by DB Jones
Sydney headed for the balcony with her body trembling. Jacob followed her and tried to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away. “I need time to process this. How could you not know all these years what your father had done?”
“Neither my mother or I had a clue. But that’s not all. Dad told me that he signed the papers making me trustee of your trust fund. I’m so sorry, Syd. I had no idea. I swear to you.”
“I’m sorry about the loss of your father, I truly am. But I need some time to figure this out.”
“I swear to you, I never knew. I love you, Syd, but I understand.” He slowly walked to the door and closed it behind him. He leaned against the wall for a moment then left.
Sydney ran to her bedroom and threw herself on the bed. “Please tell me this isn’t real. Of all the people to fall in love with. How can we ever get past that? We can’t.” She cried so hard her body shook until her eyes dried up. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Teddy. ‘Please come home.’ Then she filled the tub and lowered herself into the steaming hot water.
Anna came into her room and called out to her. “Sydney, are you here?”
“I’m in the tub. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Anna walked out of the room where Teddy was standing waiting. “Well, what did she say?”
“She’ll be out in a minute. Teddy, Syd sounded terrible. Do you think they broke up?”
“Over what? Everything was wonderful yesterday.”
“I don’t know, but it sounded like she’s been crying.”
“Maybe Jacob’s father took a turn for the worse.”
Anna shook her head. “I hope not.”
They waited until Sydney emerged from her bedroom. Her face was red, and her eyes were swollen.
Teddy put his hands on her shoulder. “What happened?”
“Jacob’s father passed away.”
He pulled her into his chest. “I’m sorry. Is there anything we can do?”
Sydney began to cry again. “And I threw him out of the house when he needed me the most. All I could think about was my pain. What a self-centered jerk I am.”
“Sydney, what are you talking about? Why did you throw Jacob out?”
Sydney wrapped her robe tighter and curled up in a fetal position in the corner of the couch. “Just before his father died, he shared with Jacob a secret he had hidden from everyone, even his own family. It must have come as such a shock to Jacob as it did to me. Maybe more, because it was his father.”
Anna sat next to Sydney on the couch, and Teddy pulled the big overstuffed chair up as close as he could to both of them. “What was this secret?”
Sydney looked up at Anna then to Teddy. “He told Jacob that he was the one who ran over me.”
Anna’s jaw dropped open, and she grabbed at her face.
Teddy gritted his teeth. His face became hardened. “Doctor David Thornhill was the man in the shadow that left you there to die that night?”
“He said he thought he hit an animal. It was raining so hard and didn’t see anything. He thought the animal must not have been hurt and ran off.”
Teddy started breathing hard. “Then how in the hell did he know he was the one that hit you?”
“Jacob said his father read about what happened to me in the papers several days after the incident.”
Anna looked up at Teddy and then back to Sydney. “Then why didn’t he come forward?”
Teddy blurted out. “Because he was a coward, and afraid of what people would say. After all, he was an up-and-coming surgeon, that’s why.”
Sydney stood next to Teddy. “Teddy, Jacob didn’t know, neither did his mother. No one did. The only reason he told Jacob late last night was that he wanted Jacob to become the trustee of my trust fund. Doctor Thornhill is the one who has been taking care of me all these years.”
Teddy shook his head and paced around the room. Then he stopped and slapped his forehead. “Oh, Lord, Jacob must be devastated. He not only lost his father but is now facing this knowledge. How is he going to handle it? That’s a lot for any person to deal with.”
Sydney caressed Teddy’s face and smiled. “Because he has us.”
Anna put her arms around Sydney. “But does he know that?”
“No, but he will.” Sydney pulled out her cell phone and clicked on Jacob’s number.
“Sydney?”
“Jacob, where are you?”
“I’m sitting in my car. Sydney, I don’t know what to say. If I had only known…”
“Hush! I have something I need to say.”
“I think you’ve said it all, and I don’t blame you one bit.”
“Jacob Thornhill, please come back.”
She hung up her cell phone and raced to her glass wall. When she saw Jacob’s car parked outside, she turned, ran out her door. She took the elevator to the ground floor and bolted across the street without even thinking about her fears.
“Jacob Thornhill, I love you. I told you we could endure anything. We can, and we will get past this, but only if we do it together.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her as he wept. “I love you, Sydney Parker, and I don’t want to spend another moment without you.”
“You won’t have to. I’m not going anywhere.” She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his tears. “I love you, Jacob Thornhill.”
“Get a room,” the jogger yelled, as he ran past them wearing his usual sunglasses and a baseball cap.
The End
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y3GCQ9P?ref_=pe_2427780_160035660
Be sure to check out DB Jones’ Best Selling Madison Hart Mysteries
And get your copy of
Beyond Secrets, The Art of Murder
A Madison Hart Mystery
To claim your FREE copy, click here
“The tenacious, young FBI Agent, Madison Hart returns to her hometown believing she is going to be investigating a missing person’s case. Little does she know that the trail is leading her into the depths of someone’s dark obsession…and murder.
She teams up with Detective Josh Logan of the Maitland Police Department. Their working relationship is threatened by her drive to solve the case and her strong will, but they soon develop an unstoppable partnership to get to the bottom of who is responsible for these killings.
The leads are mounting as fast as the body count, and the closer Madison gets to the truth, the more her life is in danger.”
Coming in 2017
The Invisible Jane Doe
Silent Secrets, Cry Murder (Another Madison Hart Mystery)
Books by DB Jones
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The Madison Hart Mysteries
Beyond Secrets
Beneath Secrets
The Dark Side of Secrets
Behind Secrets, Murder in Maitland
Veil of Secrets, Murder Unearthed
In the Shadow of Secrets, Murder Hides
Mysteries with a touch of the paranormal
Nights of Autumn
Storms of Winter
Young Adult Fantasy for all ages
The Willow Trilogy
Willow of Endless Waters
Willow and The Rise of the Serpent
Willow and the Gift
A Christmas Love Story
The Holding onto Us Trilogy
Novella 1 – Struggling to Hold On
Novella 2 - Having Hope
Novella 3 – A Second Chance
I want to thank my cover artist Rebecca Angle-Martin for pulling together my ideas and adding her magic to create my outstanding cover.
A special thank you, to my sisters, Nanette, Laurel, and Renee’, my nephew Brandon, and my dear friend, Jo Ann Bentti who believed and supported me. Also, my close friend, Author Brenda Kennedy who has encouraged and been there with me throughout this entire ride of writing for you, my amazing readers.
I couldn’t bring you these stories without the incredible and hard working Beta Readers. After all my edits, rewrites, and re-reads, they diligently go through my books again offering suggestions, finding my errors and giving me feedback. I’m so grateful for their help in making these stories, books I can be proud to share with you, the readers.
Thank you,
DB Jones
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About the Author
DB Jones is a best-selling author of Mystery and Crime Drama, including the Madison Hart Mystery Series, Nights of Autumn and Storms of Winter. She also writes for young adults and the young at heart through her vivid fantasy worlds which include the Willow Trilogy.
Before writing, DB along with her husband composed and recorded melodic flute music for over thirty years. She began writing at the age of sixty-eight after her husband passed away. She lives in the hills of Virginia where she overlooks the BlueRidge Mountains.
DB writes in several genres, Young Adult/Fantasy, Mystery/Crime Drama and Romance with an occasional twist of the paranormal spun through some of her mysteries.
