Ty scowled. He wasn’t so sure. Could old Anna Marie be bought, he wondered. With her family credentials in town, he doubted it. Still it couldn’t hurt to dig a little and digging was what he did best.

Legitimately moved up or not, Hunter had his hands full with this case, so Ty opted not to aggravate him more by questioning Anna Marie’s reliability.

“Don’t sweat it,” Ty said. “I’ll let Lilly know, but I’m sure she’ll say there’s no rush anyway.”

“Well, I can give you a heads-up on something you can take care of without me. Lilly’s parents filed the original trust fund and will documents with the law firm of Dunne and Dunne in Albany. Paul Dunne is the trustee.”

Ty frowned. “Isn’t he Anna Marie’s brother?”

“Yeah. Are you thinking there’s a connection?”

“I don’t know what I’m thinking,” Ty muttered.

“You sound like hell. What’s going on over there?” Hunter asked.

Ty walked out of Lilly’s earshot and into his bedroom, shutting the door. “I can’t take it.” He lowered himself onto the bed. “I can’t live under the same roof with her another minute or I’m going to do something I’ll regret.”

Hunter burst out laughing. “That’s what’s bothering you?”

“Glad you find sexual frustration amusing.”

“Before Lilly’s return, you were getting a steady diet from Gloria, so I’d say there’s more going on than frustration. Maybe you need to explore the possibilities,” Hunter suggested.

And set himself up for guaranteed heartache when Lilly returned to her life? “No thank you. I’ve gotta get going,” he said.

“You can avoid me, but you can’t avoid Lilly,” Hunter said helpfully. “Speaking of which, don’t forget to give her my message and let me know if she wants me to hook her up with a trust and estates lawyer.”

“Will do.One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“You might want to check in with your friend Molly.” Ty had been so preoccupied with his own frustrations he’d forgotten to fill Hunter in on the incident at the mall, and did so now. “The cops have no leads except Molly and Lilly’s quick glimpse of a dark car with out-of-state plates.”

“Were they hurt?”

“They’re both fine, but-”

A click sounded in Ty’s ear and he found himself holding a dead phone in his hand. He laughed, knowing Hunter was already dialing Molly Gifford, a woman who, for whatever reason, wouldn’t give him the time of day.

When it came to women, Hunter and Ty had a lot in common these days and as the old expression said, misery loved company.

But Hunter had given Ty no time to explain details, including the fact that Ty had an uneasy feeling about the so-called accident. He’d called Derek on his way home from his mother’s. Derek, who’d been watching Dumont, said he’d been at home the entire time Lilly and Molly had been at the mall. The only thing Derek’s information provided was an alibi. It didn’t mean Dumont hadn’t hired someone to do his dirty work.

FOR THE SECOND TIME in one week, Hunter found himself banging on Molly’s front door, only this time he had a damn good reason to be here. He wanted to see for himself that she was okay.

What kind of idiot nearly ran down two women in a parking lot, he wondered. When she didn’t answer, he banged again, harder this time.

“You could be a little more considerate of the neighbors,” Anna Marie said, poking her head out her front door. “What’s with the racket?”

Hunter groaned. “I hope I didn’t disturb your dinner.”

“You woke me from my prebedtime nap. I like to sleep so I can stay up and watch The Tonight Show. I love that Johnny Carson.”

“It’s Jay Leno now,” he reminded her.

“Well, I preferred Johnny.”

“Is Molly home?” he asked.

The older woman shook her head. “Not anymore. She came home earlier and was all shook up from nearly being run down at the mall. I’m sure that’s why you’re here.”

“It is.” And he wasn’t surprised the town’s main source of gossip had heard, as well.

“About twenty minutes later, she left the house again and hasn’t been back since. You’re out of luck unless you’d like to bide some time with me until Molly comes home?”

“Thanks anyway.” He turned and started back down the porch.

“Don’t you want to know where she went?” Anna Marie called to him, speaking without waiting for him to answer. “I heard Molly on the phone and she mentioned going to have dinner with her mother.”

He paused on the front lawn. He had to refrain from asking the older woman whether she’d obtained the information by holding a glass to the wall. “I’ll just call Molly later.”

“You could always stop by The Palace in Saratoga. That’s where Molly went. With her mother and Marc Dumont,” Anna Marie added. “I heard Molly say it’s their new favorite it restaurant.”

Anna Marie had heard right. The Palace was owned by a chef who’d relocated from Manhattan, opening an upscale establishment in the heart of downtown Saratoga.

It was a place a kid of Hunter’s background didn’t frequent easily. Just like Molly’s family gathering was one Hunter had no business intruding upon. “I think I’ll catch up with Molly tomorrow,” Hunter said, ending Anna Marie’s hope for more gossip to pass around today.

“Suit yourself.” She stepped back.

“Anna Marie, wait,” Hunter called to her before she could go inside.

“Yes?”

“The Barber case,” he asked of the pro bono case moved up by the court. The one that would conveniently keep him from helping Lilly.

“What about it? I already told you Judge Mercer requested the change himself.”

“Is it possible someone pushed the judge to move it up on the docket?”

Anna Marie shrugged. “I wouldn’t think so since the original date is the start of his vacation.”

“A sudden vacation.”

“Have you ever met Mrs. Mercer? If she told me to jump, even I’d ask how high.” She gave an exaggerated shiver. “The woman’s one of the bossiest people I’ve ever met. She wanted a vacation and the judge agreed to the week she asked for. No questions asked.”

Well, Hunter had plenty of questions. Unfortunately he also had a case to prepare for, which meant Ty would have to do the digging on this one.

