Second Chance Rancher (15 page)

He stopped her words with a finger to her lips. “I don't want to hear about any other men in your life.” He'd never been the jealous type, until Laurel. “You can keep them in your past.”

She gripped his finger, then kissed it. “You don't have to worry, Kase. You're the best lover I've ever had.”

“Damn right, I am.”

He couldn't help but grin, then flipped her over onto her back. She giggled and he kissed her, then kissed her again until they were both groaning.

“And here I was worrying that any minute your father would come banging on the door, wanting to know my intentions.”

“I'm an adult, Kase. I can do what I want without my parents' permission.”

He sobered. “I still don't like sneaking around.”

She grinned. “Really? You don't think it was a little exciting stumbling around in the dark, feeling our way from the front door and into the bed?”

“Well, maybe I enjoyed it a little. Kind of reminded me of that time in high school when your dad caught us making out in my truck.”

“Oh, yeah.” She blew out a breath. “I got the
big
sex talk that night. Dad gave me the male point of view. What guys are really after.”

“And what are guys really after?” he asked as he placed kisses along her neck and down to her breasts.

“The same thing girls are after.” She raised his head to make him look at her. “It must have worked because I never had another lover since you.”

He froze. How could that be? “What about...?” He couldn't get himself to say Aldrich's name.

She shook her head. “There's only been you.”

They hadn't been together for ten years. “But you were engaged.”

Laurel wiggled her delicious body against him. “You really want to hear the details when you're in bed with a willing naked woman?”

He groaned. “God, no.”

“Wise man.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a slow, deep kiss.

When he tore his mouth away, his gaze locked on hers. “I could get lost in you. In your eyes...your laughter...your mouth...your body...” His lips brushed over hers. “My feelings for you aren't just physical, Laurel. The way you make me feel...inside.”

He stopped and swallowed back the raw emotions. Suddenly he realized he needed her as much as his next breath. “I don't want to lose you again.”

Laurel reached out and touched his face. “Kase, I'm not going anywhere.”

Chapter Fifteen

The next morning, Laurel hurried across the Allen and Jacobs Accounting parking lot. She'd gotten a surprise call from Mr. Allen asking her to come in to work today and tomorrow to finish up some accounts.

Although she had been sad to leave Kase last night, she'd talked with him this morning and offered to bring Addy home from school. So she'd get to see him then, too. They'd made a date to go out to dinner tomorrow evening, so this was a bonus.

Laurel walked through the glass office doors and greeted the receptionist. “Good morning, Melody.”

“You sure are happy for a Monday morning,” Melody said.

She was allowing herself to be happy about Kase, along with the extra money she was getting paid this week. “I had a great weekend. Brooke's baby shower was yesterday.”

Melody smiled. “Oh, how is the little guy?”

Laurel couldn't help but act like a proud aunt. She took out her phone and brought up pictures of her nephew. “Chris is adorable, and he's growing so fast.”

“Gosh, he's so cute,” Melody cooed, “But, hey, look at his parents. They're both gorgeous.”

Laurel beamed. “Since Brooke is my twin sister, I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you. Now, I better get to work. Mr. Allen said he'd leave my work packet with you.”

Melody went through her files, then she finally came up with a thick manila envelope. “Here it is.” She handed the packet over. “Have a good morning.”

“You, too.”

Laurel walked down the hall to the familiar glass-enclosed work cubicle. After putting her purse away in the drawer, she sat down and turned on the computer. As the machine warmed up, she opened the envelope and took out the small stack of client files. She scanned the top four accounts and their instructions, then she came to the last file. On the front page it read Kase Augustus Rawlins. She froze. She wasn't sure if she should have this. Wasn't Mr. Allen personally handling Kase's account?

Okay, what she needed to do was put this file aside and not look at it. She hesitated. Then curiosity got the best of her and she opened the file folder. Without getting a chance to see the bottom line of Kase's net worth, she saw the Post-it addressed to Cleve Allen from one of the senior accountants in the office.

Cleve,

In trying to transfer Addison Marie Rawlins's trust account from Denver, I was unsuccessful. I did manage to obtain the balance of the account. It was substantially less than what was estimated by Mr. Rawlins.

Mike Henderson.

Laurel saw the date and noticed the report came in on Friday. Okay, what should she do? She had to look, of course. She opened the file of Addy's portfolio. With a quick glance over the lists of stocks and bonds, she went straight to the bottom line. She raised an eyebrow. This was a lot of money, or was it? Then she saw the number of withdrawals and gasped. Why would someone take money out of a child's account?

As if a lightbulb went off, she smiled at her conclusion. This could change everything.

