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Chase made no reply to that. In fact he said nothing more during the short drive from the barn to the Homestead. He was already at the front steps by the time Sloan had gotten Jake out of the car seat. She hurried to catch up with him, then held the door for him.
She hesitated in the foyer and cast an uncertain glance at him when he stopped to shrug out of his coat. “Is there anything I can get you before I take Jake upstairs?”
“No. In fact I’m heading straight to bed myself.” He lifted his coat onto a hook, then collected the cane he had propped against the wall. “See you in the morning, Jake.”
“See ya,” Jake mumbled.
Sloan deliberately took her time crossing to the oak staircase, her ears tuned to the sounds of Chase’s cane as he made his way to his bedroom in the west wing. The rhythm remained steady, assuring her that he needed no assistance from her.
In the bedroom, Jake stirred sufficiently to give her some help changing out of his clothes and into his pajamas. He sat motionless on the edge of the bed while she pulled back the covers. Rather clumsily Jake rolled over and slid under the sheets.
“Isn’t Dad coming?” he asked in a halfhearted attempt to stave off the inevitable. “Maybe I should wait.”
“I don’t think he’ll mind if I tuck you in instead of him,” Sloan assured him. “He’ll be up to tell you good night though. Would you like me to read you a story while we wait for him?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, then abruptly threw the covers back. “I forgot to say my prayers.”
“While you do that, I’ll get your book.”
Sloan walked over to the bookshelf and selected his favorite story, smiling to herself while she listened to the familiar—and somehow comfortable—words of his prayer. “Now I lay me down to sleep.” He finished by asking blessings for each member of the family, said his “Amen” and started to rise, then knelt hastily agai
n. “I forgot. God, please don’t let Josh break any of my toys when he comes. Amen.” After he crawled back under the covers, he gave her a worried, “It’s alright to ask God for that, isn’t it?”
“I’m sure He won’t mind.” Sloan sat on the edge of the bed and opened the storybook.
As she expected, his eyes drifted shut before she was halfway through it. When she closed the book on the last page, Jake was sound asleep. She adjusted the covers around his slender body and lightly kissed the top of his head, whispering a “Good night, sweetie.” A term he would have been horrified by if he was awake to hear it.
Sloan made a noiseless retreat from the room, switched off the light, leaving only the soft glow of a night-light in the room, and pulled the door partway shut.
The stillness of the Homestead moved over her as she descended the staircase. The easy quiet was a welcome change after the hubbub of the barn. With Chase in the house, Sloan knew she was free to return to the barn, but she decided to wait for Trey.
She was halfway into the living room when her glance strayed to the doorway of the darkened den. She stopped, remembering the glimpse she’d had of the open checkbook and Chase’s hand poised over it, and Wade seated by the desk. All those unanswered questions came rushing back. Sloan tried to convince herself none of it was any of her business. But curiosity got the better of her.
She crossed to the den, started to flip on the light, then darted a guilty look in the direction of Chase’s bedroom. The hall was dark, no sliver of light showing beneath his door. Before she got cold feet, she hit the switch, flooding the room with light.
At the desk, she opened two drawers before she found the one that contained his checkbook. She laid it on the desk and flipped through the stubs to the last page.
Just as she suspected, the last check had been made payable to Wade Rogers. Her fingertip slid across the stub and came to a stop on the amount.
One hundred thousand dollars.
Numb with shock, Sloan could only stare at the number, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her thoughts raced, searching for some reason that might justify it. She never heard the front door open—or the approach of footsteps. She didn’t know Trey was in the house until he spoke from the doorway.
“What are you doing in here, Sloan?”
She looked up in surprise, but the guilt she might have felt earlier at being caught snooping was completely overwhelmed by her discovery.
“You need to see this, Trey,” she insisted.
“See what?” His gaze narrowed, sharp with disapproval and challenge.
Belatedly she registered the displeasure in his expression, and the veiled accusation in his look. She didn’t flinch from either. “Earlier today your grandfather wrote a check to Wade Rogers in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars.” She enunciated the number with slow emphasis.
As much as Trey tried to conceal it, Sloan could tell that he was taken aback by the size of the figure.
Almost hesitant, he walked over to the desk and looked at the stub for himself. He didn’t immediately say anything. Sloan filled the silence instead.
“The other check he gave Wade, it seemed logical to think it was a donation. Even a political contribution. But a hundred thousand dollars, Trey. That’s an alarming amount. Even you must realize that.”
