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Emma’s gaze narrowed. “Okay, what has Mom been telling you? Did she put you up to this?”

“No. This is my own idea, I swear it,” Cara insisted.

“Yeah, right.” Emma sat in the rocker next to Cara’s and sighed. “That breeze feels good.” She gazed enviously at the glass of lemonade Cara was holding. “And that looks wonderful.”

Cara grinned. “If I hand it over, will you give me some free legal advice?” “Absolutely,” Emma said, reaching eagerly for the glass. “Talk to me.

What’s going on?”

“This is confidential, right?”

“You’re asking as a client, then, not as a friend?”

Cara nodded.

“I don’t think a glass of lemonade would qualify as a retainer. Give me a buck. That’ll make it nice and legal.”

Cara pulled the dollar out of her pocket and gave it to her friend. Emma tucked it in her purse and grabbed a legal pad from her briefcase. “Tell me,” she said when she was ready.

“I’m in trouble,” Cara told Emma then. “I just don’t know for sure how much.”

“Start at the beginning and let’s see if we can’t get you out of trouble, then,” Emma said briskly.

As Emma took copious notes, Cara outlined the mess Bobby had created, the financial disaster he’d left behind. “Right now my manager is juggling creditors, but some of them are bound to start getting impatient. Should I sell out and pay them what I can? Declare bankruptcy?” She regarded Emma despondently. “I hate this. I just hate it. If it were my mess, I’d take responsibility for it, but it’s not. I’m so furious with Bobby, I’d like to see him strung up by his toenails and left to die.”

“An interesting form of justice,” Emma said, clearly amused. “I don’t think the legal system has a provision for it, though.”

“Too bad.”

“Okay, here are the options I do see,” Emma said. “Depending on your partnership arrangement with Bobby, you might be able to distance yourself from the problem, but that could take some very tricky and time-consuming legal maneuvering.”

Cara shook her head. “As much as I would like to and even if it were perfectly legal, I can’t duck out on my responsibility to make things right if I can. A lot of our vendors are small businesses. I can’t just abandon them. And our investors gave us their money in good faith. I thought Bobby was paying them back with interest, but apparently they haven’t seen a dime.”

“It’s probably not as simple as filing for bankruptcy. Not with Bobby missing, but you could start the proceedings. It would buy some time to reorganize the business. Your investors and creditors would get their money on a timetable established by the court. It’s complicated, but I think at the same time you could sue Bobby for restitution of everything he stole.” Emma regarded her intently. “What are the odds he still has the money?”

“I have no idea. I don’t know if he stole it so he could go off to live on some Caribbean island or if he took it to pay gambling debts or if he ran off with it just for kicks.”

“Well, that doesn’t matter. We’ll sue just in case there’s anything left to get

back. I have a friend, a classmate from law school, who’s practicing in New York. Since I haven’t passed the New York bar to be licensed there, he can handle things on that end. He’ll file the papers when we’re ready.”

Emma’s professional, no-nonsense approach gave Cara the first spark of hope she’d felt in days. “You really think we can straighten this out and save Café Tuscany?”

“Absolutely, if that’s what you really want.” She studied Cara with a penetrating look. “Is it?”

“Of course,” Cara said without hesitation. “Why would you even ask something like that?”

“Because you’re still here. Even with all this needing your immediate attention, you didn’t run straight back to New York after the reunion.”

“Because of Cassie’s mom and then Caleb,” Cara said, feeling oddly defensive.

“Is that all?” “Yes.”

“The funeral was weeks ago,” Emma pointed out. “Karen’s getting back on her feet. Are you ready to go back to New York?”

When Cara started to respond, Emma held up her hand. “You don’t have to answer me now. Think about it. Something is keeping you here. Could be it’s nothing more than a delaying tactic, because you haven’t wanted to face what’s going on in New York. But that’s not like you. It could be that you’re feeling the same pull that Cassie felt, the same pull that Lauren mentions from time to time.”

“And you?” Cara asked. “Are you feeling it, too, Emma?”

“Maybe,” she admitted. “Just a little. Being here is good for Caitlyn. I can’t deny that. And Denver is a rat race for me, no question about it.”

“Then you have been thinking about staying,” Cara concluded.

“Not thinking about it, not consciously, anyway. But the possibility is just there. I can’t ignore it forever,” she said with a sigh, then shook her head. “But we’re talking about you now. I just want you to be sure you understand why you’ve stayed here, rather than go back to New York to kick butt and settle all of this weeks ago. That’s what I would have expected you to do.”

“Are you saying I’ve been acting like a coward?”

“I’m not making any judgments. You have to figure out what you really want before you make a final decision about how you want me to handle this.”

Cara nodded. “You’re right. I’ll think about it and I’ll call you before you head back to Denver.”

“Take your time. I’m actually thinking about sticking around all week.”

“Oh, really? Does Ford Hamilton have anything to do with that?” “Don’t be ridiculous,” Emma snapped impatiently. “It’s for Caitlyn. And

because this case of Sue Ellen’s I’m working on is getting closer to trial. I have witnesses to depose and a ton of last-minute details to handle right here.”

Cara grinned. “Whatever you say.” “That’s the truth.”

“Maybe you should do some thinking over the weekend, too,” Cara teased. “Maybe I’m not the only one whose feelings are ambivalent these days.”

Emma scowled at her. “Keep it up and I’ll charge you my regular fee.”

Cara shuddered. “Then I really would go bankrupt.” She bent down and kissed Emma’s cheek. “Thanks, sweetie. I’ll call you.”

Emma waved, then called out just as Cara was about to get in her car. “By the way, one piece of advice for right now—steer clear of Rafe. No matter what he says about being after Bobby, not you, you can’t trust him. From now on he needs to go through me.”

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” Cara told her, thinking of the way her relationship with Rafe was progressing and just how badly she wanted it to wind up in bed.

“Why not?”

“Because we’re just a little bit beyond needing an intermediary.” Emma’s eyes widened. “Please tell me you’re not sleeping with him.”

“I’m not sleeping with him,” Cara told her solemnly. “More’s the pity. But I’m definitely hoping that will change.”

“Are you nuts?” Emma demanded.