Here Comes Trouble Read Online Free PDF Page A

understand so I saw a tax attorney this morning. He said what the guy did was borderline fraud. Apparently the IRS has been investigating it since Ray’s death and now wants to collect on these unpaid taxes.” The whole thing came out in a rush, like the words had been waiting for the opportune time to force themselves out. “At the time of Ray’s death, it seemed like everything was in order. And I didn’t have any reason not to trust the guy.”
    Chase turned to face her. “How much money are you talking about?”
    She lifted her shoulders in a pathetic shrug and tossed the last ball on the desk. “Somewhere in the vicinity of twenty thousand dollars,” she mumbled to the ground beneath her scuffed black shoes.
    “Twenty grand? Jesus, Lacy. When did you find this out?”
    “I got a letter today in the mail.”
    “And this is why you need some time off?”
    Time off wasn’t going to fix her problem, she knew that. But, jeez, she’d never given thought to things like this. Ray had only been dead for about a year and he’d always taken care of it. At least, she thought. She’d never even seen a bill, until the one she got this morning. Ray had been the only person in her life worthy of her love and he’d always meant the world to her. How could he have left her in this position? Or, maybe he hadn’t known his friend was a borderline crook?
    Her eyes grew hot as moisture built in the corners. She would not cry in front of Chase. Dammit, she was stronger than that.
    “I just need time to think and go through Ray’s paperwork.” Her voice came out thick from her frustration and helplessness.
    “What you need is money.”
    No, shit. Money was the one thing she didn’t have.
    “Gee, is that all?”
    “Do you need some?”
    From him? No flipping way.
    She shook her head. “I’ll figure something out. Maybe I’ll sell the Lincoln.” Upon Ray’s death from lung cancer two years ago, Lacy had become guardian to an aging and outdated ranch house and a 1975 Lincoln Continental with rusty gold paint. Ray probably thought he was being generous by leaving her his most prized possessions. Lacy wasn’t so sure. Half the time the Lincoln didn’t start, forcing her to walk to work, which was not energizing despite what some people might think.
    Chase snorted and slipped his arms back into his shirt. “You won’t get a thousand dollars for that piece of junk.”
    “Maybe I can make monthly payments to them,” she wondered aloud, more to herself than Chase. Why did she have to include him in this?
    When she’d thrown out the cotton balls and faced Chase again, he’d put his shirt on and buttoned it up. Probably for the best. The last thing she needed to do was drool over him.
    “I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I’ll figure this out,” she said again.
    He stared at her with two thick brows pulled low over light blue eyes. “It’s okay to ask for help if you need it. You can’t do everything by yourself.
    Desperate to change the subject, Lacy searched her brain for something, anything. Then she remembered he’d been watching something. She nodded her head toward the T.V. “What’re you watching?”
    He glanced at the frozen screen of the television. “Nothing exciting.”
    O-kay . “In other words, you can’t tell me because I’m an employee?”
    His response was a smile and a nod.
    “And here I thought we were sharing things.”
    “Sorry to disappoint you, Miss Taylor.”
    Well, he could just keep his secrets then. If there was trouble at the restaurant, she’d find out eventually. Half the other waitresses were notorious blabbermouths.
    She glanced at her cheap, drugstore watch. “My break’s over.” When he didn’t respond to that, she added, “So, you’ll take care of the schedule?”
    Once more, his bone-melting eyes raked over her ho-hum white-shirt-and-black-pants uniform. “I’ll see what I can do.”
    Instead of uttering a thank you, she just smiled, not