Robin's Reward (Bonita Creek Trilogy Book 1) (19 page)

As she opened the cottage door, Jeff noticed Robin had been crying. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks were suspiciously flushed. Her voice cracked as she greeted him and held open the door.

She blurted out, “It’s going to be so quiet without you around.” Then she fell into a chair. “I’m going to miss you, Jeff.” She began weeping.

Lord, give me strength and wisdom, please. I really need your guidance at this moment. 
Jeff took Robin in his arms. He kissed her tenderly on her temple and waited until her storm had passed. He decided to follow his heart once again. He was at peace with his emotions, and he knew he needed to share his heart with Robin to gauge how she felt about him. He abruptly pulled away from her and said, “We need to talk.”

“Is it bad?” she sobbed.  He realized all too late, once again, he needed to avoid putting Robin in situations where she felt as if she were going to be ambushed in Thomas-style fashion.

He took a deep breath and said, “No, it’s something positive. It’s the best news I’ve ever wanted to share with someone in my life.”

“Oh . . . May I have a couple of minutes to compose myself?” He nodded. “I’ll be back soon.”

Robin headed in the direction of her bedroom, and when she returned five minutes later she appeared serene. She seated herself in her favorite chair and waited for him to begin.

Jeff seated himself across from her and began sharing what was in his heart. “These past ten days have been wonderful for me. It’s been the best period of time in my life. You’re so much more than I ever imagined in a companion.”

Robin was fidgeting nervously with the corner of the quilt on her chair. Her attentive gaze told him she was soaking up his every word.

“I don’t know how else to say this except to just say it straight out. I’ve fallen in love with you.” He heard her inhale. “Is there any possibility you could come to love me in the future, too?”

She smiled serenely. “No, no chance, Mr. Clarke.”

“I see.” He turned away to hide his disappointment.

“No, I don’t think you get it. There’s no possibility I could come to love you in the future because I’m
already
in love with you.”

Jeff was astounded.
Robin loves me? I didn’t expect this! Now what do I do, Lord? I need a plan.

In an instant he was kneeling next to Robin’s chair clasping her hands in his. “I can’t believe this is happening to us,” he said with a shaky voice. He offered her his hand and helped her stand. He encircled her waist with his strong arms. “I love you very much, Robin Bennett.”

“And I love you, Jeff Clarke.” The two kissed as tears filled their eyes.

“Do you believe me?” he asked.

“Yes, why shouldn’t I?”

“You did have doubts about my trustworthiness as recently as a few days ago.”

“I’ve done a lot of thinking and praying about us.”

“What did you come up with?”

“The same thing you did, I guess.” She smiled. “We belong together—at least for the time being.”

“So much for romance, huh?”

“I know what I feel is genuine, and when you told me you love me, you sounded sincere.”

“I do all right when I let my heart lead me rather than my logical brain,” he shrugged.

“Yes, you do.”

“I guess we have a few things to talk about tonight, huh?” he posed.

“Since experience tells me you always think best on a full stomach, how about if I serve dinner and then we’ll talk?”

“Let’s do it.”

The pair walked arm in arm to the kitchen where Robin had prepared
her
favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs, in her secret sauce. She’d tossed a green salad and warmed up a loaf of French bread. There was handmade gourmet strawberry sorbet in the freezer for dessert.

As she served the meal, Jeff watched this woman he’d come to love and wondered exactly what the future held for them. They chatted about the day’s events casually as they ate. He discussed his flight plans while they washed and dried the dishes.

They returned to the living room to discuss their immediate future. Sitting close together on the sofa Jeff took a deep breath and hoped for the best.

“I just wanted you to know I don’t plan on dating anyone else when I get home,” Jeff shared.

“Okay. That’s good to know. The thought of dating other men hadn’t even crossed my mind.” Robin kissed his cheek.

“I can definitely wrap my mind around being your steady guy. I guess you’re stuck with
me.”

“Sounds good to me,” Robin smiled.

We finally seem to be moving in the right direction in this relationship.
Jeff was relieved when Robin didn’t mention his honesty again.
Maybe she finally trusts me, hopefully.

Chapter 24

Jeff’s flight arrived safely, and he mentally prepared himself to be immersed in his busy professional life
—a life filled with numerous meetings, composing and analyzing voluminous reports, and working long hours. His next assignment would be challenging for many reasons, requiring several days of investigation. He missed Robin greatly, but he was certain their love would withstand this physical separation and grow even stronger—if it was meant to be.

~*~

Jeff was never far from Robin’s thoughts as she returned to her normal routine. She missed him a lot, but she knew they’d be together again soon. She hadn’t considered the possibility of a second marriage until he mentioned the ‘L’ word. She believed Jeff was a kind man who sought to follow God’s plan. He loved and accepted her for who she was inside and out. She’d heard many times some Christian men didn’t want to be involved with divorced women, but Jeff had stressed her marital status didn’t matter to him. The one thing she felt uneasy about involved his honesty.
Let it go, Robin. You told him he was forgiven—now let it go once and for all.

