Gift-Wrapped Family. Lois Richer
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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.
“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