Marley had thought the nights in the woods were the longest of her life. She’d been wrong. A stay in Calypso County’s jail was the longest, scariest time in her life.

Hours crept by while she stared at concrete walls and vertical bars, locked up as tightly as if she’d committed murder. But it wasn’t the locks, the other female inmates, or the crying drunk a few cells down that shook her to the bones. It was Braden. She prayed he’d fallen asleep early, exhausted from the overstimulation of Christmas, and that even now he dreamed of his treat-filled stocking and piles of presents instead of the sight of his mother being hauled away in a police car.

With a weary sigh, she lay on the bunk and stared at the ceiling, more gray concrete. Though she ached with fatigue, sleep refused to come.

What was Wyatt doing now? What was he thinking about her? Did he thoroughly hate her after this Christmas Day fiasco in front of his family? She wouldn’t blame him if he did. She’d ruined their beautiful celebration.

She clasped the new necklace, tracing Wyatt’s name and then the jagged edge. A broken heart, like the one she had now.

Had it only been hours ago that he’d given her this gift, given her the gift of his love?

He’d loved her, or thought he had, but he wouldn’t now. Wyatt had loved Marley Johnson. Marley Bannon was a deceitful stranger who’d used him and his hospitable, loving family as a hiding place.

She hadn’t intended to, but that’s the way it would look to him, to them.

How could she ever make up for such betrayal?

She couldn’t. Might as well face the ugly fact, she’d lost the best thing that had happened to her since Braden. Wyatt would believe the evidence against her. Why wouldn’t he? She’d lied to him, the man she claimed to love. Liar, thief. Both sins were cut from the same cloth. If she was guilty of one, she was just as likely to be guilty of the other. Wasn’t that what he would believe?

He’d never want to see her again. She didn’t blame him. But oh, how she’d miss him.

Heartsick, she closed her eyes and whispered disjointed prayers. For Braden. For Wyatt. For a way out of this horrible mess.

The drunk woman banged against the bars and yelled a long string of obscenities. Someone in another cell screamed for her to shut up or die, and others chipped in with similar yells.

Marley covered her ears and prayed out loud. She hated this. She wasn’t a bad person. She didn’t belong in here.

Proving it now, with the flash drive confiscated by the police and no one who believed her, would be nearly impossible.

Early the next morning, Wyatt walked into the county sheriff’s office. Lawson Hawk glanced up from a meticulously organized desk. “I wondered when you’d show up.”

He’d wondered himself, wrestling with the events, with the devastated look on Marley’s face, with her genuine concern for her son, until he’d fallen asleep for a few hours, only to wake and scroll through the internet for everything he could find about Marley Bannon’s initial arrest.

He took the chair across from Lawson’s and tugged it close to the desk. “I don’t blame you for doing your job.”

The lawman blew out a breath. “Appreciate that. I hated coming out there on Christmas. Delayed it as long as I could without being in contempt of court myself.”

“Duly noted.” Not that he was happy about it. “How is she?”

“Exhausted. Night jailer said she was awake every time he checked. Thought she was praying.”

Wyatt winced at the very idea of Marley behind bars, scared and alone. No, not completely alone. Jesus had been with her, another thing about Marley that didn’t jive. How could a woman who followed Jesus—and he had no doubt she did—steal $40,000?

“Didn’t eat any breakfast either. Asked first thing if I could call Connie and inquire about her son.”

“Figures. She’s a tiger about Braden. Did you?”

It would be easier to forgive yesterday’s insult if he had.

Lawson allowed a thin smile. “Connie filled me in, though she wasn’t too happy with me. Seems she’s a tiger about the boy, too, and Marley as well. Makes a man wonder about this embezzling charge.”

“Lots of things make me wonder about it.”

The family believed in Marley’s innocence. Maybe he did, too, but to set her free, he needed proof.

“Any chance you can get your hands on her file? I’ve read what I could of the open records online, and short of hacking the system,” he paused for a grin to let Lawson know he’d teased, sort of, “I didn’t find much.”

His friend pushed a plain manila folder across the desk. “Figured you or one of your family would ask for this.”

Wyatt didn’t know where Lawson had gotten the information and didn’t care. He flipped open the file and scanned the thin stack. “No priors.”

“Clean as baby’s conscience until now.” Lawson leaned back in his chair. “Finished high school, worked in fast food while taking a few office courses, then landed the job at Welker’s Nursery and Landscape. Had a baby but never applied for any kind of assistance.”

“Family?”

“A mother in OKC who claims not to have seen her in years.”

