“Thanks love.” Carter stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders. “Sit. We’ll deal with it.”
Carter looked at both Cody and TJ. “We’ll bring everything in, then call the kids. We can save some for Macy. She’s still recovering from that cold.”
Toni grunted. “Yeah, we’ve not had it easy here, but I’m almost back to normal. And Carter is having the snip.” Cody laughed while Carter groaned. “I am not going through this again, and by the time I give birth, it will have been the fourth time. No more.”
“I’m more than happy with our extended family.” Carter kissed Toni. “Relax. We’ve got this.”
Cody jumped up and helped carry the food in, then called the boys. They all sat at the table and talked about what was happening, and Cody had missed this. Being around Toni and Carter, lusting after TJ—not that he had to do that anymore, but to him, this was how a family should be. This was what he had with Mama and Jed.
They left later than planned, and Cody spent the rest of the night showing TJ why having a younger man was so beneficial. TJ had no complaints by the time sleep took over, and neither did Cody, because he finally had TJ.
Chapter Twenty
TJ
“Miles! Can you come in here?” TJ walked to his desk and sat, and when Miles came in, he told him to shut the door. “I need your opinion on how to handle this.”
Miles furrowed his brow and pulled out the chair opposite. “What’s up?”
TJ placed the USB in between them on the table. “This contains information on Cass Paarman and Angelo Ricci. It shows them fiddling the books.” TJ touched the stick. “It is, however, five years out of date.”
“Five years?” Miles picked the stick up. “How did you get this, and have you checked the information?”
“It has money transfers on there. Lists of expenditures and then how much went where. I’m not a financial analyst. I can understand some of it, but some of it…”
“How did you get it?”
TJ glanced at the closed door. When he and Cody had discussed taking this further, Cody had asked not to be involved,but they’d agreed Miles would need to know. TJ knew and trusted the other man, having known him for years. “Cody Paarman.”
Miles reared back, his mouth falling open. “Cody Paarman? I thought he was dead. He’s been gone for years. Is he back in Robinson? When did he return?”
“He came back recently.” TJ pointed to the USB. “And that’s why this information isn’t up-to-date. He made a copy before he left.”
“And now he’s back? Can he get access so we can have more up-to-date information?”
“He wants nothing to do with his parents. He’s living with me.” TJ sighed. “Have a look. You know more about this than I do, and you can let me know if we have enough to investigate. I want to be able to do this quietly. Angelo is a member of the council. If he found out we were looking into him, who knows what he could do? We have a chance to get an analyst to investigate this without them knowing, and once we have all the evidence, we can arrest them.”
“We need a judge to sign off on it, then. Let me have a look and see if we have enough. I know someone from the city. Santino is his name.” Miles picked up the stick, then asked, “When did Cody return? I’ve heard nothing, so the local gossips don’t know yet.”
“Almost two weeks ago now. I came in from work and he was sitting in my kitchen.” TJ looked at Miles. “Brought my grandfather’s medals back, too.”
Miles’ eyebrows went up. “I remember how pissed you were over that, but it didn’t stop you looking for him.”
“I thought he was dead, and then he’s there, alive and well, sitting at my kitchen table.” TJ shook his head, then licked his lips. “You should know… about Cody—”
“Did he catch you, then?”
TJ sat back in his chair. “How did everyone know but me?”
“He watched you whenever you were around. He had it bad for you. Shame he went down the path he did, but he’s back, so he must be in a better place.”
“He is now. It took him a while.”
“You and him.” Miles grinned. “The gossip is going to go into overdrive.”
TJ groaned and lay his head on the table. “I know, and I’m dreading it.”
“Ohh, so there is a you and him? Interesting.” TJ lifted his head and glared at Miles. “What? Like I said, he was half in love with you before he left. If there was going to be one reason he came back to Robinson, that reason would be you.”
