“Our daughters are thoughtful.” Blake took my hand and squeezed.

  I stopped and gazed into his eyes. “Yes, they are.”

  He smiled and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “You’re staring at me like you want something. A kiss, perhaps?”

  “That would be amazing.”

  He kissed my lips and held me close. “There’s something special about a kiss on the beach with the woman I love.”

  “I hope we have the opportunity to do this often.”

  We walked hand in hand and turned back to find the girls for dinner.

  Blake released my hand and pulled out his cell. “My gardener. Excuse me.” He brought the phone to his ear. “Hello . . . What?” He stopped walking and listened. “How much damage? . . . I don’t believe this. Did you call the police? . . . Do it now. I’ll call Jim and see if he can come over and help you out . . . Thanks for calling.”

  “What happened?”

  “In a minute. I need to call Jim first.” Blake’s face turned red, and his left fist clenched. “Hey. Can you go over to my house and check in with Hank? He’s around back at the greenhouse. Someone trashed the place . . . I told him to call the police. Make sure they get a report and include anything stolen . . . We’ll be home tomorrow around 3:00 p.m.”

  I grabbed Blake’s arm with both hands. “Someone vandalized your greenhouse?”

  He spoke in a stern tone. “Who do you think would do such a thing, K? Huh?”

  “Blake, why would Wes do this? And how did he know you had a greenhouse to vandalize?”

  “He may have looked out the back window during our engagement party.”

  I lifted my hands and jogged fifty feet toward Jenny and Allison. “I give up.”

  “What’s wrong, Mom?” Jenny touched my arm.

  “That man. He’s impossible.”

  Jenny looked at Allison. “I guess their walk wasn’t all that romantic.”

  Blake joined us and explained what happened with the greenhouse and shared his thoughts about Wes being the likely suspect.

  Jenny turned to me. “Mom, perhaps you should consider Wes as a strong possibility.”

  Blake shook his head. “Maybe you can convince her. I haven’t had much success. She won’t accept that this—”

  “But if he knew there was a greenhouse, he didn’t know Blake sent me roses.” I placed my hands on my hips. “I never discussed them with him.”

  Allison raised her eyebrows. “Tauni knew. She’s someone else who could be responsible.”

  I plodded toward the parking lot where we left the car. Wes acted strange Thursday, but he wouldn’t do this. And no way could Tauni be involved.

  Blake took hold of my arm. The girls stood behind him. “Let’s get dinner. The four of us will talk this through and try to figure out whom—Tauni or Wes—might be responsible. Okay?”

  I yanked my arm away and kept walking.

  ~

  We sat in a booth in a pizza place we found near the beach. I wanted to sit with Jenny, but I’d have to look at Blake. Easier to sit next to him, but he wanted to hold my hand, and I let him. No use making a scene. We placed our order and Jenny asked the hostess for a piece of paper and a pencil.

  I scrunched my face. “What’s that for?”

  “We can keep a list of why we consider it’s one of them or the other.” Jenny grinned.

  “Here we go again.” I frowned and shook my head. “You and your lists.”

  When Jenny was ready, Blake rubbed his hand down his face. “Can’t be Tauni. She got a promotion. That wouldn’t make any sense at all.”

  After a lengthy sigh, I said, “Not Tauni or Wes.” Blake wears me out. “Could there be someone we haven’t considered yet?”

  “Right.” Blake’s words leaked sarcasm. “Like whom?”

  I glared at him. “Think a minute. Who else could have it out for you? I don’t imagine it’s only Wes.”

  He flinched and crossed his arms. “What are you saying exactly? You assume that I have a lot of enemies?”

  Jenny straightened. “What about your former HR director—Miranda, right? She lost her job because of you. Or the VP of Legal? He’d be mad at you too.”

  Allison’s eyes grew wide and she gasped. “There’s also Eliza’s daughter, Cindy.” Her eyes darted between Blake and me. “If she believes her mother was murdered, she could presume Dad had something to do with it.”

  A smug smile crossed my lips. “Those are potential possibilities. Blake?”

