Chapter 11
Eleven
Jonah drummed his fingers on the steering wheel of his truck as he hit the outskirts of Johnson City. He didn’t want to be here. Didn’t want to be away from Rachel, not when he had no idea how much longer he had with her. It had been on the tip of his tongue to ask a hundred times over the past couple of weeks, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to say the words. Because that would bring up a discussion of what legitimately came next, and he was afraid she’d want more than they’d originally agreed to. And that was on him, because he’d changed the rules and pushed them beyond the basic friends-with-benefits she’d asked for. He’d wanted as much as he could have with her, even if it was only for the short term. But Brax and Mia got back tomorrow, and that meant their short term was up and his grace period for avoiding the subject had run out.
Instead of figuring out how he was going to end things in a way that wouldn’t destroy their friendship, he was going to meet with the attorney who’d been executor of his father’s estate. That the guy hadn’t just emailed him digital copies of the bank records he’d requested told Jonah there was more to talk about than just an old account. He hoped it meant a legitimate break in the case, so he’d made time for the appointment and left Rachel back in the Ridge with Holt, in hopes the alone time would give him some genius clue how to handle her.
A police car was leaving the parking lot as Jonah arrived. It might’ve been nothing. The guy could’ve had business with the attorney and stopped by while on duty. But something told Jonah that wasn’t it. He was on alert before he stepped through the doors and into what had been a comfortably plush waiting room on his last visit. Now there were papers everywhere, as if a tornado had gone through the office. Elias Craggs was frowning as his frazzled secretary gathered papers from the floor.
“Looks like y’all have had some trouble.”
Elias looked up and ran a hand over his balding head. “Yeah. Somebody broke in last night. Doesn’t look like they actually took anything, as far as we can tell, but they definitely went through our files. We’re trying to figure out what information might have been compromised and who all needs to be contacted. It’s a damned mess.”
Coincidence? Jonah didn’t tend to see those anymore. But Johnson City was a fair piece away from Eden’s Ridge, and Craggs had lots of clients. There was no reason to automatically assume this had anything to do with Lonnie.
And yet.
“Was my dad’s stuff among the files that were gone through?”
“As far as we can tell, nearly everything was gone through.” He gestured to the mess. “Whoever it was tossed things willy-nilly, obviously, to cover up whatever it was they were looking for. We won’t know for sure until we get this mess sorted.”
“And that’s going to take a while,” the secretary groaned.
“Do I need to come back later?”
“No. I’ve still got everything I needed to give you.” Elias waved a hand for Jonah to follow. “Let’s go into the conference room. It’s less of a mess.”
They took a seat at the end of the conference table that wasn’t covered in files. “Well, you gave me a little mystery. I’m not entirely clear on how your dad managed to slip this one through the cracks, but he did, in fact, have a bank account with Trust Financial here in Johnson City. As of today, that account has a balance of $264,396.72.”
Jonah stared. “I’m sorry, what?”
Elias flashed a wry smile. “I had much the same response.”
“But… how?”
“That’s a good question. I got copies of bank statements from this account and from the others that you requested, going back for a year prior to his death. If we need more than that, I’ll have to make another request. They just came in this morning, so I haven’t had a chance to look through them all, with everything going on, but at a glance, it looks like he mostly used it for savings. When he pulled money out, it was always in cash. I saw some corresponding values in the bar’s business account, so this was apparently what he used to keep the business afloat.”
“Afloat seems generous. I mean, you saw the bar. His house. You saw his other accounts. If he was sitting on that kind of money, why was he living the way he was?”
“I don’t know, given the state of things you and Samantha inherited. I have no idea why he wouldn’t have poured extra funds into the business. But you know people do all kinds of strange things. And he was more ill than anyone knew, apparently. Could be he wasn’t quite all there mentally by the end.”
As far as Jonah knew, Lonnie had done nothing to treat the aggressive cancer that had killed him, choosing to continue to live as he always had. On his own.
“This account wasn’t a part of probate. Will we need to do something on that front?”
“Probate is over and settled. All claims were made on the estate and debts were settled, so the money officially belongs to you and your sister as his sole heirs. Do you know what you’ll want to do with it?”
He didn’t have the first clue what they’d do with that kind of money or whether his sister would want any of it at all. “I’ll have to talk to Sam about that. I appreciate you looking into all this.”
