Shadow of Doubt

by Abbie Zanders

  “I don’t think Kate knows about the investigation.”

  “I doubt anyone on his client list does. It’s not something Renninger is going to advertise, is it? And no one else would know unless they went digging.”

  Like they had. Most people wouldn’t think to research a business if everyone they knew used that business. Word of mouth and personal recommendations held a lot of sway.

  “Kate said he’s a longtime family friend.”

  “He’s also a local who, as far as anyone knows, is running an established, reputable family business. People trust him to take care of things.”

  “He’s a fucking weasel,” Mad Dog muttered.

  “You might want to suggest Kate take a look at the books or at least have someone else look at them.”

  Mad Dog ran his hand over his face. “This is the last thing she or her family needs right now.”

  “Yeah, the timing sucks.” Cage stood, turned to go, and then said, “Let me do some more poking around and see if any red flags pop up.”

  “Thanks, man. I’d appreciate that.”

  Cage nodded, leaving Mad Dog feeling even unhappier about Renninger hanging around. But how could he warn Kate without admitting how he knew?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kate

  Kate went through the usual motions. She rang up customers, stocked shelves, and signed for deliveries, but her mind was elsewhere. She checked her phone again, hoping for good news. The last text from her sister had been more than two hours earlier.

  Kylie: Still waiting for the cardiologist.

  Kate tried to be patient. She knew that doctors’ schedules were fluid. That some things took priority over others. There were plenty of important reasons her father’s angioplasty might be delayed. Perhaps there was an emergency. Maybe there had been complications with one of the patients scheduled to go before him.

  She reminded herself that he was safe and in good hands.

  Still, she’d breathe easier once the procedure was over and she knew everything had gone okay.

  The bell over the door jingled, announcing a new arrival. She looked up to see Penny Hoffmeier carrying a small vase overflowing with colorful flowers. Penny had quite a knack for creating beautiful bouquets. Since Hoffmeier’s Floral was only a few doors down, Kate figured she’d stopped in to ask about her dad on her way to deliver flowers to some lucky recipient.

  “Hey, Penny! Those are lovely.”

  “Glad you like them because they’re for you.”

  Kate did a double take, certain she’d heard incorrectly. “Come again?”

  Penny laughed. “They’re for you, Kate.”

  Kate accepted the flowers, lifted them to her nose, and breathed in their heavenly aroma. “From whom?”

  Penny’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “Open the card and find out.”

  Plucking the small card from the plastic trident, Kate laughed when she read the note. “Happy Hearts and Flowers Day! Love, Duke.”

  “Duke sounds pretty sexy over the phone,” Penny said with a wink.

  Kate didn’t need to respond with words. Her wide grin said it all.

  “Is he the dark and dangerous-looking hottie who’s got half of the women on Main Street running to the window when they spot his truck in front of your house?”

  “Maybe,” Kate teased, drawing out the word.

  Penny held up her hand for a fist bump, and Kate obliged.

  “Listen, I’ve got to run. We’re swamped today. Every guy in Sumneyville suddenly realized it’s Valentine’s Day,” Penny said with a snort. “As if Valentine’s Day isn’t on the same date every year. But you and I are going to have lunch soon, and you are going to tell me everything.”

  There was no way Kate was going to tell her everything, but she was perfectly okay with telling her some things, particularly how thoughtful and gentlemanly he was. “Deal. But you’re buying.”

  “Totally worth it. Later, Kate.”

  “Later, Penny.”

  Kate set the flowers on the counter where she—and everyone else—could see them and then started to type out a thank-you text to Duke. Before she could do that, however, the bell rang again. This time, it announced the arrival of a liberally tatted and pierced guy she recognized from Andy’s.

  “Hey, Zach. Whatcha got there?”

  “Lunch for you, gorgeous. Special order. Some guy named Duke called it in earlier.”

