Kayla combed out a section of her mom’s hair, then clamped it into the curling iron, wishing she could spend the rest of the morning in bed. She’d finally fallen asleep around one, but her dreams had been filled with Ty. Already she missed him, torn between her heart’s longings and the common sense that constantly reminded her she needed to stay away from him. Even putting her trust back into God’s hands had become a minute-by-minute effort.
“Are you almost done?”
Kayla’s focus switched back to the task at hand. “One section left.”
Her mom worked to fasten the top button of her blouse that had come undone. “You know you don’t have to do my hair every morning, Kayla.”
“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” For once she was thankful for the distraction. Between her mom and the business, staying busy would make the pain of letting Ty go easier. Or at least she hoped it would.
Her mother’s hand shook as she fought with the shirt.
Kayla reached down to help. “Let me do that—”
“No!”
Kayla drew back her hand and bit her lip as her mom continued to struggle. Her fingers fumbled with the buttonhole. It was all Kayla could do not to finish the chore herself. Finding the balance between helping her mother and letting her struggle to relearn simple tasks had proved to be difficult. The stroke had added depression to the list of symptoms her mom had been forced to accept. All of which added up to a new dimension of tension between them.
Her mother jerked the button off and threw it onto the floor. For a few seconds neither of them moved.
“I’m sorry.” Her mom let her good arm drop into her lap defeated.
“It’s okay.” Kayla moved the curling iron to the last section, deciding to leave the button on the floor for now.
“No, it’s not.” Her mom’s leg shook. “Since when do I have to rely on—on my daughter and nurses to button my shirt?”
Tears pooled in her mother’s eyes. Kayla set the curling iron down and wrapped her arms around her. Frustrations over her relationship with Ty seemed minimal compared to the life-changing challenges her mom faced.
Kayla bit back her own tears of empathy. “I remember when I was in third grade, and I wanted curls like Abigail Mentor’s. You must have spent an hour fixing my hair every morning before school.”
“And your curls were much prettier than Abigail’s … weren’t they?” Her mother’s smile emphasized the droop on the left side of her face, but at least she seemed to have forgotten the button for now. “I wanted to see you last night. How was your dinner with Ty?”
With Ty on the top ten list of topics to avoid, Kayla hadn’t expected the subject to come up and wasn’t sure how to approach it. Another argument was the last thing she wanted. “I understand he came to visit you yesterday.”
“He did … and we had a nice time. What happened at dinner?”
Kayla quirked an eyebrow at her friendly tone. “There’s nothing to tell.”
Her mom strained to look up at her. “Don’t tell me the two of you … got in a fight?”
Kayla shook her head, confused. Even after her mom had agreed to keep her opinions of Ty to herself, nothing had really changed. The stroke had just postponed the inevitable explosion she was convinced was coming. Genuine interest in their lives wasn’t what she’d expected.
Kayla began to comb the short curls into place. “Why the change of heart, Mom? You’re acting as if you like him. But he’s the bad guy, remember. The one who’s stealing your daughter away, bound to break her heart.”
“Not according to everything … I’ve ever heard from you.” Her mom pointed to a gold-foil box on the bedside table. “You’d be amazed how far a box of chocolates goes when you’ve been living on hospital food.”
“He said something about that.” She still didn’t get it. Since when did peace break out? “He was going to ask me to marry him, wasn’t he?”
Her mom reached up to push a curl into place on the side of her head. “I’d say that’s between you and Ty.”
“Mom. I need to know.”
“He came to ask my permission to marry you.”
“And you agreed?”
Her mom nodded slowly. “Lying in a hospital bed for almost three weeks makes … you look at things differently. He’s good to you. And as much as I haven’t wanted to admit it, he’s been … good to me as well.”
Kayla sprayed some hairspray to set her mom’s hair in place, making a mental note to schedule an appointment with the hairdresser for a perm. Her mom did have a point. Making sure the outside of her mother’s house was ready for winter was only one of the things he’d done to help ease Kayla’s load. He’d fixed the garbage disposal, insulated the windows, changed the smoke detector batteries, and the list went on and on.
Her mom slid on her glasses. “He also mentioned how easy it is to blame God for our mistakes. I can’t say … I’ve ever really thought about it that way.”
