A Case for Forgiveness

by Carol Ross

  “Utah, you said? I do recall an envelope being delivered a few days ago.”

  Jonah rifled through the basket where he’d been placing the mail. He fished it from the stack and held it aloft. “This must be it. Things have been a little hectic around here and I haven’t opened it yet. Do you want to go ahead and give me a general idea of what this is about?”

  “I guess you could say that I’m here to stake a claim.”

  Jonah frowned thoughtfully. “What do you mean? Like a mining claim?” Jonah had never dealt in mineral law before but the idea of tackling something new always excited him.

  She laughed and the sound surprised him. It didn’t match her voice. It was a low, throaty sound and it sort of reminded him of... Could he not stop thinking about her for more than two minutes?

  “No, it’s more like a family claim.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand. A family claim?”

  “Yes, I’m hoping to find a place for myself in the James family.”

  “The James family?”

  She cleared her throat. “Yes, I’ve recently learned that I’m the only child of Eli David James, which makes me related to the James family here in Rankins. And, I believe, that also means I have a claim to a share of the Faraway Inn.”

  Jonah’s brain began to whir; Eli James had been Gus James’s brother. He’d heard Shay talk about Great Uncle Eli, but as far as he knew Eli James had been a lifelong bachelor until his death some years ago. Although that didn’t mean he couldn’t have had a child. But Jonah had no idea how that would mean this woman was entitled to any portion of the inn.

  “Uh-huh.” Jonah took a letter opener and sliced through the end of the envelope. He slid the contents out and began reading.

  Estate law was not Jonah’s specialty, but the phrase “unknown heir” burned through his brain. According to the letter, the property Gus had built the Faraway Inn on had originally belonged to his parents, Isaac and Viola James. Upon their death the property had passed to their three sons—Gus, Eli and Lyman.

  There was also a copy of the Faraway Inn property deed showing the owner to be Shay James, et al. Jonah knew that ambiguous “et al.” meant that somewhere down the line another name had existed on the deed for the property—an interest in the property that had never been legally removed.

  This indeed meant that someone, and possibly Adele Mason, could essentially claim partial ownership to the inn. How much, or the value of the share, Jonah had no idea.

  But there was no question this was going to be a legal mess to rival any he’d ever encountered in Chicago. And how could Shay...?

  Shay.

  This couldn’t possibly be true. If this was true Shay would be devastated. The inn was everything to her.

  Jonah tried desperately to think this through. He scrutinized the young woman sitting across from him who suddenly seemed like some kind of beautiful, unlikely villain from a spy movie.

  “You said your name was Adele Mason?”

  “Mason is the name I go by because that is—was—my mother’s last name. I didn’t even know that ‘James’ was on my birth certificate until a few months ago when my mother was dying. Since then, my attorney and I both spent a good deal of time researching my father’s life, including his time here in Alaska. And I...”

  She continued to speak about her research while Jonah listened and managed to hold on to his composure. He stared into Ms. Mason’s amber-colored eyes and suddenly realized why she looked—and sounded—so familiar.

  Jonah’s entire body went cold—a blast of frigid Alaskan air could have warmed him as the conclusion soaked into him that Adele Mason looked like a James. She could easily pass for one of Shay’s sisters—or a cousin. Could this really be possible? Possible, yes, but he wasn’t about to accept her words at face value. And he wasn’t going to allow Shay to give up even one square inch of the inn without a fight.

  “So, as I’m sure you can imagine, I don’t know where to begin. I’m not sure how to introduce myself and then—”

  Jonah interrupted, “I’m going to have to stop you right there, Adele, and let you know that neither I, nor my grandfather, can help you. We are both too personally involved with the James family to fairly represent you in this matter.”

  Adele frowned. “I understand that, but I’m not asking you to represent me. I have an attorney in Utah. Since I was coming to Alaska, my attorney suggested I contact your grandfather for help and also to possibly avoid some of the legal hoops. My father and his brothers knew your grandfather well, so my attorney was hoping through that connection we could expedite this whole process and avoid the court thing... Do you think that’s possible?”

