Chapter 4 #2
She felt a prickle of unease. “If you saw all that, why didn’t you call me?”
“I was too far back to get a plate number, and I didn’t want to worry you if I was wrong. But when we reached the turnoff, its turn signal came on as if it planned to follow you up the private road. Then it must’ve noticed me and pulled away instead.”
“Or it was just someone who nearly took the wrong turn.” But she wasn’t convinced of that herself.
“Maybe.” Cole didn’t sound convinced, either. “But I think we should be careful. Keep our eyes open. Make sure the doors are locked at night.”
Conrad nodded. “Agreed. Even if it’s nothing, better safe than sorry.”
Sylvie looked at Cole. “Do you think it was Jewel’s ex?”
“I don’t know. Could’ve been. Or it could be someone he hired. Or…” Cole paused, glancing at the kids, who were listening with wide eyes. “It could be a lot of things.”
“Or it could be nothing, and we’re scaring the children for no reason,” Jewel said firmly.
Beckett’s lower lip trembled. “Is the bad man coming back?”
Cole reached over to ruffle his hair. “No, buddy. No one’s coming. We’re just being extra careful, that’s all.”
“Like when we lock the doors at night?” Della asked.
Sylvie nodded at her daughter. “Exactly like that. Just being smart and safe.”
Susan stood, her movements a little unsteady. “Who wants dessert? I made apple pie.”
The children cheered, their fear forgotten in the promise of sugar.
Jewel helped clear the plates while Susan sliced generous pieces of pie, filling the kitchen with the smell of cinnamon. But she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. What if Cole was right? What if someone had been following her?
And if so, who? And why?
After dessert, Conrad insisted on doing the dishes as he promised, and Sylvie stayed to help him, shooing everyone else out of the kitchen. The children begged for one more game outside before bed, and Cole took them into the backyard where the last light of day was fading into dusk.
Jewel found herself alone in the living room with Susan.
Susan settled into her chair with her needlework. “Thank you for staying. I know it’s not easy with everything between you and Cole.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not, but I appreciate you pretending. He cares about you, you know. More than he probably should, given the circumstances.” Her smile was sad.
She didn’t know what to say to that. “Susan—”
“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know.
In case it matters.” Susan picked up her needlework, her fingers finding the familiar rhythm.
“He’s a good man, Jewel. I know there are things he’s kept from you, things that make you doubt him.
But he’s a good man. A good father. And he deserves someone who can see that. ”
“I want to believe that.”
Susan looked up, her expression gentle yet fierce. “Then do. Trust your instincts. They’ve kept you safe this long, haven’t they?”
Before she could reply, Sylvie showed up in the doorway and motioned toward the porch. “Hey, can I borrow you for a minute?”
Jewel followed her outside, where the evening air was cool and fragrant with pine. They sat on the porch steps, watching the kids and Cole playing in the fading light.
“So, that car. Did you really see it, or do you think Cole’s being paranoid?”
She thought about it, replaying the drive in her mind. “I thought I noticed something. A car that seemed to be staying close. But I figured I was just being jumpy after everything with Robert.”
“But now Cole says he saw it, too.”
“Yeah.”
“And you believe him?”
Did she? Or was this just another thing to add to the list of doubts she carried about him?
She clasped her hands tightly. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. Part of me thinks he’s telling the truth, that he really saw someone following me. But part of me wonders if he’s just trying to make me feel like I need his protection. Like I’m not safe without him.”
Sylvie paused for a moment. “Not knowing if you can trust someone you’re starting to care about is a pretty heavy thing to carry.”
“I do care about him. That’s what makes this so hard.”
“Trust your gut, Jewel. What’s it telling you?”
She closed her eyes, quieting her mind and simply allowing herself to feel, blocking out all doubts and fears. “My gut still says he’s telling the truth. About the car, about Trevor, about all of it.”
“Then maybe you should listen to it.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the game wind down as darkness crept in. Finally, Cole herded the kids inside, telling Beck it was time to go home, his voice echoing through the screen door as the boy protested that it was too early to leave.
Jewel stood up. “I should get going, too. Beck likes me to read to him before bed.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you could do me a favor first.” Sylvie pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.
“I made a list of things Della was asking for. Her special shampoo, her bedtime book, stuff like that. It’s all in Conrad’s truck, but I can’t remember where we packed it.
Would you mind checking the barn before you go?
I think Conrad might’ve stashed some of our bags out there when we unloaded, but I don’t know my way around out there yet. ”
“Sure, no problem.”
The barn was quiet when she entered, illuminated only by the swinging overhead light in the rafters. The sound of horses munching on hay filled the space, and Copper nickered softly from his stall. She paused to pet his nose.
“Hey there, buddy. How’re you doing?”
The gelding pushed his head into her hand, and for a moment, everything felt simple again—just her and the horses, no complications, no doubts.
She moved through the barn, first checking the tack room where Conrad might’ve stashed their bags, but nothing was there. She tried the feed room, then the small office space Cole kept for lodge paperwork.
That’s when she saw it.
A corner of fabric stuck out from behind a loose board near the wall. It looked deliberately placed, hidden but not buried so deeply that it could never be found.
Her investigator instincts hummed to life.
She knelt carefully, working the board free. Behind it was a small cloth bundle, dark blue fabric tied with a leather cord.
Her hands shook slightly as she pulled it out and unwrapped it.
Inside was a bracelet.
It was silver and delicate, with distinctive turquoise stones arranged in an intricate pattern. Not expensive, but beautifully crafted. Personal. The kind of piece someone would wear every day.
Her breath caught.
She’d seen this bracelet before in the photos she’d examined during her investigation. It had been on Vivian’s wrist in her Facebook pictures, in the family photos at Susan’s house, and in the snapshots from the lodge’s social media pages.
Vivian Hayes wore this bracelet in nearly every single photo she found. Every. Single. One.
It was as much a part of her as her red hair and freckles.
And now it was here, hidden in Cole’s office, wrapped in cloth and tucked behind a board where no one would find it unless they were looking.
Her mind raced through the implications.
If Vivian had left willingly with Trevor, wouldn’t she have taken her bracelet?
But if she hadn’t left willingly…
If something had happened to her here…
If Cole had…
“No,” she whispered, but her hands trembled as she held the bracelet, feeling its weight and the cool silver against her palm.
There has to be an explanation. There has to be a reason this is here.
But what reason could possibly make sense? What innocent explanation could account for Vivian’s most precious piece of jewelry being hidden in Cole’s barn instead of with her wherever she’d gone?
The barn door creaked.
Her head snapped up, her heart hammering.
Footsteps. Someone was coming.
She looked down at the bracelet in her hand, at the incriminating evidence she’d just found, and had about three seconds to decide what to do.
Hide it? Confront whoever was coming? Pretend she hadn’t found anything?
The footsteps grew closer.
She stood frozen, gripping the bracelet tightly in her hand, aware that whatever she decided in the next few seconds could change everything.