Gift-Wrapped Family

“Are you all right?” Caleb’s eyes bored into hers.

“A little flu. I hope you don’t catch it.” Mia sat perfectly still, hands in her lap. When he didn’t move she said, “Please read it. I’ll wait.”

She watched him, amazed by the speed with which he scanned the documents she’d taken hours to peruse. Less than two minutes later he looked up, his mouth stretched tight in a grim line.

“You see? There’s nothing about a ranch or money,” she said, her voice dropping at the stern look on his face. “I’m not lying.”

“This is all Trent gave you? Nothing more?”

Mia shook her head.

“Did you sign anything recently?” Caleb voice was tight and sharp.

“Of course. There were a number of papers Trent needed me to sign to deal with my husband’s estate.” She shivered, intensely disliking this inquisition but not sure how to stop it.

Caleb had said he was a lawyer and she was sure he was a good one, though she’d never heard of this adoption agency, Family Ties. But as a lawyer he would know how to get people to say things—she should be on guard. He might actually be from some collection company.

“Do you have copies of what you signed?” Caleb demanded.

“No. Trent said he’d copy them at the office and bring them back. He hasn’t yet returned with them.” Something in the frost of his silver-steel eyes made her shiver. “Is—is anything wrong?” she asked hesitantly, and reared back when he nodded.

“Yes. I think quite a lot is wrong.” Caleb closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Mia, this will be hard to hear, but you must listen because it’s the truth. I’ve been investigating your husband’s affairs, for Lily’s sake. Nothing I’ve found indicates he was hard up for money or that he or Trent had taken on a new client in months.”

“But that can’t be.” She struggled to sort it out and looked at him. She saw nothing but honesty in his expression. Could it be true? “Then, what were he and Reba doing on all these trips?”

“That’s what we need to discover.” Caleb glanced at his ringing phone, read the message and frowned. When he lifted his gaze to hers, the icy anger made her shiver. “Did you know your lawyer filed documents this morning seeking to take over all your affairs because he says you are incompetent?”

“What?” Mia couldn’t believe Trent would do such a thing.

“We need to act fast to protect you. Call Trent,” Caleb ordered. “Ask him to come here. Beg if that will get him here immediately.”

“Why?” She was afraid to trust Caleb, to trust anyone, yet there was something in Caleb’s hard, cold eyes that reassured her he would not be part of any wrongdoing.

She didn’t truly trust him, but if he was right about Trent, who else could she turn to for help? She picked up the phone and pressed in her lawyer’s number.

“Trent, it’s Mia. Can you c-come here? P-please? It’s urgent.” She listened to his gruff excuses but said nothing. Finally he agreed. “Th-thank you.” She hung up.

“Well?” Caleb Grant’s silver eyes probed hers.

“H-he’ll be here in half an hour. But I have no idea what I’ll say to him. What do I do?” Even asking the question scared Mia.

“I’ll speak for you.” Caleb’s fierce glare faded slightly. “I know it hurts and you don’t want to think about it right now, but Harlan Granger was not the man you thought he was and neither is his partner. Something’s been going on, something more than an affair. I intend to find out what. Okay?”

A picture of Harlan and Reba together, laughing and loving, sharing a child, while she sat alone, would not leave Mia’s mind. Her husband had always been cool, distant and businesslike. He’d promised her mother he’d care for her. Surely he couldn’t, wouldn’t have turned to another... Suddenly her stomach heaved and Mia could think of nothing but escape.

“Excuse me.” She hurried to the bathroom, where she was violently sick.

Oh, Lord, I feel so bad. And something is terribly wrong. Please help me.

She’d barely had a chance to regain her breath when he rapped on the door.

“I’m all right,” she called, irritated by her weak voice. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“We need to hurry.” Caleb’s voice left little room for argument. In fact, he was leaning against the hall table impatiently tapping his foot when she emerged. Feeling disheveled and weaker than she’d ever been, Mia walked slowly to the sunroom and sat down. She reached out to take her cup, but Caleb ordered, “Don’t touch that.”

Mia flinched and drew her hand away. “Why?”

