SNOWFIRES (20 page)

She wished she could throw the phone, wanted
to scream into it, but she kept her voice under control. “Grandpa,
why didn’t you tell me Dad embezzled?”

“
Aw, shit. Who told you?”

She sighed. “Does it matter?”

“
I better get Harley to bring me up
there, girl. I need to tell you all this face to face.”

“
You damn well better hurry, then,
because this is stuff I already should have known.” She tapped her
finger on the desk, wishing it were his chest.

“
Ila Mae and me will be there by
quitting time. We’ll take you to dinner about six.”

They agreed to meet at the house and she hung
up. She left her office and went to the ladies room. She washed her
face in cold water and hoped she looked better than the mirror
indicated.

When she got back to her office, she gathered
her purse and coat. “Sara, I’m taking a half day of my sick leave.
I’ll see you in the morning.”

Sara stared with a perplexed expression.
“Feel better.”

Like that was going to happen anytime soon.
Her whole business life was a lie. She’d worked long hours and did
her very best for the company, had thought her reputation was
impeccable. The pride she’d taken in her job seemed a sham now. For
however long her father embezzled, Vernon and his office staff
thought she’d been in on it.

And Dad. Her own father. He’d stolen from the
company. That was the same as taking money from each of the
employees and his own family. Dear God, she prayed the retirement
account was safe and the retiree pensions weren’t endangered.

She drove home on autopilot and pulled into
the garage. When she came in through the kitchen, Marnie was
instructing Nell on the proper way to polish the cabinetry. Both
women looked taken aback to see her home in the early
afternoon.

Marnie bustled forward. “Holly, are you all
right?”

“
Yes, a bit of a headache. My
grandparents are coming to take me to dinner. Thought I’d come home
a little early.”

“
Sorry about your headache, dear. It
must be awful for you to come home because of it. I’ve never known
you to do that before.” She patted Holly’s shoulder. “Why don’t I
make you a cup of chamomile tea and then you can have a nice soak
in the tub?”

As if that could solve what ailed her.
“Thanks, Marnie. I think I’ll skip the tea and go straight for the
tub. Is Geneva still here?”

“
She packed several bags and left about
noon. She took Mr. Tucker’s car and said she’d send for the rest of
her things in a few days.”

At least Holly wouldn’t have to see her
stepmother. That would have been the cherry on the cake of her
day.

Instead of the tub, Holly headed for her
study and the files her father had kept at home. Private files,
he’d said, so like a fool she’d never bothered them. After his
death she’d planned on clearing them out, but had put it off. Now
she went to the file cabinet and opened the top drawer.

Apparently all vacation information—trips
they’d taken beginning with the cruise he and her mother had taken
on their honeymoon. The second was files related to home
ownership—repairs, warrantees, property tax records. The third held
bank statements and a ledger.

Warily, she picked up the book and opened it.
Dates and amounts. She laid it on her desk and scanned the first
date, May, two years ago, then located the corresponding bank
statement from an account she hadn’t known about, with a post
office box address. When she sat down, she compared the two. As she
feared, the dates in the ledger corresponded to deposits into her
father’s account.

Her fingers shook as she pulled out her
calculator and added up the numbers. Increasing amounts. The total
staggered her. Almost a million dollars. My God! He’d depleted the
cash reserve for the company. Where had it gone?

Why had Vernon allowed it to go on for two
years before he reported it? Or had he? Had Bruce Jacobs known? Was
that the final wedge that drove him from Marvel?

True, Marvel was a family business and
technically it wasn’t embezzling unless the other family members
pressed charges. But her father had hidden it. Deceived his
family.
She had no idea how long she sat pouring over the record of her
father’s deceit. She heard voices, and Trent opened the door.

He frowned. “Princess, heard you weren’t
feeling well.”

She shrugged and stared at the ledger. “I
haven’t had a very good day.”

He came over and took her hands. With a
gentle tug, he pulled her to her feet and into his arms. She’d
never needed a hug more and she all but threw herself into his
embrace.

