Romancing the Cowboy. Judy Duarte

      She paused for a moment, then shrugged. “I read a lot.”

      As she returned to her work, providing him a view of her back, he pondered her response. She’d evaded his question, which made him wonder why she was holding back—and what other secrets she might have.

      Tori was a pretty gal, with big blue eyes, a scatter of freckles across her nose and long, curly red hair pulled back with a clip.

      Jared slid a glance Matt’s way, only to find that his brother was watching Tori, as well. A hint of masculine interest in Matt’s eyes suggested he found her attractive, and that he had noticed the way her snug denim jeans did justice to a pair of long legs and a sexy rear.

      That was a good sign, Jared decided. Tori was the first woman his brother had seemed to notice since the accident. Not that Jared would encourage anything. His brother wasn’t ready for any kind of relationship, although it was a relief to know he might seek happiness with someone new in the future.

      Of course, whether he found it or not was another question.

      As for Jared, himself, Jolene had done a real number on him, so he doubted if he’d ever trust another woman again.

      And although Jared suspected Tori hadn’t been entirely honest with him about her medical background, when it came to stealing from Granny, that didn’t make her any more of a suspect than Sabrina.

      Any of the employees, particularly those with free rein in the household, could have taken Granny’s money, yet the pretty, dark-haired bookkeeper was still the most logical.

      Jared was open-minded, though. And if Sabrina hadn’t stolen the money, she was also the most likely to help him find the real culprit.

      Leaving his brother and Tori in the living room, he headed back down the hall to the office, where Sabrina worked at the computer.

      The prim brunette was so intent on what she was doing that she apparently hadn’t heard him walk up. So he watched her for a while, intrigued by the way she ran the tip of her tongue across her full bottom lip.

      He decided not to interrupt her just yet, not while he was enjoying the view, but she glanced up and caught him looking at her.

      “Got a minute?” he asked.

      “Sure. Come on in.”

      He took a seat across from her and decided to lay the problem on the line and gauge her reaction. “I heard that Grant Whitaker found some discrepancies in Granny’s account. There’s some money missing.”

      “I’m aware of that.” Sabrina straightened and leaned back in the desk chair. “Mr. Whitaker mentioned it to me a couple of days ago, but when I asked your mother about having an ATM card or utilizing the online banking service, she didn’t have any idea what I was talking about.”

      “Then someone unauthorized must have ATM access to her account.”

      “You might be right, but your mother has been pretty forgetful lately. Just yesterday, I learned of an account she didn’t even remember opening.”

      “How did you find out about it?”

      “She received a letter from a savings and loan located in another town, telling her that the account would be frozen due to nonactivity.”

      Jared leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms. “I thought you went through her files. Wasn’t there any record of statements being sent to her?”

      “I might have missed it, but I don’t think so.” Sabrina pushed her chair from the desk and stood. In the course of her workday, a button on her blouse had become undone, and Jared couldn’t help noticing a flash of skin and the white lace trim of her bra.

      “I asked the bank to trace those withdrawals,” she said. “I was told they were all made from an ATM card that your mother requested, a card someone activated through the main branch.”

      The question was, who had done that?

      Sabrina was supposedly checking in to it, but Jared thought it might be a better idea if he stopped by the main branch himself. One of the girls he’d gone to school with used to be married to the vice president of the bank. Hopefully, she still was, although he knew the stats on break ups these days better than anyone.