“I’ll be back at the salt mines early tomorrow morning,” Jeff chuckled when he called later.

They talked for a long time and reluctantly said their ‘goodnights’ so he could rest before his early wakeup time.

~*~

The next few days passed swiftly for Robin. Things were going well at the library, and her gardens were receiving a lot of attention due to her solitary nights and weekends. She was adjusting well to Jeff’s absence. She realized how much she enjoyed spending time with her new love. She valued his friendship and plain-truth wisdom. They emailed and texted each other several times during the work day and spoke on the telephone each evening. He’d already mailed her one humorous greeting card with a handwritten love note scrawled across the inside. She felt a joy and peace inside she’d never felt before.

One afternoon at the library, Robin’s computer chimed, signaling she had a new email message. The sender’s name was unfamiliar to her. It was displayed as ‘A Concerned Friend’ and the subject line read ‘Jeff Clarke is a Crook.’ Robin’s temper instantly flared. Then it crossed her mind maybe Jeff was teasing her. Instead of using good judgment and marking the message as spam, she opened the message.

Heard you were spending time with the lowlife jerk, Jeff Clarke. Thought you should know he’s a crook and a cheat. For proof, click on this link to read all about it!

Chow for now,

A Concerned Friend.

She bristled when she read ‘Chow’. “If you’re going to use a word, spell it correctly.” Robin’s instincts immediately told her this was
not
Jeff’s idea of a prank. This type of message wasn’t the least bit funny. She clicked on the link and was navigated to an article from the previous year printed in a small newspaper published in Northern Illinois. The headline read, ‘Huge Credit Card Debt Blamed on Local Consulting Firm.’ The article stated Jeff’s employer, Brownstein & Associates, had been under investigation for the misuse and abuse of multiple credit card accounts belonging to a longtime client.

Tens of thousands of dollars had been charged on credit accounts belonging to one of the firm’s elderly clients, Mr. Bernard Romack. Since Brownstein & Associates was the only party known to have access to the account numbers, the entire firm was under investigation by several law enforcement and securities agencies. Jeff’s name was not mentioned specifically, but the article did state one of the firm’s top consultants was responsible for managing Mr. Romack’s portfolio.

Without hesitation, she forwarded the original email message to Jeff with a quick note of her own. ‘What do you make of this? If this is someone’s idea of a joke, I’m not laughing! Talk to you tonight. Love, Robin’

About ten minutes later her desk phone rang. She answered and was pleasantly surprised to hear Jeff’s deep voice on the other end.

“Hi. I opened your email and read the link,” he said. “This was a situation we dealt with almost a year ago. The investigation proved one of Mr. Romack’s estranged sons had stolen the poor man’s identity. The son didn’t have money to pay back the credit card debt, but he did get a pretty stiff sentence in jail for his trouble.”

“Why would someone send this kind of a message to me? Maybe I’m taking this all wrong, but it almost seems as if someone out there is trying to warn me away from you. Who would want to discredit you? Who stands to gain from this kind of prank? Do you think I should send an email response to this message? I don’t like it one bit. It’s creepy!”

“Hold on. Try not to dwell on it. You probably shouldn’t waste your time sending a response. Attention will give the sender the attention he or she is seeking. Hopefully it’ll be the end of it. Promise me you’ll keep me informed if you get another one of these messages. I need to get back to work. I’ll call you tonight at home.”

“Thanks for calling to explain.”

~*~

Two mornings later she found a new message from ‘A Concerned Friend’ in her inbox. The subject line on this one read, ‘Another Article You Absolutely
Must
Read.’ Robin opened the message and read,

Came across another example of Jeff Clarke’s deceit, conceit, and arrogance. He really outdid himself with this one—to the tune of $200,000! Click on this link to read more . . .

Best wishes,

A Concerned Friend

Robin couldn’t recall ever being so enraged. Who was sending these messages? She quickly clicked on the link and read an article from a different Illinois newspaper outlining the facts of an investigation involving the Brownstein firm. This case implicated Jeff directly in the loss of over $200,000 from a bank account belonging to two of his clients, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Nichols. Apparently, the couple had discovered the money missing from their checking account after they wrote a check for the purchase of a new home. Since Jeff had handled their accounting and income tax statements for the past few years, they accused him of draining their funds directly from the bank.

Furious, Robin forwarded the message to Jeff and dialed his cell phone number to leave him a voicemail. Instead of his voicemail, he picked up on the first ring and said, “Hi. What’s up?”

“What’s up is I just got another one of these repugnant email messages regarding your company. I forwarded it to you. What’s going on here? I don’t understand why someone is deliberately trying to make me think the worst about you. It’s like they’re trying to drive a wedge between us.”

