style="font-size:15px;"> “She doesn’t talk about herself. We don’t even know where she’s from, really. She just showed up one day, volunteered. It wasn’t two weeks later that Edgar, the man who built Safe Haven, went back to Idaho to be near his grandkids.”
“Thanks for letting me know.” Tucker gave her a nod. “But I’ll warn you, as I’ve warned Annie. I can’t make any promises. I have a board of directors myself, and I have strict criteria that has to be met before we can offer funding or grants.”
“Oh, we know that,” Levi said. “But we couldn’t let you leave without telling you that you’ll never spend a wiser dollar. It’s not just the animals who benefit. You should see how much the high school kids are learning. Everyone who comes to volunteer at Annie’s sanctuary is the better for it.”
“I believe you,” Tucker said. He had no reason not to. For whatever reason, Annie had decided to play her role to the hilt. She clearly needed these people to be on her side. Just like Christian had been so enthusiastic about her before the money went missing.
Now that he’d found that account number, Tucker was even more certain that whatever Safe Haven was, it was also a cover for Leanna. Or a stepping stone to something bigger. He had some theories about the account number and the license in the coffee can. It had to be an exit strategy, but why hadn’t she used it yet? Was access to the stolen money contingent on some future date? Was someone else holding the key? Another kind of partner, perhaps?
He needed to find time tonight to send the pictures to George, get him working on making connections, putting the pieces together. In the meantime, he had to keep his wits about him and look beyond his physical attraction. He’d run across some smooth operators before, but Annie was in her own league. She confused him. He couldn’t nail down her motives or predict her next move. He felt as if he was missing one vital piece of information that would unravel all the mysteries.
Levi and Kathy shook his hand and made sure he knew where the birthing kit was. He watched them meet Annie halfway to their truck. Huh. He’d expected Kathy to touch Annie. A hug maybe, or at least a friendly hand on her shoulder. But they kept to their own personal spaces, and said their goodbyes with nods.
When Annie returned to the stable, the first thing she did was hand him a couple of pills and a bottle of water. “Ibuprofen.”
“Thanks.”
With a nod, she went to check on Glory, but from outside her stall. Tucker followed until he was close enough to smell a hint of liniment, which he didn’t mind at all. He supposed it had a lot to do with his own history. The scents of a ranch were home to him, including the one that overshadowed the sweet peaches that lay beneath….
At the thought a bolt a lust shot through him, making him reel. It was crazy. Maybe he was too tired to be sticking around when everyone else was gone. He’d like to think he was made of stronger stuff, but his reactions were off. Just to get some distance, he went to check on the other pregnant mare.
The two empty birthing stalls still had shavings instead of pure straw. He walked deeper into the stable, really looking at the other horses. A sturdy-looking mustang had a bandage over one eye. Then there was a buckskin Appaloosa who seemed unaffected by the human comings and goings, but had some bandages on her flank. She reminded Tucker of a horse he’d ridden for five years, a great palomino who’d been so good-looking, no woman for miles could resist her.
“You can’t see it from here, but Pretty Girl was quite a mess when she arrived,” Annie said, indicating the Appaloosa. She’d come close, and Tucker kept his gaze on the mare. “She’d tangled with some barbed wire, and it took a lot to patch her up.”
“You do it well.”
“Nothing like on-the-job training. I put another pot of coffee on while I was at the cabin. I’m going to make us a couple of thermoses. How do you like yours?”
“Black is fine. If you tell me where things are, I could do that for you.”
“That’s okay. I think we have a wait. I’ll be back in plenty of time.” Annie started walking, but stopped before she stepped outside. “You promise you’ve done this before?”
“I swear.” He put his hand up, and she sighed.
When she had rounded the path out of his sight, he let himself breathe again as he got out his cell to speed-dial George. Tucker updated him on the attached photographs, what he’d found under the bed, and then asked him to look for evidence that Annie might have been working with someone else. Maybe someone who was pulling her strings.
“You think she was coerced?” George asked, not sounding as surprised as Tucker might’ve expected.
“I don’t know. I’m trying to look at every angle. Some things don’t make sense about her. I’d rather we kept an open mind. If she’s not the only one behind the embezzlement, I want to know. You find anything else since we talked?”
“No. That account number might just be the answer we’re looking for.”
“It might,” Tucker said. “I’ll call you when I can.”
After he put his cell away, he found a couple of blankets in the area they used for supplies, and brought them up front. If they were going to wait, they might as well get comfortable. Besides, it was better to be as discreet as possible when mares were foaling. They could spook so easily.
He spread out the blankets against the wall in the stall next to Glory’s, then went back to the supply area to gather everything they’d need for the arrival of Glory’s foal. He couldn’t see well with the red lights, but it didn’t matter because the packaging told him most of what he needed to know.
The same could not be said about Annie. If he’d returned to his hotel room, he would’ve gone straight to his computer. Hell, he wouldn’t have been able to wait that long. He had an iPad in his briefcase in the rental, and he’d have stopped way before Kalispell to reread every word in his files. Watch the videos, look at the pictures as if he didn’t have each detail seared into his memory.
Thing was, he’d only been with Annie a few hours, so maybe him not being able to figure everything out wasn’t all that strange. On the other hand, now was the time to turn every stone, including the ones that seemed least likely.
He thought about his mother spending Tuesday evening on her own. He’d asked if she’d made other plans, but he’d anticipated her answer. She would end up in her room, eating off a tray. She’d watch TV, mostly reruns of shows she’d liked when his father had been alive.
Tucker had heard her talk to him from time to time. As if he were in the next chair. Irene was lonely. What scared him was his suspicion that she wanted all the forgiveness she could get from Christian because she didn’t plan on sticking around.
He rubbed his tired eyes, then stared at his watch until it came into focus. Annie was taking a long time. A whole lot longer than making a pot of coffee required. Maybe she was checking her hiding spots, making sure he hadn’t been snooping. Great. He’d probably disturbed something that made her suspicious. For all he knew she’d grabbed her coffee can and run.
As if on cue he heard the rumble of an engine. He jumped to his feet, half expecting to see her taking off in that old green pickup, leaving a cloud of dust behind. As soon as he made it outside, he saw that it was a truck, a late-model four-door from what he could tell, coming down the road toward