  Her expression appeared innocent and hopeful but Jonah saw something else there, too. Fear? Hope? Greed? He wasn’t sure but his instincts told him it was the latter. He was too used to liars and schemers in his line of work to fall for a good acting job.

  “I’m not sure. What is it that you want—that you think you are entitled to—exactly?” Jonah asked the question even as he dreaded the answer.

  Her gaze flicked away nervously and then landed somewhere on the top of Gramps’s desk. “I understand this is a difficult situation and I can assure you that I’m not looking to cause undue problems for Shay James or for the rest of the James family. I’m here in Rankins to claim what is rightfully mine. I’m not sure what that might be at this point. That’s what you attorneys are for, right?”

  She topped her speech off with a light shrug and Jonah felt his distrust growing.

  How in the world was he going to break this news to Shay?

  Jonah was careful to keep his expression bland and his tone neutral. “Mm-hmm, I’m also going to let you know that I will be representing Shay in this matter, whatever that should entail. So maybe we should table this conversation until you can have your counsel present and I’ve had a chance to consult with the James family.”

  Jonah studied her as he waited for a response.

  “Okay.” Adele sighed and then shook her head in dismay. “Well, this isn’t working out quite like I hoped, but thank you for your time. How much do I owe you for today?”

  “There won’t be any charge for this consultation.”

  A flicker of surprise lit in her eyes. “That’s extremely generous, but I’d like to pay.”

  Jonah insisted. “Not necessary. Have your attorney contact me and we’ll proceed from there.”

  He picked up a pen and leaned back in his chair. He tapped the pen slowly on the desktop in front of him, even as his mind took off at full speed.

  He needed to call Shay. No, he needed to handle this in person. He would call her and tell her he was on his way up to the inn. Then he would break the news, and reassure her that he would fix this for her. Whatever it took, he would personally see to it that this woman would not steal the inn from her, which was funny because there had been a time in their lives when a part of him had wished the inn didn’t even exist...

  Adele tilted her chin as if considering an important point. “I think... Yes, one more thing before I go?”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’d just like to confirm with you that the attorney-client privilege covers our meeting today?”

  Jonah felt a rush of unease. This was true. He couldn’t talk to Shay about this matter if Adele didn’t want him to. “You don’t want me to discuss this with Shay? Or facilitate this with the family in any manner?”

  “Thank you, but no. Not at this time. I’ve decided that I’d like to talk to the family myself first.”

  He calmly watched Adele Mason take her leave even as panic washed over him; he was going to have to keep this knowledge from Shay until this woman was ready to reveal her identity and intentions.

  He felt his frustration build as Adele Mason walked out the door and down the sidewalk. She climbed into an older model, faded blue four-door sedan. It seemed to take her an inordinate amount of time to start the car, but finally it jumped for
ward and then crawled away from the curb.

  Jonah leapt into action. He immediately went online and ordered a title report for the land where the Faraway Inn was located. Then he made two phone calls; one to Niles Gadget, a colleague who’s a specialist in estate law, and the other to Frank Hill, a private investigator he occasionally employed back in Chicago.

  He might be prevented from revealing this situation to Shay, but he would be prepared for the instant that changed.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  SHAY’S EYES SWEPT the dining room for Caleb and Jonah as she reassured herself that all was running smoothly. King crab legs and jumbo prawns were sitting on ice. Halibut had been chopped, lightly battered and deep fried, and fresh salmon fillets were coming off the grill at regular intervals. Shay thought she could probably charge for the delicious aroma alone.

  The restaurant was filling fast as the Saturday seafood buffet shifted into high gear. She felt a twinge of alarm—it wasn’t like Caleb to be late—especially for dinner. And Jonah was always prompt.

