Chapter Seventeen
“Was that getting reacquainted sex part two we had?” Jenna asked later from the middle of the oversized king bed.
“I don’t think there’s a name for what we did,” Dan said, getting up to get them water. “Be right back, and don’t go to sleep. I hesitate to tell you this since you are already so enamored with this place. But a mini fridge is in the dressing room area.”
Jenna stretched and yawned. “Oh really? You’d better hurry. I’m very relaxed now, and it’s your fault, but I might work up the energy to inspect the dressing room and closets.”
“If you need to be revived, I can pour this cold water on you,” Dan said, as he came back into the room with a bottle of water in each hand. “And food is in the refrigerator too, the big one downstairs. So if you’re hungry now, speak up.”
“Not hungry enough to trudge down to the kitchen naked and make food.”
Dan handed her a bottle of water. “Oh, you are a lazy, spoiled, and beautiful woman. Accept your water and be grateful.”
Jenna took a few sips and sat up. “Humm, maybe I am a little hungry. Seriously, what’s down there to eat?”
Dan laughed, pulling her up out of bed. “I know where I can find an apron to cover part of your nakedness and protect you from potential cooking errors.”
“You must be kidding.” Jeanna wrapped a blanket around her body. “I want milk and cookies. I don’t plan to cook.”
“Come on then. Let’s see what we can find.” Dan caught Jenna as she tripped on her blanket going down the stairs. “The stairs are not made for after party use, especially for those not wearing clothing. Why are you dragging the blanket downstairs?”
“I’m cold, and I didn’t want to search for my robe. Living here and going up and down three flights of stairs multiple times a day would keep one fit.”
Dan turned to look at her. “Another reason for you to buy the house? I’m beginning to think you are serious about this.”
Jenna secured the blanket around her shoulders as they made their way into the large gourmet kitchen. “I’d want to have a better look around, of course, but yeah, I’m liking it—a lot.”
Dan flipped on all the lights.
Jenna gasped. “Oh, this kitchen, I am in love.” She lifted her arms and bowed to open the giant refrigerator, the blanket sliding off and leaving her naked.
Dan stared and smiled. “Oh, me, too. Love this kitchen.”
Jenna ignored his remark and shivered. “Where’s that apron? The blanket is a little unwieldy.”
“As if you are really cold? Go put on a robe, and I’ll make sandwiches. You can’t eat trying to hold the blanket on you. When the AC kicks on again, you will be very chilly down here, trust me.”
“You’ve been naked here in the kitchen before, have you?”
“Yes, and no one around to appreciate it,” Dan said, looking into the refrigerator. “Maybe scrambled eggs instead of a sandwich,” he mumbled.
“Whatever you decide.” Jenna rolled her eyes and went back upstairs, dragging the blanket behind her. When she got back down, she spotted Dan putting two ham sandwiches and cookies and milk on the table. Jenna hugged the robe around her and took a seat. “Wow, you are a wonder. No chips?”
“You are high maintenance, woman.” Dan stood to look in the pantry. “You’re in luck.” He brought out a bag of chips and put it beside her plate. “It’s all yours.”
Jenna opened the bag of chips and pulled out a large one. “Why does food always taste better after a party or after sex? Especially food you shouldn’t have?”
As he watched her, Dan poured himself a glass of milk. “One of those mystery questions to send out to the universe.” He took a bite of his sandwich. “This does taste good. I got the ham at the deli yesterday.”
“I want a house tour next. We can sleep late tomorrow. All we have on the agenda is to figure out who the Red Cat is, figure out the Brock-Harper-Gail connection, and hope Gail and Sal Amato have no plans to set you up. That’s all—easy, right? What are they doing here together, Gail and Harper, and does Brock fit in at all?”
Dan laughed. “Yeah, that’s all we have to worry about. We should have it all solved by the second cup of coffee. I hope I hear back from Luc soon. I feel some connection exists to Harper and all these thefts, and we can eventually figure it out. But I can’t figure out how or if Gail fits in at all. Maybe Harper was pumping her for information or the other way around. And Sal Amato—well, maybe he was or is only the muscle guy for Harper, or does he have another role?”
“Maybe he’s trying to find out more about you and why you are here.”
“Harper, maybe, but Gail has dissected my life. There’s not much she doesn’t know about me. But Sal Amato here with her now and why—I can’t figure any other logical reason except to help Harper in some way. Learning her agenda is crucial.”