“
Are you sick?” His hands stroked her
back.

“
No. I found out things. Things I
should have known before.” She slid her arms around his waist and
held on. She wasn’t sure she could stand without his
aid.

He kept one arm around her and led her to a
leather wing chair. Settling himself, he pulled her onto his
lap.

“
Princess?” He cupped her chin and
forced her to meet his gaze. “Tell me what’s happened.”

“
I learned that Dad had been
embezzling. I remember now you kind of hinted at it when you told
me the cash reserve was gone, but I didn’t pick up on it then. I
thought you meant Dad had mismanaged the money.”

She sniffled then raised her head to
meet his gaze. “He mismanaged all right,
after
he stole it from his own family.” She took
a deep breath. This was the hardest part to deal with. “Vernon and
his staff thought I knew. Worse, they thought I helped Dad cover it
up.”

He pulled her close and she nuzzled into his
shoulder. “Aw, Princess. Surely not. Everyone knows you’re as
honest as they come.”

She needed to hear that more than he could
know. His embrace strengthened and soothed her. “Vernon same as
said when he told me it was a relief to know I wasn’t involved.
That means he had thought I was. No other way to interpret it.”

She sat up. “What are you doing here? I
thought you had a meeting with the production crew.”

“
I did, at four. I made it brief and
came to take you to dinner if you feel well enough to go
out.”

She looked at her watch. “Five-thirty.” She
hopped up. “Darn, my grandparents will be here in half an
hour.”

“
I’ll take them with us.” He tried to
pull her back onto his lap.

“
Trent, I’d love to go with you, but I
have to get something straightened out with my grandfather. It’s
not going to be pretty, and I guarantee it’s going to get loud, so
you’d probably better go.” She kissed him. “I’ll take a rain
check.”

He stood and pulled her to him. She leaned
against him and he delivered a long, hot kiss that left her
melting.

“
Okay, but I hate leaving you alone
when you’re upset.”

“
Trust me, you do
not
want to see the fit I’m going to pitch when
my grandfather arrives. He’s deceived me and I want to know the
reason why.”

She walked him to the door and stood in the
open doorway to watch him drive away in his old clunker car.
Knowing he drove that car yet gave enough money to a children’s
home to be called a benefactor bumped him up another notch or two
in her esteem. A hunk with a kind heart. What a guy.

If only he weren’t also a gambler.

She hardened her heart against him. Damned if
she would ever hook up permanently with a gambler. Once was more
than enough, thank you very much. Today certainly had driven that
nail in the coffin.

Before she could close the door, she spotted
the taxi turn into the drive and figured she had more heart
hardening to do. She waited until it stopped and her grandparents
emerged. Grandpa carried an overnight bag in one hand and with the
other guided Nana up the steps. Both looked worried.

Her grandmother hugged her and whispered,
“Remember your grandfather’s heart condition, dear.”

Holly didn’t hug her grandfather. Instead,
she put her fists at her hips. "Start explaining.”

Marnie hurried in. “Mrs. Ila Mae, Mr. Joe
Bob, how nice to see you. Let me take your coats and that bag. Can
I get you refreshments?”

Grandpa shook his head. “No, we’re fine.”

“
Then I’ll put everything in your
room.” Marnie hurried off to the downstairs room that had been
converted to a bedroom so her grandfather wouldn’t have to climb
stairs.

Nana took her arm. “Let’s go sit down, Holly.
This might take a while and my feet are already swollen in these
pointy-toed shoes. Who brought these back, anyway?”

They walked into the den, where Marnie had
lit the fireplace, as if she’d known where they’d end up. When
they’d seated themselves, Holly glared at her grandfather.

“
All right. Start with when Harley told
you Dad had embezzled.”

Grandpa shook his head. “No, I’ve got to
start back before then. Back to the first.” He shifted on his chair
and glanced at Nana before he continued. “Your mother, our Yvonne,
was a beautiful, intelligent woman. But she was as stubborn as you
are. Once she set her head to marry your father, we couldn’t change
her mind.”

