Authors: Ginger Simpson
Her jaw dropped. "Ah…"
"Don't worry none," Evan took her hand in his. "It'll just be ‘til I get back."
He inched closer and took her in his arms. "You can trust me. I'll pay back what I borrow and a whole lot more. You and I are gonna do big things."
Cassie scanned his eyes for any hint of dishonesty. Instead, she discovered a look of true adoration she'd never seen before on anyone's face. He covered her mouth with his and probed open her closed lips. Warmth spread throughout her body, and she tingled with desire for his touch. With lips still locked, Evan straddled her. He stripped her of the clothing separating them, urging her hips upward to remove the final barrier—her panties. Any thoughts of dishonesty or questions about integrity vanished in the heat of passion.
Chapter Eight
Cassie stopped the car in front of the airport baggage platform in the departure drop-off area. Evan had only been back a week, but the sooner he went to retrieve his belongings, the sooner he could return for good. She hated to see him go, but used the release lever to pop the trunk to allow him to retrieve his bag. He hadn't left yet but she already missed him. After unbuckling her seatbelt, she went to the rear of the vehicle to kiss him goodbye. She dared not tarry under the watchful eye of the traffic control office standing nearby.
Evan pushed back his Stetson and snaked his free arm around her waist. "I'll miss you, baby girl."
"I'll miss you, too, cowboy. Hurry back, okay?"
He pulled her close and gave her a deep lingering kiss that made her want to beg him to stay. She pulled away. "You'd better stop that or I won't let you go."
He laughed. "It's a good thing one of us has some willpower. I was wondering what it would be like to have sex in a parking garage."
An image of their naked, sweating bodies stuck to the leather seats of her Toyota, passed through her mind. She shook her head and laughed. "No way! There are bucket seats in the front and not nearly enough room in the back. Besides, I have to get to work."
She held tightly to his hand, not wanting him to leave. Sex was wonderful with Evan, but the companionship and sharing is what she craved…the feeling that she mattered to another human being.
Evan leaned forward and brushed her lips with another kiss. "I'll make up for being gone when I get back." He winked and patted her on the behind. "Drive carefully, baby. I'll call you tonight."
Over Evan's shoulder, Cass noticed the officer pointing to the 'No Parking' sign. She reluctantly released Evan's hand and walked back to her side of the car and paused. "I love you, Evan," she called over the roof. Saying it felt right…meaning it, even better.
Driving away, she scanned the rearview mirror for one last glimpse of him. As usual, he stood out in the crowd.
Like every other morning, traffic was horrible. Cassie focused on the bumper in front of her, but her thoughts drifted to the huge changes occurring in her life. If Evan ever felt the same apprehension, he never showed it. A mental image of her cowboy flashed through her mind, and she almost missed her exit. As she pulled into the parking garage, she realized she barely remembered the trip and wondered how she arrived safely.
* * *
At her desk, Cassie still pondered the mutual decisions she and Evan had made. Running a business together was a big gamble, but all doubts vanished when she reflected on the desire she saw in his eyes each time he looked at her. Far too much time had passed since she experienced such warmth and passion. Life with him made taking the risk worthwhile; after all she had nothing to lose but her heart. Evan was giving up his home and business for her, and for the first time in a long while, she felt special.
"Ms. Fremont," her secretary peeked around the door, interrupting Cassie's thoughts. "Don't forget you have a meeting in five minutes."
* * *
After a very long day at work, much of it spent thinking of Evan, Cassie walked in the back door and kicked off her shoes. The boring meeting agenda prepared by her boss took a backseat to more pleasant thoughts, although she did bite her lip a few times to keep from offering an opinion. Takeda didn't value her input, so she refrained from speaking out. Her new job stance—go to work, do as little as possible, and collect a paycheck—proved harder than she expected. She longed to be an integral part of the company again.
Cassie started to call out for her mother, but remembered she'd gone to spend a few weeks with her brother in Arizona. "Great," the word echoed in the silence as she climbed the stairs to change into something more comfy.
The bedroom still smelled of Evan's cologne. She inhaled the sweet aroma and wrapped herself in the memory of his recent embrace. Where was he? How long before he came back? The house seemed even bigger and emptier.
After changing into sweats, she ran a brush through her hair, and then headed to the kitchen for a quick meal. She removed a meatloaf entrée from the box and popped it into the microwave. Her attention turned to the post-it notes littering the front of the refrigerator—things she needed to do but couldn't find time. Nothing seemed pressing at the moment except her growling stomach. The buzzer signaling her dinner ready sounded at the same time the phone rang.
Cassie removed her meatloaf while stretching for the wall phone. "Hello."
"Cassie, this is Alaine."
"No surprise there," Cassie chuckled. "I think I know your voice by now."
"Frank and I need to talk to you." Her sister's voice held no levity. "Can you come over to the house?"
"Tonight? I just got home, and I'm about to eat my delicious micro dinner. What's so important we have to meet in person?"
"We have some things we think you should see."
"What kind of things." Cassie's curiosity piqued.
"I don't really want to go into this over the telephone."
"Oh," Cassie signed. "All right, I'll be there in a little while."
Her mind whirred. What kind of things needed her urgent attention?"
At the niggling of her stomach's reminder, she gulped down the small slab of meat and the scant serving of mashed potatoes. Surely what her siblings had to discuss could wait until she ate.
She glanced down at her attire and considered changing. "What the heck, it's only family." Family with an agenda, she thought. Perhaps a suit of armor was called for.
As she left, purse and car keys in hand, a niggling fear lingered in the back of her mind. Why did she feel so sure this all had something to do with Evan?
