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  A Matter Of Trust

  A Matter Of Trust

  His eyes trailed down the length of her face…

  “Am I under interrogation?” James stood up and sauntered over to stand in front of her. He placed one hand on the post beside her head, leaned in close to her. “Is it just me you don’t trust or all men?” He met her eyes and held them captive.

  Victoria found the sudden need to swallow. She wanted to turn and leap over the railing to get away. However, knowing how silly that would look, she stood her ground. “At the moment, just you.”

  “Well then, I’ll have to give you a reason to trust me won’t I?” He leaned forward a bit more, his lips inches from hers.

  He was going to kiss her.

  Okay. So she thought he was going to kiss her. Only he didn’t. He stayed close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin, yet not quite close enough to touch her. “I want to kiss you.” His eyes trailed down the length of her face to land on her lips. “And…I always get what I want.”

  A Matter Of Trust

  A Matter Of Trust

  by

  Wendy Davy

  A Matter Of Trust

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  A Matter Of Trust

  COPYRIGHT © 2008 by Wendy Davy

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by Kim Mendoza

  The Wild Rose Press

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0706

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First White Rose Edition, 2008

  Print ISBN 1-60154-323-9

  Published in the United States of America

  A Matter Of Trust

  Dedication

  For Mom — I will always love you past the stars.

  A Matter Of Trust

  “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

  Ephesians 4:32

  Prologue

  His luck was impeccable. James Montgomery, considered by most a hard man to please, wanted to smile and would have, if he hadn’t been so tired. Opportunities like this didn’t just happen in his line of work. Victoria Connor was moving in the cottage and it suited his needs, perfectly.

  “I’ll use her to get closer to the old man and the property.” He peered through the high-powered telescope. “They won’t discover who I am until it’s too late.”

  He scanned the area across the lake, focusing on the property which included an old white farmhouse on the hillside and a little cottage closer to the lake’s edge. His trained eyes wandered over the surroundings, taking in the details. Grand oak trees towered over the well-kept two-story home. Several acres of mowed lawn ran alongside acres of wilder terrain. Beyond the house, he saw smaller trees that had grown up where crops had once been cultivated. The land probably hadn’t been farmed in several years, maybe even since the rivers had been dammed more than thirty years ago, and the expansive manmade lake filled with water.

  He focused his attention on the cottage. The evening sun gave the cedar shingles on the little cottage a cozy, warm look. A light breeze knocked around the silver wind chimes hanging on the weather-worn porch. He was too far away to hear them, but he could imagine their clinking noise. He studied the layout of the vacant cottage, noting the placement of the windows and doors. His focus switched to the farmhouse. He studied its two-story frame, also noting the doors, windows and porch.

  He stood up from the telescope and stretched tall. His calloused hands passed through his close-cropped, midnight black hair and then swept down over his face, fighting the fatigue that plagued him.

  He looked at his partner Tyler Bains. “I’ll go in undercover as a handyman. The woman will be used as an extra excuse to be hanging around,” James said decisively as he peered through the telescope once more.

  “She’s due to arrive this weekend. That will give you a few days to set up a plan. Do you think she knows what her grandfather’s doing? He could be bringing her in to help him.”

  James answered his long time partner and friend, “I assume she knows. They’re both suspects until proven otherwise.” He became quiet for a moment, pensive as he considered each of his options and the best way to approach the two suspects.

  He squared his broad shoulders and turned to face Tyler once again. “I’ll spend time with her. I’ll make her trust me.”

  “You’d better be careful. She’s a good looking woman. You’ve always been a sucker for a pretty face. Perfect age for you, too. What are you now? Thirty-five? Thirty-six? She’ll be twenty-nine in a few months.”

  “I know how old she is, and how old I am. Victoria Connor is a means to an end, Ty, nothing more,” he ground out the words, his impatience evident in his tone. Training and experience taught him to be objective in the face of many distractions. No suspect, beautiful or not, would deter him from his goal.

  His friend held up his hands in defense. “I only meant that you need to be careful. Using her may make it more difficult to get down to the bottom of this. If you get attached to her…”

  “I know what I’m doing. I will use her as a tool to accomplish our task. Period.” He turned, leaving no room for further argument.

  “Well, just remember if you can’t get close enough to her. I’d be happy to take over.” Tyler smiled mischievously.

  “Not a chance, Ty. She’s mine,” James said with finality.

  A Matter Of Trust

  A Matter Of Trust

  Chapter One

  Victoria woke suddenly, when a familiar ring tone played on her cell phone. The tune shrilled in the early morning stillness.

  She flipped the phone open. “Hi Ash,” she said in a groggy voice. “What time is it?”

  “Just past six,” Ashley replied with her usual bubbly voice.

  “You are such an early bird, girl.” Victoria rubbed her sleepy eyes, willing them to stay open.

