The Cottage on Nantucket

by Jessie Newton

  “Are you still seeing Milford?” Tessa asked.

  “Yes,” Janey said with a small smile. “He’s just gone on an assignment in Toronto for a few weeks.”

  Tessa nodded, pressing her lips together in such a way that expressed her displeasure silently.

  Janey drew in a breath, wishing she’d been able to take Sean’s call. Perhaps they could’ve gone to lunch or dinner today, and she could get out of this cottage and find some answers.

  She seized onto that single word—answers—and flipped open the blue binder again. “Okay, so maybe we should call this hotel and the bank.” She looked up at Tessa, who seemed to be staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. “You know what?” Janey closed the binder again. “I’ll do it. You handled everything else with Mom, and I can take care of these for you.”

  “The will is in my name,” she said. “They might not talk to you.”

  Janey nodded and picked up her phone as she stood. “I’ll see what I can do.” She didn’t want to go down the hall to her bedroom, but the front steps didn’t appeal to her either. Riggs could wander by again, and Tessa could overhear her conversation.

  So she went back down the hall to the bedroom at the end on the left, and she closed and locked the door behind her. Janey took care of dozens of business tasks on her phone, and her fingers had great muscle memory for exactly where to swipe and tap and type.

  She found the number for The Hotel Benjamin and dialed it, putting the phone to her ear. She had no idea what to ask, or which button to push when she got an automated answering machine.

  “Duh,” she said quickly, remembering something in the letter. Mom had said she’d included contact information for the assets, and Janey hung up before she could decide if she should press one or two or zero.

  She set the binder on the bed and knelt in front of it, gingerly flipping the page as if she’d rip it right out and all would be lost. Mom had done a very good job organizing everything, and a single sheet sat behind a divider that said THE HOTEL BENJAMIN in all capital letters across the top.

  “Charles Burns,” she read aloud, reciting the phone number typed below his name. It did not have a New York City area code, and that only added to Janey’s puzzled thoughts. The address contained on the page listed him in Maryland, and Janey wanted to get on the next ferry that would take her back to the mainland, and then the very next airplane that would get her to Baltimore.

  She typed in the phone number and tapped on the green icon to connect the call. Her pulse pounded with every millisecond that passed, and she had no idea what she’d say to Charles Burns should he answer.

  He didn’t, but his voicemail message identified him. “Yes, hello,” Janey said, slipping into her businesswoman persona. She’d talked to hundreds of people, many of them CEOs. Janey could handle whoever Charles Burns was.

  “My name is Tessa Simmons,” she said, the little white lie rolling easily off her tongue. “I’ve just found my mother’s will, and she’s listed you as the contact person for an item that I suppose belongs to me now: The Hotel Benjamin? Can you please call me at your earliest convenience?”

  She recited her phone number and flipped the page as she ended the call. The next page contained the contact information for the bank, and Janey dialed the number. This time, Elle Wheeler answered her phone, and Janey launched into the same speech as before.

  “Yes, of course,” Elle said almost the moment Janey stopped speaking. “You’ll have to come in with the account number and passcode. Then I’m to release the contents of the safety deposit box associated with that account, and I’ll have a check ready for you.”

  “Really?” Janey asked. If this was what Tessa had been doing over the past six weeks, Janey didn’t feel so bad.

  “This is all detailed in my instructions from your mother,” Elle said. “When you come in, I’m to have a check ready for you, and the account will be closed immediately. You get the safety deposit box, and it too is then canceled.”

  “Okay,” Janey said. “I have quite a number of other items to deal with. Would it be possible to send my sister to take care of this?”

  Elle didn’t say anything, and Janey saw her opportunity to see what was in that safety deposit box start to smoke. She studied the page in the binder, the account number and passcode there, along with Elle’s name, phone number, and the address of the bank.

  “Ma’am, your sister is expected to come,” Elle said, her voice filled with confusion. “Was that not listed in the will?”

  “Of course,” Janey said smoothly, flipping pages now, her eyes moving fast to find the information. She flipped to the next section, but it was about the hotel. Another flip and this section contained information on the house on Long Island. One more flip, and she arrived at the section about the bank account.

  The same cover sheet that had all the information on it sat there, and Janey turned the page. Tessa, if you include Janey in this process, send her to the bank in New York City. There is something for her to do there, and if you tell Elle Janey will be coming, they will authorize everything to her care for you.

  “I see it now,” she said. “Janey will be coming to New York to deal with the account there.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Please make sure she has a valid ID when she comes. I work Monday through Friday, nine a.m. to five p.m., and she simply needs to ask for me when she arrives.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Janey said again, looking up and away from the binder.

  The call ended, and she set the phone on the binder. She stared straight ahead, her knees reminding her that she need to focus. “No drinking,” she whispered to herself. “Stay present. There is something for you to do in New York City.”

  Janey had no idea what she had to do in the city. She didn’t live there, and she didn’t go there if she didn’t have to. Jersey was as close to the Big Apple as she wanted to get.

  She had more questions than answers right now, but she knew one thing. She needed to take this binder with her and get to the bank in New York City as quickly as she could.