So, she’d told the truth about some things. Sorting out which ones would take some time.

He bent his head toward the files, flipping past the basic data. “What evidence do they have against her?”

“It’s all there. Someone at the business became suspicious of a downturn in revenues. A look at the books showed some obvious skimming that pointed directly to Marley.”

Wyatt squinted at the file, pondering. “If the evidence was easily found, why hadn’t someone caught it before $40,000 disappeared?”

“Good question.”

“Marley isn’t dumb. It would take months, maybe years to skim off that kind of money. If she’d been stealing for that long, I guarantee she’d do a better job of hiding it. Didn’t anyone think of that? Or suspect a frame up? Did they even bother to look to at anyone else?”

“Good questions. Maybe Marley can answer them.”

Wyatt closed the folder and rose. “You going to let me see her?”

With a quirky grin, the sheriff asked, “Can I stop you without throwing you in jail, too?”

Though he was anything but chipper, Wyatt returned the grin. “Let’s not find out.”

“Come on, then. I put her in holding as far away from the regular inmates as possible.”

“Nice of you. Thanks.” Nonetheless, any jail was a bad place to be, especially for a woman who’d never been in trouble before. Wyatt ached like the flu to think of Marley in this place.

After a security scan which made them both snicker, considering Wyatt’s government clearances, Lawson activated locked doors and led the way down a hall. Their footsteps echoed off the concrete as the smell of humanity hit them. Prisoners in orange jumpsuits lounged on cots inside their cells looking bored.

An inmate hollered at the sheriff. “When’s my wife gonna bail me out of here?”

“Don’t know, Burt. I’ll let you know when she does. I hope it’s soon. You’re eating up all our good county grub.”

The prisoner snorted.

Walking on, Lawson said, “Christmas is a busy time for law enforcement. Domestic violence, drunks. We’re pretty full.”

“Sad.”

“Isn’t it? I don’t think this was what God had in mind when He sent a Savior.”

“Marley doesn’t belong in here.”

“That’s for the courts decide.”

“Or not.”

“You think you can find something a good department like Tulsa didn’t?”

“They’re a lot busier than I am. An embezzlement case wouldn’t be at the top of their list.”

“Can’t argue that.” Lawson motioned inside a small room with a table. “Wait in here. I’ll bring her in.”

“Not in handcuffs.”

“She’s not too scary. I think I can handle her.”

Wyatt huffed a laugh. “I wish that was funny but under the circumstances…”

The sheriff clapped a hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “She’s fortunate to have you in her corner.”

Wyatt hoped so.

Restless, he ignored the bare, scarred table and chairs to pace. He didn’t wait long. Lawson opened the door, nodded at him, and waited like a gentleman until Marley entered. Wyatt knew a moment of comfort that she wasn’t dressed in prisoner orange. Still wearing yesterday’s Christmas red sweater dress and high-heeled boots that made him want to stare at her legs, her face was pale. She was looking everywhere but at him. And he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Beautiful. Scared. She broke his heart.

The heavy steel door sucked shut, and they were alone.

She finally raised her head. “Braden?”

The first words out of her mouth were for her child, and her selflessness squeezed a place inside him. He couldn’t believe a woman who cared this deeply about others would steal from anyone, much less her employers.

“He’s great. Nate and Whitney took him to the farm to ride ponies and hang with the twins.”

She licked pale lips. “What about social services? I thought Emily would take him…somewhere.”

His jaw hardened. “He stays with us until you’re out of this place.”

She nodded, licked her lips again, her chest rising and falling in rapid puffs. She was near the breaking point but holding on.

“If the worst happens, will you take custody of him? I’ll sign the papers if need be. He loves you. And I…you’re the person I trust most with him.”

Wyatt’s chest felt like it might cave in. He was a soldier, moving often, but the request told him everything he needed to know. She loved him. Just as importantly, she trusted him with her most important possession. Her son.

A man would go a lot of miles for a woman like Marley.

“I won’t turn my back on him. Or on you. You have my word on that.”

A sob slipped out. She sucked it back in, strong and brave, trying to hold herself together.

Unable to stand it any longer, Wyatt took a step toward her.

“Marley,” he whispered and opened his arms.

With a desperate moan, she fell into him. Her breath was warm against his shirt front. Warm and rapid, laced with tears she didn’t want to shed. “I didn’t think you’d come.”

“I couldn’t stay away. We need to talk.”

“I know. I want to explain.” Her hair brushed against his chin as she shook her head. “I can’t explain, not really.” In an anguished voice, she cried, “I don’t know what happened.”

