Kara Lennox - Reluctant Partners

His cousins were with him, and their heads were bent together in whispered discussion that halted the moment she entered the dining room.

Max was the first to offer her a smile. “Morning, Allie.”

“Good morning, Allie,” Reece chimed in. “Cooper says the trade show went very well.”

Allie selected a chair as far as possible from the Remingtons. “I think so. I’ve never done a trade show before, so I have nothing to compare it to. But people seemed interested, thanks to Max’s video and brochures.”

“It was pretty basic stuff,” Max said. “I could have done better if I’d had more time. But I’m glad they went over well.”

Allie returned her attention to Reece. “So, how’s the audit going?”

“Almost done,” he said with an uneasy smile, eyes flicking to the kitchen door. “You keep very good records. Do you have any accounting experience?”

Allie laughed. “No, I never went to college or anything. I just keep the books the way my dad taught me. Johnny’s wife-your aunt Pat-had a pretty good system set up. Johnny had made a mess of it after she died, but I got it straightened out.”

Cooper looked up at her then. He’d been studiously ignoring her, but now there was no doubt where his attention lay. Nor was there any doubt as to his feelings toward her this morning. Animosity shot out of his eyes like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

“I’ll bet you did.”

So, they were back to being suspicious that Allie was some kind of gold-digger con artist. She ignored his baiting comment as Sara entered the dining room with a tray laden with all kinds of tasty goodies. She set plates down in front of each of the Remington cousins in turn.

“Denver omelet for Max, fresh fruit and oatmeal for Cooper, and a Belgian waffle for-” Somehow, the plate with the waffle managed to slip out of her hand and fall straight into Reece’s lap. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” She squealed as Reece bolted out of his chair. She grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe the syrup off him but he quickly took the napkin away from her.

“It’s okay, Sara, accidents happen.”

“I’ll make you another one. I’m so sorry. I’m not usually so clumsy.”

No, she wasn’t. Sara had served a lot of drinks and meals over the years with her frequent waitress gigs. She was one of the most graceful and self-possessed people Allie knew. So why had she just become a blithering idiot?

“Maybe you should just get me oatmeal and fruit,” Reece said as he bent to collect the waffle from the floor. Sara bent down at the exact same time and they clunked heads.

“Oh my God!” Sara bleated. “I’m not usually such a klutz!”

“It’s okay, really. Don’t worry about it. I’ll just go change clothes.” Reece made a hasty exit from the dining room, and Sara, looking utterly horrified, quickly collected the dish and the spoiled waffle and hurried back into the kitchen.

Max burst out laughing. “What was that?”

Cooper just shook his head, seeming faintly amused.

Was it possible Sara had a crush on Reece? She’d said something about him being cute and that she wanted to muss his hair, but Allie hadn’t taken much notice. Sara thought a lot of men were “cute.” Reece didn’t seem her type at all. She was much more likely to fall for some itinerant coffeehouse guitarist or a professional surfer than a CPA. In fact, out of the three cousins Allie would have picked Max as a more likely match for Sara.

Sara returned a couple of minutes later looking sheepish. “Allie, I forgot all about you. What would you like for breakfast?”

Allie gave Sara a knowing smirk. “Toast and coffee is all I need, thanks. I overindulged while I was out of town. On food.” Clearly Cooper interpreted a broader meaning. Now he was the one offering up a knowing look.

She hastily averted her gaze. Damn the man. He was six feet away, and she could still feel the effects of his eyes on her.

Allie bolted her food as quickly as she could, then wiped her mouth and prepared to make her escape.

“Just a moment, Allie.” It was Cooper.

Oh, God, what did he want now?

“Yes?”

“I have some tasks for you today,” he said. “I’ll expect you to report to work by eight-thirty.”

The nerve! She wasn’t some serf he could order around. He was angry and he was getting his revenge by acting like…like Captain Bligh. She started to tell him where he could get off-but stopped her runaway mouth just in time.

She kind of deserved his shabby treatment. She was still uncertain what had motivated him to suggest a partnership, and she wasn’t a hundred percent sure he wasn’t trying to manipulate her somehow. But she strongly suspected he hadn’t deserved the tongue-lashing she’d given him the day before.

She should probably be relieved he still wanted anything to do with her. She turned and gave him a smart salute. “Yes, sir. I’ll be right back. I just want to freshen up. Are my clothes appropriate, or do you want me to change into something else?”

“Uh, no, you look fine.”

As she left the room, she took some small satisfaction in the utter bafflement in his eyes.

“COOPER.”

What was Allie up to? Cooper wondered. Yesterday she’d been ready to tear his throat out. Today she was Little Miss Submissive.

“Cooper!”

“What, Reece? You don’t have to yell.”

“If you can tear your thoughts away from Allie for a moment, I was about to tell you the results of my audit,” Reece said, drawing Cooper back to the present. “I discovered a few interesting things.”

“I wasn’t thinking about Allie,” Cooper blustered, though of course he had been. He couldn’t go thirty seconds without thinking about her and wondering what went so terribly wrong. “So what did you find out?”

Reece had stacked Allie’s paperwork on an empty chair against the wall, and from it he retrieved a ledger book and opened it.

“First of all, Allie keeps meticulous records. This ledger goes back three years, and she’s the one who’s made most of the entries. Every once in a while Johnny made a notation, but mostly Allie’s the one keeping the books.”

“Okay, then.” Cooper rubbed his hands together. “She probably took over the bookkeeping the moment she hooked up with Johnny. That would fit with a con artist.”

Reece shook his head. “The charter service was providing a good living to both Johnny and Allie until Johnny got sick. Then more and more expenditures went toward doctors and hospitals, and less money was coming in from the charters.

“It appears Allie was socking most of her salary away in her personal account. But the last couple of years, she started to raid her own savings to pay for stuff-boat repairs and maintenance, mostly.”

Reece reached for the checkbook and opened it to the relevant entries.

“What? Are you sure?” Cooper peered at Allie’s neat, precise handwriting. Reece had flagged checks she’d written related to the business, and there were dozens of them.

“Yes. Not only has she not been embezzling or mismanaging the funds, she’s been putting her own money into the business. The financials give her ammunition, not us. And if we win, she’ll expect these investments to be returned to her somehow.”

“How much?”

“Close to fifteen thousand dollars.”

Cooper wasn’t worried about the amount. It was small, compared to the value of the boat and the business. But he wondered about Allie’s motives.

“Looks like she expected all along to inherit the Dragonfly ,” he ventured.

“No, Cooper. What it looks like is a woman who genuinely cared about Johnny and his business and didn’t want it to go bankrupt. It looks like she was functioning as a full de facto partner.”