Read Online A Texas Soldier's Family by CATHY GILLEN THACKER - Free Book Online Page B

to give out twenty-five million in aid last year.”
    “So, where did the twenty-five million dollars go, if not all of it went to the earmarked charities?”
    “We’re still working on that.”
    “Meaning you think there is fraud involved.” Garrett helped himself to a tangy vinegar-based coleslaw he’d found in the fridge.
    “Certainly something untoward has gone on,” the forensic accountant finally said.
    “What, though, we don’t yet know,” Lucille said, cutting into a slice of watermelon. “The important thing is not to jump to any conclusions until we can show everything we have gathered to Paul.”
    The foundation CFO really needed to be there. Now. “When is he returning to Dallas?” Hope asked.
    Adelaide exhaled. “My dad told me before he left he would be back home on Saturday afternoon, at two o’clock.”
    Or in roughly forty hours, Hope calculated, savoring the flavor of char-grilled beef and melted cheddar cheese nestled in a fresh brioche bun.
    “We’re planning to meet him at his home and bring him back to the ranch.” Lucille looked pointedly at her son, clearly wanting a change of subject. “In the meantime, Sage called while you were out to check on things here and deliver her news.”
    “Something good, I gather?” Garrett added another burger to his plate.
    Lucille beamed. “She’s decided to move back to Texas as soon as she can arrange everything.”
    “Where in Texas?” Garrett asked.
    “Here in Laramie, to her inheritance.”
    Garrett put down his fork. “Meaning...?”
    “If the only reason you’re considering moving to Seattle is to be close to your sister—don’t.”
    Garrett sipped his iced tea. “Point taken, Mom.”
    An uncomfortable silence fell.
    Hope wasn’t sure what was going on. Was this Lucille lobbying for her son to move back to Texas? She’d told Hope she missed her children terribly. Wanted them all close to her again.
    Enough to create a faux crisis with the foundation?
    No, Hope immediately dismissed the notion. Whatever was going on here was real. And devastating. She had only to look at the shadows beneath Lucille’s eyes to know that.
    Garrett turned their conversation back to his little sister. “Does that mean Sage’s finally given up on TW?”
    Maybe it was the intimate setting, or the fact that Lucille had allowed Hope into her family’s inner sanctum, at least long enough so that Hope could do her job, which compelled her to come right out and ask, “Who is TW?”
    Adelaide sighed. “Terrence Whittier. This systems architect Sage has been following around for what...? Seven years now?”
    Lucille nodded, clearly dismayed.
    Garrett looked equally grim. “TW’s made all sorts of promises to her, but kept none of them.”
    Lucille turned to her son. “I’ve taken a page from your book, in this instance, and said it as bluntly as I can. Time is running out if Sage wants to meet someone else, get married and have a family.”
    Adelaide lifted a staying hand. “TW and Sage did break up two years ago, Lucille.”
    “But Sage didn’t leave Seattle.” Lucille fretted.
    Garrett defended his sister. “She had just started her cowgirl chef business up there, Mom. It was going great.”
    Hope could understand not wanting to leave that.
    Lucille worried the strand of pearls around her neck. “I have a feeling TW came back in her life last winter—at least briefly.”
    Garrett assumed his usual poker face. “Did she tell you that?”
    “No.” Lucille looked at her eldest son steadily. “She didn’t have to tell me. I’m a mother. I just know these things.”
    * * *
    “I S THAT THE way it is?” Garrett asked Hope later, when they were alone once again. His mother and Adelaide had gone to bed, vowing to get up early and pick up where they had left off.
    He followed her into the mud room, where the washer and dryer were located. Hope wished she could say she was immune to his charm; she wasn’t. There was just something really