Kayla squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and sent up a prayer for wisdom. If she was going to rely on God for His wisdom and help in her life, now was as good a time as any to start. If her mother was opening her heart to God, what she needed to tell her about Ty was going to make things worse. How many people had been turned off from God and consequently church because of the behavior of the very people sitting inside?
“There are some things you need to know about Ty, Mom.”
Kayla sat down on the edge of the bed beside her mom and told her everything. From Ty’s involvement in the government’s investigation into Abbott Financial Services, to the strange phone calls, to the woman at the restaurant. The emotional weight she’d carried home the night before had shifted from anger to sadness. Maybe reality would hit her at some point. Right now she still felt numb.
“I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this.” Her mom reached out and grasped Kayla’s fingers. “And I know this is going to sound … crazy coming from me, but I think you need to consider the fact that Ty’s innocent.”
Her brow pinched together. Those were the last words she’d expected to hear from her mom. “Whether or not he’s innocent isn’t really the point. He kept the truth from me. That’s not a relationship to base a healthy marriage on. And it goes back to the same problems we dealt with a year ago. It’s a matter of trust.”
“What if he was simply trying to protect you?”
Kayla shook her head. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Unplugging the curling iron, she marched across the room and opened the heavy, mauve drapes. Outside, dark storm clouds reflected her mood. Why was her mother defending Ty? A box of chocolates wasn’t nearly enough incentive to blind a person to the truth of the situation.
Her mom struggled to add blush to her cheeks. “I’m serious, Kayla. Even after everything you’ve told me … something’s not right.”
“It seems pretty straightforward to me.” She folded her arms across her chest, resisting the urge to take the makeup brush away from her mom to finish the job herself. “The bottom line is, whether or not he was involved, the fact remains that he didn’t trust me enough to tell me what was going on. How could he hide the fact that he’s one of the government’s suspects? It doesn’t get much bigger than that.”
“I’ve kept things from you throughout the years to protect you.”
“I’m not a child anymore, Mom. I don’t need to be protected.”
The doorbell rang, and Kayla fled from the room, grateful for the interruption. Since when did her mother defend Ty and his underhanded actions? If anything, her mom should be on her side; but instead it was as if she’d fallen into Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole and ended up in the twilight zone.
The doorbell chimed again. Kayla glanced at her watch as she hurried through the living room. Eight in the morning was too early to expect company, and Hillary wasn’t coming for another hour.
Kayla paused at the door. If it was Ty, she didn’t want to see him. She might have realized she couldn’t do things without her heavenly Father’s help, but that didn’t mean she was ready to deal with the emotional tsunami Ty was certain to evoke.
Leaning forward, Kayla glanced through the peephole, then let out a sigh of relief. Chloe stood on the porch, dressed in a red jacket, with a matching knit hat and gloves.
Kayla unlocked the door and flung it open. “Hey, this is a nice surprise.”
Chloe stepped out of the cold and into the warm entryway before giving Kayla a hug. “Honey, I need to talk to you about something.”
“And how are you this morning? You always were one to get straight to the point.” Kayla caught Chloe’s frown, and a shot of adrenaline flashed through her. “What’s wrong, Chloe? Is it Nick or Jenny? Or the boys?”
Chloe stood in the entryway and pulled off her gloves. “No, sweetie. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s about Ty.”
“What’s wrong, Chloe?”
“He called Nick last night a little after nine.”
Kayla’s head began to spin. Ty had left her place around seven, and she assumed he’d gone home. If he’d been in an accident, or even worse—what if Abbott had done something to him? “What happened? Is he hurt?”
“No, honey. Ty’s been arrested.”
Kayla felt her knees give out as Chloe helped her to the couch. Surely she hadn’t heard her friend correctly. The company might be under investigation, but that didn’t mean Ty had been a part of the corruption.
He’s guilty.
She dismissed the condemning words that had haunted her the past few weeks. Ty couldn’t be guilty. Sure, she’d been furious with him for not telling her the truth. For not trusting her to be able to handle what was happening in his life. But she’d never believe he could have been involved in something criminal.
She rubbed the back of her neck and stared at a spot on the carpet. When was the last time she’d had the carpets cleaned? She’d need to call and have someone come out—
“Kayla. Are you all right?”
