Free Cherry Adair - T-flac 06 by On Thin Ice Page A

could ascertain if what she thought she knew was fact. He knew a private investigator and had put him on retainer to track down who was involved before Lily made any accusations.
    Stud fees for a prize bull like Diablo were big business. Fortunes were made and lost on the strength of a herd. And a bull like Diablo could guarantee big, healthy calves. The profits from the sale of his sperm were in the millions. Someone was selling inferior liquid gold and labeling it as Diablo's. As randy as the bull was, he had only so much sperm. There were fake little test tube bulls out there with false pedigrees.
    Lily had been a lot more observant of late. Who suddenly had a lot of money? And what was sudden, after all? As far as she could figure out, this had been going on for years. Derek had made a good point the other day about her not noticing things. In her own defense she was not a rancher, she was a vet.
    Sean had done the books, and after he died, Derek had taken over.
    How was she supposed to know the ins and outs of the ranch when both men had made a special point of leaving her out of the daily working of the business end of it? And the reality was, outside of her passion for working with the animals, she had had absolutely no interest in running the ranch. Derek clearly had money. He'd come from wealth and was easy with it. His lifestyle hadn't changed since she'd known him. Unlike Sean, he'd never thrown his money around. But then, Lily thought with irritation, the man took a hell of a lot of exotic vacations. He also owned his own plane, and several very nice vehicles.
    But Sean… Sean had lived a lot higher on the hog than Derek ever had.
    "You must be thinking about your dearly departed."
    Lily blinked. "What?"
    "Must be thinking about Sean. You have that
    I-want-to-dig-him-up-and-kill-the-son-of-a-bitch-all-over-again look in your eyes."
    Lily forced a smile. "I do not."
    Matt gave her a sympathetic look, which made Lily feel even more guilty. Because some secrets were meant to stay just that. Secret.
    "One of these days," her stepbrother told her gruffly, "you're going to meet a great guy and live happily Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    ever after."
    "Not even if Brad Pitt proposed would I put myself through that again," Lily assured him cheerfully, pushing all thoughts of virile males, bovine and human, aside. "Thanks but no thanks. I have my family, my dogs and a Shower Massage. All is right with my world."
    Matt gave a laughing grimace and raised a hand. "Information overload. Okay. I get the message. The widow Munroe will turn into old lady Munroe. You know, the one with all those dogs."
    "That'll be me."
    "Things can change…"
    "Nah. Why mess with a good thing? Let's concentrate on finding you the perfect woman."
    "How about a bunch of imperfect women first?" Matt teased.
    Several more teams clustered behind them, waiting for the vets to check them. The time for private conversation was over. Instead, Lily was forced to make nice with several people who came to offer their condolences about Sean's death and to chat about the start of the trail and what they anticipated up ahead.
    As tired as she was, Lily wanted to get out of the crowd and back on the trail.
    "When did you eat last?" Matt asked as a couple of mushers dragged themselves up to the house for a meal and some shut-eye. "Stew's real good tonight," he added, as he continued down the line, checking legs and feet for trouble. The kids were still amped up and rarin' to go, though. And as long as they were fine to run, she had no complaints and wasn't stopping. She could sleep standing up on the sled. Lord knew, she'd done it before.
    It was way too crowded here for her tired brain, and her stomach was growling. Along with the scent of cook fires and diesel she could smell the savory stew on the cold air. "I'm quick-stopping. As soon as I'm done sorting my food bags. It's too too here."
    Matt raised a brow.