“You should go inside. It’s cold out here.”

“I’m warm-blooded.” The older woman grinned.

Laughing, Hunter headed back to his car. He’d call Ty from his cell phone in a few minutes, but right now, his thoughts were on Molly. If she had felt well enough to go to The Palace, she couldn’t be anything more than shaken up from today’s incident, he thought, relieved.

He called Ty and filled him in and then started the car. As he drove home, he found himself wondering if Molly enjoyed that kind of swanky new restaurant or if she’d merely gone along with her mother’s choice. As for Dumont, Hunter wasn’t surprised the older man accommodated his new wife-to-be. The Palace was the kind of place slime like Dumont would want to see and be seen. Whether he could afford it or not.

LACEY HEARD Ty pacing the floor throughout the early part of the night. She heard him on the phone with Derek who was apparently still conducting surveillance on her uncle, although to what end, Lacey didn’t know. She didn’t buy his nice guy act, either, but the near miss at the mall had been an accident. Her uncle was vicious but to run her down? She shook her head, unwilling to buy into that particular theory.

Although she wasn’t tired enough to sleep, she’d decided to stay in her room until the heated feelings between her and Ty cooled off. She couldn’t stop her body’s reaction to him but she truly needed to turn off her mind. The problem was, she just couldn’t.

When she was around Ty, she was reminded of the girl who’d gotten on a bus to New York City with no idea what awaited her there. She felt more bold and adventurous. More willing to admit that her steady, dependable relationship with Alex bored her sometimes. She shivered at the truth she didn’t want to face. She might not be engaged to Alex, but she was involved with him on many levels. Enough to be considering marriage.Which meant she should not be thinking about making love to Ty.

But she was thinking about it. Often.Enough that she tingled between her thighs even now. There were reasons besides Alex to avoid her desires. Her business meant everything to her. It was her reason for getting up in the morning and what helped put her to sleep at night, exhausted and looking forward to the next day. And her business was in New York City, not Hawken’s Cove.

But her business didn’t fill the empty spaces inside of her. Only a home, a family and the security she’d lacked for most of her life would take care of those needs. Along with the right man.

Lacey had no idea if Ty was that man. And she certainly didn’t know how Ty felt about her now. He kept himself closed off to her in a way Alex did not, and she had no idea if Ty was even capable of giving her all she needed. Even if he did desire her, he might not want the kind of life and future she envisioned for herself.

She punched her pillow and eased herself onto her back. But none of that stopped her from wanting him. And she had no doubt that with Ty, it wouldn’t be just sex. He reached inside her, he always had. She realized now that she’d never gotten him out of her heart. Of course she’d been seventeen when she’d fallen for him and ten years later, she didn’t know him at all. But she wanted to.

She wanted to be the girl who’d gotten on that bus and she wanted to see what her life and her future held.

MARC DUMONT PACED the floor of the ballroom area of what he’d come to think of as his home. It wasn’t, of course. He had no rights to the mansion any more than he had rights to Lilly’s trust fund. Not anymore.

Years of anger management sessions and Alcoholics Anonymous had brought him to this-from being a man on the verge of achieving everything he’d wanted, including a fiancée he loved and a future-to a man about to lose everything thanks to the sudden resurrection of his presumed dead niece.

He poured himself a glass of club soda. It wouldn’t be easy being at this party with the cocktails flowing, but his fiancée insisted the guests would be disappointed without alcohol. He suspected she didn’t want to encourage the talk and speculation caused by a dry party. So he’d just have to gear himself for one minute at a time instead of one day. Or one hour. The temptation to drink was still strong.

Stronger now that things around him might fall apart.

THE HOUSE LOOKED BIGGER and more imposing than Lacey remembered. No matter how many people were inside, to Lacey it still felt as lonely as it had after her parents died. As Ty drove her up to the place where she’d grown up, the lump in her throat grew larger, the fear greater.

If she closed her eyes, she could imagine her parents-her mother greeting her with a hug and a kiss, and milk and cookies after school, waiting for her father to come home after a long day at work. It didn’t matter to him that her mother had money. He enjoyed a day’s work and she assumed he hadn’t wanted to live off his wife.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ty asked.

She glanced at him and forced a smile. If he could show up at the mausoleum dressed in a suit and tie, she could handle walking inside. “I’m a big girl now.” She treated him to a lighthearted laugh.

He shook his head. “I’m not buying the act. We can turn around right now and nobody would know the difference.”

“I would.” But she appreciated his offer. “Besides if we left, then nobody would see how well you dress up.”

In a powder-blue shirt and black sport jacket, he wasn’t her rebel, but her knight coming to her rescue all over again. Still, even in her dreams, he’d never looked this sexy or this male.

“Thanks,” he said gruffly. He inclined his head toward her. “Since you’re looking pretty hot yourself, you’re right. We should do this.”

Her body tingled at his compliment. She was so glad he’d noticed. When picking out her little black dress, she’d had him in mind. When she’d looked into the mirror to view herself in the dress, she’d imagined Ty’s eyes staring back at her. But nothing in her imagination had prepared her for the heated look he gave her now.

He slowly pulled his gaze away and back to the road, turning up the long circular drive.

Lacey turned her attention back to what awaited her tonight. A valet greeted them as they stepped out of the vehicle.

“Fancy.” Lacey wondered how her uncle was paying for this party.

She knew he had some money of his own from whatever jobs he’d worked over the years but he’d never come close to matching her mother and father’s wealth. The incoming money from her father’s business was long gone. And though the upkeep on this house was covered by the trust, or at least that had always been her assumption, she doubted her uncle received a stipend once he no longer had Lilly to care for.