* * *

T
HE
MORNING
DRAGGED
on as Kase went about his morning chores. He'd dropped off Addy at preschool, but he really missed her chatter and company. Now he was looking forward to her coming home, along with Laurel bringing her from town.

His two girls. He liked the sound of that. If only he could convince Laurel to stay the day. These late spring days had him thinking about new beginnings. He wanted a fresh start with his daughter, and hopefully with Laurel. He still couldn't get over his surprise at her confession. He'd been humbled to know he'd been her only lover.

Not even her fiancé. He didn't want to think about Aldrich, but as long as he was out there, he was trouble for Laurel. He didn't like knowing Jack could show up at Laurel's door anytime. No, Jack Aldrich needed to be found, and soon.

Kase walked through the barn toward Honor's Promise's stall. He couldn't help but smile. Something was going right. “Hey, girl, how are you doing today?”

With an excited whinny, the pretty chestnut came up to the gate to meet him, putting her muzzle against his chest, wanting some attention. It had been nearly two months since Capture the Wind had broken down the fence and mounted his mare. That same day Laurel came barreling back into his life. Now he was going to try everything he could to keep her there.

“How's she doing?”

Kase turned to see his dad. There was only a slight limp in his gait as Gus made his way toward them.

Kase scratched the mare's neck. “The vet checked her earlier. She's happy and healthy. Matt also told me about a bay stallion that's for sale over at the Phillipses' ranch. Seems Jake and Kitty are selling off their stock, leasing their grazing land and retiring to Arizona to be with their kids and grandkids.”

Gus shook his head. “I'd heard rumors. Maybe we should go and check it out. All Jake's horses are registered stock.”

Kase hesitated. “I'd like to.”

His father studied him with a cautious eye. “What's on your mind, son?”

“Just hate all this waiting. I want to move forward, but I'm not sure I can. Not until I find out about the custody case. I might have to move back to Denver.”

“Dammit. They can't take Addy away from us. Any judge has to see that little girl loves you, and you've done nothing that would jeopardize losing her.”

Kase wasn't so sure. “I wasn't the best father in Addy's early years. I worked all the time, trying to build my career. I left her with a drug-addicted mother.”

“From what you said, Addy had Mary Beth looking out for her.”

“Maybe the judge thinks that having a woman in her life is better instead of a single dad.”

“Bah.” Gus waved his hand. “Then ask Laurel to marry you. She loves both you and Addy. And from what I can tell whenever she's around, you feel the same way. What are you waiting for, son?”

“If I lose Addy to the Chappells, I'll have to move back to Denver just to be there for her. How can I ask Laurel to give up her family and life here?”

Gus took off his hat and scratched his head. “Don't think for her. Give her the choice.”

He wanted nothing more than to include Laurel in his life. But everything was such a mess.

His father went on to say, “I made that mistake, and I couldn't undo it.”

“Are you talking about my mother?”

Gus nodded. “She wanted me to move to the city. I refused, and she left me. I feel I cheated you out of your mother.”

“No, Dad, you can't make excuses for Liz Rawlins. She left me, her child, all on her own. If I've learned anything in the past four years, you have to think about your child first. You were always there for me, and I know I haven't said it in a long time, but I love you.” He blew out a breath. “Now I just pray that the judge doesn't side with Ben because of their social ties. I want the chance to be the father that Addy needs.”

His dad's eyes welled with tears. “I pray that, too. That little girl has stolen my heart.”

Before Kase could say any more, his cell phone rang. He saw the familiar number of his lawyer. He answered it reluctantly. “Sam, what's up?”

“Good morning to you, too.”

“Sorry, good morning, Sam. Now please give me some good news.”

“It's not good, it's not bad. I received news that the judge will render his decision.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. Four o'clock. Can you make that?”

Kase sighed, trying to slow his racing heart. “I guess I have no choice. Yes, I'll be there.”

Sam paused, then said, “My instructions were to have you bring Addy, too.”

Kase's heart sank into his stomach. Oh, God, no. They wouldn't take her away. “Okay, we'll be there.”

His father saw his pain. “Not good news.”

Kase shrugged. “Not sure what the judge decided, but they want me to bring Addy along to court tomorrow.” He shook his head. “I can't give her up, Dad. What am I going to do?” He raked his hand through his hair. “If the judge sides with the Chappells, Addy will think I deserted her.”

Gus caught his son in a tight hug. “Oh, son, Addy knows you love her,” he whispered, his voice laced with emotion. “But hey, don't give up, the judge could decide in your favor.”

Kase nodded. His dad was right. He needed to stay positive.

“Hey, we better pull ourselves together,” Gus said. “Addy will be home anytime now.”

“Yeah, I don't want to upset her.” Kase rubbed the mare's nose one last time and he and his father walked out of the barn.

