Chapter Fourteen

Ivy hunched over the desk. The muscles between her shoulder blades had stiffened more and more as the night wore on. As she reached for the file folder on the corner of her father's desk, a twinge shot through her shoulder with the movement.

Throwing a glance at the heavy brass clock sitting on one of the bookshelves, she found it hard to understand how so many hours had passed since she shut herself up in the office, determined to get to the bottom of the attacks on the ranch.

She had her suspicions that the ranch's money issues were linked to what was going on around here. Why Colton had needed to kill a man. A ranch hand was murdered. And Meadow attacked. How much more didn't she know?

Hunter clearly was being overprotective with her, keeping her out of the loop until pressed to provide information.

She stretched her arms overhead and rolled her neck from side to side.

The house was so quiet that it seemed to throb with it. While the silence helped her focus on her task, it unnerved her too.

A big yawn took over, and she stretched into it, extending her feet under the heavy desk and curling her bare toes. The scent of leather and her father's cigar smoke filtered into her nose, stirring memories of walking in on her father working. Sometimes he'd let her climb into his lap. Most times, he sent her away.

She looked over the file again, leafing through pages she skimmed for the third time since she began searching days ago. With a sigh, she closed the folder and set it aside again.

She'd searched every scrap of paper in his filing cabinet and desk. After that, she turned to his hard drive. She'd read every single file on the computer.

Also, she'd dug around until she found a list of passwords he kept in a secure document. With his login information, Ivy was able to access his accounting program.

But it all seemed on the up-and-up.

There had to be another set of books. Question was, where would she find a second set of books? All the bad guys in the movies had one. They kept them in a safe.

Ivy eyed the safe on the wall behind the desk. She didn't have the combination, but she highly doubted that her father kept more than important legal papers there and maybe a little cash. Knowing his steel trap of a mind, any secret information was locked up in his head.

Once again, Ivy pulled up the spreadsheet she'd been using to keep track of the paper trail.

Daddy attended six conventions this year. Twice as many as the previous year.

She'd located his hotel expenses, and airfare too if it applied. Those tracked with costs and fees. As did his food bills and vehicle rentals.

When she began digging around for answers about the ranch finances, she quickly learned that she was locked out of the bank website. But if she was going to get to the bottom of this, she needed access.

She pulled up the website. The passcode was not saved on the laptop. Was it possible to guess it?

First, she tried her father's birthday. Then her mother's. Crap—both incorrect.

She had one more attempt before she was locked out and would need to reset the password. That was a pain she didn't have time for.

Tapping a nail on the desk, she racked her brain to think of what the password could be.

Surely her father would not use any of his kids' names or birthdates.

A favorite sports team?

His favorite dog! It had to be. Her father loved their old German Shephard more than anything. When it passed away, he had moped around the house for weeks.

Hovering her fingers over the keys, she battled with her gut feeling. Could she really rely on that?

Quickly, she set her fingers to the keys and typed: Rocky.

The website opened.

Jaw dropping, she let out a little squeal and quickly set to work.

She flipped between the bank statement open on one screen and the spreadsheet on another, comparing the debits around the time when her father attended these conventions, and noted a cash withdrawal for a thousand dollars.

Daddy did like to carry cash. He was old-school—he claimed that he didn't trust card machines that could be so easily scanned and his digital money stolen.

Two days later, there was a second withdrawal for twenty thousand dollars.

If the ranchers attending those conventions weren't always buying horses off each other without the red tape of an auction, the big withdrawal might be a red flag to her.

By the end of the week, another large amount appeared.

She initially hadn't inspected these closer due to the large expenses around the time of a convention. Now she looked closer. Several times her father visited the ATM and pulled out the maximum amount for the day.

He was blowing through pretty heavy money.

His following entries were travel home, including restaurant payments. For the next two weeks' worth of entries, Ivy only saw spending in local businesses.

She paused on several consecutive rather large cash withdrawals.

Why was her father taking out so much? Was he hooking up with a woman who was draining him dry? Or paying for escorts?

Damn. Maybe.

She looked up one of the place names listed on the statement. It sounded like it could be a gas station or convenience store.

What came up in the internet search had her eyes widening.

A casino.

Ivy shielded her eyes with one hand. No. Her father couldn't be gambling. Some conventions were held at casinos. That had to be the case.

Another search revealed that all of the conventions this past year were held at hotels and other big convention centers. Not casinos.

She issued a low sound, almost a whimper.

Just then, the office door opened. She whipped around, expecting to see Meadow standing there.

But it was Hunter. His tall body filled the doorframe.

His eyes were dark shadows.

He took a step inside the office. "What happened?"

Covertly, she closed the laptop.

In two strides, Hunter reached the desk. He braced a hand on the surface and leaned over her.

"Ivy. You don't know this yet, but let me make it very clear to you. I am here for you. You can tell me anything. Understand?"

Her chest tightened at his tone—commanding and hot as hell.

She met his gaze and sank into it for a long heartbeat.

He reached out and brushed a tendril of hair off her cheek with all the tenderness that matched his expression. "Do you understand that I'm here for you? That you can share everything with me?"

Nodding, she bit down on her bottom lip and snapped open the laptop again.

The page came up for Hunter to see.

He shook his head. "What am I looking at?"

She pushed out a breath. "You're looking at what I suspect is proof of my father's gambling addiction. I can't believe the man I grew up admiring so much…not only lied to me but let me down."

* * * * *

When Hunter approached the back door of the ranch house, a figure stepped out of the shadows. His excellent vision picked out who it was before he ever reached for the sidearm he had tucked in the waist of his jeans.

"Webb. What are you doing lurking around outside the Graceys' house?"

