“You got the coffee pot working,” Conner said, impressed.
“She’s still got a few good years left in her.” Marc poured himself a cup then offered one to Conner, who declined. “You’re early.”
“Wanted to clear the air about something.”
“This about Sadie?”
Conner’s pulse shot off the charts in a millisecond as he wondered what Marc knew. Would he really be upset about them walking Boomer together? Or had he discovered that she was at his house until the midnight sun dipped below the horizon, filming videos and voice-overs? “No, it’s not about her.”
“Mom said she was out late. Just wanted to make sure she wasn’t bothering you.”
Why did Marc always jump right to Sadie? Though tempted to press, he saved that conversation for another day. It was impossible to deny that he was developing feelings for Marc’s sister. Ever since he recognized that she meant more to him than a mere acquaintance, those feelings had been growing at an alarming rate. He almostkissedher last night. Had thought about it every minute since. He could no longer lie to himself about how he felt about Sadie Evans. She was capturing his heart, and there wasn’t much he could do to stop it.
But he’d pick that battle with Marc another day. Preferably after Sadie was through helping at the clinic so Marc couldn’t use it as an excuse to fire her.
“This is about my . . . past.” Conner rubbed the back of his neck hard enough to cause pain and pulled his fingers away.
“Everything okay?”
“I gave you the highlight reel. But in case trouble stirs up, I need to give you the unabridged version.” Conner followed Marc into his office and closed the door. He waited for his friend to get in a strong sip of coffee before he dove in. He told Marc about how Veronica had showered him with expensive gifts for Christmas last year. The kind that most people couldn’t afford. Definitely not ones in their budget. How when he asked her where she got the money, she tried to convince him she’d won a small jackpot.
“A jackpot?”
“That was one of the lies she cooked up. Several others followed until she finally admitted the truth.”
“She stole from the children’s charity?”
“The same one she’d worked for going on two years. They had outstanding bills to pay to cover the cost of gifts they purchased for kids after toy donations were exhausted. Without the money she stole, they weren’t able to cover those bills.” Conner explained how he insisted she return the personal gifts and pay back the money to the charity. That if she did, she might avoid jail time.
Veronica insisted the gifts were nonrefundable and offered to pawn them. But it wouldn’t be enough by half to cover what she’d taken. With only the money for a plane ticket home to Connecticut in her bank account, he made a bargain. Because selfishly, he wanted her gone. “I gave her a choice. She either went to the board and confessed what she’d done and let them decide her fate or I would call the cops and report her.”
“You’re the one who footed the bill, weren’t you?” Marc guessed.
“They agreed not to press charges after I offered to make a donation to cover the losses. To be clear, I didn’t ask that of them. I wasn’t trying to bribe them. I wrote the check and told them they could do whatever they wanted with her. I think they let her off the hook because it was the day after Christmas.”
“Is someone trying to drag your name through the mud for this?”
“I don’t know,” Conner admitted. “I thought it was all behind me. I haven’t spoken to her since that day. I dropped her off at the airport and that was it.” He told Marc about the detective, now in Anchorage, calling and asking questions about her. Eluding to the idea that she may have struck again and might be trying to take him down with her. “Maybe nothing will come of it,” Conner said, hoping he was right. “But in case it does, I wanted you to hear this from me.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you told me.”
Conner felt a weight lift, and was not nearly as embarrassed as he’d expected. If only he could muster the same courage to talk about Sadie. About his interest in dating her. He almost kissed her last night, right there on the back deck for who knew how many neighbors to see.In due time.
“Anything else?”
“I’m heading to the animal shelter an hour early today,” he said, standing. Saving the hardest conversation for another time. One when Sadie wouldn’t be at the front desk and an open target. “A box of kittens was dropped off last night. Going to get them checked out before I get to the regularly scheduled programming.”
Marc nodded and returned his focus to his computer, Conner’s signal to leave him be.
He closed the door behind him and nearly collided with Sadie in the process. Her lavender scent rushed his senses, temporarily making him forget where he was. Reminding him of their intimate moment on the deck last night. It was only Marylou’s voice beckoning from the front that pulled him back to reality so quickly.
“Hey!” Her voice squeaked a bit as a cute blush crept onto her cheeks. She instantly shuffled backward, holding up a covered container. “Mom made sticky rolls. They’re todiefor. Want some before I offer them up to Marc? He’ll inhale them all.”
“Sure,” he said, following her to the break room. It was curiosity that got him more than his stomach. “What are you buttering him up for?”
“Who?”
“Marc.”