  Hannah had been right about Jonah’s return to Rankins causing a stir. It seemed everyone was talking about him, and most of the buzz was good from what she’d heard. Even though Shay tried not to participate in gossip, she couldn’t help but hear the talk—between Laurel, Laurel’s sister Piper who was the town’s champion gossip, Hannah, and even Janie, she seemed to be continually bombarded with Jonah-news. Bering and Jonah had rekindled their friendship, so even Emily was dropping his name into their conversations.

  Shay had heard through this rather reliable grapevine that Jonah had already been tackling some of Rankins’ stickier legal matters, including convincing Will Traeger to drop his suit against the town. She hoped the rumor about Gary and Ingrid getting divorced wasn’t true. Shay felt certain Jonah’s achievements were being exaggerated. He’d been in town for two weeks.

  They hadn’t spoken since she’d stormed out of Caleb’s house the week before. As the days passed, Shay had begun to feel worse and worse about her reaction. She knew in her heart that Jonah’s intensity—for lack of a better word, came from a place of love. Jonah loved his grandfather and in spite of the lingering issues between her and Jonah, she needed to remember that. She needed to keep the situation with Caleb separate from the problems between her and Jonah, they both needed to keep Caleb front and center, and she needed to apologize.

  Just when she was ready to abandon her search and head back toward the lobby she felt a tingle start on the back of her neck and then tiptoe down her spine. She braced herself and turned.

  “Shay,” Jonah said, his blue eyes seeming to lock hers to his with the aid of some magical magnetic force.

  Shay wanted to look away, she really did... But it was like looking at the ocean’s blue horizon on a perfect sunny day, there was too much to see with only a glance. And she realized that he seemed happy to see her.

  She felt a smile form on her lips. “Jonah, I was just looking for you guys.”

  “I thought you might be. I saw you scanning the room. Gramps told you six-thirty and it’s closer to six forty-five. I’m sorry—he’s outside talking to Doc. He asked me to come find you and see if we could eat a little later?”

  Shay felt that now too-familiar rush of worry. “Does it have something to do with his condition?”

  “I don’t think so. They were talking about fishing when he sent me in to find you.”

  “Oh...well, that’s good then, I think.”

  He looked concerned as he asked, “Is this going to mess up your reservations?”

  “No, since it’s the buffet tonight we have a little more room to maneuver than normal. Hannah is at the hostess station, so she’ll know to hold Caleb’s table. Jonah—”

  “Shay—” He started to speak at the same time.

  “You go,” she urged.

  “I want to apologize for what happened the other day. I didn’t mean to imply that you aren’t watching out for Gramps. I was a little freaked about the whole memory episode. My imagination ran away with me and I didn’t mean for it to come out sounding like an accusation. Maybe I... Maybe there is a little too much attorney in me sometimes.”

  Shay felt a rush of relief that he wanted to patch things up, too. “I understand, Jonah—I do. I want to apologize, too. I overreacted. I know I need to keep in mind that you’re as worried as I am.”

  He nodded, his eyes searching her face. His expression still seemed odd—full of remorse but tense at the same time.

  Shay felt guilty for adding to what must already be a constant source of worry over his gramps. She was worried also, and being at odds wasn’t going to help.

  “Jonah, it only seems normal for the stress to get to us, right?”

  “Yes, I’m sure you’re right about that. But Shay, I really want things to be different between us—you know? At least while I’m here and we work all of this...stuff...out.”

  “Different?”

  “Better, I mean.”

  He was standing so close now that Shay could smell his sweet, cedar Jonah-smell and memories of “better” nearly brought tears to her eyes.

  “Less tension and antagonism,” he added. “You know—try to be more of a unit.”

  She swallowed but her throat felt dry. “A unit?”

  “Yeah, a unit, a team—like we used to be. For Gramps’s sake.”

  “I’d like that.”

  Jonah blew out a breath. “Okay.”

  “Okay,” she echoed. And then tried to lighten the mood. “So, we’ve agreed that you’re going to quit insulting me, interrogating me, and just generally irritating me and or making me angry?”