  Dawn surfaced and early morning sun rays streamed through the curtain-less window above her head. She yawned and stretched out her stiff muscles. Her back and shoulder ached from the abuse of sleeping on the hard floor with only a sleeping bag.

  As she woke up in new surroundings, she remembered that she had arrived at the cottage late last night, a day earlier than planned. She stifled a groan as she lifted her head. She wished Gramps had kept the place furnished, but he had decided a few years back to sell off the furniture piece by piece. Well, at least this way, she could have her own bed to sleep in and her own furnishings in the place.

  Fluffing her pillow with one hand and holding the phone with the other, she listened to her friend say, “I miss you already Victoria.”

  “I’m only a few hours away. You’re still coming in a few weeks right?” Victoria laid her head back onto the pillow. Her voice echoed across the near empty room.

  “Of course, I wouldn’t miss the chance to spend a weekend at the lake with you. I wouldn’t know what it would be like to have a whole summer off.”

  “It is a nice perk of being a teacher,” Victoria admitted. “As much as I love the kids, I do look forward to the summers.”

  “I still can’t believe how you lucked into the kindergarten opening at the Chisolm Elementary School. It’s so close to th
e cottage, it’s just perfect for you. Not to mention the beautiful Virginia scenery and you’re close enough to the Blue Ridge Parkway to go there whenever you want.”

  “It was meant to be. I loved spending my summers here while growing up and I’ve always wanted to live here. And now, here I am!”

  “Have you seen Gramps yet?”

  “Not yet, he’s out of town and isn’t due back home until tomorrow.”

  “Are you sure he’s okay?” Ashley asked for the thousandth time.

  “Yes Ash. After news of his stroke I pestered poor old Dr. Howard with no less than a dozen phone calls. He assured me the damage was minimal.”

  When Gramps called with his news of his stroke, Victoria decided not to leave him alone any longer. He welcomed the idea of her moving to the cottage where they would each still have plenty of privacy, but she would be only a few hundred yards away from the farmhouse if he needed her. With her parents retired and off traveling in Europe for the summer, her sister Maxie married and chasing around three year old twins and her brother and his wife way out in Arizona, she suited the job the best. Single and unattached, she had much more freedom than her siblings.

  Ashley brought her back from her thoughts. “I can’t wait to see you. I’m going to take my run early today. What about you?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’m a little sore from sleeping on the floor last night. I might pass today. I miss running together already.”

  “Me too, Victoria. I’ll talk to you later okay?” her friend said and abruptly hung up.

  Victoria heard the waver in Ashley’s voice and felt a tug of guilt for leaving her best friend back in the city without a roommate. She immediately shoved the guilt away, knowing deep in her heart she had made the right decision.

  Unable to wait any longer, she crawled out of her makeshift bed and eased into the bathroom. She stretched out her aching muscles and after taking care of the necessities, looked into the mirror. She ignored her sleep infested eyes and smoothed down her tousled hair the best she could, absently wondering where she had packed the hairbrush. She figured she’d be looking for things for a long time to come. Shrugging her shoulders, she reached for the bathroom door knob and stopped still as stone right before touching it. She heard heavy footsteps echoing across the empty living room! Victoria stood still and held her breath, not making a sound. She listened for other noises and hoped she had imagined the footsteps. Then, she heard more steps, a scraping sound and a cough. A very masculine cough. Yes, there was definitely someone inside. Someone brazen enough to make a lot of noise. A cold chill crept up her spine. Fear threatened to overtake her rational thoughts. She forced herself to stay calm and think. Gramps was out of town and not due back until tomorrow. She wondered who else it could be. She didn’t know of any recent guests that may still have a key, at least none Gramps had told her about.

  She had left her cell phone in the bedroom. Even if she could get to her phone without being seen, how long would it take Sheriff Randolph to get someone out here? Would he even bother responding to a call from her?

  She looked down at her outstretched hand, paused in the act of reaching for the door knob. She lifted her hand to her chest and felt her heart racing. She searched frantically for a way out while silently praying for protection and guidance. Please Lord, let me know what to do.

  Victoria looked behind her at the small window above the toilet. She could try to squeeze through the tiny hole. Her silky night gown could help her slide through a hole the size of a basketball. Yeah, right. She quickly dismissed that idea. She searched the cabinets for something, anything to arm herself with and found nothing. No left over razor from a previous guest, no, well, no anything. She did have a tube of toothpaste. Shaking her head she decided against trying to maim an intruder with a minty fresh squirt of gel. Instead, she picked up her toothbrush and held it like a knife. Aim for the eyes.

  The sliding glass door opened to the back deck facing the lake. She had expected him to come back into the hallway, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try to slip out the front door before the intruder saw her. Slowly, she crept out into the hallway.

  She edged along the wall, sporting her potentially blinding toothbrush. Fear and adrenaline surged through her, making her legs wobbly and unreliable. She inched her way slowly, leaning on the wall for support. She cringed when a board creaked beneath her feet. Victoria stopped and listened and heard nothing out of the ordinary. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her heart beat in such loud thumps against her chest, she thought for sure the intruder could hear it. Hoping the prowler went out the back door to the deck, she decided to make a run for it.