“True, but Gail knows little about the last five years of your life, I’m assuming. And Dan, seriously, if someone is trying to frame you, set you up as this new thief, who knows more about how to do it than Gail?”
Dan shook his head. “I can’t see her getting involved in something like that. To set me up, I mean. Yeah, she’d love to see me taken down, but I don’t think she’d do something illegal and so risky to do it. Besides, no one will think I pulled off the necklace robbery tonight. So, what is it? What’s the big thing that could point to me?”
“The Blalock Diamond, of course,” Jenna said, looking at him as she took another bite of her sandwich. “They were hoping to pin it on you somehow, but the thief took the wrong necklace, and you had an alibi. I really don’t get it. We’re missing some pieces.”
“Yes, we are, and we need to find them soon,” Dan said.
“How about Harper?”
“What about her?” Dan frowned.
“How much does she know? You were a bit vague about that, or do you not really know what she has learned?”
Dan shook his head. “No, it’s not like you are thinking. She’s not a woman scorned, as they say in the romance novels. There was no great romance, so it can’t be about any lost love for me. In fact, now I think she tried to hook up with me for a reason. So, Harper, yeah, maybe I’d believe she could do something illegal to get what she wants. But why involve me and try to set me up? Why not just go after the jewels and get out of the country fast? We’re truly missing something here.”
“And all that’s assuming Harper is behind all this. Again, I keep stumbling over her seemingly close connection with Gail. We don’t know enough yet to rule either one out or to assume that they are a real team,” Jenna said, pouring herself another glass of milk.
Dan ran his fingers through his hair. “I know, but I’ve got this gut feeling she is more than what we know and more than what we can see. I need more information from Luc. I can’t match his sources for information gathering. We know Harper has at least two different names. Who does that without a serious reason?”
Jenna shrugged, took a bite of her cookie, and gave Dan a thumbs-up. “Haven’t tasted a chocolate chip cookie in years. But back to the topic—maybe she changed her name for career reasons, or maybe there was a stalker, or she got divorced. Good reasons exist to change one’s name not connected with anything illegal.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I considered it myself five years ago. But it felt like I’d be insulting my father, as dumb as that sounds.”
“No, I get it. Listen, we will solve this. I have no doubt we will find out who is doing this and why, if we keep looking and keep asking the right questions,” Jenna said.
Dan rubbed his eyes. “I so want this to be over. I’m tired of being hunted.”
“Come on, you’ve faced tougher situations. Let’s take your mind off it. Now for that house tour.”
Dan groaned. “Are you seriously thinking about putting an offer on this house? I don’t even know if he wants to sell it. Don’t get your hopes up.”
“Everything has its price. Like you said, they don’t even use it. When I put my mind to it, I can be charming. And with your endorsement, well, the house is practically mine.”
“Do you hear yourself?” Dan got up to join her on the house tour.
“Yeah, I can see myself here.” Jenna entered the library on the second floor. “Of course, I’d need to lighten up this room a bit.”
“You’re making me nervous, Jenna. Why would you want to invest in a place you’d likely not be able to visit but a few times a year?”
“Hmm, maybe more than a few times. Maybe I could work from here.”
Dan stopped in his tracks and stared. “You, give up New York City? You’d be bored in a month here.” He stopped to inspect an antique desk. “Wonder if the furniture comes with it?”
Jenna laughed. “Ah, it’s getting to you, too. I saw it first.”
“But it’s my friend, so good manners dictates I’d get preferential treatment,” Dan said, smiling at Jenna’s reaction.
“Okay, stop it, you’re just winding me up, as they say in England. Since when do you care about historic houses?”
“Yeah, maybe I’m winding you up a little. And yeah, I can see the attraction for you. You, the history buff, would be drawn to it,” Dan said, looking around. “I can even appreciate it.”
Jenna walked on, stopping to look at almost every piece of furniture, and gazed longingly at the bookshelves. “Though this place seems well maintained, it costs a lot to keep it looking this way, I am sure. If I sold my apartment in New York, maybe I could swing it without much pain.”
Dan said nothing but followed her as they walked out of the library and into another room across the hall being used as an office.
“Dan, look at these prints on the wall, and this wallpaper on the end wall…it’s vintage.”
“Don’t know anything about vintage wallpaper, but yeah, the prints are the real thing. I looked at them earlier. I can’t see them staying with the house, though.”