“I believe there’s something in your tea that makes you sick.” His tone was harsh.

“Caleb, that’s ridiculous,” she burst out. Maybe he was wrong about Harlan... “Trent would never—”

“I’m pretty sure he’s done it before,” he said, certainty in his voice. “You’ve been drinking the stuff for days and you’ve felt ill about that long, right?”

“Yes. But—” Mia stared at her cup as frightening scenarios played through her mind.

“That tea should be tested. The police will be here shortly.” Caleb’s lips tightened. “They can do that. I’ve also ordered an ambulance.”

She felt herself sway and grabbed the table. “Why?”

“To check you out and take blood samples that will discern if something’s off in your system.” Caleb leaned forward and covered her hand with his. His touch sent ripples of awareness up her arm. “Mia, you won’t like what I’m about to say.”

“Is it worse than you saying Harlan was having an affair? That he had—a child with his secretary?” She had to force the words out. When Caleb nodded she saw pity on his face. She did not want his pity, so she straightened her spine. “Go ahead, say it.”

“I believe that Harlan, along with Trent, was running some kind of scheme to secrete money. After Harlan died in the car accident, I believe Trent saw a way to get that money for himself.” Caleb frowned. “I think Riverbend Ranch is the reason, though I haven’t yet made all the connections. In order to get the ranch, Trent needs you out of the way.”

Mia sat in stupefied silence as Caleb explained about the ranch her husband had supposedly bought. He spoke of a petition for divorce Harlan had supposedly filed the day he died and listed a money trail Caleb claimed he was still uncovering.

Dazed and ill, horrified to imagine the man she’d married was capable of such betrayal, Mia tuned out the pain and hurt that threatened to overwhelm her. How could it be possible? How could God have betrayed her trust? She’d believed for so long that He was there, protecting her, comforting her in her lonely marriage. Now it felt as though He’d played a horrible trick, just as Caleb claimed Harlan and Trent had. It was too much to deal with.

Her brain numb, she sat silent as Caleb told the same story to the police when they arrived. They waited in the kitchen when she let Trent inside. Mia could see guilt build in Trent’s eyes as Caleb pummeled him with questions. She couldn’t bear to believe that this friend, one of the few she had and the only one she’d truly trusted since Harlan’s death, had deliberately set out to hurt her.

While Trent scrambled for a defense, Mia held her whirling emotions at bay. For now she’d be strong. But in her heart of hearts she knew she believed Caleb’s accusations. So deep was her feeling of betrayal, she couldn’t even manage a silent plea to God for help. He’d let this happen. How could she trust Him again?

A detective arrived, showed Trent a warrant for his arrest and after a few questions told the officers to take her lawyer to the station. The detective seemed to know Caleb and the two whispered together before Caleb introduced her to Detective Ed Gray.

“Our police station has been investigating Harlan Granger for several months via a request from the IRS who are tracking what they believe is unreported income,” the detective told Mia. “This new information about your lawyer adds to our investigation. For that reason I hope you’ll allow these paramedics to take a sample of your blood. Then I’ll need to ask you some questions.”

“Okay.” Mia remained silent when he beckoned the paramedics forward. They took several vials of blood, which were then handed to an officer, who sealed them in an evidence bag and left with another officer.

“They’ll have our lab run tests on your blood,” the detective explained. “As a precaution, I’d like the paramedics to check you over now.”

Mia nodded and the two medical people got to work.

“Your vitals seem to be getting stronger,” they told her sometime later. “You’ll be okay.” The detective thanked and dismissed them.

Mia was rolling down her sleeve when two men came out of her kitchen carrying evidence bags that contained her teas. Her heart sank a little further. Could it be true—had Trent been trying to poison her?

“Now for the questions.” Detective Ed Gray’s face tightened.

Mia did her best to answer everything he asked, even though some of his questions puzzled her. From time to time she glanced at Caleb. His gaze never wavered from her. But it was not a flattering look. It was a suspicious look that asked how she could have been so naive.

