Sandpiper Shore

by Debbie Mason

  “Shotgun and Cueball? But I just met them at the stoplight. And the ring was stolen from my room. You know that.”

  “We only have your word that it was, Jenna. Is there a reason why you didn’t contact HHPD, or at least tell Logan, when you heard from your ex-fiancé? A man you know we’re all looking for. A man you kept Logan from going after the other day at Tie the Knot.”

  “I—” Saved by a knock on the door, she thought when Aidan got up and opened it, revealing her sisters.

  “Sorry. Are we interrupting something?” Arianna asked, looking from the Gallagher men to Jenna.

  Just an attempted murder investigation, Jenna quipped in her head, and then prayed neither of the men would mention why they were there.

  “No, we’re good. Thanks. Jenna, I’ll talk to you later about the last item on our agenda that Aidan mentioned.” She should’ve known Logan wouldn’t let her off the hook for long. “Wedding stuff,” he explained to her sisters. And she could’ve kissed him for protecting her butt. A few minutes later, she wished he had stayed.

  “We were so worried when we heard about the shooting, Jenna. Do they have any idea who did it?” Serena asked as she and Arianna lowered themselves onto the chairs in front of the desk.

  Me, she thought. “No, but it’s possible it was nothing. Maybe someone was hunting crows or squirrels.” Both were out of season, but it had been known to happen before.

  “That’s not the rumor going around town. They say it was an assassination attempt on the princess. They’re lauding Logan as a hero,” Arianna said, glancing at Serena. “You might want to talk to him about Ryan. See if he has any suggestions as to how to protect yourself. You too, Jenna.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Based on our complaints, Chief Benson didn’t just put Ryan on desk duty; he fired him,” Serena said.

  “Have you seen him since he was let go, Serena? Did he threaten you?” Jenna asked. She didn’t want to make her sister nervous, but from Jenna’s interaction with Ryan the other day, she thought Serena had reason to be. The man didn’t seem like the type to forgive and forget.

  “Oh, she saw him all right,” Arianna said, giving Serena a tight-lipped look.

  “What was I supposed to do? He wouldn’t stop calling me and trying to get back together. He bragged about how his wife would never suspect a thing. She’s pregnant, Arianna.” Serena looked at Jenna. “I taped his phone calls and then went to his wife and played them for her. He came home just as I was leaving. She left him the next day, and then he was let go from HHPD.”

  “Oh, wow, you definitely have to talk to someone, Serena,” Jenna said, proud of her sister yet terribly concerned for her safety.

  Serena shrugged. “I don’t think killing glares count as a threat. The police can’t do anything.”

  “I know someone who can. We’ll talk to Shay about it.”

  “That’s a good idea, Jenna.” Arianna smiled and then glanced at Serena, who didn’t seem happy about what was coming next. And there was definitely something coming, as evidenced by the way Arianna moved to the edge of the chair and leaned in. “Gwyneth called with a proposal, and Serena and I think we should accept.”

  “Wait a minute. When did you hear from her? You know the police are looking for Gwyneth and Lorenzo. I hope you let them know she’s been in contact.” The last thing Jenna needed was the police thinking she’d kept this from them too.

  “We will, okay? We just heard from her an hour ago,” Arianna snapped, and then held up her hands. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be defensive. It’s just that this isn’t easy. I want you to know that. But both Serena and I think this might be the only way to end the stalemate with Gwyneth.”

  “So what exactly is she proposing?”

  Arianna shared a glance with Serena before saying, “She wants you to waive your rights to Daddy’s estate. If you don’t, she’s going to try to have you legally removed.”

  “On what grounds?”

  “That technically you have no legal right to the estate. You aren’t a Bell. I mean, we know you feel like one, Jenna. But really, you aren’t. Daddy married your mother, but he didn’t adopt you.”

  “I see,” Jenna managed to say despite the thick ball of hurt that was stuck in her throat. As much as she’d wanted Serena and Arianna to love her, she’d wanted to be Richard Bell’s daughter. She’d even brought it up one day. There’d been a father-and-daughter dance at school, and she asked Richard if maybe he could adopt her. He’d said they didn’t need a piece of paper to prove they were father and daughter.