  He shook his head. “None of those people were guests at our party. Someone tried to implicate Andy, remember?”

  “But what if that was a fluke? An innocent comment like I mentioned earlier. Let’s look at the last two crimes and forget the party guests for a minute.”

  Blake rested his elbow on the table and placed his palm on his forehead. “So, either Miranda, Lance, or Cindy parked in BCH’s parking lot and waited for my arrival so after all the employees arrived, they could key my car. Then they showed up at my house today to destroy my greenhouse.”

  The three of us ladies at the table looked at one another and nodded together. Allison said, “Sounds possible.”

  He glanced around at us. “I can see one of them vandalizing my car. But why the greenhouse and not my house windows?” He glared at me. “The greenhouse is the clue here. Is there any chance Wes knew about the roses?”

  Jenny held her pencil over the paper. “Did you receive any roses at the office Wes might have seen?”

  “No.”

  “How many times has Wes been at your condo?” She gazed at me, her eyes bright.

  “On Thanksgiving before Blake arrived.” I peered at Blake. “But you brought in a bouquet of roses after Wes pulled out of the parking lot.”

  Blake laid his arm across my shoulder. “And a few days before Christmas when I saw you and Wes at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.”

  “He didn’t pick us up. He met Nicki and me there.”

  Jenny scribbled a note. “What about the night before? I dropped Nicki off, and Wes came by and took you both to see Christmas lights.”

  “That’s right.” I paused, squinted, and slowed my speech. “He came inside for a few minutes. I needed to get our coats from the hall closet.”

  Allison said, “Were there any roses in sight?”

  I tilted my head. “I don’t remember any.”

  Jenny’s eyes lit. “I do. A salmon colored rose was in a bud vase on your coffee table. I noticed it when I dropped Nicki off.”

  “Okay. But he didn’t know who it came from, or if he figured it out, I doubt he’d connect it to the greenhouse.”

  Jenny tapped her pencil up and down on her paper. “Maybe not, but Nicki knew. I told her about Papa Blake’s greenhouse and the salmon-colored roses.”

  The waitress interrupted our conversation to apologize for the delay on our pizza. She explained a large to go order came in just before we placed ours.

  After she stepped away, Blake moved his arm off my shoulder and folded his hands on the table. “Do you think Nicki would remember whether she or Wes talked about the rose if we call her?”

  I arched my brow at Jenny. “She remembers everything that has to do with her papa.”

  Jenny pulled out her phone and clicked on Carl’s number. She put the phone on speaker so we could all listen. “Hi, Mommy. I miss you.”

  “Hi sweetie. Nana and Papa are both with me.”

  After Nicki spoke to us, Jenny asked, “Did Mr. Wes ask about the rose on Nana’s table the night he drove you to look at Christmas lights?”

  I held my breath. Please say no.

  “Yep. I told him it was from my papa, and he grew it all by himself.”

  I closed my eyes, and Jenny finished her call. Blake can’t be right.

  Blake took my hand in his. I guess he felt I needed comforting.

  “Wait,” I said. “Cindy, Miranda, or Lance may not be aware of the roses, but if they came onto your property to vandalize something, they’d know your house was alarmed. They chose the greenhouse because they didn’t expect that to trigger anything.”

  Blake leaned back in the booth. “There’s still the matter of my messed-up PowerPoint presentation at the healthcare conference in November.”

  “What? We determined that was Miranda two months ago.”

  He shook his head. “Nope. She admitted that she asked Lance to watch your condo and follow you, instructed him to take pictures of us together, and that they started the rumors. When Chad questioned her about my slides, she laughed and said that was too petty for her. She said someone else must have done it—probably Tauni. But it could have been Wes.”

  Our pizzas arrived and were devoured by three hungry people. I couldn’t eat.

  Sixteen

  Mid-January

  Nashville, Tennessee

  S

  oon after I arrived at the office on Monday morning and while I typed at my computer, Blake stopped by to see me. “Good morning, sugar. Were you able to relax after I dropped you off yesterday?”

