by Zoe York
But, past the kick-ass lounge area, there was an office. Huge oak desk, three filing cabinets, five bookshelves, and a large, Irish guy sitting behind a computer, typing away.
“You Heeler?” the man asked without looking up from his task. His voice was deep and gruff, and as I crossed through the living space to get to one of the empty chairs sitting in front of the desk, I was surprised to see that he was around my age.
I guess I read too many books, watched too many movies, because nothing about this private investigator was what I’d been expecting.
“Yeah, Jackson,” I replied, and once I was in reaching distance, I stuck out my hand in greeting. “You can call me Jacks.”
“Mick,” he said, giving my hand one quick, firm shake, before resuming his typing. “Have a seat. I just gotta finish up this summary while things are fresh in my mind. There’s water and beer in the fridge, if you want.”
“I’m good.”
I sat in the chair closest to me, immediately thinking that I needed to find out where Mick had bought it and get one for my classroom. It was that comfortable.
My eyes darted around the office space as I tried not to awkwardly stare at the man in front of me. He was big; like, even sitting, I could tell the dude was mammoth. Probably did that CrossFit workout, which I would totally do if I had time, and didn’t have the upper body strength of a ten-year-old.
He was a contrast of light and dark. Pale skin, with dark hair and eyebrows, but when his eyes had met mine, I’d been startled by how light green they were. I’d never seen eyes that color, they were pretty cool.
Of course, I wouldn’t tell him that … The guy would probably toss me like a tire if I commented on his cool eye color.
The typing stopped and Mick started talking.
“Right, so on the phone you stated this is a missing persons case. Can you give me more details?”
Mick leaned back in his chair, it was the kind that moved when you reclined, and crossed his hands over his stomach, those light-green eyes pinning me in place.
It was a little unnerving.
“Uh, yeah, well, not missing so much as walked out and left. My wife walked out almost a year ago, saying she needed to not be a wife and mother anymore. We were smothering her, holding her back, and she needed to go find herself. I haven’t heard from her since.”
“What about her family?”
I shook my head.
“No, they said they haven’t heard from her either, and I believe them. We’re close. They’re close with my parents, and we see each other all the time. My daughter is with them right now, in fact, and my mother-in-law asked me to let them know if you find Julie.”
“Are you sure they’re telling the truth, not just keeping a promise to their daughter?”
“Yeah, no, I know they’re telling the truth. Ruth, my mother-in-law, had not only lost weight in the past year, she’s lost a bit of her shine, ya know? Julie’s disappearing act had taken a toll on her … She doesn’t know where she is.”
Mick gave one sharp nod and sat up, reaching for a pad of paper and sliding it toward me. He laid a pen on top and ordered, “Write down the names of everyone you can think of who knew her, don’t leave anyone out. Co-workers, friends, family, the guy who mowed your lawn … everyone. I’ll start there, then follow the trail.”
“You think you can find her?” I looked at the man who could finally put this chapter of my life to rest, and realized I believed he actually could.
“Never failed before,” Mick claimed. “Don’t plan on it now.”
And that is good enough for me.
Millie
“We totally rocked that reception,” Dru said happily as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, champagne flute in hand.
We’d had one of the rare events where all hands were needed on deck, so the three of us, along with all of our staff, had spent all day and all evening on Sunday pulling off our biggest wedding reception yet.
A lot of blood, sweat, and tears had gone into making it come off seamlessly. But it was all worth it.
Now that everything had been cleaned up and torn down, my sisters and I were back at our building, sitting in the quiet dining area out front. The shutters were drawn, so no one could see in, and it was blissfully peaceful.
“Yeah, we did,” Tasha replied, raising her glass and nudging Dru with her knee to get her to sit up and open her eyes. “To Three Sisters, us, and the business, for becoming more than I ever imagined. Great job tonight.”
My feet were throbbing and my lower back niggled, but I wore a huge smile as I clinked my glass to theirs.
“To Three Sisters.”
I sipped my champagne with a happy sigh, enjoying the feel of the bubbles sliding down my throat.
“It was a successful day,” I said as I moved my head back and forth to get the kinks out of my neck. “But, I sure am glad we’re off tomorrow.”
“Amen,” Dru replied, then narrowed her eyes at me and said, “We’ve been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to get the deets from Friday night.”
“Oh, yeah,” Tasha cooed as she scooted her chair closer and leaned over the table toward me, resting her chin in her hands and blinking slowly at me.
“Stop,” I said with a laugh as I gently pushed at her head.
Tasha slapped at my hand and ordered, “Spill. Now. You know we are living vicariously through you. Don’t leave anything out … Is he rough or gentle? Bottom or top? Does he talk dirty, or recite lines from one of his romance novels? C’mon, tell all.”
“Geez,” Dru said with a snort. “I don’t really want that much information about Millie’s sex life, I just want to know which base they hit. You need a night out, Tash.”
“I know,” Tasha sighed dramatically, and we all laughed. “But seriously, Mills, how did it go?”
“Dinner was delicious, and so was dessert,” I began coyly, then I remembered the incident at Prime Beef and decided it was time to turn the tables on them for once. “To answer your question, Dru, we got to second … and all I’ll say, Tasha, is yes, to everything you asked.”
