Page 80 of Rescued Dreams
Did she want Ridge to show up at her house, freshly showered? Ironed shirt and slacks? Gel in his hair?
Never mind. Of course she did.
Amelia might even consent to wearing a dress and heels for the occasion, even though that meant going shopping. The twins would probably love to go with her and pick something out for Amelia’s first official date with Ridge.
She sighed, pushing out the thoughts. The last thing she needed was to stand here with a faraway look on her face, thinking about Ridge and his kisses.
What she should do was march into that bank so she could prove she wasn’t the Amelia Hilden listed on that account.Should’ve changed my first name as well.She’d become “Patterson” after her mother had remarried Matt Patterson and he’d adopted her. Best decision of her life so far.
She crossed the street. No matter what, the staff at this bank, where she wasn’t even a customer, were going to tell her something. The building looked ancient, with red-brick exterior walls and white columns either side of the front door. It had been here since the town’s founding in the mid-twentieth century, which, in a place like Last Chance County, didn’t bode well.
The town had been started by a group of men who had served together in Vietnam and wanted their own kingdom back in the US. A place they could rule, taking prominent positions in the local government, police department, fire department, and medical services. Her father had been the last of that group to be stopped, thanks to the current police chief and his friends. Good people who’d known the town should never have allowed evil to infuse it like that.
So they’d rooted it out.
The bank doors slid open in front of her, and she strode inside. There were about ten people in the lobby, with customers lined up for the teller counter on the left where two staff members worked their way through the line of people. To the right were three cubicles along the wall, blinds over the windows. Spots to meet with a business account rep or a mortgage rep.
Amelia turned back to the door and spotted a security guard sitting at a small round table, drinking coffee from a paper cup. The rotund man had a full head of curly red hair and managed to bite the powdered donut without getting a speck of sugar on him, which was pretty impressive.
“Can I bother you?”
He set the donut on the plate. “Dunno, can you?” He gave her a toothy grin and shifted, revealing a tattoo on the inside of his forearm. A military unit.
“How long have you worked here?”
He brushed his hands off with a napkin. “Coupla years. Got out of the Corps just before that.”
Perfect. “I wonder if you can help me.” She didn’t know how to convince him to help her by lying, so she told him about the account in her name and how the police believed she’d paid someone to endanger firefighters.
His eyes narrowed on that.
Amelia said, “I’m a lieutenant with Eastside Firehouse, but my commanding officer at my previous department never put in the paperwork for my rank.”
He didn’t like that either.
“So now I’ve been bumped down in rank because of an oversight,” she said. “The idea that anyone would think I’d put firefighters in danger…” Amelia shook her head. “It’s insane. I’m being framed.”
“So what do you need from the bank?”
Amelia sighed. “I don’t want to ask for anything you can’t provide.”
Like a look at their surveillance.
“Maybe I could speak with a teller who has seen the account holder, or whoever set the account up. They might recognize her—and it would be helpful for them to confirm that it isn’t me.” Sure, it was a long shot. But if she didn’t try, then she couldn’t say she’d done everything to fix this. Amelia wasn’t going to just roll over and play dead, allowing the police to make all the accusations they wanted.
He scrunched up his face, rising to his feet. “Let’s see who’s free that you can talk to.”
“Thanks. I’m Amelia, by the way.”
“Daryl Merton. Good to meet you.” He went to a cubicle and looked around. “Cynthia, you got a sec for a customer? She’s a firefighter. Amelia.”
Over the cubicle divider, with its felt surface, she saw a woman pop up and look at her. The wide-eyed expression shuttered for a second. “Oh, uh.”
“You thought I was someone else?” Amelia asked. “Because that’s a great place to start.”
“Well, you said afirefighter,and your name is Amelia.”
“And that means something to you?”
