Blake let her go for a second so she could grab her bag from the front seat. “Here. Carry this in for me, will you?” She gave the bag to her sister. “Make use of those strong arms.”
“With pleasure,” Becky said, her green eyes sparkling in the distant light. “As long as it's got stuff for me.”
Blake chuckled. “Of course. If I didn’t bring you something you’d probably lock me out of the house.”
“You know it,” the cheeky girl responded.
Blake only grinned and threw her arms around her sister’s shoulders and so they walked into the house together. When they got inside Rosie was busy setting the dining table, as Blake knew she would be. Her mother would have had a meal waiting in the oven and had probably hurried to prepare the table as soon as she heard the truck rumble onto the driveway. In appropriate tribute to her name, Rosie loved flowers but she had another love that came a close second. That was cooking. She was the kind of mother who would never expect the arrival of her daughter and not have a hearty meal ready.
“Mom.”
At the sound of Blake’s voice Rosie turned and her brown eyes lit up as she smiled. “Blake.” Just like she’d done with her sister, her mother now spread her arms wide and Blake let go of Becky and walked right into the warm embrace. Their hug was tight and strong, a testament to the depth of their love.
“It feels like I haven’t seen you in months,” her mother said softly.
“I know,” Blake said, “even though it’s been weeks.” Then she gave her mother one last squeeze and stepped back. “And I never get tired of getting your letters every week.”
Rosie only smiled and patted her arm. “Go wash up. I know you’re starving and I’ve got your favorite tonight.”
Blake didn’t have to be told twice. She headed for the bathroom and minutes later she was seated at the dining table with Becky to the left of her and her mother at the head of the table and to her right. Then, while she tucked into her grilled chicken Becky gave her an update on all that had been happening in the neighborhood since the last time she’d come home.
“There’s a new boy in my class,” she told Blake. “He’s gross.”
“Becky, that’s not nice.” Rosie gave her a stern look. “In our family if we can’t say something nice we say nothing at all.”
“Yeah, I know, but this kid’s really, really gross. There’s absolutely nothing nice to say about him. He’s way tall and he’s all pimply and stuff and his voice goes high and then it goes low and he sounds weird.” Then she rolled her eyes. “Victoria says he’s cute but she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. But the real reason I think he’s weird is that he keeps staring at me. A lot. He thinks I don’t notice but I do.”
When Becky finally paused to draw breath Blake laid her fork down and tilted her head as she turned her full attention on her sister. “Are you sure you’re not saying that,” she gave her an indulgent smile, “because you like it that he seems so interested in you? Maybe you like him, too, just a little bit?”
“Eew, gross. I wouldn’t like him if he was the last boy on earth. He’s from California and he talks funny.”
“Oh, I see,” Blake said gravely. “That makes all the difference in the world.”
That made Becky frown. “I know you’re teasing me. I’m not stupid.”
Blake only shook her head and smiled but she could tell that her comment had made Becky stop and think. A thoughtful look crept into her sister’s eyes and then she lifted a pinky finger to her lips and began nibbling on the nail. Blake wouldn’t say another word. She would leave Becky to form her own conclusions.
It wasn’t until her sister had gone to bed that Blake got the chance to have a private moment with her mother so they could talk about the cryptic telegram. “What kind of trouble?” she asked Rosie. “What’s Jerome up to now?”
Before Rosie spoke she gave a sigh heavy with frustration. “Your ex is at it again,” she said. “I guess it wasn’t bad enough that he swindled you out of your own business. Now he’s giving everybody in town the impression that the reason you left was because you’d been embezzling funds.”
Blake gasped. “Are you serious? He had the audacity to say something like that after he was the one dipping in the till?”
Rosie’s lips tightened and her brown eyes flashed in obvious anger. “He was interviewed by the local paper and I don’t know what got into him. He started spouting off about his vision for the company and next thing you know he’d started wailing about how much of a challenge it would be to achieve those goals seeing that his business partner had bailed out on him suddenly.”
Blake’s lips curled in disgust. “That snake. I can’t believe he would stoop so low. Stinking liar.”
“I know.” The heat had been creeping up Rosie’s neck as she told the tale and now her face was a furious pink. “And to think, after all you’ve done to build that business, he know turns around and uses you for a scapegoat when he’s the one to blame. He’s the thief.” Her voice was rising as she spoke.
Blake had to reach over and take her hand. “Watch your blood pressure, Mom. I don’t want you to get sick over this.”
“You should have reported him to the police like I told you,” Rosie continued as if she hadn’t heard a word Blake had just said. “The minute you realized he was siphoning money out of the partnership you should have let them lock him up.”
Blake gave Rosie’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I know, Mom. I could have and I should have. But, at the time it happened, how could I? Jerome was my fiancé. When I found out, I was just a week away from becoming his wife.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Before Blake left she’d given Ryder strict instructions. “If you run into any problems, go get Moonwalker,” she’d told him. She’d gone so far as to take him over to the man’s house where she’d done formal introductions and told Moonwalker that if Ryder burned the place down while she was away she was holding her old friend personally responsible. That meant Moonwalker would have to pass by and check on the place at least a couple of times a day. Ryder hadn’t been too happy with that arrangement, not being used to having someone supervise him, but he guessed he would have to get used to it. After all, he was the one who had agreed to being bossed.