  I shrugged. “Do we have plans tonight? I’d like to stay home and chill.”

  He pushed the adjoining door to Jocelyn’s office closed and rested against it. “Is that your way to tell me that you don’t want to get together this evening?”

  “I’m stressed over this rift between us.” I picked up my stapler, stared at it, and pushed it up and down while I spoke in a grumpy tone. “Would be better if I spent more time alone and pray.”

  Blake took the stapler from my hand. “Do I need to cancel the meeting with my attorney again? I rescheduled it for this afternoon at 4:30.”

  I glanced at him. “My will is at home. I’ll pick it up at lunch. This afternoon will be fine.”

  He returned the stapler to my desk. “K, I know I’ve been a little pushy over this thing with,” he lowered his voice, “Wes. I realize how difficult this is for you. I’ll drop it until we have proof.” He observed the mess I’d made on my desk and frowned. “And I can see where Miranda, Lance, or Cindy could have a beef with me.”

  “Thank you.” I scraped the wasted staples together, brushed them into my hand, and peeked into the hallway. “Have you seen Tauni this morning?”

  “She stopped by to see me. She asked if she could train Terri this morning and planned to join me after morning break.”

  I gaped at Blake and threw the staples into the trash container under my desk. “You’ve become a softie too. You would have demanded I be there to assist you in case you needed something.” I wrinkled my nose. “Like a paper clip.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t believe I was that bad, sweet pea.”

  I shook my head. “Neither sugar nor sweet pea.”

  He left my office with a grin on his face.

  ~

  Robin, the admin assistant from IT, arrived for her scheduled appointment at 8:30 a.m. I stood, closed my outer door, and offered her a chair.

  She spoke with a shaky voice. “My problem is with Wes. I understand he’s a friend of yours, so I wanted to talk with you before I said anything to my manager or Jocelyn.”

  I tilted my head and sat at my desk. “What seems to be the issue?”

  “The past two weeks he’s changed. A lot. He’s been needy, pushy, and a pain.”

  “Can you give me examples?” I opened our HR database to pull up his record and make notes of her concerns.

  “He keeps coming to me for things. Supplies he can find in our cabinets or downstairs in the supply room. Paper clips, notepads, pens.” She shifted in her chair. “Did he ask you for stuff when you were an assistant in IT?”

  “Not that I remember.” I typed in her remarks. “What else?”

  “One minute he pesters me about something and the next he flirts and asks me to lunch or a movie.” She narrowed her eyes. “If I tell my 250-pound, six-foot, six-inch, boyfriend about this, Wes won’t live beyond tomorrow.” She narrowed her eyes and frowned.

  “I understand, but I hope you’ll wait to tell your boyfriend until we can investigate this situation.”

  “I’ve told Wes no to his date offers several times, but he won’t give up.” Robin raised her voice and shook her head. “I can’t get my work done when he bothers me all the time.”

  After finishing my notes, I told Robin I’d talk with Jocelyn and one of us would contact her soon. I needed to carefully phrase my next question. I didn’t want to put words in her mouth. “In as few words as possible, how would you describe his overall actions toward you?”

  She glanced around my office. “I’ve already told you. He’s pushy, needy, and a pain.” Her eyes focused on a book on my shelf. “Harassment. That describes his recent actions toward me.”

  “Are you aware of anyone who’s witnessed Wes’s behavior toward you?”

  “He’s too smart for that. I doubt anyone else knows about this.”

  “Not a problem. We’ll handle this as discreetly as we can and talk with your manager too. He needs to be informed of what’s happening in his department. You may need to sign a formal complaint. Are you willing to do that?”

  She nodded and stood. “Thanks.”

  I smiled. “You did the right thing to come to me.”

  A few minutes after she left, Jocelyn entered my office through our connecting doors. “I saw Robin leave your office.” She sat across from me. “Is everything okay in IT?”

  “No.” I twisted my monitor toward her. “She voiced a complaint against Wes. All here in his record.”

