Authors: Elizabeth Goddard
“You said something about Mr. Connor’s client.” Zane didn’t want to sound as though he wasn’t aware of any clients. Probably Chelsea had misunderstood.
“There was that one man who came to meet with Mr. Connor. Twice, I think. I told him that you were out of town, but he insisted on meeting Mr. Connor.”
Fire seared Zane’s stomach, and he groaned.
“Are you all right?” Chelsea reached out to touch his shoulder.
“Yes, fine, thanks. I just need to get my antacid. The twenty-four-hour stuff isn’t any match for my ulcers. I need the name of Mr. Connor’s client so I can contact him and let him know what happened, that John died in an accident.”
Chelsea’s face went pale. “I—I don’t know his name. He didn’t give it. I’m so sorry. I’m a lame receptionist, aren’t I?” She plopped into her seat and looked at him for validation. Zane feared she would cry.
“It’s all right, Chelsea. No need to be upset.”
The only person who ever came through the doors and you failed to get his name?
“What can you tell me about this man? Who did he work for?”
She looked up at him, stricken. “If I knew that, don’t you think I would have gotten his name?”
Zane could only frown at her. He couldn’t conjure a smile, even for Chelsea. “Quite right. Well, I guess this is good-bye, then. I wish you well.” Frustrated, he moved to head to his office.
“Mr. Baldwyn?”
He stopped and turned to face her again. “Yes?”
“I can tell you the man sort of scared me. He had black hair and wore an expensive-looking black suit, kinda like you do, only you usually wear blue or dark gray.”
“Scared you?”
She nodded.
“Why did he scare you?” Chelsea was inexperienced. She was being melodramatic.
Eyes closed, she paused as if in deep thought. “I have a photographic memory. Did I ever tell you that? I can see him in my mind right now. Well, for one thing, he wasn’t warm and friendly. Usually people are friendly to me. Oh, oh. And I remember Mr. Connor wasn’t pleased to see him, at least at the office.”
Heat rushed up Zane’s neck. “Did Mr. Connor actually say that?”
Chelsea’s cheeks reddened enough to be seen through her heavy makeup. “Um… yes. I’m sorry. I overheard him.”
“Thanks for the information. If you think of anything else, I’ll be in my office or Mr. Connor’s.”
He left the reception desk and hurried down the hall to John’s office. He rummaged through the desk drawers, searching for anything that would tell him who John’s visitor had been. For all he knew, it could have been a friend. The way that Chelsea presented it, the man had been a client. Still, he wasn’t Zane’s client and John hadn’t mentioned him.
Nothing was safe here—that is, if the thieves had left anything. Zane retrieved empty boxes from a spare room they’d used as storage and began packing anything that appeared important from John’s office. They’d taken the computer hardware and all of the storage media. Zane stashed manila folders, hoping they would contain hard copy of pertinent information, into the boxes.
He went through the same drill in his own office and stuck the boxes in the dark corridor. He hadn’t realized it was so late and flicked on more lights as he went back to John’s office to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.
Then he saw it.
The picture of John’s sister, Riley, sat on the desk in a small bronze frame. He examined the photo closely. He was right. She looked very different in this photo, and his gut told him that it wasn’t her. Yet John had said it was his sister. Zane placed it on top of the files in a box and headed out the door to load his car.
With all the boxes secured in the trunk and on the seats of his car, he hurried back to switch off the lights and lock the doors. When Zane returned to open his car door, movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He looked at the corner of the building to see a shadow skate into the darkness.
Zane jumped into his car and sped out of the parking lot. If he wasn’t convinced before that John’s death had been no accident, he was now. Since the thieves were still lurking around the office, then perhaps they had not retrieved what they were searching for. That put Riley and Chad in danger, as well. He took comfort in the fact that she’d allowed him to work with her. At least he would be on hand if protection was required.
After bringing the boxes up to his condominium and stacking them in his home office, Zane swiped the photo of Riley out of the box and found a lone soda in the sparse refrigerator. It would be a long, grueling night, but he needed to get started searching through the documents if he was to make any sense of it all.
