7. Greer
Greer
All in all, they were trapped for maybe twenty minutes.
Twenty loud minutes of pounding, planning, and power tools.
Not to mention the entire volunteer fire department showing up. Because, of course. Nothing else was going on in town.
Greer had a feeling that was probably how it always was.
After Natalie’s brother showed up with his seven-person unit, they managed to get the door unstuck relatively quickly, given all the discussion of how they were going to do it.
And since the atmosphere was completely unfit for a good, old-fashioned make-out session with Tessa, they sat together on a large tote with their backs against the wall as the crew got them free.
Greer pulled her close, enjoying the feel of her with his arm around her back and her head on his shoulder.
She’d nearly blown his mind when she told him she’d pick him over anyone else to be trapped in a dirty old storage room with.
He’d had plenty of women approach him, especially since he’d started training, and most of their comments had to do with his looks.
His physique. Perhaps what he could offer them sexually.
But her declaration had nothing to do with any of that. It was because she genuinely liked him. Him.
Entirely for who he was.
She had been quiet, contemplative even as they waited for rescue. Then, when the door was finally pushed open and they emerged to a crowd of cheers, she seemed to withdraw even further.
Which was why, when the guys on the unit recognized him as a fighter, Greer happily stayed behind to distract them while Tessa went with Natalie to get cleaned up.
He hoped that it would be enough to reset her, but if not, Greer had other plans for them.
He’d take her back to their rental, order a meal, and see if she’d like to spend the night in.
As it was, they had every amenity available to them.
Inside, they could watch any streaming service they wanted.
Outside, they could go canoeing or kayaking.
They could sit on the dock and watch the stars come out again.
Maybe do a little swimming.
Smiling to himself, he remembered the laughter that rang out of her after he’d dunked them in the lake last night. He’d love to have a repeat of that.
Stepping across the threshold into what appeared to be an old-fashioned parlor room, he realized that the antique barn had an attached home to it around back.
Looking at the plush chairs and Natalie’s antique desk, he figured this was probably the office for the business, though he wondered if maybe she and her family lived here on site.
But when Tessa stepped through the far door, wiping her hands off on a towel and giving it a toss, everything but thoughts of her vanished.
“Hey,” he said, crossing the room quickly, his arms already reaching for her.
“Hey,” she returned, stepping into them like… well, like she was his. He loved that there wasn’t any hesitation on her part.
“You ready to get out of here?” he asked, unable to resist giving her a kiss on her forehead.
“I think so,” she said, sadly. “I’d like to say goodbye to Natalie, though.”
“Probably a good idea,” Greer said, hearing some quick steps down the wooden floor outside the office and figuring it was the owner in question. “She’s probably scared to death we’re going to sue her.”
“Gosh, no, it’s my fault. I’m the one who backed into the door so hard it jammed.”
“Shhhhh,” Greer said with a glint in his eye and a finger over her lips. Her eyes widened as he did. “Don’t say that out loud. They might sue us.”
For the first time in probably half an hour, he saw Tessa’s face relax, and her mouth turned up into a small smile.
“Greer, Tessa, I’m so sorry,” Natalie said for probably the fifth time since they’d emerged from the back storage area. “That door has never given us that kind of trouble before.”
“No worries, really,” he said, knowing full well what caused the problem. Still, it was an accident. “Old doors, am I right?”
“And you didn’t have any luck?” she asked, reaching into a retro-styled red mini fridge behind her desk. “Can I get you anything? Water? Soda?”
“A water, please,” Tessa said, stepping out of Greer’s embrace.
“Same,” he said as she passed them each a cold bottle with a local label.
Natalie came around to the front of her desk and leaned against it. “I just don’t understand. If we had the necklace, and it wasn’t in storage, it’d be out on the floor. There’s just no other place it could be.”
“And you’re certain you don’t have any sales receipts for it,” Tessa said, delicately sitting down in a wingback chair. Greer followed, plunking himself down in the one next to her as he cracked open the bottle and took down half of it in nearly three swallows.
Guess he’d been thirstier than he thought.
Natalie shook her head. “No, my grandmother was very specific about how she ran her records. She was honest as the day was long, and we have thick books going back for nearly a hundred years. I’ve searched the digital records as well as the handwritten ones when your father first reached out.