  “Arianna,” Serena said in the voice she used when her older sister had gone too far. “Jenna, you know Daddy loved you like a daughter. Trust me, so do we. And this is nothing more than us going along with Gwyneth so we can all move forward. The estate will be split three ways.”

  “Just a moment please,” she said when someone knocked on the study door, barely able to keep the anger and hurt from her voice. “So the three of you get the house and all the contents, and my business too? Well, of course, then. Give me a pen and I’ll happily sign away my rights to what used to be my life.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic. It’s just on paper. We’ll split everything with you and then sign over our shares of Southern Belle to—” Arianna turned when the door to the study banged open and Jasper strode inside.

  “Don’t sign anything, miss. You have as much right to your father’s estate as your sisters. Richard Bell was your biological father.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The revelation of Jenna’s parenthood had gone as badly as Colleen had anticipated. Jasper stepped back from the three women yelling at one another with a shell-shocked expression on his face. Apparently, he didn’t have the good sense God gave him and had actually expected this to go well.

  Jenna waved the papers in Arianna’s face. “How does this become all about you? You’re not the one who lost out. I did. For ten years, I didn’t have a father, and then for the rest of the time I had someone I adored who I wished more than anything was my father, and he was. Only he couldn’t tell me because he knew exactly how you and Serena would react. Just like you are now.”

  “How do you expect us to react, Jenna? We’ve just found out that not only was your mother the reason our father walked out of a twenty-year marriage, but he cheated on our mother with yours years before. All our memories, everything we believed about our parents’ relationship was a lie. The only reason he stayed with us was because Colleen Gallagher blackmailed him.”

  “If you expect me to feel sorry for you, try again. You got everything I wanted. You always did. We had next to nothing, Arianna. My mother struggled to put food on the table. You think people here didn’t judge her, judge me, well, think again.”

  “Maybe she should’ve thought about that before she went after a married man. She deserved what she got. She—”

  Colleen was afraid the fight was about to get physical and focused all her energy on the book sitting on the corner of the desk, cheering when she managed to push it off and it landed on the floor with a heavy thud. Too bad her prowess didn’t extend to manipulating locks and turning keys. However, her attempt to draw their attention away from the fight was all for naught. They were so caught up in the drama, Jasper and the three girls didn’t even notice, but they did notice when Logan strode into the study.

  “What the hell is going on in here? I heard you all the way to the lobby.” His gaze moved over the three women. “Jenna honey, are you okay?”

  Arianna looked from Logan to Jenna, her eyes narrowed. “My God, have you no shame? The man is getting married in two days.” She shook her head with a bitter laugh. “I can’t believe I even asked you that. You’re just like your mother. A homewrecker. You don’t care who you hurt as long as you get what you want.”

  “That’s enough, Arianna. Jenna hasn’t done anything wrong,” Logan said, reaching for Jenna.

  Jenna’s shoulders sagged as the fight visibly went o
ut of her. Her feelings for Logan meant Arianna’s accusations weren’t far off the mark. Or maybe Jenna was just trying to come to terms with all she had learned. Whatever it was, she didn’t want Logan’s comfort and shrugged his hand from her shoulder. Colleen hoped the girl didn’t blame her great-grandson for what she had done.

  Jenna walked toward the door and then turned. “Tell Gwyneth that I’ll see her in court. You might want to share with her that my lawyer, Connor Gallagher, tells me there’s a very good chance she’ll end up in a cell alongside her boyfriend. At least until he’s extradited back to Italy.”

  * * *

  Jenna had just been granted her fondest desire—Richard was her father. Only instead of joy, it brought heartache along with more questions.

  She glanced at the papers on the nightstand beside her bed. She’d read them at least ten times. They were splotched with tears now. Some of the ink had faded after all the years that had gone by. But it didn’t change the facts of her parents’ affair. The lies told, the secrets kept.