They were headed toward the house when Laurel's truck came up the road. “Looks like your ladies are home.”

Kase put on a smile and pretended everything was fine. Laurel shut off the engine and climbed out.

“Hi there,” he greeted her.

“Hi, yourself,” she answered.

“Thanks for bringing Addy home.”

“Not a problem.” She smiled. “I need to talk to you anyway.”

Kase nodded and opened the truck's back door and smiled at the sight of his daughter.

“Hi, Daddy. I had the best day at school. I made a new friend. His name is Michael, but he likes to be called Micky. And I colored a picture of you and Papa Gus and Laurel. And baby Chris on his new horse. It's in my backpack.”

Kase swallowed. “Looks like you've been busy.” He lifted her out of her seat and held on to her a little longer and a little tighter. He inhaled that sweet scent that was so uniquely Addy.

“Daddy, don't squeeze so hard.”

He loosened his grip. “Sorry, sweetie, I just missed you so much today. Dr. Matt came out to see Honor and said the foal is growing in her tummy.”

Addy grinned. “I can't wait to see the baby when it's born.” Her blue eyes widened. “Can I name the new horsey?”

He nodded. “You bet.” He handed her the backpack. “Now, you better go inside and see Papa. He's fixing you a snack.”

The child took off, and once she was through the door, Kase reached for Laurel and pulled her into an embrace. He needed her to anchor him, to feel her support and strength. “I've missed you since last night.”

She pulled back. “I missed you, too.” She turned serious. “We need to talk, Kase.”

He didn't like this. “Sure.”

“Could we go into Gus's office?”

He nodded.

She took his hand. “Don't worry. For a change, this could be good news.”

Laurel took his hand and walked into the house, where they found Gus and Addy seated at the kitchen table eating peanut butter crackers. “We'll be back in a minute or two. Laurel wants to discuss something with me.”

His father gave him a wink. “Take your time, we're fine here.”

Kase led her down the hall and into the den/office. After shutting the door, he took her in his arms. “First, I need this.” His mouth lowered to hers, in hopes of escaping their troubles for a little while.

Laurel pulled away. “As much as I love your kisses, you're distracting me.”

“Sounds like a great idea.”

He hated to burden her with his problems, but he had to share. “I received a call from my lawyer right before you got here,” he said. “The judge has made his decision. I have to go back to Denver tomorrow.”

Laurel walked to the desk, set her purse down and took out a piece of paper. “I need to tell you something, Kase.” She paused a long time and he got worried.

“Just tell me, Laurel.”

“When I went into the office today, your financial file was given to me by mistake.”

He shrugged and sat on the edge of the chair. “I don't mind if you saw it.”

“Well, I didn't look anyway,” she admitted. “But if you don't mind, could you tell me how much money Addy has in her trust?”

He wasn't expecting this question. “I'm not exactly sure.”

“Just a round number would help.”

He thought back to the last time he saw her trust account. “Okay, the last time I saw any documentation was right after Johanna died about a year ago. It was over two million, but of course with her mother's trust money added in from the heritance, I'm going to say a rough estimate would be five to six million according to how good the stock market is.”

Laurel's eyes widened. “Oh, my. That much?”

He nodded. “None of it's my money. It's all safely tucked away for Addy when she turns twenty-five. Can I ask where this is going?”

She raised a hand. “Okay, I'll admit when your file was in front of me I was tempted to look at your worth. I guess I wanted to know how successful you were in Denver.” She blushed. “Then I was distracted by a Post-it note from one of the senior accountants. The note was addressed to Mr. Allen saying there wasn't as much money in Addy's trust as you had told him.” She unfolded the paper. “I'm not sure if this is unethical or not, but since Cleve Allen is out of town all week, I wanted you to have the news as soon as possible. You don't have time to wait, especially when you're going back to court tomorrow.” She handed him the paper. “I brought you a copy of the spreadsheet that Mr. Allen would give to you anyway when he returns. Here is the amount of money in Addy's account now.”

Kase took the paper and went straight to the bottom line, and saw the amount was just under $300,000. “Whoa. Something's wrong. There's a mistake. I have paperwork upstairs that shows a year ago the account had several million.”

“Who else has access to the trust?”

“Not me. Ben Chappell is the executor.”

Laurel's gaze locked on his. “This might be out of line, but do you think it's possible that your father-in-law has been illegally taking money from the trust?”

A flash went off in Kase's head. “Damn, that bastard. That has to be why Ben wants Addy. He stole her money.” He finally grinned. He couldn't care less about the money, but with this information, he could keep Addy. He walked over and pulled Laurel into his arms and kissed her. “Thank you. Thank you. You have no idea what this means.”