  Victoria slipped around the corner toward the front door as quietly as possible and ran into a wall that wasn’t there last night. The rock-hard wall of a man. She bounced off of his chest, sucked in a breath and let out an ear piercing scream. She raised her toothbrush and prepared to strike when he moved on her. In a flash, his body pressed her to the wall. His much stronger hands held her wrists captive.

  “I’m not going to hurt you. I didn’t mean to scare you.” His deep, masculine voice was almost soothing. Almost.

  He stood towering over her by at least six inches. Fighting the intense fear that erupted in her from being held against her will, she refused to give in to the panic.

  She lifted her head defiantly and met the intensity of his deep brown eyes straight on.

  “If you’re not going to hurt me, then why am I pinned against the wall?” Victoria squeezed out the question with the remaining breath in her lungs. She bravely kept eye contact with him.

  He immediately backed away a few inches, but didn’t let go of her wrists. “Because you came at me with that…” the stranger trailed off as he looked at her hand to see what she held. “Toothbrush?” He began to chuckle. The chuckle quickly turned into a full blown laugh followed by a breathtaking smile. His eyebrows raised in a silent question.

  She swallowed and felt a blush creep up her face. “Well, it’s all I had.” Victoria defended herself. “Who are you? And what are you doing in my cottage?”

  “Your cottage?” His eyes widened momentarily. “Ahh, you must be Victoria. Your grandfather told me about you. But you aren’t supposed to be here yet.”

  “You know Gramps?”

  “Yes, I’m James Montgomery. Your grandfather, Gramps, hired me to repair your deck, among many other odd jobs. It’s nice to meet you Victoria.” His voice softened as he let go of her wrists and held out his hand for a handshake.

  Thrown off by the man’s disarming smile and simply gorgeous face, she automatically reached out her hand to his. He took her hand into his warm, firm grip before she realized what she was doing and pulled away.

  “And you’re inside because?” she prompted when anger replaced her fear. Her hands balled into fists and flew to her hips.

  “Because he gave me a key, because I need to use the electrical outlets for my table saw, because you,” he pointed a finger at her, “aren’t supposed to be here yet.”

  “And you didn’t see my car out front in the driveway?” She thought she had him on that one.

  “I came by boat. Haven’t seen the driveway,” he stated.

  Victoria quickly glanced at the dock and saw a boat tied to it. She supposed if he did have intentions of harming her, she would have already been harmed. Judging from the sheer size of him, he wouldn’t have any problem overpowering her. Still, a lingering doubt had her stepping to the side, creating some distance from him.

  “Well, I am here.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  His eyes roamed over her from head to toe as he tucked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. He grinned again. “Sorry to wake you.” His eyes sparkled as they met hers.

  She glanced down and saw her silky nightgown. The thin, sheer fabric barely covered her thighs and hardly hid anything at all.

  “Oh.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Her face felt hot as a b
lush took residence there. “Excuse me.” She retreated to her bedroom, shut and locked the door, then leaned against it. Her heart pounded in her chest, she swallowed hard. “Nice going Victoria…nice,” she murmured to herself.

  ****

  James watched Victoria retreat down the hallway. He wanted to surprise her early this morning to get things rolling. He had not been disappointed. Her surveillance photos didn’t do her justice. In person, Victoria Connor’s attractiveness came alive. James had read all of her emotions as they crossed her innocent looking face. Fear, anger, and surprisingly, curiosity had all registered in her sea green eyes. He grinned at the nerve she showed in facing him, as if her physical strength measured up to his. He stared at the door she had shut behind her for a moment longer, before drawing his eyes away.

  He was in. He would have the access he needed to the house, cottage and acres of land. If his luck held out, he could be on his next assignment within a month or two. Feeling confident about the choices he had made so far, he began humming a tune as he stepped through the sliding glass doors to begin working on the deck.

  ****

  “He nearly scared me half to death, Gramps. I wish you had told me about him,” Victoria complained the next morning when her grandfather returned home early. After giving him a hug and making sure he was indeed okay after his stroke several weeks ago, she filled him in on what had transpired the morning before. “He kept to himself the rest of the day after the scare he gave me. He worked right up until dark. He appears to be a hard worker.” And good with his hands, she thought to herself. Not that she had kept tabs on him during the rest of the day, but she did notice how much work he had put into the deck just in that short amount of time. He even seemed to enjoy himself and she had heard him whistling a few times.

  “Well, now, I didn’t expect him to start right away,” Gramps defended. “I only hired him two days ago.”

  “How do you know him?”

  “I don’t,” Gramps shrugged. He sat down in the wooden rocker on his front porch.

  The breeze blew a strand of Victoria’s blonde hair into her eyes. She absently brushed it aside. “You don’t know him?”