One minute she was as pleasant as could be, but then he would say or do something wrong, and she would turn prickly again. This was more than a woman just wanting to get away or snag an account.
At least Katie looked like she was having a good time. That was one of the things Ty had always appreciated about children. They didn’t seem to get caught up in the same kind of drama adults did. Katie was happily playing with the boys, and though Rachel had seemed hesitant at first, she’d slipped into one of the nearby chairs and now looked content listening to the music and watching the children play.
He turned to stare at her again.
Rachel wasn’t there.
He scanned the area, and Katie was still playing with Ryan and Sam. But he didn’t see Rachel. For someone who seemed to make such a big deal out of not leaving her child, it seemed odd that he couldn’t find her now.
Ty went over to Leah, who was smiling to the music and patting her tiny baby bump. “Where did Rachel get off to? I can’t see her leaving Katie alone for so long.”
“She asked if I’d look out for her for a few minutes. I think she needed to use the restroom.”
Even though it was a perfectly reasonable explanation, Ty had a feeling there was more to it than that. He looked around for Ricky. Ricky wasn’t in his usual spot, and as Ty scanned the crowd, he didn’t see the older man anywhere.
Some might think Ty was overthinking. But you didn’t get to be a good lawyer by assuming that coincidences were mere happenstance.
“If you see her, let her know I’m looking for her. I want to make sure she’s having a good time.”
In case he was wrong, he wouldn’t alert Leah to the fact that he thought something might be off with Rachel. He strolled through the party, looking as casual as he could but searching for either Ricky or Rachel.
Neither were anywhere to be seen.
Ty went into the house, scanning the empty great room and noticing immediately that all of the partygoers were outside, not within. He quickly walked through the main floor, noting that the doors to both restrooms were open and the rooms empty. Ty spied a light on in the back hallway that led to the ranch offices. A light that shouldn’t have been on. He walked back into the area and saw that the door to Ricky’s office was ajar.
Ricky had a strict policy of not conducting business during his parties, and the only reason anyone would be in Ricky’s office would be to conduct business. Ricky was very particular about who got to be in his office and when.
Ty pushed the door open to find Rachel standing before Ricky, tears streaming down her face.
“What’s going on in here?” Ty asked.
Ricky turned to look at Ty. “She says she thinks she’s Cinco’s daughter. But Luanne isn’t her mother. Can you believe that? This woman comes in here, takes advantage of my hospitality and then accuses my son of cheating?”
So Ty’s instinct was right. Not only was Rachel not who she said she was, but she was, in fact, just another Cinco scammer.
“She did seem particularly interested in Cinco,” Ty said. He turned to Rachel. “I warned you. After everything I said, you looked me in the eye, and you told me I had nothing to worry about. But here you are, and you’re pulling the most ridiculous scam anyone ever could. Have you no shame? Preying on an old man?”
More tears streamed down Rachel’s face. “This is why I didn’t tell you. I’m not a scammer. I did an online DNA test, and Ricky came back as a relative. My only relative. My mom died when I was ten, and I don’t know my father. I just wanted to meet someone from my family.”
If she’d been the first woman to cry in Ricky’s office, Ty might have been tempted to believe her. But he knew he still wasn’t getting the full story. He wasn’t even sure that what she was telling him now was the truth.
“Then why didn’t you just say so when we first met?” Ty asked.
Rachel sighed. “Because you were so worried about scammers. I thought that if you got to know me first and knew that I didn’t want Ricky’s money, you’d have been more open to getting to know me. I’m even willing to sign documentation to that effect.”
This was a new one, but Ty was sure she would find some other angle to play. They all did. And poor Ricky just sat there, looking helpless.
No. Not helpless. Like his heart was breaking.
Ty went to stand beside Ricky and gave the older man a pat on the back. “Here we value honesty and openness. You should have gotten that in your conversations with us. I told you that I cared about Ricky and would protect him. So tell me. Why should we believe anything you say?”
He had to give Rachel credit for being a good actress. She brushed the tears from her face, then pulled out her phone. After punching in a few things, she held it out to him.
“That’s the DNA website,” she said. “As you can see, Ricky and I are a match.”
It looked real. But one guy had even produced a fake birth certificate, so at this point, Ty couldn’t believe it.
“How do we know it’s not a fake?” Ty asked, glancing at the information and noting that the website was a reputable one that they had registered Ricky on in the early stages of the search for Cinco’s child. But they hadn’t found anything, and they’d gotten worried about privacy concerns, so Ty had deactivated the account.
Could a deactivated account