“Oh,” Tasha said, her eyes wide and her mouth forming an O.
“Now, I have a question for you guys,” I said, sharpening my gaze on both my sisters as I looked to each of them to catch their reactions. “Jericho Smythe.”
I watched the blood drain from Tasha’s face. Bingo.
After a beat, Dru said, “Ah, that’s not a question, it’s a name … Who’s Jericho Smythe?”
“Ask Tasha,” I said, my eyes never leaving our younger sister’s face.
Dru turned her head toward Tasha and asked, “Who’s Jericho Smythe?”
When Tasha didn’t answer, I said, “The owner of Prime Beef. Apparently, there’s some history between our brooding neighbor and our little sis.”
“What?” Dru practically screeched. I could understand her shock, we had been working across from Jericho for well over a year, commenting on how grumpy he always seemed and wondering why he seemed to hate us, and all this time, Tasha had been the reason.
It was too bizarre.
“Apparently,” I started when it appeared Tasha was going to remain mute. “They were together and it ended badly. Like, together, together.”
“What?” Dru screeched again, obviously unable to form complete sentences.
“The question I had was, when, but after thinking about it, it became obvious,” I stated, watching as pain flitted across Tasha’s face. I gentled my voice and asked, “It was when you were at college, wasn’t it? Before Mom got sick.”
Tasha nodded slowly, and my heart hurt when a tear slid down her cheek.
“Oh my gosh, it was serious,” Dru said, finally finding her words and scooting over to put her arm around Tasha. “What happened?”
“We were in love,” Tasha said softly, her voice rough as if she’d been crying for hours.
I reached my hand out over the table to place it over hers and squeeze gently.
<
br /> She took a deep breath and added, “When I met Jericho, it was like being hit by lightning. He was so … everything. Handsome, confident, sexy. He was in my accounting class, a few years ahead of me in school, and seemed to have it all together. I was young, it was my first time out on my own, and I felt like a total fish out of water. I kept wondering what I was doing there, and even had the urge to drop out and come home, then he asked me out for coffee.”
Tasha laughed, as if still unable to believe the handsome, older man wanted to ask her out, her face lighting briefly before it fell.
“It was a whirlwind; he became everything to me, so much so that it scared the crap out of me. He’s pretty intense, and always knew exactly what he wanted, whereas I was still trying to figure it all out. Not him, I mean, I was certain I was in love with him … head over heels. But, I was unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, and I craved my independence. You guys know that, that’s why I left, and I began to worry that I was losing my will to gain that independence, because I was so enamored with Jericho.”
When Tasha fell silent, Dru pushed, “And, then?”
“Then, Mom got sick. Millie had finished culinary school, and you were on your last semester. I knew I needed to be here with you guys, and with Mom, so I decided to come back home and transfer … finish school here.”
“And, Jericho?” I asked softly.
Tasha hung her head, and her voice was so low, I had to strain to hear her response.
“I just left. I was a complete coward, and took Mom’s sickness as a sign that I needed to break away from Jericho and figure out what I wanted out of life.” Tasha lifted her head, the tears flowing freely now. “He’s right to hate me. I’ve been waiting for him to confront me, to tell me off, or scream at me, but he hasn’t. He’s ignored me … all this time … as if I meant nothing. As if I didn’t break both of our hearts by walking away. And, I guess maybe I didn’t. Maybe he didn’t even notice I was gone.”
With that, Tasha stood up and walked out. Dru’s eyes sought mine, and I knew what she was thinking … We needed to kick Jericho Smythe’s ass.
Jackson
Hey! I know you have school, but can you break away for lunch? If not, it’s totally okay. Just thought I’d ask.
I was walking down the hall, the discussion my class had just had on the pros and cons of Mr. Darcy still playing in my mind, when Millie’s text came through. An instant grin and, I’m a little embarrassed to say, some stomach flutters, were my immediate reaction to seeing her name pop up on my phone.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to break away during the school day, but was so pleased that Millie contacted me and wanted to see me, that I wondered just how strict Principal Wiggins’ policy on non-staff members eating in the lounge was…
Realizing I was willing to risk it, I texted back:
Can’t break free for lunch, but you could come here. I’ll even share my peanut butter and banana sandwich. My break is until 12:30.
I was standing in the middle of the hallway, looking down at my phone as I awaited Millie’s reply, when a gentle hand on my shoulder, and softly spoken, “Jackson?” shook me out of my revere and had me looking up.
“Oh, hey, Rebecca. Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” I replied sheepishly, then looked back down when I felt the phone vibrate in my hand.
Lol, I won’t steal your sandwich, I’ll bring my own. Should I go to the front office?
No, I’ll meet you at the side of the school, just follow the sign that says staff parking and I’ll be there.
“Uh, sorry, Rebecca,” I muttered as I tore my gaze from my phone and back to her. “What’s up?”
My phone vibrated again.
Perfect, see you in ten.
“If this is a bad time…” Rebecca began, her voice trailing off as I turned my attention to her once more and placed my phone in my back pocket.
