“They’re right, you know,” Rory said that night as Crystal lay in his arms.

“Hmm?” She sighed against his chest. “Who and what?” She leaned up and looked down into his eyes.

Her blonde hair fell over her naked shoulder. His heart rate had just settled back down after their lovemaking. The woman had more energy than he could keep up with. Still, he enjoyed trying.

“Ben and Sarah,” he said, using her daughter’s chosen name, since he knew only family called her Serenity.

“About what?” she asked as she ran a fingertip over his chest bone.

“You, staying here, alone. It’s not a good idea. Not until they catch whoever destroyed everything.”

He knew that the new decorations they had spent almost two hours putting up outside weren’t as nice as the ones that had been destroyed, but they did the job. The house was back to its holiday cheerfulness.

“We all know it was Joe.” She sighed as her fingers stopped their movements.

“Yeah, but until they have proof, he’s free to wreak more havoc on you. Who knows how far he’ll go.”

“Joe wouldn’t hurt me.” She rolled back over and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s not in his cards.”

He rolled his eyes and was thankful she hadn’t seen the move. He rolled over and looked down at her. Her hair was fanned out on the pillow. She was extremely comfortable in her nudity, more so than any woman he’d known. Actually, she was more secure in everything she did. Not only was she sure of herself, but she was one of the most sincere people he’d ever met. Which heightened his attraction to her. “Still…when a man like him seeks revenge, all bets are off.” It was the main conversation of the night. Even Rowan and Kayla had tried to convince Crystal to be more cautious.

Rowan, Kayla, and Connor James were all heading down to Florida in less than a week to spend Thanksgiving with his parents down there, and Rory was disturbed, knowing that Crystal would be all alone for almost an entire week.

“Not you too…” She reached up and tugged on his hair until his lips covered hers. “I bet we can distract ourselves from…”

He pulled back from her. “Why don’t you come spend Thanksgiving with me and my family?” he blurted out. “I spend each year with my folks in Vermont.”

“I couldn’t—” she started, but he stopped her by kissing her. When he felt her heartbeat jump under his fingertips, he smiled. “Say yes.”

Her eyes met his and when she smiled, he knew he’d won.

The next morning, he helped her make pancakes for everyone. They sat in the formal dining room since it could seat everyone.

“I’m going to spend Thanksgiving with Rory,” Crystal blurted out before he’d had his first cup of coffee. Still, when she smiled over at him, he doubted he would need the sugary kick anymore.

“What?” Sarah had said, then instantly coughed to cover it up. “I mean…” She coughed again as her eyes zeroed in on Ben’s.

“I think it’s a great idea.” He took his wife’s hand. “Rory spends every Thanksgiving with his folks in upper Vermont.” Ben leaned closer and whispered something in Sarah’s ear and she smiled and nodded.

“Okay, it’s better than sticking around here, alone.” Sarah went back to eating.

“Good, now that that has been settled.” She glanced around.

“So,” Ben said after all the food had been devoured. “Will you be heading back to the resort with us today?”

His eyes moved to Crystal. “I still have a few things to tie up here.” He thought about all the financial advice he’d yet to work out with her. He hadn’t even technically found out more on the theft. “How about we move it back to Tuesday?” He calculated his time.

“Sure, not a problem.” Ben had gone back to feeding Aurora, who had banana pudding all over her face and clothes. Sarah stood up when Ben was done feeding the girl and carried her into the next room to clean her up. Crystal followed behind.

“So,” Ben whispered when they were left alone, “you two moved fast.”

“People our age have to,” he joked. What he wanted to say was that when it was right, it didn’t matter how fast you moved. “What have you found out?” he asked just as Crystal came back into the room.

Rory took a deep breath. “I’ve found out that the bank the deposit was made to is in the Netherlands. There isn’t a name on the account, but there is lot more than eighteen thousand dollars in it.”

“How did you find that out?” Crystal asked from across the room as she cleaned up. He stood up and started to help her.