He reclined on his navy blue leather sofa and gazed at Riley’s photo while he sipped, the carbonation burning his throat as it went down. No, the woman in this picture was not Riley. Warm images of the feisty woman he’d spent the morning with floated through his tired mind.
A bright blue sky promised a glorious day and, Riley hoped, a better one than yesterday. She covered a yawn as she carried Chad, who was still sipping on his cup of milk and wearing footed pajamas, to the Sanderford Farms office. The structure rested across the circular drive from Grandpa’s farmhouse.
Zane’s sleek, black luxury car was parked in front. Her heart skipped a beat. The unexpected reaction to seeing he’d arrived early aroused mixed emotions, and she couldn’t decide if she should smile or frown.
She’d wanted to spend time with Zane going over Grandpa’s plans for expanding the farm and had counted on Grandpa taking Chad for the morning. But he’d mentioned working on the pumps for the irrigation system and left early. He must have unlocked the office door for Zane. Since she’d agreed to allow him to assist in the business, she would have to remember to give Zane his own key. She pressed her lips to Chad’s forehead and tousled his already mussed-up hair then opened the office door.
Zane stood behind the desk, holding a spray bottle and cloth, dressed in a cream-colored sweater and blue jeans instead of a designer suit like he’d worn the two times she’d seen him. He looked up from orderly papers and files and sent her a brilliant, heart-stopping smile.
“Good morning, Riley.” His blue eyes glistened with warmth as he moved around the desk in one fluid motion.
Riley shut the door behind her and clung to the knob as if it would give her strength to fight the strange weakness in her legs. “You’ve been busy.”
“How’s my boy this morning?” Zane reached out his arms, and Chad allowed Zane to take him. He rested his head on Zane’s chest.
Zane scrutinized the child’s hands. “What, no chocolate today?”
“Shh.” Riley glared at Zane. “You know he understands you, right?”
Chad lifted his head to Riley. “Candy?”
“No, sweetie. Aunt Riley won’t make that mistake again. At least not in the office while I’m working.”
Chad scrambled down and toddled to his toys left on the quilt from yesterday.
Zane stuck his hands in his pockets. “You know, even the best moms hire babysitters sometimes, that sort of thing. It wouldn’t hurt to get help with him. In fact, he might enjoy going to a day care.”
His words sounded like an affront to her. She crossed her arms and glowered. “Only yesterday you questioned how I could run the business and give Chad the time he needed. Were you just using that to get your way? I thought you were here to help.” Her pulse pounded in her ears.
“Calm down, Riley. I did say that, and I meant it. I wasn’t using your predicament with Chad.” He shifted closer to her and placed a tanned hand on her arm. “I was merely thinking of you. You looked tired and drained. And Chad would enjoy time with other children. You can still be his primary caregiver.”
She turned away from him and took a calming breath to rein in her irritation. The man acted as if he knew more about parenthood than she did. Her incompetence frustrated and embarrassed her. The inspirational picture she’d brought in yesterday remained where she’d placed it, and she held it up to the wall, trying to decide the best place to hang it. “How—how do you know so much about kids?”
“I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I know hardly anything about children. Really.” He hesitated as if carefully considering his next words. “I only repeated words that John said to his wife. He told me they’d had marital troubles since Chad’s arrival. It seems obvious to me that it would be difficult—things wouldn’t be the same. I babysat for them a few times to help. That’s why Chad and I are buddies.”
Riley whirled to face him again. “No way.”
He laughed. “Yes way.” A distant look appeared in his eyes, and he frowned. “But then John began working too much, hardly ever went home. He said he needed the extra time because he was in the most intense part of the project.” Zane shook his head then focused on Riley. “So how about you? You appear to be experienced with children. I’m impressed by the way you handle Chad.”
Riley wanted to hear more about John’s work, but she sensed that Zane’s intention had been to revert to the original subject. “Babysitting was my business in high school. I was even certified.”
“Certified?”
“Yeah, at the local hospital they taught classes that included CPR and offered babysitting certification.”
“Well, you know what you’re doing. I apologize if I overstepped.”
She dismissed his words with a wave of her hand and returned her attention to the picture. “No. It’s all right. I think you mean well. Babysitting is one thing. Parenting is totally different, which I’m finding out. It’s just that I’m not ready to let anyone else have him right now.”