“Sorry, no, of course not,” I said, then felt a stab of panic in my chest. What if what Ty had said was true, and Rebecca was about to ask me out?
I noticed she was wringing her hands nervously and that her eyes kept darting around the hall, looking at everyone and everything but me.
“Well, this may be weird, but I was wondering…”
When she paused, I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.
“Rebecca, I think you’re great. I’ve loved getting to know you over the years, and having you by my side at the dances always make them much easier to bear, but I think of you as a friend…”
Rebecca looked from my hand on her shoulder to my face, her own looking quite puzzled.
“Huh?” she asked, and a different kind of dread began to fill me.
The embarrassing, mortifying kind.
“You weren’t going to ask me out?” I asked cautiously, even though I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t. “I’m sorry, it’s just, I’m seeing someone, and Ty said you had a crush on me…”
Rebecca’s mouth formed a small O, and she smacked the heel of her hand to her forehead.
“That explains it,” she sighed.
“What?”
“Last year, after Julie, I may have had a small crush,” Rebecca began, holding her finger and thumb up to indicate just how small.
“Not necessary,” I muttered, pushing her hand down with mine and looking around us in hopes that no one else had heard our conversation, or misunderstood what she’d been indicating was small.
“But, after spending time with you, and being your shoulder afterwards, I realized that we were definitely more suited to be friends.” As I was trying to process whether or not that hurt my feelings, she continued, “And, since then, I’ve come to realize who I really have feelings for, and was worried that I had no shot, but now it all makes sense, because he thinks I’m into you.”
It took me a moment to brush off my feelings and catch up, and when I did, I cried, “Ty?”
Rebecca grimaced at my reaction, smoothed her hand over her hair in what I knew was a nervous gesture, and said, “Look, I know he’s kind of a player, but, I really, really like him. He’s smart, funny, a great teacher, and totally hot.”
This time I grimaced. What were we now, gossip buddies? I didn’t want to hear how hot one of my friends thought my other friend was … In fact, now that I knew I was off the hook, I wanted to get the heck out of this conversation and go wait for Millie.
“Ah, look, Rebecca,” I began, but she stopped me.
“Jackson, I just want you to feel him out, see if he’s interested, and maybe … put in a good word?”
She looked so hopeful that I couldn’t say anything but, “Yes. Of course I will, but I gotta run, okay?”
“Okay,” Rebecca said with a big grin, then bounced up on her toes and gave me a kiss on the cheek and added, “You’re the best.”
I chuckled as she practically skipped down the hall, then turned and rushed to meet Millie at the side door. I could see her walking up the sidewalk through the window of the door as I approached. She was loaded down with her purse, a stylish lunch bag, and a large container that I really hoped contained a cake.
I opened the door and held it for her, her smile warming me when she looked up and saw me standing there.
“Hey,” Millie said sweetly as she brushed passed me. She lifted her arms a fraction and added, “I brought a red velvet cake.”
My response was to sigh and say, “I love you.”
Millie
I stopped walking once I realized I was marching down the hall alone and had no idea where I was going. I turned to see Jackson still standing at the door, frozen, his mouth gaping a bit as he moved it but no sound came out.
I tried to figure out what had happened, then his words came back to me and I guffawed.
“Calm down, Jackson, I know it was just a reaction to the cake, and you don’t actually love me,” I assured him, even though the words had given me a quick thrill coming out of his mouth. “You’re such a nervous Nelly
. People tell me they love me all the time after they get a taste of my cooking.”
Relief filled his face and he smiled as he crossed to me.
“Really? I have a lot of competition, huh?”
“Yup,” I quipped, matching his step as we made our way down the empty hallway.
It was kind of weird being in a high school again. Brought back memories. Some good, like me and Dru laughing as we rushed through the halls to get to soccer practice before we got busted by Coach. Or bad, like the time my boyfriend Cooper told me he was breaking up with me to go out with the head cheerleader.
“Did you just call me a nervous Nelly?” Jackson asked, his voice filled with mirth, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I sure did,” I replied with a chuckle. “You keep getting caught in your head about things you’re worried I think or expect, and I totally get it, you’re out of your element and it throws you off. But, Jackson, I’m really enjoying being with you, and I hope you’re enjoying being with me too. I’m not putting pressure on either of us, and if you get nervous or wonder what I’m thinking or feeling, just ask, okay? I promise I’ll tell you.”
Jackson stopped and smiled down at me, then bent to brush his lips softly against mine.
“All right, Mr. H!”
We jumped apart and I flushed, then we grinned at each other and he took the cake out of my hands.
“Sorry, I should have grabbed this right away. C’mon.”
I looked around the teacher’s lounge as we entered, and it looked exactly how I always imagined one would look. Full coffee pot and microwave on the counter, a large fridge, and about five round tables scattered throughout the room. There was a small, flat-screen TV off to one side, and it was currently turned to a morning talk show.
There were about eight women scattered throughout and two men sitting at a table at the back of the room. One was a little older, and a little rounder, with light-brown hair and kind eyes, while the other was obviously physically fit, with close-cropped black hair, toffee-colored skin, and a face made to flirt. Their heads had come up when Jackson opened the door, and they tracked our progress through the room.
