him, and when Mason took over as treasurer, I told him so. I warned him, and I sent him to you to figure out what was going on, because I didn’t want my family corrupted from the inside out by a snake. So chill out, would you?”
She forced herself to breathe. “Sorry, Teddy. It’s been a long twenty-four hours.”
His smile returned as quickly as it had faded. “I hear you. But can you do me a favor? Well, two.”
“What?”
“Talk to Mason. He’ll help. He wants to help. He wants to help keep his own safe. I mean— shit, that’s part of his genetic makeup.”
“I—” It really came down to something simple: did she love him, or did she not? If she could look him in the eyes and say she loved him, then on some level, she was saying she trusted him. And if she didn’t trust him, he deserved to know that. He deserved honesty. “I want to. But I need to at least try and sort this out for myself first. Does that make any sense at all?”
He sighed, rubbing his hand over his thinning hair. “I think you’re making the wrong choice, Caro. It’s gonna hurt him, that you’re shutting him out.”
“And if it does, so be it. I need you to not tell him what’s going on.”
Teddy held her eyes for a long time, his fingers tapping on the folder. Finally he sighed and nodded. “I’m not going to directly tell him. But I’m not gonna lie to him, Caro, not even for you. He asks me if I know anything, I’m gonna spill. Are we clear?”
She nodded.
“Let me take this. I want to look into this guy. Tell me his name.”
There was a long moment of considering pros and cons, trustworthiness versus just taking care of everything herself until she’d dug a hole in the ground, and she could climb in and pull it in after herself. And then she nodded. “Mike Randall,” she said. “Be careful.”
He gave her a sideways grin as he stood. “Always am.”
“Hey, Teddy?”
He looked back at her, his eyebrows raised.
“What was the second favor?”
He laughed. “Cut it out with the Teddy thing. No one calls me that anymore.”
Her turn to raise an eyebrow. “I refuse to call you Munch. Not after that disgusting story you told me about your high school girlfriend.”
He did an eyebrow waggle that had her in stitches when she was a kid. “She was not complaining.” He blew her a kiss. “You stay safe, too, cuz. You haven’t had forever to get used to this life like me and Mase. You’re not used to staring around corners, wondering what’s about to jump out at you.”
“I’m getting better every day.” She squeezed his hand, and he left her there in the park.
CHAPTER NINE
She needed a way to feel safe. A way to feel like she had a home base. That was the big problem right now. She was at loose ends, and every direction she turned in had a different challenge. She had to pick one and face it.
The easiest thing would be selling the house. The market hadn’t ever crashed here, not anywhere near as badly as it had in the rest of the country. It was an up-to-date little cottage, with a new roof and a great kitchen. She’d been approached by realtors about it before; selling it should be simple. She could afford to rent for a bit while she decided her next step. Stay here, stay with Mason, leave, start over somewhere else— All sorts of options. Hell, she could move near Emily and set up shop down there as an independent financial consultant. Work with the local small business association. She didn’t have to stay here.
She didn’t have to feel powerless.
The house looked like it had been through a whirlwind, though. She’d torn through it, first in her attempt to flee town, and then in her random trips to grab what she needed and get back out as soon as possible.
Missy had cleaned out the kitchen of perishables at some point for her, and most of her clothes were gone, but the house had an