  The delicious scents of seasoned ground beef and battered fries made her mouth water. She was pretty sure her smile couldn’t get any wider at that point.

  Reaching under the counter for her wallet, she replied, “Thanks. Hang on. Let me get you a tip.”

  “Already taken care of, but thanks. Later, babe!”

  Kate snapped pictures of both the flowers and the takeout bag and then completed her text.

  Kate: Thank you! You are the sweetest, most thoughtful man I’ve ever met.

  The response was almost instantaneous, as if he’d been waiting for it.

  Mad Dog: Totally Duke’s idea. I’m just his helper.

  Kate: Well, “Duke” is going to get an extra-special scratch behind the ears the next time I see him. They’re perfect.

  Mad Dog: He said he knows you’ve got a lot going on right now and wanted to let you know that he’s got several more things in store for you when things lighten up.

  Kate: I’m intrigued. Can you give me some hints?

  A series of pictures followed. One of the pups stretching and yawning with the text, One body massage. Another with Mama Dog that said, One romantic dinner, lady’s choice. Then, a third with Duke giving a big ol’ doggy smile and the promise of, Trail-riding through the woods.

  She couldn’t imagine anything more perfect. Her eyes began to tear up from all the feels.

  Mad Dog: There’s one more, but I’m going to wait until you’re home alone in bed tonight to send it.

  Just that quickly, those feels washing over her turned to pure heat.

  Kate: I can’t wait.

  She devoured the burger and fries while staring at her flowers. Despite the somber circumstances, the day had officially become her favorite Valentine’s Day ever.

  Luther emerged from the back as she was finishing off the last of her burger. Business had been slow, and he’d been in the office for the last several hours, working on tax prep.

  “I’m going to run out and get some lunch. Want me to bring you something back?”

  “No, I’m good, thanks.” She wadded up the napkin and lobbed it into the wastebasket.

  He narrowed his eyes. “What the hell is that?” he asked, pointing at the vase.

  “What does it look like?” She leaned closer to the vase, closed her eyes, and inhaled. “Someone sent me flowers.”

  He scoffed. “They’re not even roses.”

  “No, they’re not. Good thing, too, since I’m not particularly fond of roses.”

  He gaped at her. “Since when?”

  “Since I fell off the porch into my grandmother’s rose bushes when I was a kid.” Those bushes had been around forever, and some of the stems had been as thick as her thumbs. She still bore faint scars from the damn things.

  “I bought you roses.”

  “Actually, you clipped roses from your mother’s garden, and you only did that after Kylie asked you what you got me and you told her it was a surprise.”

  His face went red. “February is a busy time of year for me. It’s the thought that counts.”

  “Exactly my point,” she agreed. “It’s the thought that counts, and you weren’t thinking of me at all.”

  He stormed out of the store. Kate couldn’t have cared less. She was too busy appreciating Chris’s thoughtfulness to worry about soothing Luther’s ruffled feathers.

  That made her realize that she hadn’t done anything for Chris. Traditionally, most people, when they thought of Valentine’s Day, thought about gifts that guys gave their girls—candy, flowers, dinners at fancy restaurants,
jewelry—but it should work the other way around, too.

  What would Chris like?

  Well, he liked to eat, and he seemed to enjoy her cooking, so a romantic home-cooked meal for two was a definite possibility. And afterward, perhaps she’d gather the courage to put on some of that sexy lingerie taking up space in the back of her underwear drawer and offer a coupon of her own.

  Maybe.

  Her pride was still stinging from the one and only time she’d tried to do something like that.

  She wasn’t a skinny catalog model. She had plenty of curves and soft spots accentuating her athletic build, which meant that, by current standards, she was considered on the heavy side.

  If she could wave a magic wand and make herself a perpetually healthy size four, she would, but she wasn’t going to starve herself and eat kale chips like Kylie to do it. She’d been there, done that. And she’d been absolutely miserable. Life was too short not to enjoy, and for her, there was too much enjoyment to be found in good food.

