“I should go,” she said, turning on her heel and walking from the room. “It’ll turn up. I’ll look harder. Sometimes it’s hard to find things on the server if the file has a particular name.”
Her pace picked up as she headed toward the door.
“Colette, wait,” he called from the hallway. “Hang on. I’m not mad.”
“Well, you look mad,” she replied and clenched her teeth, brows drawn in concern.
“I feel like an idiot. All I had to do was keep track of the finances while we waited for a replacement for our last bookkeeper, and I couldn’t even do that. My incompetence glares at me every time you find something I messed up. I’m sorry.” He pulled on her sleeve to get the thick sweater arm to cover her wrists. It was a comforting gesture that left her even more confused.
“You’re not an idiot, Marshall. I’m sure it’s just misplaced. Once I get access to all the computer files, I’ll find it,” she reassured, unable to resist placing her hand on his arm again and feeling the heat radiating from his muscular biceps. “I can never resist a mystery.” Her breath shuddered in her chest. It pained her to think she was making Marshall question his intelligence.
He huffed. “Don’t make excuses for me. I screwed up and I know it.”
She hazarded a glance into his eyes, and her breath caught. Swallowing thickly, she squeezed his arm and let go, pulling away before she got lost in his mesmerizing gaze. Clearing her throat, she felt for the knob on the door behind her and turned, breaking the spell.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said with a half-smile, a burst of cool evening air pulling her out of her haze.
“You won’t. We’ll be off early, working with Dr. Moore, the veterinarian. He’s coming to do checkups on the herd. But you can enter the house whenever. We don’t use locks here; it’s safe. Let me walk you back,” he said, pulling a jacket off a nearby hook. “I know you don’t like the dark.”
Nodding silently, Colette stepped out into the night. They walked in silence; Colette huddled in her sweater against the chill evening breeze. She was glad he couldn’t see her face, because she was smiling. On the way to the main house, she had run to avoid being out in the dark too long. The sound of his breath huffing next to her was a comforting caress, the heat of his thick wool sweater, like a hug. Despite her misgivings about Marshall, his presence was reassuring. When he was near, she felt safer.
When she arrived at the concrete stoop, Marshall’s gaze lingered on her back as she opened the guest house door. She should probably return his sweater, but something inside her protested the loss of heat. The emptiness of the darkened kitchen and living room wrapped around her. She turned.
“See? I do turn the lights off sometimes. Have a good night, Marshall,” she said with a laugh, running her hand along the wall for the light switch.
Stepping up behind her, Marshall reached into the house, and Colette froze, the proximity of their bodies making her unable to react or move. He passed behind her and found the switch immediately, and relief flooded her chest as the roomfilled with light. A hot blush burned her cheeks. Of course he wasn’t making a move on her.
Marshall was chasing away the shadows.
CHAPTER 12
Colette sat on the floor in front of the dratted filing cabinet and let out a frustrated growl. She sifted through each individual file and opened each folder in search of the information on Lorimer Fertilizers. There was always a possibility that something was filed wrong or wedged in the wrong place.
Her research had proven that neither of those were true.
Information was definitely missing.
All the accounts Colette had analyzed—except that one—had been well kept and orderly until about six months ago. Their former bookkeeper, Agnes, was meticulous and organized. Marshall kept very detailed records. But the numbers still weren’t adding up. She had painstakingly gone through the storage boxes in the ranch office and found nothing on this vendor.
The files were missing, deleted from the server, or misplaced.
Her gut was telling her there was a connection. Payments were going to this company, fully authorized by Marshall, yet she had no proof of receiving their services or supplies. Their old accountant had retired and disappeared to Mexico to spend her days enjoying a warmer climate. According to Marshall, thewoman was impossible to contact, given her remote location and a faulty Wi-Fi connection, or something along those lines. Colette had accepted this challenge, knowing there would be a lot of unanswered questions. And it wasn’t the first time she was working with a company to help clean up the finances and set them up for another team of accountants to take over. She loved solving puzzles and connecting dots. If dots were missing, it would be nearly impossible to connect them.
Or, she would have to get creative.
Think outside the box.
With a gentle shake of her head, she brought herself back to reality. There was information she was lacking and few sources to search for it. It was time to take a deep dive into the ranch computer files. Searching the database wasn’t always straightforward, since she had to fill in the blanks of how Agnes had arranged the finances. And that was assuming she made effective use of computer programs, which wasn’t always the case.
At least she knew everything that was documented on paper now.
It was a good place to start.
She braced for the cool spring air to hit her face and was surprised by how much the day had warmed. Shoulder seasons in Alberta meant dressing in layers and today was no exception. Shedding her warm jacket, she folded it over her arm and headed for the ranch office. Marshall had left the database access codes and banking information for her on the desk. Once Colette had access, the files could be downloaded to her own computer to work in the comfort of the guest house.
Cozy socks and tea were calling her name.
And a speaker blasting Depeche Mode.
