3 Dime If I Know Read Online Free PDF Page B

me. Rafe is. Or he will be. Britt thinks he’s involved in something bad. I don’t believe it, not for one red-hot minute.”
    “What does Rafe say about all this?”
    “Who knows? I can’t find him this morning, but that doesn’t change his innocence. Would you be his lawyer?”
    “Criminal law isn’t my forte.”
    “But you helped Mama.”
    “I’m in love with your mother. Of course I’d help her.”
    “I’m in love with Rafe, and you’re the only person I trust to help him.”
    “I don’t know anything about the case.”
    “You know Rafe.”
    He sighed. “This is very unusual. Usually a client retains my services, not his girlfriend. I don’t know if Rafe already has counsel.”
    “I can’t leave this up to chance. My gut tells me he needs us both. If I’ve overstepped, I’ll still pay you for your time. I need this for my piece of mind.”
    “You going to marry this man?”
    Breath stalled in my lungs. Bud’s generation came hard-wired with certain expectations. “He hasn’t asked me to marry him.”
    “Joe wouldn’t approve of you shacking up indefinitely. Me, either.”
    I swallowed hard, knowing he was right about my late father. “Rafe’s coming around to the idea of marriage,” I hedged, hoping with all my heart that visualizing marriage to Rafe would make it so. The imaging strategy worked for golf shots; whether it worked for marriage proposals remained to be seen.
    “Truth is, he isn’t ready to commit yet,” I admitted. “He has family issues. Won’t even talk about his relatives, but I’m working on that. Will you help him?”
    “I’ll look into it as a personal favor. I wouldn’t do this for anyone else.”
    Overcome with relief, I hugged his neck. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
    He patted my back, and I was surprised at the tears that formed in my eyes. “It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. We’ll bring your young man up to scratch.”
    Embarrassed, I blinked away my tears. “As soon as I find him, I’ll make sure he calls you.”
    Bud nodded. “Now, if that’s settled, I’m in the middle of a round of golf.”
    “Gotcha. That bunker on number six is sneaky. It’s hard to hit the green if you catch the sand trap. Aim left.”
    “Good advice. I’ve been in that trap a few times myself.”
    “You sure this is legal?” Jonette glanced around the entrance as I stuck my key in Rafe’s door lock.
    “I’m not breaking in,” I whispered. “I have a key.”
    “Still, Britt is a stickler for the rules. I don’t want him on my back again.”
    “Britt won’t know about this, Rafe either. You’re supposed to be giving me moral support in my hour of need. Don’t add to my nervousness.”
    “You should be nervous. We’re about to snoop through your boyfriend’s house.”
    I unlocked the door, and we stepped inside. “He needs our help. He’s in trouble.”
    “Nice place,” Jonette said, looking around. “I don’t understand why you can’t ask him what this is about.”
    “I’ve asked him, but he’s a brick wall.”
    “Look at this leather furniture. And these paintings.” Jonette lingered in front of my favorite painting, a stunning portrait of a little boy flying a kite in a storm. “Are these real oils?”
    “A decorator did his place for him.”
    “How does he afford this? We looked into getting a leather recliner for Dean. Couldn’t swing it. How does Rafe manage such luxuries on a golf pro salary?”
    “I don’t know. There, I’ve said it. I’m blinded by sex, okay? I should have asked him a lot more questions, should have pushed harder earlier in our relationship for answers to things that didn’t make sense. But I didn’t. Now, I’m hoping it isn’t too late.”
    “What are we looking for?”
    “I’ll know when I find it.”
    “That certainly narrows it down.”
    I motioned Jonette into the living room. “Snoop.”
    Ten minutes later, we’d rifled through the books on his bookshelf, the