were no hidden monies lost or found.”

  “True, but it is easier to do the paperwork for one business from scratch and for the Circle C, there were already books in order. Dad and then I had been doing your dad’s accounts for a number of years. Shane’s is just quarterly reporting, nothing else. It is done in one day a month usually with annual audits and taxes because he has an excellent bookkeeper.”

  “And…”

  Cheyenne hesitated but tried to pretend she was chewing. Well, she was chewing, but typically, she could chew at a more normal rate for humans. Hoping Quinn had gone on with his breakfast she peeked up and saw him patiently waiting.

  Thinking she could change the subject, she said, “When do you start building on the property or have you gotten that far yet?

  “I’m waiting for the permits to go through first. It should be in the next week after passing the planning commission. Now, why are you avoiding talking about the extra time you are taking on Spencer’s place?”

  “I’m not. I thought we were done. There isn’t much else to say, really. I’m just doing some catch-up work for him since he hasn’t paid as much attention to his books since his wife passed away five years ago.”

  “Umm-hmm. Well, I’m going to talk to Ciarán and Liam about this guy and see what they know about his businesses.” He reached over to Cheyenne and captured her hand firmly, “We don’t need your income to survive, you know. Everything you make goes straight into your own account.”

  “I know. I just need some extra time to look a little deeper. Please don’t make this hard. I love my work and enjoy my own business. Besides, I need to do this now, because I’m going to have to work on your building accounts soon. I need to get Spencer out of the way so I can do the Club’s paperwork.”

  “How much extra time do you need?”

  “I can’t say how much.”

  “Okay, then I’ll tell you how much time you have left. Two weeks. That’s it. If things are so messed up that you can’t get this done in another two weeks, then it is too messed up to fix, and he’ll have to get another accountant. You get me, Cheyenne?

  “You agreed to allow me to do my business.” Cheyenne folded her arms in irritation.

  “The guys here or at the station would never let me work as many hours as you work on this account. I'm not unreasonable.”

  “Stop it. I don’t tell you how to conduct your business.”

  “No, I have a boss, brothers, and a father for that. You have me for yours. Count yourself lucky.”

  “I would if that was all they stuck their noses in,” mumbled Cheyenne.

  “What?”

  “I said thanks for taking care of me.” Then, before he could say more, she reached over and kissed him soundly on the lips giving him time to fully respond before she whispered, “Have a nice day. I’ll be back in a few hours to make our contribution to the dinner at Jos and Liam’s tonight.”

  “Hey, I thought it was our turn.”

  “Technically, yes. However, because several of the boys are having friends over, Jocelyn said it would just be easier if we all ate at their house. We will have it next week.”

  “Right then, I’ll see you in a few hours. I’ll try to be back home to shower and help around 3:00 this afternoon. I’m working equestrian today.”

  Another kiss and out the door Cheyenne went with a racing mind on how she was going to get things done in two weeks. She didn’t agree to two weeks, he dropped the time restraint. It did help that for the next month, Quinn would be on swings. That added more hours to her days. If she could just find the problem, she could fix it or expose it and be done. She could elongate her hours all day and evening as needed.

  Cheyenne hoped the dinner conversation would not circle around to her, and she sighed in relief when there didn’t seem to be any desire to take the talk in that direction.

  Liam’s voice sounded intense and serious. “I went into town and had to discuss an error at the feed store. It was a rather substantial error.” He looked to see the older kids were all gone before speaking. “They’d double billed us to the tune of $1,200.00.”

  “Liam, we use about that much in supplies during this time of year,” Ciarán pointed out.

  “No, they doubled the bill so it was $2,400.00.”

  “How did that happen?” asked Cheyenne.

  “They said it was a new bookkeeper, but the initials on the bottom were the same ones that normally are there. I went back to check.” Liam shook his head.

  The men discussed it for a few more minutes, and Cheyenne was quiet.

  “That’s why we think something is off. That, combined with Spencer’s books being odd, makes me wonder if Cheyenne is getting in the middle of something she oughtn’t to be in,” concluded Liam.

  “You’re just reaching, Liam,” accused Cheyenne.

  “There’s some crazy stuff going on with the feed store. Oh, that isn’t all. I called around to some of the other ranchers to see if we are the only ones with the error. I found that it had happened to several of them. Some didn’t discover it until I called.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything,” reasoned Cheyenne.

  “No, you’re right, it doesn’t, but it does make me concerned for your safety if this is a bigger problem than you think and you discover some real dirt after you dig a bit. Someone could be making real money here, and you would be jeopardizing it.”

  “I’m not going to change direction just because some feed store needs a better bookkeeper,” retorted Cheyenne, careful not to meet any of the men’s eyes.