  Jocelyn shook her head. “My guess is this has something to do with you and Blake. He seems to have difficulty letting you go.”

  “He never had me. We were only friends. Anything else is a figment of his imagination.”

  “The problems go beyond Robin.”

  I leaned toward her. “What do you mean?”

  “Kent has encountered a few issues with Wes too.”

  “Kent Jeffreys, our IT manager?”

  “He came in to see me on Friday and told me Wes’s work quality and attitude have declined since the holidays. Kent and I have a meeting scheduled with him tomorrow morning at 9:30. I’d like you to attend and share what Robin told you.”

  “Do I have to? All the notes are here in the database. You don’t need me.”

  “I’ll mention the new policy to him, but because you talked with Robin, you should be the one to represent her in the meeting.” Jocelyn rose. “Part of the job.” She returned to her office.

  What does this mean? All along I believed Wes couldn’t be involved in the vandalism because it’s not who he is. But what Robin and Jocelyn told me isn’t him either. Lord, has Blake been right all along? I needed to tell Blake about Kent’s and Robin’s concerns.

  I poked my head inside Jocelyn’s door. “May I share all of this recent information about Wes with Blake?”

  “As the executive vice president, he’ll be pulled into it anyway, so it’s no problem. He has access to Wes’s employee record. I finished updating my notes.”

  I returned to my desk and completed several outstanding tasks.

  Blake popped his head in just before noon. “Join me for lunch? We can run by your place first and pick up your will for this afternoon’s meeting.”

  Even with the friction between us over family matters and vandalism, he wanted to spend time with me. But I craved solitude.

  “I’ve endured a crazy morning. Could I take a raincheck? I’d like to go home and relax with my feet propped for a few minutes.” I stood and touched his arm. “Is that okay?”

  “No problem.”

  “But I’ve changed my mind about dinner. I’ll join you after our appointment with the attorney if your offer still stands.”

  “Sounds good. I thought you’d be interested to know I talked with Andy. But I suppose it can wait until tonight since you don’t want to have lunch with me.” He sulked and walked out my door.

  “Blake, wait.”

  He shrugged and made his way down the hall.

  I hope he tells me about Andy before I tell him about Wes, because I have a feeling we’ll end up in a fight over this too.

  ~

  My afternoon flew by despite my weariness over the following day’s meeting with Wes. Would Blake want to attend? I gathered my purse and jacket, said goodnight to Jocelyn, and hurried to Blake’s office.

  Tauni greeted me. “I’ve experienced the best first day. Ever.”

  “What made today special?”

  “Blake.” She stared toward his open door.

  I glanced at Blake, who’d stepped out of his office and raised my eyebrows. “Wow. What did you do to earn such high praise?”

  “I welcomed her with a gift or two. I’m trying to earn back the coveted ‘boss of the year award.’”

  Tauni chuckled. “He’s got my vote. After lunch, he brought me a Starbucks latte and a gift card.”

  I looked at Tauni. “Did you say someone who gives gifts makes an excellent boss?”

  “Not necessarily. They also must be friendly, flexible, and build up their staff by giving them the tools they need for success. Oh, and treat everyone as equals and allow them to work independently.”

  Blake grinned. “That’s me. Ask Keedryn.”

  I wrapped my arm around his elbow and steered him toward the door. “Yes, dear.”

  We caught the elevator down and headed out to the parking lot.

  Blake took my hand. “I think it’s best, cupcake, if we both drive to the attorney’s office.”

  I shook my head. “No cupcakes or cookies. I’ll get fat hearing you use my new name.” I gazed at him. “Why two cars? Is his office closer to where we live?”

  “Yes. When we leave there, we’ll run your car home and take mine to dinner.”

  We climbed into our vehicles and drove to Matt Starnes’ office.

  ~

  Mr. Starnes’ assistant welcomed us, notified him of our arrival, and escorted us to his door. A balding man of medium build and around my age rose and greeted us. He shook Blake’s hand and introduced himself to me with his hand extended. He seemed nice enough.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17