Zach Webb moved into the small pool of light coming through the kitchen window. Hunter had noticed that Ivy and Meadow left that light on day and night. More than once, he thought about it being a guiding light for the spirit of a loved one.

"I'm guarding the house. Like Colton asked." Webb squared his shoulders in that no-bullshit way he had about him.

After fighting with the best of the best, Hunter recognized this guy didn't take any shit from anyone. He didn't need to see him get into a fight to know he would be lethal if pressed.

He gave Hunter a steady look. "I don't need to ask what you're doing here."

Hunter moved toward the door, and Webb stepped in his path, blocking his way.

With a narrow look, Hunter took a step closer, putting him inches away from the ranch manager. "I'd advise you to get out of my way."

"I need to hear you say that you're not just fucking around with Ivy. You're going to be there for her. Right?"

Hunter had never justified his actions to anyone. However, Webb's protective daddy act was touching in a way.

He flexed his jaw. "I got her. I'm not leaving."

Until now, he hadn't allowed his mind to wander this deep into his relationship with Ivy. Now that the words were out, he couldn't take them back. Didn't even want to.

After a long moment of appraisal, Webb gave a hard nod. Then he stepped aside, allowing him to enter the house.

The place was dark and quiet. A glance down the hallway showed that Ivy's room was also cast in darkness. But a small sliver of light under another door led him straight to it.

When he placed a hand on the door, he realized it wasn't pulled shut the entire way. As he pushed it open, his gaze fell on Ivy. Seated at her father's big desk, her blonde tresses mussed as if she'd been running her fingers through the thick mass while she worked.

At his entrance, she looked up, eyes wide. Shadows under each one revealed how tired she was from the work she was doing.

After she dropped the bomb on him about her father's suspected gambling problem, he walked directly to the desk and pulled her out of her seat and into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face against his shirt. "What are we going to do?"

He rubbed her arms. Goose bumps rippled over her skin.

Using a knuckle under her chin, he lifted her head to meet his gaze. "You're sure of it?"

"Sure enough. I hacked into his bank account and I was able to see where the money's been going. There are a lot of cash withdrawals. One large amount was in a casino."

Fuck. This was what he and Colton suspected, given the involvement of the loan shark. In response to Ivy's statement, Hunter nodded slowly.

He moved to the desk and sank to the leather chair. When he drew Ivy into his lap, she curled against his chest with her legs dangling over his.

"I knew it must be something like this. I just hoped I was wrong." Her voice sounded small.

"I know, baby. You have a lot of questions that you need answers to, I'm sure."

"How am I supposed to ask him? His health is so rocky right now, this could set him back. The nurses had to take his phone because just getting notifications about ranch security was upsetting him!"

"We should talk to Meadow and Colton. Get their take on this."

She nodded. "Is there anything we can do to get that loan shark to stop harassing us?"

The guy was coming for his pound of flesh. If he didn't get his money—with extreme interest—he'd take what he wanted in other ways.

Hunter was rarely afraid. Worried, on occasion. But the thought of this bastard coming for Sean Gracey's innocent daughters made his blood run cold.

Laid up after heart surgery or not, the man should know what his actions had done to his family.

He'd never met Ivy's father, hadn't set eyes on him in more than a photo that his son showed Hunter, but when he did, he wouldn't hold back from giving him a piece of his mind.

He had to drag himself from the brink of the fury pounding through him. Forced himself to keep his grip on Ivy loose when all he wanted was to grab and claw.

"Will you show me what you've found so far?"

She nodded and twisted in his lap, reaching for the laptop.

Over her shoulder, he studied the screen she brought up. She pointed out the withdrawals and the name of the casino.

"I thought at first my father was just being lax in paying bills."

From the corner of his eye, he studied her. "What made you think that?"

She pushed out a soft, breathy sigh. "When I was in Europe, my credit card got declined when I tried to pay my hotel bill and again when I attempted to book the flight home."

"How did you get the money then? Did Meadow wire it to you?"

She tightened her lips as if holding in some secret or embarrassment that she didn't want to share. "I hocked some designer pieces from my wardrobe and used the cash to settle my bill and buy a plane ticket. When you saw me on the plane, I only had a few bucks to my name."

He stared at her. "But you just bought supplies for the house and lunch for the guys."

"Oh, I have money now. When I got home, a card was in the mail to an account I haven't been able to access before now. I have a little savings accumulated from my travel vlog."

God, this woman. She was amazing, resourceful, witty and adorable. Not only a princess…a queen.

He'd been a complete idiot when he thought she wasn't worth even giving the time of day when all he wanted was to spend the rest of his life worshipping her.

Cupping her cheek, he directed her gaze to his. Staring deep into her eyes, he spoke the words that had been bottling up inside him for days now.

"Ivy. Do you have any idea how much you've stolen my heart?"

She straightened. Blinked. "Don't tease me about stuff like that."

"I'm not teasing you, baby. I'm dead fucking serious. I don't know how you did it, but you own this." Taking her hand, he brought it over his thumping heart.

Her shimmering eyes softened with love. Curling her fingers on his chest, she searched his gaze. "Hunter. My god…I never thought…" She shook her head as if to clear it. "I never thought I'd find someone who understands and sees the real me."

"Oh, love." He pulled her against his chest and kissed her sweet, upturned lips. The soft brush of her mouth against his morphed to passion. Angling his head, he fully claimed her lips.

Delving his tongue inside her mouth raised a moan in her throat. She tangled her tongue with his and cupped his jaw to deepen the kiss.

After long minutes of plundering her, he broke the kiss. "Close out of the computer. Let me take you to bed."