  No matter whom she’d talked with earlier that week, whether it was Ciarán, Liam, Da or their managers, they were all concerned about shady business practices. She tried to shake the feeling that business at the Spencer Ranch wasn’t clean but she couldn’t. However, the mystery was so intriguing she knew she would continue until she had answered every question.

  Every one of the men from her family and the Circle C told her that she should stop the work and say she was unable to be their accountant. She didn’t listen, causing grumblings of hot seats and her ability to sit comfortably, working, out of control women, and hints of danger. Cheyenne turned a deaf ear. The men did not.

  Bringing in the last of the food from the dining table, Jocelyn asked, “Cheyenne are you sure you want to get hip deep in som
ething that might be really hinky? I mean, do you need the money that badly?”

  Quinn overheard as he came for coffee and answered irritably, “Of course she doesn’t. She can stay home and have our babies or just keep house for us, but she ignores that fact. She wants what she wants.” He leaned back on the counter and crossed his arms in that almost muscle-bound way that made her gush every time.

  “Of course not, Quinlan makes plenty for us but I love a challenge, and this one comes with a few mysteries that I want to unravel. It adds the spark to life.”

  “I don’t know, Cheyenne, I’m pretty happy with life and no added sparkles except Liam’s works pretty well for me. Maybe you should be working on contentment.”

  Katie added from the sink, “Says the woman with eight children, essentially two households to run, yours and the safe house, two helpers, homeschooling the little ones and thinking about another baby to add to the mix.”

  “Shih, Katie, I haven’t had the conversation yet,” replied an embarrassed Jocelyn looking over at her stunned husband through the open concept kitchen to the breakfast area where he was accepting coffee from Cheyenne.

  “Really, Liam, I was just talking. I, we haven’t done anything to make that a reality yet. I mean, unprotected.” Jocelyn’s face beamed bright red, “I mean I’m still very careful.”

  Liam just grunted and pretended he was uninterested in the conversation, but everyone knew he was more than interested. Even though Liam was not a talker, all knew that discussions would begin in the Liam O’Connor household that very night. He had made it known that he wanted to raise the children he had for a while. Jocelyn said her biological clock ticked faster than his did. The outcome was yet to be decided.

  “Cheyenne, I think we need to have more conversation about the Double S,” stated Ciarán.

  “No, it’s my business and I can do as I want.” She sent a challenging look in Quinlan’s direction.

  “Unless this whole thing is really dangerous,” added Liam, “And it is beginning to sound like it might be.”

  “Liam, explain to me how accounting can be unsafe?” asked his wife.

  “I don’t know. You might have something there. But if it is as convoluted as it appears and anything but transparent in the running of that place, then…”

  “ALL BETS ARE OFF.” The women recited in unison as a mantra they learned early and heard often. Everyone laughed, and it broke the tension.

  Cheyenne shook her head. “Your wife has had some pretty risky events happen to her, but you haven’t made her stop doing what she wants in her business.”

  “Bad example, honey. Liam stops me from doing what I want all the time,” countered Jocelyn. “Why do you think I have two helpers and timers everywhere? I believe they hold hidden cameras and one helper is a mole.” They all laughed.

  “Right, but we’re going to have to talk about this whole thing, Cheyenne, just so I’m sure you’re okay because it would not look good if I had to haul my wife out of jail for being accused of unscrupulous practices.”

  Exasperated sarcasm permeated her response. “If I were going to be unscrupulous, I wouldn’t tell you, and I’m so good that I could hide it deep. I could bury it too cavernous to find. Hey,” she said, brightening, “maybe that’s it, it’s hidden purposely. It isn’t bad accounting but excellent bookkeeping. I need to dig. Thanks, guys, I’m diving like a seal starting tomorrow.”

  “After we talk,” added Quinn. Cheyenne groaned and put a forkful of dessert into her mouth before she said something that got her ears and bottom scorched.

  Conversation resumed to ranch plans, outcomes of the year so far, the kids, the families’ plans and some good-natured ribbing on when the next O’Connor was coming down the pike. Along with speculations on who was to be the oven to bake him or her. Cheyenne again sent up her silent prayer.

  Later, as she lay in bed that night, she mapped out the next few days. As the sun came up, she bounced into the Double S office to find her files tossed everywhere.

  Chapter Five

  Looking over at Shelby who was working on the books, Cheyenne said, “What are you doing sitting over there like nothing has happened in here? And what the hell did happen?” Mental note that cursing is allowable when someone deliberately trashes your office. Even the O’Connor men would agree on that. She hoped.

  Shelby looked at Cheyenne with an uncomfortable crooked frown.