  That was her life choice, and she was okay with it. Not everyone appreciated a full-figured woman, however. Her mom and Kylie were always on her about losing a few pounds, and Luther, well ... his comments and reaction were the reasons she’d packed that sexy underwear away and not worn it since.

  But Chris wasn’t Luther. And he definitely seemed to appreciate her less than lean assets. So, maybe she could try again. She certainly felt far sexier around Chris than she ever had with Luther—or anyone else for that matter.

  Her phone buzzed with an incoming text.

  She looked down, exhaling in relief when she saw it was from her sister.

  Kylie: Angioplasty complete. All is good.

  Kate: Excellent news! I’ll stop by after I close the store.

  Kylie: Okay, but don’t expect much. They’re giving him sedatives to prevent artery spasms, and he’s going to be in la-la land for a while.

  With that heavy weight off her shoulders and her beautiful flowers in constant view, the afternoon progressed more quickly than the morning had. Business remained slow, but she kept herself busy with general cleaning and organizing and planning a Valentine’s surprise for Chris.

  Luther didn’t return until she was closing up the store for the night. She passed along the good news about her father.

  “I know. Kylie texted me, too. Sorry I didn’t make it back earlier. I had some things to take care of.”

  “No worries.” Despite what everyone seemed to think, she was perfectly capable of handling the store by herself and had done so on many occasions over the years.

  “Are you heading to the hospital?” Luther asked.

  “Yes, but it’ll probably be a short visit. Kylie said they gave him stuff to keep him still.”

  “I’ll give you a ride.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Come on, Kate. It’s a ride. My car’s already warm, and it doesn’t make sense to take two cars when we’re going to the same place.”

  “No, Luther.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I have to run some errands, too,” she told him, which was true, but it wasn’t the only reason.

  Luther’s offer had sounded innocuous enough, but he rarely did anything without an ulterior motive. Plus, she was just tired of dealing with him. She had things to do and places to be.

  Unfortunately, Luther wasn’t taking the hint.

  “No problem. I’ll come with you. Then, we can grab a bite to eat afterward and talk.”

  She shook her head. “Not a good idea.”

  “Look, I was going to wait until later, but ...” Luther went to the trunk of his car and extracted a big bouquet of flowers and a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to apologize. I fucked up, Kate. I fucked up, and I took you for granted. I get that now. Let me make it up to you.”

  Annoyance warred with equal parts sympathy and confusion. She couldn’t understand why he was so adamant on getting back together when they so clearly didn’t suit each other. On the other hand, she also knew what rejection felt like and wasn’t a mean-spirited person.

  “I’m sorry, Luther, but I can’t accept those,” she said firmly but kindly.

  His jaw clenched. “What do I have to do, Kate?”

  “Nothing. I’ve moved on. You should, too.”

  Without waiting for a response, Kate crossed the street to her place. She didn’t look back, not even when she heard Luther slamming the trunk and door closed and then peeling away from the curb.

  Her thoughts moved quickly to other things. She had a lot to do to put her plan in motion and very little time to do it.

  She didn’t even go inside, heading right to her Jeep to drive to the hospital. Her father was sleeping when she got there. She stayed for about half an hour, long enough for her mom and sister to get something to eat, and then wrote him a note, telling him she loved him and that she was happy everything had gone well.

  From the hospital, Kate made a stop at the grocery store and picked up two strip steaks and a pound of shrimp, plus some fixings. Then, she ran back to her place and set those things to marinate briefly while she did a quick shower and shave. While the steak and shrimp were under the broiler, she packed an overnight bag, including some sexy lingerie and some scented candles with a change of clothes and her toothbrush.

  It was after nine p.m. and snowing lightly when she loaded everything into her Jeep. She wasn’t worried. The next storm system wasn’t supposed to hit for another day or two, and even that was hit or miss. Most of the weather models called for a typical six to ten inches, but there was always one that forecasted what they jokingly called a snowmageddon.