In retrospect Mia asked herself the same thing as she finally accepted that she’d been incredibly stupid to have trusted her husband. But it had never occurred to her to not trust him because her mother had. In fact, she’d placed Mia’s life in his hands. And Trent was Harlan’s trusted partner. So why— She silently groaned, tired of trying to make sense of it.

As the weight of her situation settled on her shoulders, Mia wanted to be left alone. And yet she didn’t want to be alone to think about Harlan’s betrayal. They hadn’t had a normal marriage, but to imagine that he’d betray her with Reba—

One word played over and over in her mind. Betrayed. And following it—you can’t trust anyone.

“Mrs. Granger?” The detective touched her shoulder.

“Sorry. What did you say?” She forced herself to concentrate.

“I know all of this must come as a shock, especially right after your husband’s death, but one of my officers has phoned to say Trent just admitted to lacing your teas with a substance to make you sick.” He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Our medical people advise drinking plenty of fluids to flush it out of your system. You can thank Caleb for acting on his instincts. There should be no long-lasting effects.”

“Thank you.” Mia looked at the lawyer and the detective, not knowing what else to say. Everything seemed surreal, like being an actor in some horrible play she couldn’t escape.

“The total of what Trent and your husband perpetrated isn’t yet clear, but we’ve launched a full investigation,” the detective explained.

“Oh.” If possible, Mia now felt worse. The rest? There was more betrayal in store for her?

“I suggest you retain new legal counsel who can begin sorting through your husband’s affairs.” The detective inclined his head toward Caleb. “I can vouch for Caleb. He’ll be straightforward with you. And to be frank, I think you’re going to need his help.”

Relief swamped her. Surely if the detective trusted Caleb, she could, too, if only for a little while, just until things were straightened out. A niggle of hope flickered to life. Maybe with Caleb’s help she could finally dare to imagine a future with hope. Please, Lord?

“Any questions?” the detective asked.

“Why did Trent want to hurt me?” Mia asked.

“I can’t answer that yet.” He gave Caleb a sideways glance. “But I will find out, I promise you.”

“Thank you,” she said again. A thought pricked her brain. “I don’t know if it’s important, but Trent didn’t buy all of those teas. Harlan brought some home from several of his trips. So if Trent did try to hurt me, and I’m still struggling with that, only some of the tea would be affected.”

The two men shared a look before the detective nodded, then said goodbye.

“What do I do now?” she asked Caleb, feeling lost, when the detective was gone.

“Were all your bank accounts joint?” When she nodded he said, “Let’s go.”

“Where?” His hand on her arm urged her to move. Mia grabbed her handbag from the hall table and followed Caleb outside. She jerked her arm free of his grip to lock the door. “Where are we going?”

“To a bank so you can open an account in your own name.” He held open the door of a luxurious black car. “A bank where you haven’t dealt before. You’ll withdraw everything from your old accounts and put it in there.”

“Why?” Confused and upset with questions tumbling through her brain, not the least of which had to do with Harlan and a dark blue–eyed little girl named Lily, Mia protested, but Caleb was adamant.

“If my suspicions are right, what you signed were papers giving Trent legal custody of your affairs, which will allow him to drain every resource you have as dry as a stone.” He shook his head when she would have protested. “If he is released today, he could make the transactions immediately and you’ll be broke until everything’s sorted, which could be a very long time.”

“I’m broke now,” she whispered.

“That’s according to Trent, who isn’t the best source for the truth.” Caleb pulled to a stop in front of a small bank, turned and asked in a harsh tone, “Don’t you get it?”

“I get that you believe Trent was stealing from me,” she whispered, afraid to believe it but more afraid to disbelieve this man. “I don’t get why.”

“Greed.” Caleb Grant’s face softened as he looked at her. Transfixed by the change of his gorgeous eyes from ice to melted silver, Mia barely flinched when his hand lifted to brush the swath of curls off her face. “It was greed, Mia.”

“For money that you think Harlan had.” She sighed. “Which he didn’t. I don’t understand.”

“I have a hunch greed is something a woman like you could never understand.” For a moment Caleb’s compassion almost undid Mia. Until his mouth firmed and the frost returned to his eyes. “Here’s the bank. Better get the transfer started.”