  He tipped his head back and laughed and the boyish lightness that transformed him made Shay’s heart soar, snippets of childhood, teenage, college memories flashing in her mind’s eye.

  “I’m going to try. But I can’t guarantee anything with regards to the irritation aspect. I’ve always been pretty good at that where you’re concerned—even before we broke up.”

  “Yeah, well, you were always just as good at defusing my temper, which I admit can be a little quick to ignite. I guess we both have some things to work on.”

  “Fine by me,” he said with a grin.

  “Me, too,” she returned.

  “And... I’ve been wandering around looking things over. Gramps wasn’t exaggerating—this place is spectacular.”

  “That is so nice of you to say, Jonah.”

  “It’s true. Shay, I want you to know that I’m really happy to see that you’ve made your dreams come true. I know how excited you were when Gus left you the inn, but I also know you were torn by wanting your own place. You’ve put your own stamp here, though. You’ve kept enough of what made the Faraway Inn so special from the first, yet you’ve clearly managed to turn it into your place at the same time.”

  His compliments and his understanding of what she’d wanted to accomplish somehow soothed her, reminded her of what she did have, what she’d worked so hard for all of these years as she’d tried to find some way to replace the memory of him—of them—with something that didn’t hurt so much.

  “Thank you, Jonah. That means a lot. I...it’s been a long road and a lot of hard work, that’s for sure. We’re still dealing with some of the bugs from the expansion and remodel this last year. But I’m really pleased with how things are going overall. And I think Grandpa would approve of the changes.”

  He agreed. “Shay, do you... Do you ever think about really taking on that challenge someday?”

  “What challenge?”

  “Opening your very own place? With your knowledge and experience, you could open a five-star luxury resort of your own anywhere in the world.”

  Shay frowned. Sure, she used to talk about building her own place from the ground up, but that was before Grandpa Gus had left her the inn. And she really did feel like she had managed to make it hers. Was he insinuating that she shouldn’t be satisfied with what she’d accomplished? Because she’d inherited
it? Or because she didn’t earn a zillion dollars a year like he did?

  She could hear the emotion in her voice but she couldn’t seem to stop it. “I feel like this is my place, Jonah. Sometimes dreams come true in ways that aren’t exactly how you imagined them—but they come true nonetheless.”

  His eyes went wide, like he suddenly realized what he may have implied. “No, I know. I didn’t mean that it wasn’t...”

  She waited for him to clarify, not wanting to jeopardize the tenuous peace they’d just reached.

  “All I meant to ask is—has it been everything you thought it would be? Owning your own place?”

  Shay thought about that; she’d poured her heart and soul and every penny she had—and some that she didn’t—into this inn. She’d had to—the Faraway Inn was her life. She was incredibly grateful for her family and her few close and solid friends. Not that she didn’t sometimes long for a little more depth to her personal life, but she didn’t want to discuss that, not with him.

  “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.” There was enough tightness in her tone that she didn’t even sound convincing to herself. She braced herself for him to pounce on the lie.

  “Come on, Shay—every minute?”

  His expression made her uncomfortable, fidgety. He’d always been able to do that—hound her for the truth with a simple look.

  She glanced down to where she was clutching one hand in the other, her fingertips turning red like a nervous third-grader’s before the spelling bee. She unwound her fingers and smoothed her hands over her hips.

  “I guess if you insist on splitting hairs, Jonah, then no, not every single minute, but overall it’s been more than worth it. However, there are things—”

  “What things?”

  His tone seemed to demand an answer. She wondered how different her life would have been if Grandpa Gus hadn’t died, and if he never would have willed her the inn. Because then she would have been able to move to Connecticut with Jonah while he attended law school. But, she told herself, the outcome would have ultimately been the same because Shay had gotten pregnant that summer. She hadn’t realized it herself until Jonah was already gone, but she had made plans to tell him.