Her Forever Hero (Unexpected Heroes #3)(5)

“How so? If you found offshore accounts, can’t the feds?”

“Yes, they can, and I don’t see how they haven’t yet,” Cam said. “Anyway, all signs point directly to Grace.”

“And what does Grace have to say about it?” Martin asked.

“She said I was out of my mind. That she never opened up this or any other nonprofit and she certainly didn’t take any money.”

“Her word is good enough for me,” Martin piped in.

“You’re Joe Schmo, juror, remember?” Cam pointed out. “They don’t know Grace. Hell, Dad, we don’t know her anymore, either. She left home for a very long time. Life has a way of changing us.”

“That’s BS and you know it, son. Little Gracie would never be involved in something like this.”

“I don’t think she would, either, but there’s a bank account in her name where large dollar amounts are randomly deposited and then immediately taken out as cash. The withdrawals coordinate with the times she’s in the area of that particular branch of the bank.”

“What do you mean?” Martin asked.

“I mean that she goes to Billings, and then there’s a withdrawal.”

“So it looks pretty bad for her, huh?”

“Yeah, it looks pretty bad. And each time I’ve tried to discuss this with her, she puts her head in the sand, says she has nothing to do with it, that it’s not her, and then we get into a fight.”

“You have no other choice but to make her listen.”

“Easier said than done, Dad. Our history isn’t exactly a smooth road.”

“This could mean the difference between her going to prison and not going.”

“It gets worse,” Cam said with a sigh, shutting the folder.

“How can it get worse than Gracie going to prison?”

“I think she either knows who is actually involved and she’s protecting them, or she’s been aware of this scheme the entire time.”

“No way!” Martin exclaimed. “There’s not a chance.”

“I don’t know for sure. But I can’t contact the IRS without her hiring me as her attorney, and I’m really at an impasse until she agrees to do something about this mess.”

“Have you thought of option number three?” Martin asked.

“What?” Cam asked, exasperated. He didn’t have time for these games, not even with his father.

“Maybe she wasn’t aware this was going on, but she has an idea of who it could be and she’s in denial.”

“Wouldn’t she want to go after the people smearing her name?” Cam asked.

“Not if it’s someone she loves and trusts, and she doesn’t want to find out they’ve betrayed her. We tend to bury our heads in the sand when the truth is too much for us to take.”

Cam didn’t know how to respond to that. It was an option he hadn’t even considered. There were very few people in Grace’s life who she truly loved, Cam knew that much for sure. Maybe her parents, although he couldn’t see her taking the rap for them, and definitely she loved her best friend, Sage, who had just married Cam’s brother Spence.

It couldn’t be her parents. They were wealthy—far too wealthy to need to embezzle, especially these sums. Yes, the total amount added up to a couple of million dollars, but that was chump change to them.

And Cam refused to believe it could be Sage. She was an incredible woman, in training to become a surgeon just like Cam’s brother. No. There had to be another explanation.

“I have to go, Dad.” He stood up and moved toward the door.

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Martin asked as he quickly followed Cam from the office.

“I’m going to see Grace,” he said, determination in each stride. “It’s time for a showdown.”

“What’s the plan?” Martin asked before he got in the car.

“I’ll think of one on the way.” Her time of fighting him was over. Cam wasn’t one to take no for an answer—not when it was something he wanted.





Looking around the formal dining room of a restaurant she didn’t care for, Grace shuddered. She hated going to public places with her mother. She never knew how the conversation was going to go and, more importantly, she wasn’t sure that she’d be able to keep her cool. So, it was much better to meet her mom in a private setting.

But today wasn’t going to be that easy on her.

“Why have you summoned me, Mother?”

No polite hellos, no hugs, no sign of a bond between mother and daughter. Hell, not even a suggestion that they were polite acquaintances. It was stiff and formal, and Grace was holding herself together by a thread. She always was when she saw her mother—or, more accurately, the woman who’d given birth to her.

“My friends the Griers are planning a wedding for their only daughter, Kitty, and she was so impressed with the event you put on last summer at Molly’s wedding that she has specifically asked for you to be her wedding planner.”

Grace blinked at her mother. It took a few minutes for the woman’s words to sink in. “Why would I want to plan that spoiled brat’s wedding?”

“I don’t know what in the world is wrong with you to make you say such a hateful thing!” Victoria gasped. “Kitty is a wonderful young lady with impeccable manners.”