“Of course. And if I find that your father’s files are impacted by this unpleasant business, I’ll let you know.”
Jonah rose, accepting the thick packet of bank statements. “Thanks.”
Craggs escorted him out. At least the meeting had been short and sweet.
Jonah tossed the envelope onto his front seat. What was the likelihood that this break-in could have anything to do with his father? Probably not high. Why would somebody be breaking in now, instead of while the estate was in probate? Still, he decided to mention it to Xander, so he could get in touch with whoever was in charge of that investigation in Johnson City, just in case. For now, he wanted to get on back to the Ridge and comb through the records to find out exactly where Lonnie was getting his money.
“Where are you going?”
Purse in hand, Rachel went brows up at Holt’s sharp question. “To the grocery store?”
“Jonah’s not back from Johnson City yet.”
She gave an exaggerated look around the bakery kitchen. “I am aware. Last time I checked, I’m not under official house arrest.”
“Of course not. It’s just, I’m supposed to look out for you while he’s away, and I’m stuck here finishing up this cake for tomorrow.”
“Are you seriously going to tell me I have to stay here under full bodyguard protection in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday, because you can’t escort me to Garden of Eden to pick up the ingredients for dinner?”
The fierceness of Holt’s scowl was undermined by the ballerina pink fondant in his hands. “Yeah, I know how that sounds, but if anything happens to you on my watch, Jonah will kick my ass.”
“It’s the grocery store. Right downtown. In public. In the daytime. Nothing has happened since the break-in. Nobody’s even looked at me sideways. I promise I’ll come right back and text you when I get in and out of my car. The car he let me drive to work on my own this morning, I might add.”
Holt scrubbed a hand over his face, then swore when he ended up with fondant in his beard.
Rachel’s lips twitched. “Pink is a great color for you.”
“Smart ass.” He grabbed a towel and began to wipe at his beard. “I know it’s ridiculous, but Jonah didn’t play around with Cayla or Mia’s safety, so I’m sure as hell not going to be careless with yours.”
Softening, she laid a hand on his arm. “Thank you. I do appreciate it. Straight there and back. Promise. There’s homemade manicotti in it for you.”
His blue eyes turned wistful. “Manicotti?”
She could make two batches if it got her out of this kitchen. “With from-scratch sauce. Assuming I can get there before all the fresh tomatoes are gone.”
“Fine. Be careful. No playing on your phone while you walk to and from the store. Pay attention to your surroundings.”
“Cross my heart. Back in a flash.” Rachel scooted out the door before he could change his mind.
She slid into the car she’d barely used since coming to Eden’s Ridge. This was the first time she’d actually been alone since her injury. It was odd being without Jonah after being practically attached at the hip these past few weeks. Brax and Mia got back tomorrow night, and the subject of what she was doing next was one she couldn’t avoid any longer. So she’d opted to make one of Jonah’s favorites for dinner in hopes of getting the conversation off on the right foot. Whatever foot that might be.
Familiar faces greeted her as she grabbed a shopping cart at Garden of Eden. More than one person called her by name as she began to traverse the aisles, picking up the necessary ingredients. This was part of that small-town dream. Being known and recognized. She didn’t know all their names, but it was enough to know their faces from the bakery. These were tendrils of that connection she wanted to build, and she was surprised by exactly how much she wanted to foster them.
“Rachel! Hi, sugar.”
She blinked and found Rebecca standing on the other side of the tomato display. “Hey. How are you?”
“I’m good. Finished with my clients early today and figured I’d get the grocery shopping done. I’m guessing you had the same idea.”
“Yeah, I wanted to get started on some manicotti while Jonah’s in Johnson City meeting with the attorney.”
“Any word yet on what he found?”
“No. But it must have been something since he asked Jonah to come in to meet with him about it.”
Worry flashed over his mother’s features. “I hope all this stuff gets sorted soon.”
“You and me both.”
Rebecca hesitated. “Listen, would you like to go get a cup of coffee?”
She ought to get straight back. She’d promised Holt. But saying no felt rude, somehow, and she had the sense Rebecca wanted to talk about something. What that something might be gave Rachel more than a little anxiety, but she genuinely liked Jonah’s mom. “Sure. I can’t stay too long or Holt will send out a search party, since he’s on babysitting duty, but I’d love a cup of coffee.”