“I know, but I have my own. Let’s check out the other bedrooms.” Jenna waved a hand.
“Their boys are twins and had adjoining bedrooms, connected with a bathroom, I think.” Dan walked down the hall.
“I missed this entire second floor when we came in,” Jenna said.
Dan laughed. “Well, we hurried to get to the master bedroom, as I recall.”
“Hmm, maybe we can try again after we finish here,” Jenna said, as she inspected the bedroom and moved on to the next. “No personal objects are in the bedrooms at all.”
“These rooms belonged to the kids back when they were kids, but I don’t think any of them spend time here now,” Dan said.
“Yeah, these bedrooms are a bit bland, so used as guest rooms now maybe, if used at all. Only a few framed pictures are present of what looks like their travels.” Jenna inspected the pictures in the guest rooms. “Looks like they’re into sailing. Is this in Greece?”
Dan looked at the picture. “Yeah, and it’s his yacht, or was. He and his brother really loved sailing, and his brother used to be involved in all the race events years ago.”
Jenna took Dan’s hand. “I suppose I’ve seen enough here. Now to the top floor and to re-check the master bedroom, and it’s very late.”
“I love a woman who knows what she wants.”
Some hours later, Jenna woke from their post-sex, post-food adventures and found Dan gone from the bed. She put on her robe and made her way downstairs. “It’s morning. And here you are cooking and in your boxer shorts.” Jenna looked at Dan with new eyes.
“Hey, I am a bachelor, it’s self-preservation. Besides, I have many talents other than pleasing you in the bedroom.” Dan waved his spatula.
“What are you making?”
“Some scrambled eggs with cheese and ham. Don’t turn up your nose before you taste it. It’s good food.”
Jenna looked in the refrigerator. “Yes, but I won’t be able to get into my clothes if I eat too much of this kind of such good food. You can have mine. I’m searching for yogurt and fruit.”
“Women, you miss out on so much.” Dan shook his head. “Can’t eat this, can’t eat that, and freaking out if you gain five pounds. Expensive haircuts, facials, exercise classes, endless diets, yoga…and for what?”
“Yes, yes, welcome to the world of the modern woman. Don’t get me started. I’m eating to stay healthy, not to please any man. I’ll be forty soon, Dan. I can’t keep bouncing around, hoping to find roots not there, and getting fat and unhealthy in the process. I don’t want to end up alone with my pint of ice cream watching television with my cat every night.”
Dan turned from the stove, frowning. “You’re barely thirty-eight. What brought this on?”
“Yes, but forty is out there, waiting. Maybe it’s being here in this town, seeing you, and wondering how the last five years of my life could have passed so fast. Everything here brought it on. Savannah, and the people here, and the way they take care of each other, reminds me of the times I felt loved, safe, wanted, and secure. These old historic houses—holding those who still remember the old ways, the customs, and who still take care of their neighbors—are part of my childhood memories. I can still smell the magnolia trees in the spring and hear the sound of the boat whistles on the river. It’s all playing back in my head now like an old movie one loves.”
“Wow, you have been giving this place serious thought. Why is it making you sad rather than happy to be here?” Dan put his food on a plate and joined Jenna at the table.
“I’m not really sad. Oh, well, maybe I am, but what I mean is being here reminds me of what I don’t have now. It reminds me of what I always wanted but forgot somewhere along the way.”
Dan poured more coffee in his cup. “I don’t want to sound negative, but buying this house when you are feeling sad about the past, or conflicted, could be a mistake.”
“I understand what you’re saying or trying not to say, Dan, but I do realize buying a house here won’t fix me. But it might give me what I feel I’m lacking—a real home. I have lived in New York City most of my life. I have been in my current apartment building for almost four years, and I don’t know but one person in my building, two if you count the maintenance guy.”
“You are more attached to this place than I realized, Savannah, I mean.” Dan sat back in his chair. “I feel as if I’m seeing a new side of you.”
“I think I’m seeing a new side of me, too. I think that’s what the thing with Brock is—was. I was looking for a less complicated life, and man, a partner, and for someone I could depend on. No, before you ask, I am not a victim of the ticking clock. I feel no great urgency to procreate,” Jenna said.
Dan stood to get the toast from the toaster. “Too bad, I think a little Jenna would be a great addition to the world. Or a little Dan, or both.”