It settled in him then. Marley was telling the truth. She wasn’t guilty. Maybe of lying to him, but not of this.

As if she’d read his thoughts and knew he still stung from her lies, she said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth from the beginning. I never wanted to lie, but at the time, I didn’t know you, and I had to protect Braden. The only lies were about my name and the custody battle.”

Which he’d readily believed. “And your mother.”

“Only partially. She does live in Oklahoma City, and I did call her. But we aren’t close, never have been. She didn’t want us to come there.”

Her mother had turned her away? What kind of family was that?

Wyatt had always been surrounded by family who’d do anything for him. He couldn’t fathom being so alone. “I would have helped, if you’d been forthright.”

“I know that now. But at the time, the only way I knew to keep from being found by the police was to make sure no one knew my name or could trace my bank card. I didn’t realize they could track me through the library’s computer. Stupid of me.”

“Not stupid. Innocent.” He stroked his palms up and down her upper arms. “Only criminals need to know how to disappear. You’re not a criminal, but to prove that, we need to figure out who is guilty.”

“How?”

“I don’t know yet, but trust me, we will. From the top, tell me everything that happened.”

So she did. In jerky tones, she told him of the nursery owners who’d been dear friends, of the other women who worked in the office, and of the accusation and arrest that had brought her to Calypso.

Wyatt listened, categorizing every detail, and asking for more until he had a fairly clear picture of the situation.

“Anyone in the office dislike you?”

“No. We’re friends. We eat lunch together. They adore Braden and buy him birthday gifts. Last Christmas, they bought him a tricycle. The Welkers are all such nice people. None of them would do this.”

“Somebody did, Marley.” He pushed her a little away so he could see her face. “From what you’re telling me, you’re the only non-family member in that office.”

She nodded. “You think one of the Welkers is stealing from their own company?”

“It happens. Often, from what I’ve read.” And he’d read plenty this morning before coming to the police station. “Any of them suddenly have a lifestyle change? Maybe a nasty divorce, a major illness, some unexpected expenses? Anyone driving a fancier car or living a higher lifestyle?”

“I made a list and sent everything like that to the police. The only family member on it was Janet. She bought a new SUV a couple of months ago, but that’s not a crime.”

“Any of them frequent casinos?”

“I don’t know, Wyatt. Maybe. Lots of people do. That doesn’t make them thieves.”

“Then you must be guilty.”

She recoiled. “I thought you believed me.”

He reeled her back to him. “I do. I’m trying to make a point. Someone in that company stole that money and the main office workers are family. The evidence against you seems contrived, as if someone hurriedly made some obvious changes.”

“I know. It was really easy to find.”

“If the real thief thought the boss was getting suspicious, she or he may have panicked and made those entries to throw the boss off their trail.”

“And onto mine.”

“Exactly. Somewhere in Welker’s books is the real answer, probably very well hidden, considering the amount of money stolen. If we could gain access to their books, we might be able to find and follow the paper trail.”

“We can.”

“We can? How?”

“Before I was arrested in Tulsa, I made a flash drive copy of the QuickBooks files, bank statements—everything I could.”

With a whoop, he hugged her. “You’re brilliant. Where’s the flash drive now? At the Royal?”

“The Royal! Oh, my gosh. I forgot all about the countess. She must be wondering why we didn’t come home last night. And I have laundry to do and rooms to clean.”

“Dooney knows. Connie called her last night. I stopped by this morning to pick up some clothes for Braden. She said if you need money for bail, she’s your girl.”

Marley pressed a hand to her heart. “Oh, Dooney. Dear, kind Dooney.”

“She also says she’s close friends with the best defense attorney in the world. Literally. She’s on your side all the way, and how dare anyone accuse you of such a thing.”

A smile trembled at the corners of Marley mouth, though her eyes remained watery. “She’s been wonderful to us. Such a great lady.”

“I think you made quite an impression on her too. Now, where’s this flash drive?”

“The sheriff took it. But, Wyatt, I’ve studied those files for weeks, and I can’t find anything except the documents that say I skimmed from the deposits. Which I didn’t. I make the deposits, but I never took a penny. Not one.”

“The truth has to be in the books somewhere. I’m no accountant, but I know about computers, particularly hidden files. The bad guys use them all the time. They hide their dirty work deep in the system or attach it to other files, pictures, whatever so that it’s only accessible by someone who knows where to find it.”

“You think you can?”

“If the truth is on that drive, I promise you, Marley. I’ll find it.”