As there was nowhere else to get one, they ended up at the diner, settling into one of the booths in the back. An early twenty-something waitress, with a perky ponytail and more than a passing resemblance to Crystal herself, took their orders. She flipped over the white ceramic mugs on the table and filled them from a nearby pot without spilling a drop.
“Y’all want any pie with that?”
Rachel smiled. “Just coffee for me, thanks.”
“This will be fine. Thanks, Nicky.” Rebecca wrapped her hands around the mug. “So, how have you enjoyed your time in Eden’s Ridge?”
Okay, so they were beginning with small talk. She could do that. “I like it. It’s really different from Syracuse. A lot smaller. Slower. But that works for me.”
“So, what comes next?”
Playing dumb, Rachel began to doctor her coffee. “What do you mean?”
“Well, Brax and Mia get back tomorrow. That was the whole reason you were coming down to help. Are you headed back to New York? Are you sticking around here?”
Rachel looked down at her mug, as if the answer were swimming in its caramel-colored depths. The woman had been nothing but kind to her, so she decided to be transparent and as honest as she could be. “You really want to know what’s next with me and Jonah.”
On a huff of laughter, Rebecca lifted her mug. “Well, there is that.”
“I don’t know. None of this was the plan. We sort of fell into whatever this is we’re doing, and we haven’t talked about what comes next. We haven’t even talked about what’s happening next week. He’s been so consumed with trying to keep me safe. With trying to find the answers to whatever’s going on. With keeping the business going. I think we’re both a little afraid to bring up what happens next, because neither of us knows exactly where the other stands.” She tapped her fingers against the mug. “This was supposed to be temporary.”
Rebecca nodded. “And then it became more.”
What the hell was she supposed to say to that? It was true, but this was his mother . It was one thing to allude to being something more, but she didn’t want to spell it out.
Rebecca just smiled that former-pageant-queen smile. “I have eyes. I see how you two look at each other, and I think it would be a real shame if y’all let that slip away.”
Rachel’s throat went thick because this felt like a blessing for whatever they decided. “I don’t want to let it slip away. I didn’t expect to find anyone else after my husband died. We were high school sweethearts. Each other’s first everything. We were together for seventeen years. And they were really great years. Starting over with somebody else is intimidating and overwhelming. And beyond all that, I just didn’t think I could be that lucky twice. But Jonah’s… Jonah.” She laughed a little. “We recognized something in each other back in New York. We were both a little broken. Drowning in grief. That’s what led us to being friends in the first place, and it’s a contributing factor to what’s made us more. But I don’t know what he wants. I don’t know how he feels.”
“Have you asked him?”
“No. I’ve been trying to figure out logistics and options. Because, you may have noticed, your son likes to know all of those things before he does anything.”
Rebecca’s rich, rolling laugh filled the diner. “Oh, honey, yes. You do know him. You talk about logistics. Would you consider leaving New York?”
“I was already thinking of leaving Syracuse even before I came down here. And then this happened, and I don’t know. I would never ask him to leave what he’s built here. This is his place. I know that, and I’m trying to figure out if it could be my place, too.” She sipped her coffee. “I have a job interview here next week. I… haven’t told Jonah.”
“Do you think he’ll be upset?”
“I don’t know. For all we’ve been friends for a long time, being… more is still very new. I don’t want him to think I’m being presumptive, or like I’m trying to force him into some kind of commitment. And, I guess, there’s a part of me that wants him to ask me to stay first.”
Rebecca covered her hand. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Everyone wants to be chosen.” There was something in her tone, some look in her eyes that said she knew that desire, knew what it felt like not to be.
“True enough.”
“Well, none of it’s really my business, but for whatever it’s worth, I really like you two together. You make him happy, and he hasn’t been happy in a really long time. There’s a softness in him with you I’ve never seen before. I like seeing that in my boy. Too much of his life made him feel like he had to be hard.”
“He takes on so much. He wants the best for all the people he cares about, but I think, a lot of the time, he believes he doesn’t count. Like as long as he does all the things right and his people are safe and happy, then his own wants don’t matter.”
Rebecca studied her for a long moment. “You really see him.”
“He sees me right back.”
“Then I hope he’s smart enough to see that you’re the best thing that could’ve happened to him.”
That knot was back in her throat. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. And what is it you guys say down here? From your mouth to God’s ear?”
Rebecca lifted her mug for a toast. “Here’s to exactly that.”