Bittersweet Surrender (21 page)

“Well, nothing official. Just how that color makes me feel—or how it expresses how I feel.”

“What does black say?”

Katelyn lifted a tentative smile. “I'm mad that my dad made me move here.”

Carly smiled. “I thought it might be something like that.”

“Do you think that's lame?”

Carly stopped working on her nails and looked at her. “Of course not. What you did would be hard for anyone.”

Katelyn gazed at Carly as though checking to make sure she really meant what she said. “Thanks, Carly.”

When tears gathered in Katelyn's eyes, Carly looked back at her nails so she wouldn't embarrass her. She moved the conversation to school and her friends, life with her dad in the military. By the time her nails were finished they had covered a lot of ground and Carly felt as though she'd made some headway with her.

“Thanks again. For everything.” Katelyn reached over and gave Carly a hug, totally surprising her.

“You're welcome. You come back any time.”

Carly watched her leave and wondered why Jake had such a problem with his daughter. Oh sure, most likely Katelyn was on her best behavior today, but she really was a nice kid. Maybe Carly could help them get through this phase together.

Who knew where it all might lead . . .

“Hey, do we have anything around that
might require a key?” Scott asked Carly when they were in the office.

She looked up and thought a moment. “Can't think of anything. Why?”

He shrugged. “Just found a key in Ivy's office and I thought it might have to do with work.”

“You're welcome to check around, but I'm not aware of anything.” She went back to her paperwork.

Scott checked the drawers in his desk to see if he had overlooked anything, but he hadn't. He checked a few filing cabinets, but there didn't seem to be anything that would fit the little key. He shoved it back into his pocket. It was probably a mystery he'd never solve. Not that it mattered. Couldn't have been all that important.

“Well, thanks for taking Katelyn around
today, Carly. She really enjoyed it,” Jake said as he walked her up the steps of her front porch after dinner. He took a side step and glanced at himself through the window, his fingers adjusting his shirt a tad. Carly smiled. Even men worried about the way they looked sometimes.

“Want to sit down out here?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“It's a nice night for this.”

“Sure is.” Jake put his arm around her. The porch swing swayed gently back and forth while crickets chirped in the distance.

“It was so great getting to know Katelyn today.”

“Yeah, she can be a nice kid. She's just got to learn to roll with the punches. Life isn't always what you want it to be, and it's time she grew up.”

There didn't seem to be a smidgen of compassion in his voice anywhere, which surprised Carly, frankly, and irritated her.

“It's not easy to move when you're in high school, Jake.”

“How would you know? You've never stepped foot out of Spring Creek. I, on the other hand, have moved plenty.”

Okay, so he had a point. Still, she didn't like the way he was saying it. “Oh, come here,” he said, pulling Carly over to him. “I don't mean to get so riled. It's just that I don't get that kid sometimes. I know it's not always easy to move, but I can't have her deciding what we do. I'm the dad. Period.”

“Spoken like a true Marine.” Something told her once his mind was made up there was no changing it.

“Yeah, I guess.”

He moved the subject to their younger days in Spring Creek and the trouble he and her brother used to get into with the neighbors. Her earlier irritation melted away as the night air, the soft rhythmic sway of the swing, everything, lulled her to lethargy. Caught up in the contentment of it all, she gave a quiet yawn just as Jake leaned toward her. His minty breath brushed her face. His lips zoomed closer. And before she could close her mouth, he swooped in and kissed her smack dab on her front teeth.

Her face burned and she gave a nervous giggle.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” he said. “Not quite what I was going for.”

How many times as a kid had she dreamed of kissing this man? Somehow it had never played out quite like this.

“I think we'd better try that one more time,” Jake said, coming toward her.

Carly didn't know if it was from the embarrassment of what had just happened, the fact that he was trying it again, or the burrito she had for dinner, but when she saw his lips coming toward her, she burst into a fit of hilarious laughter. Not a small, delicate, ladylike laugh, mind you, but a gut-wrenching guffaw. The kind that started at the tips of a person's toes and worked its way up and out with a force that could rattle windowpanes, shake apples off trees, strip feathers off birds. That kind.

When she saw the mortified look in his eyes, she thought she would stop, but it only fueled the cheerful beast inside her. All she could do was give into it while he watched her inner geek take over.

When she finally settled down, her sides ached and her jaws burned. And in that moment Carly Westlake wondered if Jake Mitchell would ever kiss her again.

Spotting the money box at the back of Ivy's
closet, Scott lifted it out. It was locked. He pulled the key from his pocket and tried it in the opening.

Bingo.

The top compartment was empty. He pulled it out to look underneath. Tucked beneath the holder was a checkbook and a tiny velvet bag.

First he pulled on the drawstring that held the little bag closed. Opening it, he poured the content into his palm. It was a woman's ring—a ruby encased in a cluster of diamonds. Ruby was Ivy's birthstone. But who had given it to her? Scott hadn't. In fact, he'd never seen it before. Maybe it was a family heirloom of some sort. He'd ask Magnolia.

After placing it back in the bag, he stuffed it into his pocket. Next, he grabbed the checkbook and opened it. Inside were withdrawals and deposits made to an account of which he knew nothing. On the ledger was scrawled the words “Chocolate Indulgence.” He remembered that as one of the accounts for the spa. What could this mean? There were steady deposits and occasional large sums of withdrawals. According to the ledger, the day before Ivy died, she'd taken out most of the money. What had she done with it? So weird. Why the secrecy? He had rarely denied her of money when she asked him. Was she afraid to ask him for more so she opened her own account?

