Embezzled Love (24 page)

Cass leaned against the porch railing and admired Evan's handiwork. The front yard resembled Disneyland with its topiaries of elephants, bears, and various other animals. Some hadn't quite filled out their framework and missed a body part here and there. She chuckled at the one-eared rabbit beneath the window.

A decorative fountain stood majestically in the shrubbery area, illuminated at night by newly-installed pathway lights lining the walkways and planters. A few remaining dewdrops dotted the emerald sod Evan's workers had so carefully laid. Hard to believe nine months had passed since Evan came to live with her. So many things had changed. Most were expensive, to say the least.

Her vision shifted to the fleet of vehicles in the vacant lot across the street. How long before the city ticketed her for parking them there, she wondered. Evan had insisted on purchasing their own equipment: a dump truck, a utility van, and a small pickup for the workers. At his insistence, everything was in her name as CEO of the company.

Her thoughts drifted to the sincere look on his face and the very words he'd used to coerce her to sign for the loans. "Just to prove I'm not in this for the money, I'm putting everything in your name. Should something happen to me, you can sell everything and recoup your investment."

She shook her head at the irony. What happened to the woman she used to be? The one who felt confident she knew so much? Now, she owned all kinds of equipment, vehicles, and partnered in two businesses she knew literally nothing about except the debt-to-income ratio. Instead of being independent, she relied heavily on Evan's word, knowledge, and his promise of profits soon to be realized. Although happy for the most part, worry still shrouded her.

Her continuous 'harping,' as he called her comments, caused tension between them. Overtime at work had taken attention from the home businesses, and appalled, she fell behind. A pang of guilt plucked at her conscience over sharing an idle moment on a beautiful Sunday morning. She set her cup on the railing and stretched. Tomorrow, she'd return to the daily grind, but today, she deserved a break.

Evan was up and gone when she woke. Weekends held no meaning for him. The two days at week's end served as time to check on job sites and find new clients. The man hustled his butt, she admitted. Between occasional travel for Star Strung and working non-stop to earn new business for C&E, he was hardly home. But how could she be upset?

Cassie gulped in the last breath of fresh morning air. By late afternoon, the blue sky would be tinged with brown and the air thick with the smell of civilization. How many more cars would fit on California roadways, she wondered. Oh, to live in the country, away from the hustle and bustle. An image of her milking a cow flashed before her eyes, and she grimaced. Maybe city life wasn't so bad after all.

No use putting it off. The stack she tackled yesterday and didn't finish beckoned. She downed the last of her now cold coffee and went inside. God, how she hated having two full-time jobs. She pulled out her chair and reached far underneath her desk for the grocery bag in which she'd been dumping the mail. Not seeing it piled up somehow gave the illusion that everything was done, but now, reality overwhelmed her. She emptied the contents and sat. Taking a deep breath, she began the dreaded task.

When her eyes started to cross, she sat back and rubbed them. The amount of money they owed for landscaping supplies staggered her mind, and now the guitar charges were adding up. To her knowledge, they hadn't sold one instrument, but Evan kept assuring her it took time to establish a good business reputation. What Bud brought to the business only resulted in unnecessary expense. The receipts he alone submitted kept Star Strung in the red.

Cassie glanced at the clock. She still had a good portion of the day to make a dent in matching the opened mail with job numbers. There had to be an easier way, but damn if she knew what it was.

She unfolded the Unity Bank statement. The first three entries shown were casino charges, followed by several cash advances and numerous ATM withdrawals. The balance owing amounted to an astounding eleven thousand dollars! Her heart sunk like a stone thrown into a river.

"Oh, my God! How did this get this high so quickly? I could swear…." She tore open the drawer and searched for last month's statement. Finding it, she perused the previous three thousand dollar balance.

"What casinos?" Cassie yelled louder than she intended, then glanced around to make sure her mother wasn't nearby.

Cassie's stress level piqued. Perspiration beaded her brow when she ran an adding machine tape, totaling all the invoices on her desk. Fifty-four thousand dollars? How could that be? The enormous amount they owed didn't include the statements in her basket still waiting to be paid. She hung her head in her hands, lost in disbelief and denial.

Needing to improve her dismal outlook, she straightened, pulled all the open contract files and added together the pending amounts owed the business. Where was Evan? She needed an update on new clients and what income she might expect. Mercifully, the outcome wasn't as bad as she feared, but if debt continued to climb at this rate, she had no idea how they would make ends meet. Her overtime helped some, but that would soon come to an end. The insurance business had its peaks and valleys, and slow times were coming. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. On one hand, she'd have more home time, but on the other….

She looked at the mess of paper on her desk and shook her head. "I can't do this anymore."

Chapter Thirty-One

Cassie stood on the bridge overlooking the Koi pond. Evan pulled into the driveway and got out of his truck. As usual, neither his clothes nor his person bore a smudge. The shine on his cowboy boots hadn't suffered a single scuff. For only a moment, her heart warmed at how handsome he looked and how much she loved him, but the emotions dimmed when feelings of frustration and desperation resurfaced.

He ambled toward her with that familiar broad smile. "Hey, baby girl. Watcha up to?"

As he neared, his expression changed to concern. "I can see you've been crying. What's wrong?"

She walked into his arms and buried her head against his shoulder. "Everything."

A faint smell of alcohol clung to his shirt. She jerked back, swiped the wetness from her face, and glared at him. "You've been drinking."

"I had a few. So what?"

"I thought you were working?"

"I was. Had to entertain a few clients to get them to sign."

"Did they? Her tone sounded flat, even to her, and her anger grew by the minute.

