s mouth. "She really does, and she wishes you'd told her what happened a long time ago."
Cade shook his head. He'd been so wrong not to tell her.
"Why now?" she asked.
"Because I found out you were going to marry Dobson."
"Did you think he'd hurt me, too?"
Cade shrugged.
"Are you keeping anything else from me?"
Dammit! He might as well tell her everything. "I also found out he wants your money."
Her brows knitted in a frown. "Why would he want my money? He has plenty of his own."
"No, he doesn't. Don't know what happened to it all, and don't care. But the note on his ranch is due on Monday. He needs your money to pay it, otherwise the bank will take it."
Isabella's hand flew to her mouth. She couldn't believe it. How could she have been fooled so easily? "How do you know?"
"I heard him tell the bank manager he'd have the money right after the wedding." Cade cupped her chin and brushed her cheek with his thumb. "So that's why if you don't marry him on Saturday, he won't marry you at all. It'll be too late."
She nibbled on her bottom lip, but didn't say anything more.
"I'm really sorry, Bella," he added. "I didn't want to tell you that part."
She tried to smile. "I'm glad you did, and I want you to promise me you won't keep any more secrets from me."
"I swear." He lowered his head and kissed her, a gentle promise that barely grazed her lips.
The sound of someone's throat clearing interrupted him. He pulled away and looked toward the doorway.
"Did you tell him your idea?" Trey asked Bella.
"Not yet." Turning to Cade, she tucked her hand beneath his arm. "Come inside. I have a plan."
"A plan for what?"
"To bring Edward to justice."
Cade couldn’t believe it. Bella, the woman he loved, really did believe him, and wanted to help him get his revenge.
The sun was barely rising in the east when the three men and Bella left the cabin and headed down the mountainside. Bella was exhausted and nervous, but the way Cade looked at her, as if she was a miracle worker, gave her the energy and strength she knew she'd need for their plan to work.
If it worked. If not, she could end up dead and Cade and his cousins could spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Was she making a huge mistake? She'd only met Trey and Zane the night before, and she hadn't seen or heard from Cade in years. Was she ready to throw away her future because of a few kisses and a story that seemed unbelievable?
She was. She'd always trusted her intuition in the past, and that intuition had told her Edward wasn't the man he pretended to be. She'd tried to ignore it, and assuming Cade was telling the truth, she'd been right. That same intuition told her to trust Cade. She only hoped she wasn't wrong this time.
The scenery on the trail through the trees and down the mountain was spectacular. Although it was already late spring, the sun glistened off the snow still covering the ragged peaks of the Rockies. Hawks and eagles flew overhead, and wildflowers dotted the valleys and grasslands below.
Isabella would have enjoyed the ride if she hadn't been so frightened. Yes, she admitted to herself, she was terrified of what she was about to do. But after hours of planning and scheming, this was the only plan that had a chance of working.
"It'll be fine, Bella," Cade whispered in her ear. Since she had no horse of her own, again she was riding in front of Cade, his body pressed intimately against hers. One of his hands held the reins, the other was wrapped around her waist. He shifted slightly. Her heartbeat stuttered as his thumb grazed the underside of her breast.
His hand moved so quickly she thought she'd imagined his touch, but when she heard the sharp intake of his breath, she knew it had been real enough. Mercy, how was she going to manage being in such an intimate position until they reached town?