This was news to Holly. “You didn’t want them
to marry? But I thought you and Grandpa Tucker encouraged it."

Nana looked at her hands. “The Tuckers
encouraged it. They thought Yvonne was just what Walter Jr. needed
to ground him, to settle him down.”

“
I see. But he didn’t settle down, did
he?” Holly had heard stories of the dangerous escapades her dad had
indulged in before she was born. Daredevil car races, cliff diving,
all foolish chances.

“
No, but your coming along quieted him
a little.” Grandpa stroked his chin in thought. “We thought he
might finally grow up, but it didn’t last. He found the horses and
the slots and every other kind of gambling.”

Nana shook her head. “It was a sickness, but
he didn’t want to be cured. Yvonne begged him to get
counseling.”

Grandpa met Holly’s gaze. “At the time our
Yvonne died, she was a miserable woman. Oh, she loved you and you
brought her joy, but her marriage was a shambles. She wouldn’t
consider divorce—said she’d made a vow and she’d keep it. I made my
own vow then that the same thing would never happen to you. Ila Mae
and I promised ourselves we’d see you married to the right man or
die trying.”

“
Grandpa, you’re getting sidetracked
here.” Hadn’t she heard them talk enough about her taking too much
time to find a husband? They’d told her countless times she should
find a good man and settle down. She darned sure didn’t need more
of that now.

“
No, no, I’m not. All ties in.” He
leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I watched
Walter marry that Geneva woman and saw how she treated you. After
your dad lost your home, it was the last straw. I could’ve killed
him.”

He glanced at Nana. “Then I had that little
flare up with my heart and had to take things easy. Seemed the
perfect time to move to the ranch and relax, but I wanted you safe
with a nice home no one could take from you.”

Flare up? He’d had a heart attack. “And I
appreciate it, Grandpa. I know how hard it was for you, for all of
us.”

He looked at her again. “When Vernon told me
Walter was dipping into the reserve, that did it. I told Vernon I’d
take care of it. I started looking around for someone to replace
your father. I figured I could ease him out, tell him I was
stepping back in if I could get you to vote with me, and I think I
could have. But then he up and died.”

Thank goodness she hadn’t had to choose
between her father and grandfather. Though she had to admit she’d
have listened to her grandfather. “And you didn’t have to look for
anyone because Trent Macleod bought the shares.” She saw her
grandfather’s expression.

He waited, watched.

“
Oh, no! You recruited Trent, didn’t
you?”

He nodded. “Had to. Carl was the man handling
Trent’s investments. Told me how long he’d invested, how he gave to
charities, never guessed wrong. Well, almost never. Built him a
sizable bundle from nothing, just like Walter, Sr., and I had. I
figured a man who could do that without breaking the law was the
man for us.”

“
But why didn’t you tell me? Why did
you let me think bad things about him, fight him, if you hand
picked him?” She sounded pleading, but she had to know.

“
Didn’t want to trouble you with all
this.”

“
Trouble me?” She leaped to her feet.
“Grandpa, what do you call me juggling finances since I was old
enough to add two columns because my father kept us in trouble? I’m
an officer and shareholder of Marvel. If there was trouble, I
should have known what was going on.”

Her grandfather raised a hand and motioned
her to sit down. “Now, Holly, you know your grandmother and I are
awful proud of you. You’ve done a bang up job at Marvel. But you
need to be thinking about finding a husband and settling down and
making us some great grandchildren. That’s another reason I picked
Trent Macleod.”

This was too much. She thought she might
explode. Like a character in a cartoon where the top of her head
flew off and steam shot up.

She wanted to shout, but she held onto her
control. “You picked him as a husband for me?” She recalled Trent’s
sudden appearance for Thanksgiving.

Forget control. Her voice rose, “You set me
up with Trent Macleod! How could you do this to me?”

Grandpa frowned. “I don’t see why you’re so
all-fired mad. You don’t have to marry him unless you want. I
figured I’d pick a winner and if there was any chemistry there it’d
work itself out. If not, we’d still have a darn good CEO.”