Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
“You.” Tiffany narrowed her eyes. Her attention darted to Conrad, and she scowled. “No. Nope. I’m not doing this again. I don’t care who died this time. I didn’t do it, and I’m not answering any—”
“No one died,” Jane interjected. “But this is a matter of life and death.” Truth. Benjamin had lived and died. Well, probably died. Though he received a funeral, his body was never found.
The widow flicked her tongue over an incisor. “Fine. I’ll answer one question.”
Of course, Conrad couldn’t contain his smirk.
Jane lifted her chin. “What can you tell me about your great grandmother Elise?”
Tiffany’s brow furrowed with confusion. “All I know is that my dad only ever referred to her as the old battle-ax. But what does she have to do with anything?”
Battle-ax? “Did she happen to disappear at some point in your family history?”
“No. Why?”
So the couple hadn’t run off together. “Is she the Dansing ancestor who found gold? That’s how your family made their money, right?”
“Gold?” Something glinted in Tiffany’s eyes. “What are you trying to say, Jane?”
Nothing. Everything “I’m on an information hunt, that’s all,” she said. Because it was the heart of the truth.
Tiffany looked between Jane and Conrad a second time, her posture growing stiffer and stiffer. “Unless one of you explains what’s going on, this conversation is over.”
Conrad motioned to Jane. “Go ahead. You’re rocking this.”
She was, wasn’t she? She’d already gotten three responses. “So. Yeah. There’s a slight, almost not even worth mentioning chance that our great grandparents had an affair. There was a baby, you see, and–”
“What!” Tiffany shrieked. “Are you trying to tell me I have a long lost relative or–” The widow sucked in a breath. “You think we’re related.”
Excuse me? “No. Not in the least.” Uh. Unless they were related? Dang. It was a possibility Jane hadn’t considered. Technically, though, it was maybe, kind of, well, possible. Depending on the timing and all. “I don’t actually know,” she admitted. “But we can find out. If you would be kind enough to tell me—”
“No!” the other woman bellowed. “Absolutely not. I am not looking into this, and neither are you. We are dropping the matter here and now and never speaking of it again. And don’t you dare try to claim my family fortune belongs to you.” With that, the pale, distressed Tiffany slammed the door in Jane’s face.
Well. “I gotta say. That went better than expected.”
“That it did,” Conrad stated, reaching for her hand. He stopped himself just before contact. A wry smile flashed, there and gone. He gestured toward the car. “Now you want to go home and dig into your family’s past, yes?”
She didn’t try to deny it. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” Far from upset, he opened the passenger side door for her. “I’ll drop you off. There are a few more people I plan to question. I’ll bring Daisy’s home for dinner and tell you everything I learn.”
She adored Daisy’s. Best food in town. But. “I’ll cook.” Jane did not need to be reminded of their first date, when they’d picnicked at his favorite childhood park and devoured the perfect meal from the five-star diner.
“Deal.”
It was only later, as Jane searched the Ladling library in her office for other family journals that the truth hit her. Dinner. With Conrad. Just the two of them. Even without food from Daisy, the meal would feel like a date. And that, she couldn’t allow.
Determined, she whipped out her phone and called Fiona.
“Two questions,” she said as soon as her best friend answered. “Can you come over and how soon can you get here?”
CHAPTER FOUR
We can learn a lot from calling birds. They keep their lines of communication open. That’s probably the reason they stay together.
–Lily Ladling’s Holiday Advice for Ladies Cursed in Love
Sitting before the crackling hearth, sipping hot cocoa and breathing in the crisp scent of burning wood, Jane knitted with Fiona. Always a balm to her soul. Especially when Rolex cuddled up in her lap. For six years, she and her precious friend had met at least once a week to craft toys for children in need. Barring unforeseen circumstances, of course.
This time, however, Conrad reclined on the couch with Cheddar at his feet, reading Law and Ordinance of Aurelian Hills. A copy he’d borrowed from the Yellow Brick Abode Library, the only library in town. He’d already gotten a card!
His move to town was truly happening. And why in the world was Rolex staring at her so intently?
Aw. He was probably considering all the reasons he loved her.
“I adore you, too, baby,” she told him.
“Lucky cat,” Conrad muttered.
Wait. What? Jane’s gaze zoomed back to her roommate. Surely she’d misheard him. Her knitting needle missed its mark, the tip stabbing her finger. Ow! She sucked in a breath. Rolex startled, jumping down. The darling feline used the opportunity to pounce on Cheddar. After a quick bop to the dog’s nose, the housepanther darted off. What a playful, perfect boy. But seriously, what had Conrad meant by lucky cat?