Ready for Marriage?: The Marriage Ultimatum / Laying His Claim / The Bride Tamer. BEVERLY BARTON

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СКАЧАТЬ she’d never been interested. She’d never been able to see beyond her feelings for Derek.

      Cathie, on the other hand, hadn’t liked Rusty at all. He’d asked her out several times when she’d first come to town, but she’d brushed him off consistently. Rusty was a player, she’d always said. And she didn’t want a man she’d have to watch for the rest of her life. All she wanted was a good guy who would treat her like precious china and give her children.

      ‘‘I still can’t believe Cathie’s gone sometimes,’’ she said.

      Rusty sobered immediately. ‘‘I can’t, either. She was terrific in that position.’’

      ‘‘She was a lovely person,’’ Kristin said quietly.

      ‘‘Well, sure, that goes without saying,’’ Rusty said.

      She hated to have to tell him what she’d found but she had no choice. ‘‘Rusty,’’ she said, ‘‘I’ve found a serious problem in the sanctuary’s financial statements.’’

      ‘‘Oh?’’ His gaze sharpened. ‘‘We’re in pretty good shape, thanks to the income from that anonymous trust that came in just before your dad passed away.’’

      ‘‘It’s not that.’’ Now that she had his attention, she went on to explain about the missing funds.

      Rusty looked shocked. ‘‘Are you sure?’’ he asked several times. ‘‘Cathie couldn’t have done that. Could she?’’ But there was a kernel of doubt in his tone.

      ‘‘I can’t believe it, either,’’ Kristin said.

      ‘‘Jeez.’’ He smoothed a hand over his thick, wavy copper hair. ‘‘Have you told the police?’’

      ‘‘Not yet.’’

      ‘‘So you haven’t told anyone else. That’s probably a good thing.’’ His tone assumed she hadn’t, and she didn’t correct him. It hadn’t really been a question. Derek was the only other person who knew, and since he was going to be sitting on the board, he would have to know soon anyway.

      ‘‘I brought a summary of the information along.’’ She handed the folder across the table.

      Rusty stashed it in his briefcase as though it might contain illegal drugs. ‘‘God, Kristin, be careful with that. The last thing we need is negative publicity for the sanctuary. Can you imagine what would happen to donations if this gets out?’’

      She shuddered. ‘‘I don’t even want to think about it. I’ve been having nightmares already.’’

      ‘‘I don’t think we should tell anyone yet,’’ he said. ‘‘You haven’t found anything linking her to this?’’

      ‘‘Not yet,’’ she said.

      ‘‘Could you possibly be wrong? Could it just be a clerical error with transposed numbers or something?’’

      She shook her head. ‘‘That was the first thing I was hoping for, too.’’

      Rusty sighed and plunged both hands into his hair, resting his elbows on the table. ‘‘God, it makes no sense. Why would she have done it? Was she having financial problems?’’

      ‘‘Not that I know of.’’ She shrugged helplessly. She knew how he was feeling. She’d been through all of these thoughts a million times.

      ‘‘All right.’’ He sighed. ‘‘Tell you what. You keep looking to see if there’s anything you haven’t found yet. I’ll make some very discreet inquiries of my banking friends and run a credit check to see if she was spending any odd amounts of money.’’ He shook his head. ‘‘There’s no point in blackening her good name if she really wasn’t involved.’’

      ‘‘But who else could it be?’’ she asked. ‘‘You and Walker are the only other two people who could access sanctuary funds, right?’’

      ‘‘Unless,’’ Rusty said slowly, ‘‘someone was forging signatures or something.’’

      That hadn’t occurred to her and she felt better immediately. Maybe Cathie really hadn’t had anything to do with embezzling the money.

      She refused dessert on the grounds that she had a lot of work waiting, and parted company with Rusty soon afterward. As she drove back to the sanctuary, her mind was whirling with thoughts. She’d have to look at some of those cancelled checks again. If it had been done electronically, it would be much more difficult to find.

      Kristin’s date that evening was fun. Rod, the man she’d met when he came to do some electrical work with the shelter, had told her to dress casually. She was glad she’d heeded his advice and worn a pair of her new denim shorts.

      He took her miniature golfing, then to dinner at a Mexican restaurant where they sat outside on a small stone terrace and drank margaritas while their dinners were made. Rod’s partner in his business joined them with a date of his own, and although Kristin had never met either of them before, they were pleasant and amusing dinner companions.

      He drove a small, modern sports car with a convertible top and he’d folded it down at her request. Rod was unquestionably attractive. He was in great shape, his sense of humor was wicked yet not unkind and his friends were as nice as he was.

      And yet she felt a little deflated at the end of the evening when he walked her to her door. She caught herself comparing him to Derek at least five times that evening and she was thoroughly annoyed that she couldn’t even go out on a date without thoughts of the wretched man intruding.

      Rod, unaware of her mood, slid an arm around her waist as they walked toward her stoop. At the door, he brought her to a halt, turning to face her. ‘‘I had a great time this evening, Kristin.’’

      ‘‘So did I,’’ she forced herself to say lightly.

      ‘‘I’d like to see you again.’’

      ‘‘It was fun,’’ she said without committing herself. ‘‘I enjoyed meeting Kevin and Leslie.’’

      ‘‘How about if I call you next week and we see if we can schedule another get-together?’’

      ‘‘All right.’’ She hadn’t actually said she’d go out with him, she told herself. All she’d agreed to was receiving his phone call.

      He looked down at her, then put his hands on her shoulders and drew her near. She lifted her face for his kiss, allowing the gentle pressure for a moment before drawing back a fraction, and with a last warm smile, Rod said, ‘‘Good night.’’

      ‘‘Good night.’’ She waved him off and stood on the stoop for a moment before she turned and unlocked her door. Rats. What had she been hoping for? Fireworks? Rod’s kiss had been pleasant, but there was no zing. At least, not on her part.

      She went inside and shut her door, then leaned back against it, thinking. It hadn’t left her breathless and shaking, the way she’d felt after that first night Derek had kissed her. It hadn’t left her wanting more, wanting to press herself against every hard inch of him, wanting his hands to touch all the secret, throbbing СКАЧАТЬ