* * *
At Alaine's front door, Cassie mentally prepared herself before knocking. Knowing her siblings' personalities, she planned to take what they said with a grain of salt. Frank, ever the skeptic, never looked at anything positively.
Her sister opened the door, looking unusually somber. "Hi, c'mon in."
From the foyer, Cassie spied her brother and Kara at the kitchen table, the oak veneer barely visible under reams of paper. Frank glared up beneath a furrowed brow. "Hi," he mumbled.
Cassie hung her purse on the coat rack in the entry hall and walked into the kitchen. Tension knotted her shoulders. "Should I be worried?"
"Can I get you a cup of coffee?" Kara offered.
"From the looks on everyone's face, I think I might need something stronger. But, coffee will do. Thanks." The legs of the chair squealed against the Spanish tile as Cassie took a seat.
"So, what's so important that I needed to rush right over here?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Frank took a deep breath. "This isn't easy for us. We want you to know we did a little investigating because we love you. If we can keep you from getting hurt, you know we're going to do what it takes.
"Investigating?"
"Yes. You see, Evan…." Alaine chimed in, looking from Cassie to Frank then turning her gaze to her sister. There's something weird about him, Cass. He's too smooth. I can't put my finger on what bothers me about him, but Frank and I…."
Cassie's blood boiled. "You and Frank never like anyone I date. Why should this relationship be any different? Her neck burned with the redness she knew it turned as it always did when she got angry. You're obviously still mad about the watch and looking for a way to get even."
Alaine shook her head. "You're wrong. This doesn't have anything to do with liking or not liking anyone…or getting even over something. Frank and I just had suspicions and acted on them."
"Then show me what dirt you've dug up on Evan." Cassie cared little that sharpness edged her tone. "Let's get this over with."
Frank slid a piece of paper in front of her. "This is from Maricopa County, Arizona. You'll notice the name on the complaint is Evan Dennis. This person embezzled over three hundred thousand dollars from customers under the guise of landscaping contracts."
She pushed the paper away, annoyed by Frank's smugness and not impressed with his investigatory work. "There must be a million people who share Evan's name."
He slid the paper back. "Yes, but how many are in the same business?"
She crumpled the sheet and tossed it on the floor. "One piece of paper doesn't prove anything. I'm certainly not going to approach Evan with accusations based on such flimsy evidence."
Alaine produced another paper. "This one is a complaint filed in Reno, Nevada. Evan Robert Dennis bilked this man out of another three hundred thousand plus, claiming to be a construction contractor, taking money, and then not completing the jobs for which he was paid. What's Evan's middle name?"
Cassie chewed her bottom lip, fighting suspicion. "Okay, so that is his middle name. There could be others."
"Sure, it could all be a coincidence," Frank countered, "but we have a lot more to show you."
By the time she'd viewed all the documents, her siblings had found on the Internet, Cassie's mind webbed with confusion. Her head throbbed. Evan couldn't possibly be the person in all the fraudulent cases they presented. Her hand shook when she picked up her cup and downed the last of her cold coffee. She hung her head, exhausted from the day's work and spent from fighting what appeared to be obvious.
"Well?" Frank broke the silence.
"I don't know what to say." A lump formed in Cassie's throat and choked off her words. "Th-this is just too much to take in all at once. I refuse to believe Evan did all these horrible things. You don't know him." A tear trickled down her cheek.
"We didn't do this to hurt you, Cass." Alaine brushed the wetness from her sister's cheek. "Like Frank said, we just want to protect you."
Cassie pushed Alaine's hand aside. "I have to go home. I'm tired, confused and need to think." She stood, retrieved her purse and walked out the door without another word. Rage burned in her belly and fear lurked in her heart.
Her trembling fingers fought against her buckling the seatbelt, but she prevailed. After a long breath, she started the car and backed out of the driveway. Alaine's words echoed in Cassie's mind. We want to protect you. Too bad they didn't consider protecting her from the hurt they'd just inflicted.
Tears blurred her vision. She knuckled them away and tried to concentrate on the road. How did causing her to question Evan's loyalty—force her to confront him with what they presented tonight—offer any degree of protection. Instead of clarifying things, they muddied the waters and broke her heart. If, in fact, Evan did the things they insisted, what did he hope to gain through her? Her siblings were wrong, there was no other explanation. Still, Frank seemed so insistent, doubts crept into her mind.
Sure, she'd loaned Evan money for his ticket, but he had a logical reason for needing it. He didn't expect to make a permanent move, and he hadn't been paid for incomplete work. That seemed like the way a good businessman operated, not an extortionist. No matter how she looked at things, her heart knew her Evan R. Dennis wasn't the person Frank and Alaine claimed him to be. People met and married every day based on love at first sight. She and Evan were perfect for one another. She wasn't going to lose him on false allegations. She'd wait until he came home and discuss things calmly.
Her cynical laugh echoed in the car's silence. "How do you question someone's honesty in a calm manner?" She pulled into her garage and turned off the engine.
Inside, she locked the kitchen door and sagged against it. Her mind couldn't absorb all the facts Frank and Alaine had thrown at her. How in the world could she believe that the wonderful man who gave up his home and life in Texas and start anew with her might be using her? He swore he loved her with all his heart, and those nights he made love to her, wasn't the look in his eyes sincere?
She really wished for her mom—someone to kiss her booboo and make it better, but this wasn't something Cass wanted to share. She straightened and, frustrated, pounded her fist on the kitchen counter. The onslaught of tears she'd restrained, let loose and erupted in uncontrolled sobs. How she longed to be in Evan's arms and hear his assurance that Frank and Alaine were wrong. She hiccupped, knuckled away her tears and trudged upstairs, wanting only to sleep and forget all the nastiness.