Lethal Deception by Lynette Eason Page A

plate on the desk read, Sheila Simons. In her midforties, Sheila wore an understated blue business suit and her creamy complexion was free of makeup. She had her reddish blond hair pulled back into a thick bun at the base of her neck. Large, thick glasses sat perched on her finely crafted nose shielding piercing hazel eyes. She oozed professionalism.
    As Cassidy approached, the woman peered over the top of her frames and asked in a low, cool voice, “Hello. May I help you?”
    Cassidy smiled. She said, “Hello, I’m here for the nine o’clock appointment with Mr. Morgan.”
    “Certainly.” A heartbeat later, she spoke into the phone. “Mr. Morgan, Ms. McKnight is here for the reading of the will.”
    The Coopers, Kara’s sister and brother-in-law, arrived. After stilted hellos, Sheila paged the lawyer and all four walked down to the conference room.
    Susan seated herself then spoke through clenched teeth. “Kara would have wanted me to raise Alexis. We plan to sue for custody, you know. There’s no way she would have agreed to allow you to raise that child if she really thought something would happen to her and Jacob. I want her, Cassidy.”
    Cassidy bit back a response and turned her attention to the lawyer. Thirty minutes later it was all over. There were a few touchy moments when Mr. Morgan claimed he didn’t have a copy of the handwritten codicil giving Cassidy custody of Alexis. He declared if the codicil couldn’t be located, custody would go to the grandmother, or Brian and Susan, the next of kin.
    Cassidy protested, “I know Kara posted you the codicil. She sent yours the same day she sent mine.” After searching the files, neither he nor Sheila could find it.
    Cassidy finally called Amy and had her run to Cassidy’s home to find the copy Anna had promised was waiting. Amy faxed the copy to Mr. Morgan who gave in without further ado. Cassidy had legal custody of Alexis—along with five hundred thousand dollars—Kara and Jacob’s life savings. Brian and Susan had been left a tidy sum of twenty-five thousand. And yet, Cassidy was worried.
    Tears streaming down her cheeks, Susan’s last words still rang in her ears. “You haven’t heard the last of this. Alexis should be mine to raise. I want her. I love her. I don’t know how you convinced Kara and Jacob to do this, but it’s not over.”
    April 6
    Thursday afternoon found Gabe staring out his kitchen window. His boat rocked gently against the side of the dock as the water rose and fell. The sun burned brightly. It would be a beautiful day for a ride on the lake. He wondered if Cassidy and Alexis would like to take a spin on it one day soon. Then he wanted to kick himself for thinking about her again. Why did his mind insist on replaying their days together?
    He had blue skies, warm weather and three weeks of vacation left. He should be relaxing and enjoying life. Instead it just meant that he had way too much time to think.
    He needed to keep his distance. Micah McKnight’s memory kept popping up too much lately. Probably because of Cassidy. Once he started thinking about her, he started thinking about Micah. And when he thought about Micah, he thought about Cassidy. It was a vicious cycle he couldn’t turn off. He knew he should stay away, but what if she was still in danger?
    So far, Cassidy hadn’t had any more problems since she’d arrived home, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen. Unfortunately, Gabe knew he should continue to keep his distance from her as secrets had a way of coming out when you let your guard down. And when he was around Cassidy, she tended to sneak past his emotional armor.
    But he owed her an apology.
    Gabe reached around and pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched in her cell number. He wondered if she’d answer.
    “Hello?” She sounded distracted. Good.
    “Hi, Cass.”
    Silence from her end didn’t reassure him. He cleared his throat and tried again. “So, what are you doing?”
    “Checking