“I gave it to her.”
“But…” Her lips twist.
“She was here to prepare for the big wedding, was she not?” I shouldn’t aim my sarcasm at Sage, but I can’t help feeling a little fucking miffed by how the past weekend went down.
“I know.” She shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment before they pop open again. “It just doesn’t seem right. The idea of her with anyone but you.”
My heart clenches hard at her words. “She was very clear with me about what she needed and wanted. I’m not it.” The truth burns beneath my skin in an unholy rampage. I let a strangled sigh of exasperation bleed from me, which seems somewhat reasonable. Finally closing the door on the future I always wanted feels a bit like I’ve been cut wide open, my guts on display. “Look, can we just focus on the books? I’m all Noah’d out.”
Sage steps close, resting a hand on my arm. “Yeah. We can. For what it’s worth, though, I wish things could have gone differently. I thought—” Her mouth snaps shut, and she shakes her head. “Sorry. I’ll drop it.”
“Thanks.”
With a quick gesture of her hand, Sage leads the way down the hall. Inside the ten-by-ten office that I’ve been in so many times before, my eyes wander. Memories of the surly man who was Sage’s father barrel into me as I take things in. Knowing what I do about him now, not to mention how we disposed of his body in our goddamnpotato field, well, it’s fuckin’ unsettling. I glance at Sage, impressed that she’s holding her shit together. Needing a distraction, I study the heavy furniture, the outdated desktop computer, then look over toward the bookshelf where there’s a bottle of Ridge’s favorite whiskey. My teeth clench. I’m only just not completely hungover, so the idea that I’d like to have a sip to calm my nerves hits me fucking hard.Not today, Satan.
Truthfully, I’d like to walk outta here right the fuck now, but one glimpse at the tightness spread over Sage’s features, and I know I’ll do whatever it takes to erase those fine stress lines from her face and ease her mind. I draw in a breath.
She crosses to where a ledger is laid out on the desk. “Could you review this first? I think you’ll be able to see how I knew Samuel was skimming money. Honestly, I don’t know how my dad missed it. Or maybe he didn’t care enough to call him on it. I have no idea.”
Over the next few minutes, I carefully read through the accounting of Lilac Meadows and its cattle herd. Ridge was fairly diligent in his bookkeeping. Purchase dates are noted, along with a summary of new calves born on the ranch. On the next page, there is a detailed list of when animals were sold off and to whom. And finally, a record of slaughter dates shows how much beef each beast produced. Everything is well documented. “There’s no way your dad didn’t know that Samuel hadbeen stealing from him. But why wouldn’t he have confronted him? I guess we’ll never know the answer.” The dead don’t talk.
“He must have had something on him. But what?”
I shake my head before glancing up to find Sage’s eyes on me. On a growl, I grit out, “It must have been something big. We’re talking about thousands upon thousands of dollars here.” Scanning the numbers again, my lips press together. “Even though it’s apparent Samuel sold off several head of cattle, that doesn’t explain why the ranch is so far in the red.”
Sage’s teeth scrape over her bottom lip. “See? I didn’t think so either. Let me show you something else.” She sits down at the desk, jiggling the mouse to bring the computer monitor to life. “Have a look at this bank statement.” My brows furrow as she points to a couple entries. “I don’t understand what these withdrawals would have been for.”
I frown, moving closer so I can have a look.
“It’s not adding up.” Sage compares the ledger to the figures on the screen. Exhaling hard, she searches my eyes for answers I definitely don’t have.
“Looks like he was shuffling money into a personal account.” I pause, pointing toward the withdrawals.
“Right.” She nibbles on her lip, and I can practically see gears moving inside her head. “I can’t tell for what, though. He transfers and withdraws the money, over andover. But there’s no record of what he’s doing with it because I haven’t figured out how to access that account yet.”
My brow furrows in concentration. “How far back’s it go?”
She pauses, worry etching itself into her features. “A long time.Years. Like more than four. I did the math, it’s a lot of money.” She wrings her hands. “What am I missing?”
Her words from the other day slam back into me. She sees me as a brother-figure. A protector.I’ve gotta help her figure this out.“Kade had no ideas?”
“He’s been so busy running between the two ranches, I didn’t want to burden him.” She scrubs her hands over her face, frustration leaching from every movement.
“If it’s not on the ledger, it’s gotta be something unrelated to ranch business.”
“But what, though?” Her teeth are clenched as she shifts in the office chair to meet my eyes and throws her hands up. “I’ve been through just about everything.” Her gaze drops to her father’s desk. “The only place I haven’t searched is this damn drawer.”
I glance at the compartment at the top right, eyeing the lock. “No idea where the key is, I take it?”
“If I knew, I’d already be in there, but I haven’t foundone.” Rubbing her hands over her face, she shrugs, the plea clear in her eyes. “Will you help me get into it?”
I give a short nod. “’Kay. Do you care if it gets damaged?”
“Gonna be real honest with you, Rhett. I’ve got plans to redecorate and refurnish this office as soon as I can afford it.”
I’d be an idiot not to have noticed how Sage has been struggling with moving past what happened with her father. “Yeah, I get it.” It’s perfectly natural. Removing traces of her abuser from this home might bring her some relief. At the quake of her lips, I tug her to my chest for a hug. “I’ll get it open for you.” I ease back, chucking the underside of her chin. “Just gotta go get some tools.”
I return five minutes later to an antsy Sage. She grits her teeth. The poor girl is totally on edge. “Just break the fucking thing. I can’t get past the idea that it wouldn’t be locked up tight if it weren’t important.”