He felt sick to his stomach. No point in jumping to conclusions. There had to be an explanation, and he would find it.

Carly was out with Jake. He could slip into the office without questions and get to the bottom of this.

The cold, hard truth stared back at him
from the computer screen. He'd pored over the records and it was inescapable: Ivy had been embezzling money from the business. She'd made up the fake name of Chocolate Indulgence, written out checks for product never received, and deposited the checks into her account. Carly had trusted Ivy completely and she never checked the books.

No wonder the spa never seemed to get ahead.

How could he fix this? He thumped forward in his chair. How would he tell Carly?

Carly and Jake finished their evening with
light conversation and she waved as he pulled out of the drive and onto the road. Just as she was about to push herself from the porch swing, the front door squeaked open and she turned to see Scott standing there. “What are you doing here? I didn't see your car.”

“Oh, I thought I could sneak out without you seeing me.” He chuckled. “I needed to work on some things in the office.”

Scott's shirttail lagged out the right side of his belt. Dark circles underlined his eyes. He was working too hard, and it was her fault. She'd make it up to him somehow.

“What are you doing home? I thought you and Jake were going out to dinner.”

“He just left.”

More like ran.
After what she'd just done, she wondered if she'd ever see him again.

Carly sighed and leaned her head in her hands. “I'm so weird.”

Scott walked over and sat on the swing with her. “What's wrong?”

“You know how I laugh sometimes when I get nervous?”

“You didn't.”

“Sure did. Right when he was trying to kiss me.”

Scott laughed. A controlled laugh. The kind normal people do when they think something is funny.

“Your compassion is overwhelming,” Carly said.

“I'm sorry, but you have to admit it's funny.”

“You weren't here. It wasn't funny.”

“Obviously you thought so.”

Carly frowned.

“Okay, okay, I'm teasing. There's nothing wrong with laughing, Carly. So maybe you go a little over the top, laughing longer and stronger than the rest of us—”

“And you're trying to make me feel better how?”

“—but the truth is laughter is good medicine. Probably added five extra years to your life. And besides, when you laugh, you work off calories.”

“Well, why didn't you say so?” She sat up taller in her seat. “I must have worked off twenty pounds in the span of three minutes.”

“There you are,” he said, rising.

“Where you going? You want something to drink? Coffee? Soda?”

“No, thanks. I'm pretty tired. I'm going home and straight to bed. I have to be at work bright and early, you know.” His shoulders stooped a little.

Suddenly, worry crept in where embarrassment had been. Worry for Scott.

“Take care of yourself, okay?”

Carly wanted to say more, but he gave a quick nod and headed toward his car. She tucked her legs beneath her on the swing and watched him drive off.

thirteen

Ivy had embezzled money from the business.
He still couldn't believe it.

Scott slugged through the back door from the garage. Superman pranced around him but Scott barely greeted him. He simply let his dog outside for a few minutes, then stumbled into the bedroom. The weight of the truth made him weary.

How could he have been clueless? Oh sure, they'd had their problems. He had always blamed himself for her overspending. His work kept him in the office too many nights. He figured spending money was her way of coping—even though he didn't agree with it. But he couldn't imagine what she'd done with that much money. There were no major purchases that could substantiate the amounts she had embezzled.

Ivy had changed so much the last year of her life. Always spending, always arguing, always preoccupied when he was around. To say they had grown distant was an understatement. He had tried to get her to go to counseling with him, but she wasn't interested. He should have seen the clues.

Not that he was blaming it all on her. He'd had his share of faults, but what had happened between them? They used to be so in love. Hadn't they?

It would break Carly's heart to know her best friend had stolen from her. He couldn't let her know. She'd been through enough, and he would protect her from this. Somehow, he'd fix it. He'd pay back every penny, no matter how long it took him. He had to, for Carly's sake.

By the time he slipped in between the sheets, his mind was foggy with fatigue. He would call the bank and see about getting a loan. That would liquidate some fast cash, which should take care of a good chunk of the funds. Getting the funds back into the account without Carly knowing would be tricky, but since she avoided accounting as much as exercise, he figured he could work it out.

He had to.

“Scott, I need to talk to you, when you get
a minute,” Magnolia said.

One look in her eyes told him this was important. “Carly's giving a treatment so we can talk here if you want.” He shoved his paperwork aside. Didn't look as though he'd get to the bank today. He'd have to see about a loan later.

Magnolia was on a mission, no doubt about it. He'd been waiting on this moment. Had expected it, as a matter of fact. There was no denying the wall between them since Ivy's death. She tried to hide it, but it was there. Sometimes Scott wondered if Magnolia blamed him.

Scott got up and pulled a chair over to his desk for her.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Now, what can I do for you, Magnolia?”

“I was at the church this morning helping with the encouragement ministry and Pastor called me into his office. He had an idea that he wanted to run by you and me. He hadn't been able to reach you by phone, evidently, so he suggested the two of us talk it over and get back to him.”

Scott couldn't imagine what he and Magnolia would need to discuss.

“I'm listening.”

A warm sparkle gleamed in her eyes, replacing the distant attitude she'd been wearing lately.