She didn't have an appetite until she walked into the restaurant. The aroma of freshly baked bread, cinnamon, and other more pungent spices greeted them, and by the time she sat down, she was ravenous.

The owner had taken time and care with the restaurant's decor and was apparently a fan of stripes. Yellow-and-white-striped curtains hung at the windows. The tablecloths were also yellow and white and so were the stools at the counter. But the motif had not yet reached the booths. Strips of duct tape covered tears in their blue vinyl seats.

"Quaint" or "charming" might be overstated descriptions of the eatery, but it definitely fit into the homey category. On each table were ceramic salt and pepper sets in various animal shapes. The table Dylan and Kate chose had black-and-white-spotted cows.

What the restaurant lacked in ambience was made up for by the food, which was delicious and homemade. They both ordered a shrimp and pasta dish that came with a salad. Dylan ate all of his and half of hers.

The restaurant was empty except for the waitress and the cook, who were occupied with the soap opera that was playing on the small television at the end of the counter. Dylan leaned in so that he couldn't be heard and said, "Tell me more about this weasel and ribbon."

Kate's brow wrinkled into a frown and she shook her head.

"You know about the loan my mother took out using my company, among other things, as collateral."

"Yes. And…?" Dylan urged.

"It appears the accountant who managed my mother's finances and his wife are planning to take over my company just as soon as the due date for the payment arrives."

"What does this have to do with ribbon?" he asked.

Kate filled him in on her conversation with Haley, and after she was through, Dylan sat back in the booth and fell silent for a few minutes. He was deep in thought and Kate could tell he was analyzing all the facts of her situation.

"I think we have a lot more to look into," he said finally. He stood, took her hands, and pulled her to her feet. Before leaving the restaurant he got directions to the nearest filling station.

While he filled the gas tank, Kate used her cell phone to try to get hold of Jordan, but the answering machine picked up yet again. Kate left her a message to please call.

Once he was back in the car, Dylan looked at the map for about thirty seconds and said, "Okay, let's go."

"Did you have a destination in mind?"

"How about I surprise you?"

"As long as the rooms are clean, I'll be happy."

"Not rooms," he said. "One room. You're staying with me."

She didn't argue. "Will I have my own bed?"

"If that's what you want."

But what if I don't know what I want? she wondered. What then? She thought about the silly that-was-then-this-is-now speech she'd given him and wished she'd kept her mouth shut.

"If you want to make any phone calls, do it now because once we leave Bucyrus I don't want you calling anyone on your cell phone."

"Why can't I use my cell phone?"

"Better to be cautious."

It wasn't much of an explanation. "I should call Kiera and Isabel. I've put it off long enough. Hopefully their answering machines are on. Otherwise, I'll have to go into detail, and I'd rather not do that now."

Kate lucked out. She got voice mail right away. She left the same message for each of them. "The relatives are horrible," she began. "And I've got a video to show you of the great-uncle we've been blessed not to know. I'll explain everything tomorrow. I'm in a rush now and will be unavailable. If you need me, leave me a message."

"How come you didn't tell them about the inheritance?"

She shrugged. "It wasn't important." She noticed his smile and asked, "Why is that amusing?"

"Not amusing… just reflective."

"Reflective of what?"

"You."

A sudden worry turned her attention. "What about Kiera and Isabel? They're safe, aren't they? Their inheritance has already been transferred to them. Still…"

"Anderson assured us they aren't in line to inherit the fortune. But I already talked to Nate about your sisters, and he's going to make sure they're covered. Hopefully, neither one of them will notice she has a shadow. You don't need to worry about them. All right?"

"Yes," she said. "Thank you."

"Any other phone calls you want to make, make them now," he said.

Kate quickly called Haley and once again missed her. She left a long message explaining that she still owned the company, and everything would be straightened out soon. In the meantime, she asked her not to say anything to the Simmons woman.

"Please don't let her know we've talked. I'm working on a surprise for her and her husband. I'll explain everything soon," she promised.

She disconnected the line, then tried once again to get hold of Jordan. She left another message before turning her phone off.

"I've been trying to reach your sister, and she hasn't returned my calls. That's not like her," she said.

"You haven't been able to get in touch with her since I showed up at your front door, right?"

"Now that I think about it, yes, that's right."

"She's probably just giving you time to cool down. I'm sure she thinks you're angry with her for interfering."

"By sending you to me?"

"Yes."

"I'll admit for a little while I was irritated. I didn't like the idea of any man coming to save the day, and I found it a bit galling that Jordan, who is beyond a liberated woman, would send her brother to take care of me. I know-she sent you because you're a detective who knows how to handle this sort of thing, but I still want to give her a piece of my mind. Making you come all this way…"

"Jordan can't make me do anything I don't want to do."

Ha. Of course she could, but Kate wasn't going to burst his bubble and tell him so. Jordan, like her sister, Sydney, could get all of her brothers to do anything she wanted. When begging didn't work, she used guilt. She'd perfected various other techniques as well; however, guilt had always worked best.

Kate was thankful Dylan was with her. Oh, she knew that Nate and the other detectives in Charleston were capable men, but she was… comfortable with Dylan. There was also the trust issue. Hers was absolute.

Dylan's phone rang. The second he read the caller ID he started smiling. One of his women was on the line, no doubt. It was a reasonable conclusion. The man was grinning like an idiot.

Kate couldn't believe how disgruntled she became. What did she care about his love life?

Apparently far more than she wanted to, she admitted.

"Hey, sweetie. What's going on?" he said into the phone.

Sweetie? He called her sweetie? Kate felt like grabbing the phone from him and tossing it out the window. She wondered how sweetie would like that.

She folded her arms and pretended not to be listening as she looked out the side window. The woman on the phone was doing most of the talking, but every once in a while Dylan would interject a word or two of encouragement or praise.

"That's good to hear… now you're thinking… yes, of course you can call me anytime… no, no, you're doing great. I'll talk to you real soon. You take care now…"

It was enough to make her want to throw up. How many women did he have dangling, waiting desperately for him to call? I'll talk to you soon? How many times had he given that promise? Did he ever follow through? Did he call back? Probably not. It was just a kiss-offline.

She did notice that Dylan hadn't used his flirty voice, that wonderful, sexy tone that melted her defenses. Just bet he'd melted a lot of other women, too…

Good God, she was jealous.

"Kate?"

"Yes?" She snapped the word out with bullet speed.

"Isabel says hello."

"What?" If she'd been standing, she would have fallen over. "Isabel… what?"