  Standing, Janey said, “Game face, Janey. It’s okay to lie to her for the time being. You can tell her the truth once you know more of it.”

  She stepped over to the door and unlocked it, trying to find a reason Tessa would believe for why she needed to leave for the mainland instantly.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I’ll get it done as quickly as I can,” Janey said as she lugged her carryon toward the front door. Tessa followed her, her displeasure as loud as a wail though she didn’t make a sound. “It’s just work. Sunny can’t do anything with Rogers and Yardley without me, I swear.” Janey made her voice as frustrated as she dared without going over the top.

  She opened the front door and found her cab waiting in front of the cottage. Relief rose through her as quickly as the sun reared its face over the ocean each morning. Setting her suitcase on the ground, she turned back to her sister. “Three days, tops.” She drew Tessa into a hug, ignoring the frown on her sister’s mouth and eyebrows. She looked so much like Mom when she wore that expression, and Janey held her extra-tight as her emotions surged.

  Moments like these, where she realized she’d never see that look on her mother’s face again, snuck up on her, attacking out of nowhere and leaving her drained and exhausted for hours. She couldn’t afford this setback right now, as traveling had started to wear her down the same way.

  “I love you,” she said, her voice almost a chirp it came out so high. She stepped back, didn’t look at Tessa, and spun to pick up her luggage. She hurried down the steps and strode the length of the short sidewalk, her chest heaving as her eyes burned.

  She slid into the back seat and cinched her arms across her chest.

  “Ferry station?” the man behind the wheel asked.

  “Yes, please,” Janey clipped out, looking across the car to the beach opposite of the cottage. She couldn’t stomach seeing Tessa standing on the porch, because Mom had often done ex
actly that. She’d lift one hand and yell to the girls to stay together and be home before dark.

  Janey remembered the carefree days of her tweens, when she didn’t mind so much that Tessa shadowed her everywhere. They’d collect shells from way out on the Point, where the shallow water was always warm and she could lay down in the soft sand and listen to the whisperings of the ocean.

  She and Tessa would take turns burying each other in sand, building castles and then stomping them back into nothing but sand, and running as fast as they could when they heard the whimsical, almost circus-like music of the ice cream truck.

  Mom always gave them a five-dollar bill for the day, and Janey would buy them a corndog and fries to share so they’d have enough for ice cream sandwiches or the brightly colored rainbow pops that left her mouth stained a crimson red she shuddered at now.

  The ringing of her phone pulled her from decades past, and she pulled it out of the pocket of her carryon. Sean’s name sat there, and Janey quickly answered. “Sean, hello,” she said smoothly, boxing up the emotions that had nearly undone her composure. “I hate to tell you this, but I have to return to Jersey for a couple of days.”

  “Something for work?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said, feeling slightly bad about the lie. “Perhaps we can go to Rusty Bucket when I get back?”

  “You’re headed out now?”

  “I’m on the way to the ferry station right now,” she said. “I’m sorry, Sean.” She did mean that, and she looked out the window at the quaint streets with houses dotting the horizon every so often. The cab left Nantucket Point, and fifteen minutes later, they’d arrive in the downtown area.

  “It’s okay,” he said, and he sounded like he meant it. “I understand work emergencies, trust me.” He offered her a chuckle, and she smiled though he couldn’t see her.

  “I’ll be in touch.” As soon as the call ended, she sent a quick text to Milford about her return trip to Jersey as well. She might as well cover all of her bases with the same story. It made everything so much easier to remember.

  She sent him a picture of the beach and The Lighthouse Inn, saying she regretted she had to return to the office for even a few days. She frowned as she sent the same photos to her kids, asking them if she should keep the cottage so they could have summer vacations there.

  She’d brought the kids as they’d grown up, but her marriage to their dad had ended before Rachel had turned three. Janey had been a single mom for sixteen years, despite a brief second marriage that had ended when her husband had physically disciplined Cole after she’d told him not to.

  That marriage had ended seven years ago, and Janey’s loneliness seemed to double by the day. That was why she couldn’t go to Nantucket Point for a week without finding a man to go to dinner with, talk to, or think about.

  She ended up not telling Cole and Rachel that she was leaving Nantucket. If she did, she’d have to tell at least Rachel where she was going, for her daughter lived with her and would certainly know she hadn’t returned to Jersey for work.

  Neither of them asked anything that required her to lie, and she told them about the beaches, the cottage, and the excellent seafood all the way to the ferry.

  As the ferry made its way back to Hyannis, Janey texted Curtis to say she’d have to reschedule their video chat as she’d be traveling through it. He responded with a frowny face and the words, Okay. Tell me when.

  She didn’t, because she’d started to wonder why she should. Nothing was ever going to come of the relationship—besides amazing sex. Janey knew that; she’d known men like Curtis before, and they never truly left their wives. Even though he was already separated, he wasn’t divorced, and there was a reason for that.

  Before she knew it, she’d joined the millions in New York City, each and every one of them walking with purpose and an exact destination in mind. Janey had once thrived on the energy in the city. Now, the tall buildings and the noise pressed in around her, though she did love to sit and people-watching, making up stories for each person who crossed her path.