Zane sighed behind her.
“He just lost his mom and dad.” Riley’s words came out shaky, and she wiped at the sudden tears, grateful she wasn’t facing Zane. “Sorry. I miss John.”
Zane tried to turn her and pull her into his arms, comfort her, she knew. Riley would have none of it. “No, I’m fine.”
Zane handed her a tissue. She breathed deeply, took it, and gave a short laugh. She looked back at the picture.
“This says to be still and know that I am God.” She sniffled as emotion continued to batter her insides. “I don’t even know if John knew God. Never asked. Can you believe that? I never asked. What kind of Christian doesn’t ask her brother if—”
She peered at Zane’s speechless expression. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to have an emotional breakdown on you.”
He narrowed his gaze as if in deep contemplation while he stared at the picture. For the first time, it occurred to Riley that Zane might not be a Christian. She hadn’t considered it either way until that moment.
He caught her looking at him, and his reverie fell away. “Look, why don’t you give me a tour of the farm. You can tell me what you and your grandfather want to do here. I mean, give me the entire picture. I want to know your greatest dreams for this place. That would go a long way in helping me to know what direction to take. Organizing paperwork is one thing. But I love to make things happen.”
Once again Zane had changed the subject, but his talk of dreams pleased her. “That sounds like a great idea. I need some fresh air. I’ll get Chad’s stroller. Do you mind watching him while I run to the house?”
“You know I don’t.”
When Riley returned with the three-wheeled jogging stroller, she set it on the lawn outside the office. She unlatched the tab to unfold it and yanked on the handle. It snapped into place. She bounded up the steps and opened the door to peek in.
“Chad, I brought you a change of clothes; then we can go for our walk.”
Zane sat behind the desk, holding Chad, who pointed at a slim, charcoal-colored laptop computer. He whispered into the child’s ear before he looked to Riley and smiled.
“I don’t blame you for bringing your laptop. Who could work on that old computer?” She motioned toward the antique slumbering on the side table.
“You’re only correct on one count. I can’t work on that old computer. On the other, you’re wrong. This isn’t my laptop. It belongs to Sanderford Cranberry Farms.”
Riley’s mouth dropped open. She gathered her wits and said, “What are you talking about, Zane? I don’t even know that we can afford a new computer right now. We’ve got other problems. Like a dozer that needs repairing.” Though the new laptop thrilled her and she chided herself for sounding ungrateful, Zane had overstepped.
Pleasant voices resounded from the device speakers, causing Chad to giggle. Zane slid him off his lap and onto the chair as he stood. “Relax. They don’t cost all that much. I stopped at a twenty-four-hour shopping mart this morning. If it bothers you that much, just consider this the beginning of much-needed cash flow—a loan to help get things moving.”
She thrust her hands onto her hips. “I have my own laptop. You should have said something. You could have used mine.”
Riley scratched her head. “I was thinking of using it—just hadn’t gotten that far yet.”
“You think I don’t have one I could use? I run a computer software company, remember? If you want to itemize this for your business, it has to be used for business.” Zane frowned, his disappointment evident. “You know, I really thought you’d be pleased.”
Why couldn’t she be happy that he’d taken the initiative? She should have expected that from him, an entrepreneur. Instead, she’d ruined the moment. It astonished her that his hurt expression bothered her as much as it did.
She relaxed and slid her forefinger along the top of the sleek machine. “I’m sorry for making such a fuss. You’re right. We do need this. Thank you for thinking of it.”
The man amazed her. He’d only spent one morning in her office, and that was to convince her to let him help. He hadn’t wasted any time getting to work.
“You worry too much. I know you want this place to be a success for your grandfather. And it will be. Things aren’t as terrible as they seem. Show me the farm. I’ll work on a tentative business plan. In fact, we won’t even wait for the plan to get started on things. Like, say, the dozer.” Zane raised his eyebrows and tilted his head toward the window.
“You didn’t!” Riley rushed to the window to peer out. A tow truck was in the process of hoisting it onto a trailer. Her grandfather stood talking to one of the men. “I take it Grandpa knows and approves.”