“No.” She shook her head and tried to erase the distractions as she looked up. “This can’t be happening, Chloe. I don’t understand.”
Chloe sat across from her and took her hands. “Ty’s worried about you. He insisted I come to your house and tell you in person. He didn’t want you to find out on the phone or worse on the news.”
Kayla glanced at the television that sat in the corner of the living room. Abbott Financial Services was no mom-and-pop business. They’d made the Fortune 500 list the past three years in a row. Ty’s face would be plastered across TV screens and newspapers from Boston to San Francisco. The very thing he’d hoped to avoid.
“What’s he been charged with?”
“Securities fraud and inflating stock prices. He was picked up last night by the Securities and Exchange Commission that’s working with local law enforcement.”
“What about Richard Abbott?”
“He could always be next. But, according to the prosecuting attorney, the evidence doesn’t point to him.”
“I don’t believe it.” Kayla pinched the bridge of her nose with her forefingers, refusing to cry. “This is serious, isn’t it?”
“Very.”
“And what if he’s guilty?” Kayla’s voice caught in her throat.
Chloe squeezed her hands. “I know none of us has been very supportive of your relationship with Ty, but that doesn’t mean I think he could be guilty of defrauding a company of millions of dollars. All you can do right now is take things one day at a time and pray. Nick’s a good lawyer and will do everything he can to get him off.”
Put your trust in Him, Kayla. That’s all you can do.
Kayla tried to steady her breathing, repeating the words over and over in her mind. “Is Nick there with him?”
“He’s working to get him out on bail, but that’s going to be tough. He promised to call me as soon as he finds out anything.”
Kayla walked to the window. She thought her world had fallen apart last night when Ty admitted he was under investigation, but she’d never believe he was guilty of accounting fraud. Surely her instincts weren’t that far off a second time.
“I have to do something.” She stared out across the yellow lawn trying to work her mind around both Ty’s arrest and what she needed to do about it. “I’ll call Jenny and ask her to cover for me today.”
Chloe got up and stood beside her. “What are you talking about?”
“Penny was Ty’s secretary in Boston, and she worked for him for years. She has to know something.”
“I’m sure the police have already questioned her, Kayla.”
“I know, but they might have missed something, and I have to know the truth about him this time.” Everything suddenly became clear. Maybe it was crazy, but there was no way she could stay here and wait for something to happen. Penny would have access to inside information that might prove Ty’s innocence. “I’m going to Boston.”
Kayla shifted her umbrella to block the downpour as she ran toward the Abbott Financial building. Shivering beneath her long black coat, she wondered for the umpteenth time if her impulsive decision had been a mistake. She hadn’t even taken the time to try to call Ty after Chloe’s bombshell announcement. If the authorities would even let her talk to him.
She shivered again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold. She needed answers before she could face him. Going to his old place of work had seemed to be the first logical step. Or at least it had seemed logical at the moment Chloe told her Ty had been arrested and Nick had just been brought in as his criminal lawyer. She was no Sherlock Holmes, but she was on the verge of another broken heart and had to do something. Besides, no matter how jumbled her personal feelings were at the moment toward Ty, she wasn’t going to walk away this time without finding out the entire truth.
The four-story building rose before Kayla. Standing on the edge of the sidewalk beneath the outside awning, she stared up at Abbott Financial Services before taking a deep breath and heading inside. Her mother’s insistence on Ty’s innocence had surprised her—and convicted her. What if he was innocent and had only meant to protect her?
She crossed the lobby’s polished tile floor, knowing that for now she owed him the benefit of the doubt. His methods of trying to protect her could be discussed at another time.
Five minutes later the elevator stopped on the third floor, and the doors opened to reveal the large reception area. It had been over a year and a half since Kayla had walked into the plush Boston office. Nothing had changed, from the overstuffed gray couch and chairs to the rich purple and silver accents.
“May I help you?” A receptionist looked up from a computer screen and waited for her response.
Kayla’s stomach lurched.
You can do this.
She cleared her throat and caught the young woman’s gaze. “I have an appointment with Penny Waterford.”
The receptionist glanced at the calendar in front of her, then raised her penciled brows. “You have an appointment with Miss Waterford? She’s an executive assistant who doesn’t normally talk to clients.”