“Hold on and let me read this. Wow, someone is really working hard to dig up the dirt on me. Oh, man, not the Nichols case! I can understand why you’d be upset about this one. Let me explain the findings of the investigation. I did nothing unethical or dishonest. The independent private investigators hired by the bank proved without a doubt a loan officer at the bank embezzled the Nichols’s money. No charges were brought against me since it was a clear-cut case of criminal embezzlement. In fact, the loan officer ended up confessing she took the money because of the frightening threats she was receiving from some drug dealers. Apparently, her teenage son was up to his eyebrows in debt to some unscrupulous loan sharks.”

“I’m getting tired of this, Jeff.”

“Try not to be upset about this. Maybe this concerned friend of ours is finished with this foolish game. I can’t talk more now because I have an important meeting starting in about five minutes. I promise I’ll call you tonight at our regular time.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”

She massaged her temples hoping to relieve some tension. This email message situation was unbelievable. Robin’s stomach was in knots. Who would spend so much time and effort trying to get her to see Jeff in a negative light? Who had anything to gain by instigating trouble? She decided to go home early and lie down. She hadn’t been sleeping well the past few nights, and an afternoon nap sounded appealing. She locked her desk and told the library assistant at the circulation desk she was leaving for the day.

~*~

The extra rest and relaxation reinvigorated Robin, and she returned to the library with her usual energy and enthusiasm the next morning. Her optimistic outlook was short-lived, however, when she logged into her email and found another message from ‘A Concerned Friend’. The subject line for this one was ‘Jeff Clarke Deserves Prison for Life!’

Her finger hovered over the delete key. Why was she putting herself through this when it only upset her to read the messages? But curiosity got the better of her and she decided to read this one last message. Robin reminded herself that she’d come this far, and she definitely wanted to continue being fair to Jeff. Plus, she was an inquisitive person by nature, and couldn’t delete
any
message without reading it first.

If this case doesn’t convince you not to have anything to do with Jeff Clarke, you need to have your head examined! This poor old lady with Alzheimer’s lost everything she had because of the criminal you’ve been dating! Wise up, Robin, and move on to someone else who has a higher moral standing in the community and better ethics than Jeff Clarke.

Have a really nice day,

Your Concerned Friend

Once again, the sender had provided a link to a somewhat dated newspaper article regarding the cited case. This third case involved an octogenarian who was a resident in an assisted living care center because she was suffering from the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The unexpected sale of all of the investments and properties in her portfolio was discovered when the care center tried to deduct their monthly fees from the account Mrs. Parson’s children had set up for the purpose.

Someone had sold all of Mrs. Parson’s assets and kept the monies for themselves. Because of the fraud, Mrs. Parson was destitute. Her children and grandchildren had been investigated and cleared of any wrongdoing. This article insinuated Brownstein & Associates had been the perpetrators of the misdeeds because they’d been Mrs. Parson’s accountants for many years.

Robin almost hit the ‘delete’ button, but she realized she’d need to get the authorities involved if this cyberspace harassment continued. She dialed Jeff’s cell phone and reached his voicemail as expected. She left a detailed message and then forwarded the email to him for his review. She was so stressed she felt desperate. She needed to speak to someone she trusted about this troubling situation.

Robin grabbed her purse and walked over to the church. Pastor White had been her spiritual and emotional adviser after her abandonment by Thomas, and she trusted the wise church leader implicitly. When she arrived, she knocked on the outer door to enter his office unseen by the secretary or other church visitors. The pastor smiled when he recognized Robin. “Good morning. How nice it is to see you outside of Sunday service.” As he studied her face, his grin turned to a frown. “Is something wrong?”

She nodded tearfully, and the minister guided her inside his office. He closed the door for privacy and motioned her to sit down at the conversation area off to one side of his office. “Has Thomas contacted you again?”

She shook her head and gathered her thoughts. It hadn’t crossed her mind Thomas Bennett might be behind the emails she’d recently been receiving. Why would Thomas care if she was involved with Jeff Clarke? How would he even know? It didn’t make any sense. She sat across from Pastor White in an old, familiar chair and began sharing with him. As she poured out the details of the three emails she’d received about Jeff, she felt the weight of her burden lifting off of her shoulders.

“This is an annoying, time-consuming, stressful situation for me, Pastor.”

After asking several questions, the pastor leaned back in his chair. “I think I may know who is sending you those emails and why.”

She leaned forward in her chair and gripped the edge of his desk. “You do? How? Who is it?”

“Since none of this information was garnered during a confidential counseling session I’ll tell you what I know. Marian told me about a conversation she had with one of our visitors on Sunday morning after church. This party was inquiring as to a biblical rule which would prohibit a divorced party from dating again. Your name was mentioned specifically by the visitor. Marian thought she had softened the visitor’s heart regarding your relationship with Jeff Clarke. She told our visitor it’s not our duty as humans to judge others. Obviously, there’s more work to be done here. Let me handle this for you.”