"Unfortunately, no, but you can't win 'em all, you know. I gave them business cards and assured them they wouldn't find a better deal."

He walked to the railing and looked over at the horde bobbing just below the water's surface. Did you feed the fish, baby girl?"

Something snapped inside her. He always managed to change the subject to an unimportant topic to avoid facing the hard facts. "I can't believe you. You're a jerk. While I'm home going crazy, trying to make heads or tails out of spreadsheets, contracts and bills, you're out partying. I thought you were actually working." She glared at him.

"How can you not grasp how hard this is for me? I bust my ass for Takeda all week, even put in overtime, and then I spend all my 'free" time buried in bills and past due statements."

He reached for her hand. "Now, baby girl."

She jerked away. "Stop calling me that. I hate it. I'm not a baby. I'm a grown woman, one who's extremely pissed and fed up with carrying the load. I'm going to have to mortgage my home to keep us from going under, and all you can do is ask if I've fed the friggin' fish."

She stomped toward the office. Inside, she paused and took some deep breaths, trying to find composure. Her blurry gaze rested on the past due statements she'd separated from the rest of the mail, including a few from places she'd never heard of before. Everything had turned into one big giant puzzle.

Evan came in and slammed the door. "What the hell was that all about?" Tension ridged his jaw.

She knuckled away a tear. "I told you I'm sick and tired of working myself to death for nothing."

"And you don't think I work?"

"Well, that depends on what one considers work. In my opinion, hanging out at bars and restaurants, dining and drinking on my dime, hobnobbing with stars and wasting money is not work." She eyed him up and down then gestured toward his clothing. "Look at you. You claim you've been toiling all day, and you don't appear to have even raised a sweat. You always come home looking as good as when you left. Remind me again exactly what you do."

His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. "I don't fuckin' believe this. What happened to you?"

"I finally see the light. My function is to juggle the bills until we can pay, then find ways to stall those we can't, and work all the overtime I can get. In addition, I do the shopping, clean the house, wash the clothes, and make myself available to see to your sexual needs."

Evan grabbed her by the arm, yanked her closer and stared at her. His warm whiskey breath assailed her senses. "You walked into this relationship willingly, and I already told you I'm not gonna answer to anyone for my business decisions. I've not a kid who does chores for an allowance. I've been looking under every stone I can turn to find homeowners in need of landscaping. You have no idea how to convince a total stranger he needs everything you want to sell him, but I do. It takes talent and I have it. If you weren't so stupid, you could handle things here, and I wouldn't have to be the one to bail you out."

"Bail me out?" Her voice raised two octaves. "You've got to be kidding. Look around. I was doing just fine before we met. Starting two businesses was your idiotic idea. My stupidity was letting you call all the shots. The only money we've made free and clear is from the rent we charged Billy.

Evan's grasp tightened. She used her free hand to pry his fingers loose then pulled away. His prints embedded her skin. This wasn't the man she thought she knew.

He turned his back to her, his shoulders rising and falling with each breath. "So," he said, facing the wall. "Do you want me to leave and call it quits? I'll go pack right now."

Her mind reeled. Leave? God, no. Her goal was resolution not dissolution. Weren't arguments supposed to make things better? Fight, then kiss and makeup. A little voice inside her head screamed that all her money was tied to Evan's talents. It he left, she'd be broke—and a lonely, old maid.

He turned and faced her. "Well, do you?"

All the anger in the world couldn't erase the fact she did love him in spite of everything. She clasped her trembling hands together. "Oh, Evan, I don't want you to leave. I never meant for things to escalate to this point. I've been under a lot of stress, and it seems you're never around when I need you. Everything just sort of bubbled up and boiled over. Can you forgive my tantrum?"

He didn't answer. His lips still a thin line and his brow creased, he turned his back to her again.

Cassie pressed her body against him. "Please, Evan, let's not let this be the end of us."

The tenseness in his body eased. He turned and took her hands in his, searching her eyes. "I don't want us to end, either. I love you, baby gi— Cassie."

She grinned. "I didn't mean that either. You can call me 'baby girl' if you want. I think I had a little breakdown there." A tear trickled down her cheek.

Evan brushed away the wetness and smiled. "Whatever it was, I hope it doesn't happen again. That's the worst argument we've had yet, and you wanna know what?

"What?" She leaned into him.

"I was damn scared you'd tell me to go, and I can't imagine my life without you."

She giggled but quickly sobered. "Did you really mean it when you called me stupid?"

He leaned back, and with a quick swipe, brushed a stray hair out of her eye. "Of course not. You verbally attacked me, so I had to say something to fight back. I'm not half a bright as you, so 'stupid' was the first word that came to my mind. I've never been known for thinking fast on my feet."

Evan pulled her into a tight embrace. "I may not be great with comebacks, but I'm pretty quick to act when I see something I like." His parted lips were about to touch hers when the phone rang.

"Don't answer it," Cassie whispered.

"It might be business. I did some serious pitchin' today, and it might have paid off." He touched her lips with his forefinger. "Hold that thought, and I'll be right back."

Evan put the phone to his ear. "C&E Landscaping Designs."

One of his eyebrows arched. "Just a minute, she's right here." Evan covered the receiver. "I think it's your sister."

"Gloria?"

"No, Alaine."

Chapter Thirty-Two

Evan had to be wrong. Alaine wouldn't be calling. Cassie took the phone and muted the mouthpiece with her hand. "Why do you think it's Alaine?"

"Because I'd recognize Gloria's voice, and the person on the other end asked to talk to her sister. You only have one other that I know about."