  Still, she knew her mother. She was a good, decent woman no matter what Arianna believed. And her father was a good and decent man. They weren’t perfect. They made mistakes just like everyone else. No one got through this life without making them. But they’d tried their best to do the right thing. Her mother didn’t try to win Richard back after he returned to his wife. She didn’t track him down upon learning she was pregnant with Jenna, his child. But she had no doubt that her mother would’ve told him the truth if he had asked. Only Colleen had beaten her to it.

  Jenna understood now why he’d lavished her with love, attention, and gifts. He’d been making up for lost time. He’d done the same with her mother. Only they didn’t have a lot of time together, not as much as they deserved. For their own sakes, she wished her parents had been more selfish. Life was short; love was a gift.

  But her father had loved Arianna and Serena too. He hadn’t known about Jenna back then. He wouldn’t have been the man she loved and admired if he didn’t put his daughters’ feelings above his own. And Colleen Gallagher had threatened his livelihood, his ability to provide for his family. He wouldn’t have risked that, not in a million years.

  Jenna couldn’t work up the energy to be mad at the manipulative, nosy older woman who’d changed the course of their lives. Colleen Gallagher had gotten involved in a situation that she knew nothing about, but she’d gotten involved for what she believed were the right reasons. And when she realized her mistake, she’d tried to make amends. Jenna had always wondered why Logan’s great-grandmother had taken such an interest in her, and now she knew.

  She cuddled Pippa to her chest. She owed Logan an apology. He’d followed her from the study and tried to get her to talk to him, but she’d pushed him away, and not very nicely, she was afraid. It had been too soon after Arianna had tried and convicted her of being a homewrecker. Her sister was right though. Jenna had no business seeking comfort from a man who would be married in less than two days. Still, Logan had been offering friendship and didn’t deserve Jenna’s anger because she wanted more.

  “Take it from me, Pippa. The best thing that happened to you was the sandpipers at the beach rebuffing you. Family and lovers are overrated. You’ve got me, and I’ve got you.” She looked up at the knock on the guest room door, standing to put Pippa in her sandbox. “I’ll get rid of whoever it is, and we’ll go for a walk.” Part of her hoped it was Logan, while another part of her hoped it wasn’t. No matter what she’d told Pippa, Jenna was still afraid she was at the comfort-seeking stage.

  She opened the door, surprised to see Princess Isabella and Mateo. Before she even got hi out of her mouth, they’d pushed their way inside. “I’m sorry, Jenna. We didn’t know who else to turn to,” Isabella said.

  After Mateo shut the door, he reached for the princess’s hand, and Jenna saw what she hadn’t allowed herself to see at the spa. A pink light danced between the couple, and she felt their love down to her toes. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized that the warm, fuzzy feelings, the deep sense of contentment she’d always felt when faced with soul mates, was the love they felt for each other. Isabella and Mateo had found their one and onlys. And while that usually made Jenna happy, in this instance, it made her mad.

  “How could you do this to Logan, Isabella? He loves you. You’re expecting his baby.”

  “Please, may we come in and explain? The day has been difficult for Isabella. I want her to sit.”

  “Yes, of course.” Jenna gestured to the bed. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”

  “No. We don’t have time. Pilar will be looking for Isabella,” Mateo said as they sat side by side on the edge of her bed. They looked young, scared, and hopelessly in love.

  “The baby isn’t Logan’s, is it?”

  Isabella shook her head. “No. The baby is Mateo’s. We love each other, Jenna. We wished to be married, but my family refused.”

  “They think I’m not good enough for her. My family is not rich or powerful or of royal blood. But Isabella is my other half. I cannot live without her.”

  “Mateo, I can’t help you unless you tell me the truth. Were you the one who shot at Logan today? Did you try to scare him off?”

  “No. I would not do that. He is a good man.”

  “Jenna, trust me. Neither Mateo nor I want Logan hurt on our account. Logan does not love me. We were never engaged. He is an honorable, heroic man. And those very attributes are the reason why, when Logan lost his memory, Luis used them to his advantage,” Isabella said.

