“I am proud. You helped to put on an amazing event. You just trusted the wrong person,” I said softly.
Her shoulders shook. “You should be furious.”
“I am,” I admitted. “But not with you.”
Dad ran a hand over his face. “We’ll have to cut costs. Maybe postpone the next phase of the renovations.”
“No,” Dex said firmly. “You won’t. I’ll do my best to recover the money. He left a digital trail which gives us a starting point.”
Mom began to cry softly. Dad went to stand behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”
“I’m sure you would have found another way to handle the problem. You’re all very capable,” Dex commented, shifting his weight. I realized he was uncomfortable with our gratitude for stepping in and helping.
“Why don’t we call it a night and figure out what to do tomorrow?” I suggested.
“I think that’s probably the most sensible thing. Everything that can be done tonight has been,” Dad concluded.
Mom dried her tears and nodded. She and Dad left the room with Jane following..
Lydia looked at Dex. “You must think I’m an idiot.”
He shook his head. “I think you just wanted to help your family and feel included. That’s all that most people want. Next time you’ll be more cautious with your friends.”
She bit her lip, then whispered, “Thank you for saving us.”
“I didn’t save anyone. I just paid a few bills,” Dex downplayed his involvement.
Lydia gave him a watery smile. “I think I will let Meri and Kitty know what happened.”
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed, giving Lydia a last hug before she left Dex and I alone in the front office.
“You didn’t need to do all this,” I said.
“Someone had to." Dex shrugged.
“Why didn’t you come and get me as soon as you suspected Gavin had run off with the money?” I wondered.
“I wanted you to enjoy the evening. You deserved to after all the effort you put into it. Besides, there was little you could do that wasn’t already being done,” Dex explained.
“You can’t keep fixing things for us.”
He finally met my eyes. “I don’t fix everything. Just what matters.”
“Why does it matter to you?”
He hesitated, then said softly, “Because you matter.”
The words hung between us. I felt them settle somewhere deep, impossible to move or ignore. I wanted to ask so many questions. Why was he saying I mattered when he allowed Carly to hold onto his arm whenever she was near? How much did I matter to him? Did he feel what I felt? Yet, I couldn’t get the questions out.
“Tomorrow I plan on finding out as much as I can about Gavin Wickham. I’ll give the relevant details to the authorities, and hopefully we can track him down so that he can be prosecuted,” Dex said.
“Then we can get our money back,” I added.
Dex paused. His eyes met mine as he shook his head. “It’s not that easy.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The money may have been moved to a different account or he may not have it anymore. If the police find the money, it will need to be used as evidence, which means you won’t get it back. We can ask the court to order restitution, but that takes time and if Wickham chooses not to pay it your family would need to sue in a civil court. It’s costly, the judge may or may not allow you to request the entire amount he stole, plus you would need to wait until he could liquidate assets, if he has any,” Dex explained.