  Today, though, she had no time for sitting in parks and creating stories.

  A huge clock in a square across from the bank rang four times, and Janey took a nice, long, deep breath. The letters above the doorway announcing the bank stared down at her, intimidating and imposing at the same time.

  She reminded herself that she’d met with a number of CEOs, CFOs, and Cybersecurity experts. She’d led dozens upon dozens of meetings. She might not be wearing her skirt, slacks, or heels, but she knew how to put on a mask and pretend.

  “Thirty minutes,” she whispered to herself. “You just have to be strong for the next thirty minutes.”

  With that, she reached for the door and stepped inside Pinnacle Trust. The interior felt like a cave, with dark brick and dark hardwood on the floor. Low lighting reminded Janey of a club or pub, and she glanced to her right, where the long counter ran for tellers.

  She looked left, and the space opened up, with desks dotting it at random. She definitely needed to go that way, and she pushed her hair off her forehead, wiping the thin sheen of sweat that had gathered on her walk here.

  Janey stepped up to the first desk, already knowing it wasn’t her goal. “Hello,” she said pleasantly. “I’m looking for Elle Wheeler.”

  The man there looked up at her, no smile in sight. He seemed annoyed, and he probably had to field everyone who came in looking for someone more important than him. He indicated something behind her. “Elle’s in the corner to your right.”

  “Thank you,” Janey said crisply, turning and surveying the room. A fireplace took up the far end, and she wondered if the beautiful centerpiece worked. She’d often fantasized about having a home with a grand fireplace and mantel. To her, Christmas simply wasn’t the same if she couldn’t feed the discarded wrapping paper into the flames and watch it curl up, turn black, and smoke.

  She hadn’t been able to provide the same memories for her kids as she’d had as a child, and she vowed that her next house would have a fireplace, even if it was an electric one.

  Elle’s name sat on a plaque outside her office, and the door stood open. Janey stepped right up to the doorway and knocked on the frame. “Hello?”

  A woman turned in her enormous office chair, rising a moment later. She didn’t possess curves, but she did own designer clothes that made her thin body look normal. “Hello,” she said in the same fluidly professional voice Janey had heard that morning. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes,” she said, committing to entering the room. She moved to the front of the massive mahogany desk separating her from Elle and extended her hand. “I’m Janey Forsythe. You spoke to my sister on the phone this morning.” She added a smile to the statement, and the gesture helped settle her nerves.

  “Janey, of course.” Elle shook her hand. “Let me gather your items.” She rounded the desk. “Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee? Soda?”

  “I came from Nantucket,” Janey said with a sigh, as if traveling to New York was such a chore. “Sparkling water would be lovely.” She sat in one of the wingback chairs in front of Elle’s desk and smiled.

  “Sparkling water it is.” Elle left her office, and Janey quickly got back to her feet and hurried to the door. The woman walked away without looking back, and she rounded the fireplace and went into the other office in the opposite corner.

  Within five minutes, she’d returned with a sealed envelope and a key. “Come with me, if you would.” She smiled, but she’d forgotten the sparkling water.

  Janey scurried after her anyway, entering the vault after Elle had swiped her very important keycard through three checkpoints. She stood at the door while Janey found the box and put the key inside.

  Her heart pounded harder than it ever had before, even more so than when she’d lost Rachel at an Easter egg hunt and couldn’t find her for over an hour.

  She finally twisted the key and opened the box, which was one of the smaller ones. An en
velope with her name written on the outside sat there, and she stared at it. How had Mom known she’d be the one to come to this bank?

  It was in the blue binder, Janey reminded herself. Tessa was a rule-follower. If Mom said to send Janey to the bank, even if Tessa had wanted to go, she’d have sent Janey. She might have waited nervously in the street, but Janey would’ve gotten this envelope alone.

  She reached inside and removed the envelope. A flash of silver caught her eye, and Janey reached for the necklace in the bottom of the box. A diamond-studded starfish hung from the chain, and Janey’s eyes grew hot in less time than it took to inhale.

  Janey had bought this for her mother for her fiftieth birthday. She hadn’t been able to afford it then, but she’d had a number of credit cards, and Daddy had just passed away a few months prior.

  She needed to get out of this vault and this bank. Dropping the necklace in her pocket, she quickly slammed the box back into its slot and turned back to Elle. She barely met the woman’s eyes as she approached.

  “Is that all?” Janey asked.

  “Yes,” she said.

  Janey nodded as she went by, and she wanted to stop and tell Elle to eat something, because it wouldn’t be worth saving the calories now in ten years.

  Everything blurred around her. Faces, colors, sound, light, and all of her thoughts. She burst out of the bank and turned in whatever direction her feet took her. She needed somewhere safe and private to look through two envelopes…and then sob as she secured the starfish pendant around her neck.

  She threw up her hand and a taxi came to the curb. She got in the car and said the first thing that came to her mind. “The Hotel Benjamin, please.” Then she prayed she could press against her panic attack for just a few more minutes.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’ll have the food sent up,” Charles Burns said. “Once our timed safe opens, I’ll bring up the envelope, Miss Forsythe.”