  “Luis is forcing you to marry Logan?” Jenna asked.

  “It’s not what you think. Luis is like a father to me. He’s trying to protect me. Both he and Pilar have risked much to help me. My family wish me to marry a man who is twenty years my senior and a distant cousin. I had just discovered I was expecting Mateo’s baby when they announced the match. I panicked. I didn’t know what to do. Neither Mateo nor I did. We can’t fight my family, you see. They’re too powerful. I have always wished to live in America, so I told Mateo we would run away and we would come here. But we didn’t know how to do so on our own.”

  She looked helplessly at Mateo, who took over for her. “We aren’t proud of what we did, but we didn’t know of any other way, Jenna. Isabella told Luis she was in love with Logan, that they had an affair. Luis, he likes and admires Logan, and he didn’t wish Isabella to be forced to marry by her family. He and Pilar came up with the plan and helped us get to America.”

  “And that is when things began to unravel,” Isabella said. “Luis and Pilar could tell Logan had no interest in me. We had to tell them the truth. They were not happy to learn I was in love with Mateo and having his baby. But we couldn’t go back to Merradien. Luis took matters into his own hands the day of the accident. He said it was God’s will that Logan lost his memory.”

  “We went along with Luis’s plan because we thought Logan’s memory would return, but it hasn’t.”

  “Pilar, she’s buying us time. She pretends to be on my family’s side, but soon they’ll come looking for me.”

  “You need to tell Logan the truth.”

  They shook their heads. “We can’t. For Logan’s sake, it’s best that he knows nothing of this. I will make a video recording absolving him of all knowledge and involvement. Otherwise, he would be at the heart of an international incident and would most likely lose his job with the Secret Service.”

  Suddenly it hit Jenna what they wanted from her. “You want me to help you get away, don’t you?”

  They nodded. “We know it will put you in a difficult position, Jenna. But you are the only one we trust. Will you help us, please?” Isabella begged.

  They were star-crossed lovers. If she didn’t step in, what would become of them? They had everything standing against them and nothing but each other and a baby on the way. “Of course. Of course I’ll help you.”

  “Thank you, Jenna. We will be forever in your debt.” Isabella stood and to
ok Jenna’s hands in hers, kissing her on each cheek. “I must go, but Mateo will stay, and you can come up with a plan. We must be gone before the wedding.”

  “Then we better think fast. Luis has a surprise for you and Logan. The wedding is Wednesday, not Saturday.”

  “We know. That is why we came to you today. It was not a surprise to us. Pilar can put the family off for only so long. They will be sending someone for us by Friday at the latest. We must be long gone by then.”

  “What about Luis and Pilar?”

  “They both come from wealthy and powerful families, and that will afford them some protection. But they cannot know of ours plans, Jenna. They will put a stop to it. They do not wish me to marry Mateo. They believe only Logan and his family can offer me the protection I need.”

  * * *

  Logan figured he’d given Jenna enough time on her own. She needed to hear the truth, or as much of the truth as he knew about his relationship with Isabella. All that mattered to him was that she knew Arianna was wrong. Jenna had nothing to feel guilty or ashamed about.

  Although Logan felt guilty about the part his great-grandmother had played in tearing Jenna’s family apart. And because she had, it was possible Jenna would want nothing to do with him. The thought bothered him a lot. If his memory hadn’t returned, he might wonder why that was, or maybe he wouldn’t given the past few days. It was becoming apparent that Jenna Bell had a way of working herself into Logan’s heart.

  He gave his head a slight shake at the romantic notion. The woman was rubbing off on him, he thought as he picked up the bakery bag and left his room on the third floor. He took the stairs to Jenna’s room on the second floor. He was just about to lift his hand to knock when the door opened. It was Mateo, the man he suspected of shooting at him today. And he was speaking privately with Jenna, who his cousin suspected was somehow involved. He’d had words with Aidan about those suspicions, but now it looked like he might owe his cousin an apology. At the very least, Logan wouldn’t be telling Jenna he’d regained his memory.