  “I was told you already knew about it and wanted it to stay as it was so that you could see for yourself.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “Um, I forgot, one of the hands, I think.” Cheyenne noticed Shelly did not look at her but most likely because she knew she had screwed up.

  “Yeah, you think but can’t be sure.” Cheyenne slammed her hand down on the desk and bit her lip at the jarring pain that accompanied that action. Somehow, it validated her anger. “I have to tell you that in this case my husband would be right. You are either dumb or playing dumb. Are you in on whatever is going on around here, Shelby?”

  Her look of shock was pretty convincing. Dumb or lazy was probably right.

  “No. Honestly, they told me you already knew.”

  “And you have no idea who said that load of crap? You expect me to believe that?”

  Shelby shrugged. “But you’re married?”

  “Surprised you, I can see. Yes, I’m married. So when did this happen?” asked Cheyenne as she pulled out her phone to take photos. Quinn was going to have a fit. Why would being married matter in the middle of all this destruction? They weren’t friends and after this mess, they never would be.

  “Um, yesterday, when I came in it, was like this.” Shelby watched Cheyenne finish with the pictures and pick up papers off the floor.

  “So, you thought that it had happened before you came in yesterday, and you did not think to call me because you thought I already knew even though I didn’t come into the office until today?”

  “I guess.” The level of Shelby’s frustration became evident when her shaky hands dropped her empty coffee cup.

  “Go find me a bank box while I finishing cleaning up. Next, you’re going to give me all the books you have. Don’t leave one scrap of paper out. Then, you’re going to tell anyone who asks, that I’m working out of my own personal office for a while. If they need something, they can call me. Go get the boxes, enough to hold all of this mess.” Shelby hesitated at the command but complied anyway.

  Cheyenne cursed and mouthed all the way through the clean-up, the stacking of receipts and papers on her desk, and putting her desk to rights, finishing just as Shelby returned with several file boxes she had for the storage of previous reporting period’s receipts.

  Shelby helped without saying anything but “I’m sorry, Cheyenne. Really, I am.” She waited for a second before she asked, “So, you are renting a place on the Circle C? You are married to one of them?”

  Cheyenne wasn’t sure she was comfortable giving any information to Shelby and certainly not personal in nature when she wasn’t honest with Cheyenne about the office demolishment. Maybe she wasn't entirely fair because Shelby was intimidated by Jason Spencer and Chuck Wyman and it was possible it was they who had told her Cheyenne knew. Nonetheless, she was not about to divulge personal information.

  “I know it doesn’t matter but yes, I married one of them and yes, the ranch is my home.”

  “Oh.” She was silent another moment and then said, “Which one?”

  “Which one?”

  “Sorry, sorry. It’s just, they’re well known around here. I mean… never mind. Sorry.”

  Cheyenne finally spoke when all was packed up. “I get it, Shelby, you’re sorry, and it is evident you have a crush on the guys. The next time something is obviously wrong, don’t ignore it. That’s just irresponsible in anyone’s books.”

  Shelby simply nodded her head. Cheyenne downloaded any remaining records from her own desk computer after which they loaded the disorganized mess into the SUV.
Then, after locking her vehicle, Cheyenne went over to find Martin and tell him what had gone on.

  Martin could not even begin to know why it had happened, and he was sure it was not one of his workers.

  “I’m certain that we must have had an animal get loose in there like a raccoon because I can’t believe that anyone who I have hired would have done this. It has never happened before. Maybe we should get Jason over here. He could help with security. Are you sure Shelby doesn’t know who told her that you already knew?”

  “Doesn’t know or doesn’t feel safe enough to say. I simply can’t say, Martin, but I’m a bit worried about it so if you want me to keep on I will. However, I’ll have to go home to do the work because if any one member of my family finds out this happened here, then every member will know soon enough. That means my husband will know, and he doesn’t take it well if he thinks I’m not safe. Hence one of the myriad reasons I’m doing this work from home, now. It’ll be more efficient this way anyway.”

  Cheyenne was sugar coating it for Martin, but she knew that if it got out that she had her office trashed, Quinlan would raise the roof. Her rather new family would alternate between wrapping her up in a cocoon and badgering her to quit. At this point, she could allow neither. She was going to concentrate on the lending business that Martin loved because she was positive that something was going on there. She could smell the smoke, but couldn’t see it yet and was sure the fire was close.

  Getting into her car about forty-five minutes later, she was pulling away from the Double S and heading home. If she were lucky, she would be able to get home, get everything inside her office, and in some sort of order before Quinlan came back. She was irritated that she had planned her morning and then to have her day not only disrupted but also turned to a chaotic mess was maddening. Upset she could not work toward any real progress today, she had to mark off the first day of her countdown.