“I spoke to her this morning, and we’re having lunch.”
“O–kay.” The woman picked up the phone, mumbled a few words and hung up. “She’ll be out in just a minute. Take a seat over there.”
Kayla had just sat down when Penny walked into the room. The woman had cut her blond hair into an attractive bob, but other than that the petite assistant looked the same as when Ty had first introduced them at a company Christmas party two years ago.
“Kayla, it’s good to see you again.” Penny held out her manicured hand in greeting. “I was surprised to hear from you and even more surprised when you said you wanted to meet me here in person.”
“I appreciate your taking the time to see me. Is there somewhere we could talk in private?” She wasn’t in the mood for small talk and formalities.
“There’s a bistro down the street.” Penny slid a black coat on over her stylish purple skirt and blouse. “It’s close enough to walk to and stays pretty quiet during lunch.”
“That’s fine.”
Fifteen minutes later they were seated at a corner table with bottles of sparkling water. Aromas of garlic and onions coming from the kitchen did little to whet her appetite, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to eat the chicken salad she’d just ordered.
“I was so upset when I heard about Ty’s arrest this morning.” Penny took a sip of her drink, seemingly relaxed despite the heavy atmosphere that must pervade the office after yesterday’s arrests. “He was always a good boss. He worked hard and treated me well.”
Kayla poured her flavored water into a glass full of ice. “Who do you work for now?”
“The big CEO himself. Richard Abbott.”
“Wow! That must have been a nice promotion.”
Penny set down her drink and nodded. “His secretary went on maternity leave then quit, and let me tell you, the extra income that comes with working for the CEO of the company can’t be beat. Unless you count the recent government investigation.”
“I’ll get straight to the point, Penny. You knew Ty better than anyone I can think of here in Boston. Have you been in contact with him since he left?”
“Sure. He’s called me several times over the past few months. We all knew the government was asking questions, and he seemed interested to know what exactly was going on. I always assumed it would disappear. I never thought anyone I knew, especially Ty, could actually be guilty.”
Kayla leaned forward in her chair. “You don’t think he did it, do you?”
“I—I don’t know, Kayla.” Penny’s friendly smile faded. “I hate to burst your bubble, but as much as I liked Ty I think the authorities have the right man this time.”
The dozen or so tables around them blurred from view as the walls closed in around her. The instrumental music in the background churned in her head like fingernails on a chalkboard. Voices slurred together into a muddled roar.
Kayla tried not to panic. “What are you saying, Penny?”
“They think he tried to clear most of the damaging stuff from his computer, but they were still able to find enough evidence to obtain an arrest warrant. Apparently he also handed over some documents to the police implicating Richard Abbott, but from what I heard most of those documents were well-thought-out forgeries.”
“What?” Kayla shook her head. Ty might be brilliant when it came to numbers, but forgeries? It didn’t make sense.
“I’m sorry.” Penny took another sip of her water. “I know you didn’t come here to hear me confirm what the police are saying, and I wish I didn’t have to, but as Abbott’s own protégé Ty was next in line for the job of chief financial officer. He had access to files and data that few other people in the entire company had.”
Kayla knew she was grasping at straws, but she wasn’t ready to stop yet. “Do they think he was the only one involved?”
“The authorities are looking at two other top managers. I knew them both. It’s been a tremendous blow to the company, though we’re all hoping we can put the scandal behind us as soon as possible in order to move forward.”
“I guess I thought this had to have all been a big mistake. I mean, Ty and I have had our differences, but he’s not a criminal.” Kayla’s temples began to pound. Something wasn’t right, but she had no idea what. “Had you ever noticed anything out of the ordinary when you worked with him?”
Penny fiddled with the paper napkin between her fingers. “I debated whether or not I should pass this on to you, and I’m still not sure—”
“I have to know the truth.”
“I had noticed some discrepancies for the past year or so and decided to start keeping copies of files.” Penny pulled a flash drive from her purse and set it on the table. “I handed this over to the police three days ago, keeping copies for myself. I never told Ty what I was doing. I guess because I didn’t believe he might be guilty. But all that’s changed now, Kayla. I’m afraid the police have the right man. As far as I’m concerned, Ty’s guilty.”