“I have connections.” He smiled down at her.

“How much more?” Ben asked from the table.

“Close to half a million.”

Ben let out a low whistle. “So, whoever did this, has done it to others.”

“One would assume. I’ve got my… guy watching the account.”

“What can be done?” Crystal asked, handing him another plate.

“Well,” he sighed, “this is where it gets tricky. Your bank is working with you, thankfully, but not to the sum of eighteen thousand. They have blocked all transactions outside of the US.”

Crystal nodded. “Kayla set that up.”

“I’ve taken it a step further. I’d like to close your account and open a new one, with a more secure bank.”

Crystal leaned back on the counter and looked at him. “My money has always been here, at a local bank.”

“Which is part of the problem.” He set the dry plate down and tossed the towel on the counter. “Local banks are good for basic checking accounts, but you run a business, a successful one at that. You have some pretty high traffic in and out of your accounts. You need additional protection. If you’d banked with one of the banks I have in mind, you would have gotten back the eighteen thousand.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “I… need to think about it.”

“Crystal, what’s there to think about?” Ben stood up. “Rory knows his stuff.”

She turned to her son-in-law. “I’ve lived in Silver Cove my entire life. I’ve banked with the same people since I was sixteen.” She shook her head. “I need a few days.” She closed her eyes.

“Take some time, a few more days won’t hurt.” Rory nodded to Ben. “But there are several things we can decide now.” He nodded to the table. “If you want, we can go over everything once we’re done.”

She nodded. “After I put Aurora down for a nap, I’m all yours.”

He followed Ben into the study. Ben built a fire in the fireplace as Rory filled him in on a few more things he’d found in Crystal’s books.

There had been smaller amounts that had disappeared from her accounts, which had been placed under the categories of office supplies and miscellaneous dues. There were no receipts or other information listed under them.

“So, you think whoever took the money found another way at it?” Ben asked.

“No, there are two distinct patterns. Which leads me to think that there are two thieves.’”

“Two?” Crystal asked from the doorway. “You mean someone else is stealing my money?” She walked in and sat across from him, plopping down in the chair as if defeated.

“Stole,” he corrected. “The last time was over two months ago. I’ve put a few safeguards into effect but changing your accounts would block anything further.” He turned to Crystal.

She took a deep breath, then released it. “Fine, I’ll go to the bank first thing Monday morning.”

“We’ll go together.” She nodded in agreement.

“What else did you find?” Crystal asked. Her eyes had dulled and for the first time since he’d met her, she looked tired.

* * *

“Are you okay?” Rory asked once Ben had excused himself to head upstairs to join Serenity and Aurora.

“Yes, just… thoughtful.” Seeing the look he gave her, she sighed. “I’m sad, angry, and disappointed all at once. Sad and angry that someone would do this and disappointed in myself that I didn’t see what was going on right under my nose.”

“It took me several days running through your old software before I caught them myself.” He stood up to move closer to the fire. He bent over and tossed another log onto the burning embers. “I glazed over them several times before I decided to look further. When I didn’t see any more information, I went to your scanned images of receipts.” He glanced back at her. “It was a good thing you had those.”

“What did you find?” she asked.

“The first thing I found was that there were no receipts for some purchases. The second was that small amounts of cash were being pulled from the registers.”

She immediately remembered her deal with Joe.

“I… made an arrangement of sorts with Joe, about being paid in cash.” When Rory stood up and looked at her with a frown, she took a deep breath. “He was having money problems. Said his bank account number had been stolen and he had to shut it down. So, I made an agreement that he could be paid in cash. Most evenings I wasn’t around, so…”

“He opened the drawer and took what he wanted.”

“The agreed amount.” She nodded.

“Who’s to say he didn’t take more?”