Despite her reservations, Mia had to depend on him; she had no one else. But she had to be careful. Though she knew little about men, she knew that despite the help he’d given her, Caleb Grant didn’t suffer naive women like her easily.

It would take a lot for Mia to trust again.

Chapter Two

“I can’t be your legal adviser, Mia. I represent Family Ties. Our intent is to seek reparation from your husband’s estate for his daughter, Lily Jones.” Caleb swallowed. “I have a conflict of interest.”

Wasn’t that the truth? Caleb had been all gung ho to oppose Mia when he left his office this morning. Somehow in meeting her, hearing her side of the story and seeing how ill Trent had made her, he’d done an about-face. He now wanted to help Mia, but his own legal position combined with the loss and confusion filling her lovely face during their elevator ride to the twelfth floor made him feel utterly powerless.

“What are we doing here?” Mia asked.

“I have a very good friend, a lawyer, who is one of the best. That’s who we’re going to see. She’s straight as an arrow. You can trust her and I promise she’ll help you.” Caleb wished he could be the one to guide Mia through the difficult parts to come and reassure her each step of the way, though he wasn’t clear on why it suddenly seemed imperative for him to protect her. Maybe it was because he hated seeing the innocent conned and Mia was certainly innocent. He now had no doubt about that.

Bella Jourdain was the best in her field. If anyone could get Mia out of the mess her husband and his partner had made, Bella could. Once they were shown into her inner sanctum, he hugged the older woman heartily then leaned back to study her lined face.

“How come you never get older, Bella?” Caleb asked.

“Clean living, kiddo.” Her almost black eyes scanned Mia. “This is Pia’s daughter?”

Caleb introduced them. Then he laid out the problem for Bella, having received a text confirmation that his office had already faxed her most of the pertinent information on the case so she wouldn’t be completely in the dark.

“You believe the partner, Trent, has been embezzling?” Bella mused, scribbling madly.

“I suspect Harlan Granger was doing the same.” Caleb wished he could spare Mia when she frowned at him as if he’d betrayed her. He continued because it was the only path he knew to get Mia and Lily justice. “My assistant just dug up old court records indicating that Mia’s mother, Pia Standish, left an in-trust account for her daughter to be administered by Granger until Mia was twenty-one.”

“But I’m twenty-three and I’ve never heard of any account,” Mia protested.

“Exactly.” Caleb glanced at Bella, one eyebrow arched.

The older woman tapped a pencil against her lips for several seconds, then rose. “You’ll have to leave now, Caleb.”

“But I haven’t finished.” He glared at his old friend.

“You’ve finished here. You represent Family Ties and Granger’s child. We both know you can’t be privy to any further personal conferencing between me and my client. I appreciate your help, but I must protect my client and you. So it’s time for you to leave.” Bella walked to the door and pulled it open. “Sorry.”

Knowing she was right but frustrated that he hadn’t yet found the answers he sought for Lily, Caleb walked to the door.

“But he’s been helping me. I want Caleb to stay,” Mia said.

“Bella is your lawyer, Mia, and she’s very good at what she does. Her concern is your interest, and until she’s got things sorted out, you must listen to what she says,” Caleb reassured her. Funny how quickly he’d come to like Mia, how fast he’d moved from resenting her for Lily’s sake to trying to help her. “I’ll wait outside.”

“Okay.” Mia’s green gaze chided him for abandoning her.

Bella gave him an arch look before she closed the door behind him.

Caleb sat in the waiting room thinking about how vulnerable Mia seemed seated in that big austere office. Only this morning he’d been planning to try to coerce her into offering money for Lily’s care. He knew now that he wouldn’t force her into anything.

That change of heart confused Caleb. But one thing was for sure. He might feel empathy for Mia, want to help—even rescue her, but he couldn’t let any of those emotional responses sway his goal to obtain justice for Lily. She was the true innocent here. His concern for the lovely Mia, even though she’d been done wrong, could not affect his professional judgment. But why did God always allow the innocent to get hurt?

