Page 43 of Disarming The Rancher

“Yes, I do,” he cut in.

“Do you want me to take a look?” She caught his gaze and held it. Those sparkly emerald eyes of hers seemed to see right through him.

He covered her hand with his, ignoring the familiar pulse that came with contact.

“My mom has been acting different lately. She said something was going to come to light and that she needed to talk to me about it first,” he said. “My mind has been spinning about possibilities ever since.”

“It doesn’t sound like her to keep secrets.” She caught his gaze and held onto it.

“My thought exactly.” And was half the reason he couldn’t seem to let it go. “She’s been conflicted over it. Whatever ‘it’ is.”

“Look at that file and you might save her the trouble of telling you,” she said.

“I’d be breaking a code of trust,” he stated, glancing down at the drawer.

“Normally, I would agree with you. However, did you go looking for it on purpose?” she asked.

“No. I was trying to find a pad of paper because I saw something on your financials that bugged me and you weren’t here to ask,” he admitted.

Her eyebrow shot up again the minute he mentioned her financials.

“You came across it by accident. It has your name on it. The Marshall isn’t here to ask and you found it in his desk.” She shrugged and put her hands in the air. “Seems like fair game to me.”

“I’m going to table this now that you’re back.” He closed the drawer, knowing full well it was going to gnaw at him from the inside out until he knew what was inside.

She stood up and leaned a hip against the oak. Lucky oak.

“What did you see on my account?” One of her eyebrows shot up.

“Wade admitted to letting your grandmother’s property slip through the cracks, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” she confirmed.

He pulled up the spreadsheet and then pointed to line item after line item of charges coded, Lone Star Pass House, and Lone Star Pass Property.

“Wade was flat-out stealing from me?” She blew out a frustrated-sounding breath.

“It would seem so,” he said. “It’s tens of thousands of dollars over the past two years when you add it all up.”

“The spreadsheet shows positive cash flow if I’m reading this right.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I wonder what’s up with payroll?”

“It would be best to double-check the balance with your bank,” he suggested.

“I was thinking the same thing.” She fished out her cell phone and made the call.

As he listened, his fingers itched to open the drawer and pull out the file. Was it really snooping if it had his name on it?

Again, the thought of rummaging through someone else’s desk hit him in a bad place. He was protective of his own personal space and the Marshall deserved the same respect no matter how much Brax wanted to open the file.

Raleigh ended the call with a sigh of what sounded like relief.

“The good news is that the band isn’t broke. I’ve arranged for payroll to be pushed through direct deposits today.” She smiled and those eyes sparkled.

“That is the first good news out of this entire situation,” he agreed.

“The balance on that sheet doesn’t match the one I was just told by a long shot. I need an accountant to go through the books with a fine-toothed comb. Takeover for Wade on a permanent basis,” she said.

“You might want to lock him out your accounts for the time being,” Brax suggested.