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. It had been years since she’d felt the pain behind her eyes. “No one,” she admitted. “I… think I’m going to head up.” She stood up. He turned fully to her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

“You look tired,” he said softly, reaching up and brushing a finger down her face. Just a little thing, but she enjoyed the touch of his hand on her. Somehow, it eased some of the pain she was feeling. “Would you like me to join you?” he asked softly.

Something deep inside her chest wished for nothing more, but she needed some quiet time alone, meditating.

“I need some rest.” She reached up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Goodnight.”

“Night.” He dropped his hands from her and she instantly missed them.

Climbing the stairs that night, she realized that she’d never felt so defeated. She’d done all this to herself.

Allowing Joe into her life, into her business, into her finances, and into her bed. Was Joe the one behind all of this? There was no doubt he was the one who’d destroyed the decorations. No doubt at all.

The man she’d taken to her bed had been kind—self-centered, but kind. He’d talked to her about getting revenge on someone who’d crossed him before. She hadn’t thought much about it, until now.

She undressed, tossing her clothes to the floor, then climbed into a hot shower. Even the hot water couldn’t stop the ache from spreading down her neck to her shoulders and beyond.

When she climbed out, the bathroom was full of steam. Closing her eyes, she decided what she needed was some fresh air.

Drying herself quickly, she grabbed her blanket and tossed it over her still-naked body, then she descended the outer stairs to the garden.

The snow was still quietly falling in the still night. She had rows of lights that lit up the pathways in the garden, and she followed them to the center.

Dropping the blanket, she held her hands up to the night sky and closed her eyes. Instantly, the cold hit her. Snowflakes fell over her face, on her hair as it blew in the night wind. Snow landed on her still-heated skin. Taking a deep breath, she felt all the aches and stress from the day release.

She started to sway with the sounds of the wind around her, letting the snow cool her until all of the aches were removed from her body.

“That’s a pretty sight,” Rory said from behind her, causing her to turn quickly. She lost her footing and would have landed on the cold snow-covered stone had strong, warm arms not reached out and steadied her. “Easy,” he murmured. “Do you always dance naked in the snow?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her more tightly.

Her body had just begun to cool to the point of being cold, but still, she felt renewed.

“Not always. Fresh air is the best way to clear your mind.” She chuckled when he reached down and picked up her blanket and covered her again.

“Or to catch a cold,” he mumbled. “Not that I wasn’t enjoying the view, but your skin is like ice.”

“I’ll take another hot shower.” She wrapped the blanket more tightly around her. “I love the fresh snow.” She glanced around. The white stuff was sticking to the ground and had accumulated almost an inch on the pathways.

“I tend to enjoy watching it from inside, by the fire.” He nodded to the back door, which stood wide open.

He must have been sitting in the study still and had been watching her from the large windows that overlooked the gardens.

“My headache is gone,” she said as they made their way back inside.

He glanced down at her and nodded. “Your eyes are clearer and brighter.”

“You’re starting to sound like me.”

“Common sense.” He shut the door behind them. He moved closer to the fire as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “You’re frozen.”

“It feels wonderful.” She smiled. “Like I can think for the first time in hours.”

“Why didn’t you try some of that oil stuff before stepping outside naked in the snow?” He frowned down at her.

“Because sometimes the best medicine is nature itself.”

“You amaze me,” he said, his hands slowing on her shoulders. “The way you look at life.” He shook his head. “I’ve never known anyone to look at things like you do.”

“How?” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, feeling a little drunk on life. She wanted more than anything to drop her blanket and enjoy his hands on her, here, in front of the fireplace in her den.

“You look at everything as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Enjoying every detail, no matter how small.”

“Like fresh falling snow?” she asked, letting the blanket slip slightly. When his eyes moved to the newly exposed skin, she smiled and let her blanket drop even further.

“Yes,” he said under his breath as his eyes roamed over her skin. She could see the heat in his eyes as she let the blanket drop away once again. This time, the heat from the fire and Rory warmed her.

“Crystal.” Her name was a whisper before his lips covered hers.