He texted his office for an update, glad to be away. Hours of fighting legal battles for clients who’d been wronged was the reason he’d chipped in for half the ranch with Lara. He’d seen it as a place to escape his work and since her death he’d been very grateful for the freedom it offered. His birth father’s appearance in Buffalo Gap last week had made him even more grateful because too many angry memories from the past now assailed him. The only way Caleb could exorcise his loathing for the man was with long horseback rides into the hills. As a kid he’d always gone out there to clear his mind. Some things never changed.

Only now when he rode the ranch he saw Lara. Would he ever forget her last words to him?

You’ve let bitterness take over your world so much, I think it’s wiped out your ability to love, Caleb. All I can feel is your hate for your father. It’s consuming you. Deepening our relationship with your hate for him between us isn’t going to work. You need to let forgiveness heal your heart before we can talk about a future together.

Forgiveness? Impossible when Caleb couldn’t rid his mind of the image of his father shoving his mom and her falling backward down the stairs. That was his last memory of her. An hour later she was dead, and his world had never been the same. Sometimes late at night, alone on the ranch, he could still hear her telling him about God, how He loved Caleb, how they had to forgive his drunken father as God forgave them.

Caleb couldn’t do it. How did a man who killed his wife deserve forgiveness? How could God forgive a sin like that? It didn’t matter that scripture insisted that God forgave no matter what. Caleb couldn’t forgive. That inability to reconcile with God ate at his soul like an acid that left only bitter wounds in its place.

His past drove Caleb to go beyond mere duty to ensure every child from Family Ties went to a home where love ruled. That was also what compelled him to find justice for sweet Lily, a delightful child whose father never bothered to know her. How could God forgive that?

Caleb’s phone chimed. He read the texted answer to his last question, then sent another. The stream of responses piqued his interest. Bella might try to shut him out of Mia’s affairs, but Caleb had contacts. He intended to use every one to find out the truth, because somewhere in this mess was Lily’s birthright.

“I can go now.”

Caleb looked up from his phone, surprised to see Mia standing in front of him. They walked to his car in relative silence, but once they were inside, the intensity of her clear green gaze focused on him.

“Thank you for taking me to Bella. She’s quite a character.” Mia continued to study him. “Is it rude to ask how you met?”

“I was her law clerk. She taught me a lot.” Caleb started the car before realizing he didn’t know where to take her. “Do you want to go home?”

“I suppose so.” The way Mia said it made Caleb think she did not relish a return to her dowdy home.

“What would you like to do?” he asked, curious about her thoughts. She looked slightly dazed, but then who wouldn’t after hearing they had a trust fund they’d never heard of, that her husband had betrayed her and that he’d left behind a child? And that wasn’t even mentioning the attempt to steal her inheritance, information that had just been confirmed.

“It’s kind of you, but I don’t want to take up any more of your time,” Mia said after a tiny hesitation. “I can take the bus from here. You don’t have to drive me home.”

“I don’t have to, no.” Caleb could see there was something on her mind. “I’m offering. Is there something else you’d like to do?”

“Yes.” The response spilled out in a rush. “I’d like to see this Riverbend Ranch you mentioned.” Her eyes softened to misty green. “A ride out of the city would be lovely. Space, freedom, nothing but green grass, hills and trees—it’s been so long since I’ve been away from home.” The light in her eyes faded. “But that’s too much to ask.”

“The place is yours. You should see it.” Caleb felt a smug satisfaction saying that. He wanted to be the one to show Mia Riverbend Ranch, to watch her eyes stretch wide with wonder, hear her breathy gasp when they drove up the circular driveway. Somehow he knew that Mia would appreciate everything about the ranch.

“Of all the things Bella explained to me, I understand this ranch business the least. Why would Harlan buy such a place and keep it a secret from me?” Her voice quavered. “I must have done something.”

“No. You did nothing, Mia.” Caleb clenched his hands on the wheel, wishing he had more to offer than paltry words to soothe her wounded heart. “It was Harlan. There was something wrong with him that made him go outside his marriage for companionship.”