  She planned to be back well before then to open the store, which was another reason she wanted to see Chris. If the doomsayers were right, it might be days before she had another chance.

  She was halfway to Sanctuary when she first noticed the headlights behind her. Not just headlights, but a blinding rack of deer-spotting search lights mounted on the top of a big vehicle—a pickup, by the look of it. She adjusted her rearview and sideview mirrors and tried to blink away the spots dancing in front of her eyes, so she could navigate the winding road.

  Except for the lights of their vehicles, it was black as pitch out there. The same clouds responsible for the flurries were also blocking out any chance of moonlight reflecting on the already-existing snow cover.

  The truck kept getting closer, obviously impatient with what she thought was a reasonable speed for the conditions, until it was riding her bumper. She slowed down, hoping the truck would pass, but it didn’t. Without a shoulder, there really wasn’t much she could do besides grit her teeth and curse under her breath.

  Being quite familiar with the road, she knew there was an area coming up with enough room for her to pull over and let it by. As she neared it, she turned on her hazards and eased off to the side. Instead of continuing on, however, the truck pulled over, too.

  That was when she realized she was not in a good situation, and her heart really started pounding. Her fight-or-flight response kicked in, and given that she was traveling alone at night on a secluded stretch of mountain road, she opted for flight.

  Pressing down on the accelerator, she cut her wheel hard to the left to get back on the road. She trusted her driving skills more than she did her ability to fight off an unknown attacker who might or might not be carrying deer rifles to go with those spotters.

  “Ah, come on!” she yelled to no one in particular when the truck started gaining on her again.

  She loved her Jeep, but her six-cylinder engine was no match for the powerful V8 monster behind her, especially on a steep incline when she had to keep downshifting around the sharp turns. She was doing exactly that when she hit a slick spot, and her back end whipped to the side. Without thought, she compensated by hitting the gas, turning the wheel and jamming her floor stick in 4WD High.

  Just as she felt her tires grip, the t
ruck connected with her left rear bumper, sending her into a spin. She white-knuckled the wheel hard and tried to regain control, but it was too late. The next thing she knew, her right tires were no longer on the road, and she was rolling sideways down the steep embankment.

  She held on for dear life, prayed her roll bars were as sturdy as she hoped, and braced for impact. At the first hard jolt, both of her air bags deployed. At the second, her head hit the driver’s-side window.

  Then, everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Mad Dog

  Mad Dog checked his phone again and was disappointed to find Kate still hadn’t responded.

  He knew he was being selfish. He knew she was busy and had a lot on her mind. Still, he’d been hoping for some response to the last picture he’d sent. Mirroring one of her selfies, he’d taken a suggestive picture with his hand down his briefs and added the caption, Valentine’s To-Do List: You. Repeatedly.

  At the time, it’d seemed like a sexy, fun, playful thing to make Kate smile at the end of a long day and, if he was lucky, give the metaphorical envelope a push. In retrospect, maybe he shouldn’t have sent it, but she had seemed to like the others.

  Mad Dog: Good night, Kate. Call me tomorrow.

  He didn’t sleep well and woke up before dawn with an acute feeling that something was wrong. The first thing he did was check his phone. Kate still hadn’t responded.

  His brain came up with all kinds of logical reasons that might be, but his gut wasn’t having any of it.

  Fuck it.

  He hit the Call button despite the early hour.

  Best-case scenario: Kate answered with a sleepy voice, he apologized profusely for waking her, and then he could breathe easy again.

  Worst-case scenario: she didn’t answer.

  The call went right to voice mail. His chest tightened, now competing with his gut for most-knotted body part.

  He dressed quickly and drove to the main building to check on the dogs. One of the newbies, Justin, was in there with them, playing tug-of-war with Duke and actually smiling. The moment Mad Dog entered, Justin let go of the knotted rope and stood, his smile vanishing instantly.