There’s nothing indicating it’s not here. ”
“Except, it isn’t,” Greer said. “We went through every box here, and there wasn’t a piece of jewelry to be found.”
“That actually sounds right,” Natalie winced.
“Jewelry doesn’t generally hang around long.
Most of the pieces we have go straight to the floor.
I can’t really remember the last necklace I put into storage, but then again, I took over five years ago after my parents retired.
I haven’t been in the storage area for a while, either.
And I know I’ve never seen that necklace in person. ”
“So it’s… lost?” Tessa said, her voice thick with sadness. Not just for the loss of the necklace, but the loss of an heirloom all over again. The loss of hope that it could be returned to her family.
Greer reached over, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. She looked up at him with a bit of surprise, but gave him a tight smile despite it, threading her fingers in his and squeezing back.
“I’m afraid so,” Natalie said, and Greer watched Tessa’s shoulders drop just an inch as she tried to deal with the finality of that statement. Though he didn’t miss it when Natalie stiffened, looking like a lightbulb had gone off in her head. “Wait.”
Tessa and Greer both watched as she raced back to her desk. She sat down, shaking her mouse and bringing the system back to life.
“I just remembered something,” she said, clicking as her eyes were fixed on the screen. Whatever she was doing, it was urgent, making Greer stand up, helping Tessa to her feet as well.
“What do you remember?” Tessa asked, sounding a little bit hopeful as she followed Greer around the desk, standing behind Natalie. He wasn’t sure what he was looking at, aside from a document with a list in it.
“Back a year or so ago, there was a production company that came through town,” she explained.
“They were filming some kind of renovation show, and they needed a lot of antiques. They asked if they could borrow them from us, and we put together this huge list of furniture that they leased for a few weeks. I’m wondering if something like that could have happened to the necklace. ”
“Sure, but would a production company need something like that?” The necklace was a statement piece, for sure. But unless a TV company was filming some sort of dark, supernatural thriller or a historical drama, they wouldn’t necessarily be looking for costume jewelry.
“They weren’t the only ones looking to borrow. A-ha!” she said, pointing in victory at a plain, white-paged document.
Tessa and Greer leaned in, Greer sneaking his arm around Tessa’s waist, where he was finding he liked having it.
“Is that a loan statement?” Tessa asked.
“That’s exactly what it is,” Natalie said with excitement.
“My grandmother had allowed family and friends to borrow pieces from her collection, and she was very detailed about who was lent what, and when. I never thought to look at these, but I bet you, if she lent out the necklace and it never returned, she would have a record of that.”
“Where would those records be?” Tessa asked, looking over at Greer with a heartfelt smile on her face. “We might run out and grab some lunch, but we can be back in about an hour to start searching?”
“Some are digitized, but the older ones are in the attic. There aren’t many of them, so I’m happy to go through them myself and give you a call,” she offered. “If you’re planning on staying up here another night?”
“We are,” Greer said, not really knowing if that was Tessa’s plan at all. Truly, the idea of traveling back to Boston tonight was exhausting. He needed a shower, a good meal, and some downtime before thinking about that four-hour drive again.
And what better place to do it than a secluded rental in the Adirondacks with the most beautiful woman he’d ever known, inside and out?
“Good,” Natalie said, standing up. “Then let me do this for you. I’ll go grab the books, and I should have an answer for you by tonight. Tomorrow morning at the latest.”
Tessa and Greer nodded, letting Natalie lead them out the door, apologizing all over herself once again for the upset in the storage room.
As Greer walked with Tessa across the parking lot, he opened the Lexus door for her before hopping back into the driver’s seat.
Starting up the car, he selected the home address in the GPS once more.
“How do you feel about taking it easy tonight?” he offered. “We can order in, chill out. Do something fun?”
“What’d you have in mind?”
Oh, sweetheart, don’t ask me that. Greer gripped the steering wheel, hoping his white knuckles didn’t draw her attention. “What are you up for?”
“I really don’t know,” Tessa said, laughing slightly as she peered out the window. “I don’t usually chill out.”
Greer barked a laugh. Truer words had never been spoken about her. “Oh, c’mon. There’s got to be something you’d like to do.”