Over You (22 page)

“Oh, Jessica. You need to have faith that everything will work out as it should.”

Jessica allowed a small smile to form on her lips, trying to believe her aunt, although inside she doubted things would work out at all. Not wanting to talk about her love life anymore, she changed the subject back to the letters. “Ellen, I was wondering, did you happen to mention the letters to anyone here?”

Ellen looked sheepish. “I may have said something to some of the other ladies here.”

“You didn’t.”
 

“You have to understand. It can be quite boring here. Sometimes we share things we shouldn’t, just to make life a little more interesting. And you have to admit, those letters were pretty darned interesting.”

“How many people did you tell?”

“A few. But let’s face it, they probably told others.” A look of regret came over Ellen’s face. “I’m so sorry, dear. I had no idea someone would come into the house and steal them.” She looked thoughtful. “Do you think it’s safe to stay there now?”

“They got what they wanted. I doubt there’s any danger now.”

“You’re probably right. Just be careful though. Okay?”

“Of course.”

As Jessica drove through town on her way home, a large sign in front of a used car dealership caught her eye.
Harrington Motors
. Why didn’t I notice that before? I’ll bet Douglas owns that place.
 

On impulse, Jessica pulled into the parking lot. As she climbed out of her car, a salesman immediately approached her.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

Not sure what she was trying to accomplish, Jessica smiled and said the first thing that came to mind. “My aunt wants to get a new car, so I’m just seeing what you have on the lot.”

“I can help you with that.” He held out his hand. “My name’s Kevin.”

She shook his hand. “Jessica.”

He asked a few questions about the kind of car her aunt wanted, and Jessica made up answers, then she followed him around the lot, looking at different cars.

He stopped at several, trying to sell her car after car, but she resisted each time, telling him she wasn’t sure if the price was low enough.

What am I doing? She thought. I have work to do. I don’t have time to waste looking for a car I don’t need. She glanced around the lot, thinking of an excuse to end this exercise, and saw a man coming out of the main doors. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. “Who’s that?” she asked the salesman.

He stopped the spiel he was giving and turned to see who she was asking about. “Oh. That’s Mr. Harrington. This is his dealership.”
 

“Oh.” She tried to hide the surprise she felt to see the man who was the child of William and Teal.

The salesman suddenly called out, “Mr. Harrington, can you come here a minute?”

As Jessica watched Douglas Harrington turn in their direction and start walking toward them, panic slithered up her back. What if he’s the one who stole the letters? Does he know it was me who found them? As she tried to think of an excuse to leave, Douglas Harrington stopped next to Kevin.

“Hi there,” he said to Jessica, a friendly expression on his face.

She froze for a moment as she quickly took in his appearance. Average height, graying hair, hazel eyes. She wondered if he looked like William. “Uh, hi.” She couldn’t tell if he recognized her, but when she considered the idea that he may have been rummaging around in her bedroom the night before, she felt a chill crawl up her spine.

“What can I help you with, Kevin?”

“This young lady is looking for a car but I’m not having much success finding one that fits her needs. When she saw you and asked who you were, I had an idea.”

“Is that right?”

Jessica’s panic grew as Douglas trained his gaze on her.
If he knows it was me who had the letters, he’s going to suspect that I’m snooping around.

“Yes, indeed,” Kevin said. “I thought to myself, ‘If she could just meet the owner, maybe she would feel better about working with us to put together a deal.’” Kevin turned his attention back to Jessica. “Mr. Harrington has owned this business for over fifteen years now. I think if you ask around, you’ll find that we have many happy customers who have found that we have the best deals in the region.”

Speechless, Jessica managed to nod.

Douglas held out his hand. “I’m Douglas Harrington.”

Jessica took his hand, which was cool and dry, but didn’t speak.

“This is Jessica,” Kevin offered.

“Jessica?” Douglas asked.

She nodded, trying to think of a way to escape.

He released her hand. “What kind of car are you looking for?”

“It’s for her aunt,” Kevin said before she had a chance to respond.

“Your aunt? What’s her name? I know most of the people around here, although I don’t believe I’ve met you before.”

“No, I don’t live here,” she said, finally finding her voice. “I’m just visiting.”

“And what did you say your aunt’s name is?”
 

Jessica hesitated, somehow afraid to give her aunt’s real name. “Debra,” she suddenly said, thinking of her mother. “Debra Stevens.”

Douglas squinted for a second, like it wasn’t the answer he had expected, then his expression smoothed out. “I don’t think I know her.”

“I’m sorry, but I have an appointment I need to get to,” Jessica said. “I’ll have to come back another time.”

“Okay, thanks for stopping by,” Douglas said.

Kevin reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, holding it out to her. “Make sure to ask for me when you come back, Jessica.”

“Okay, thanks.” She turned away from the men and walked to her car as quickly as she could without actually running, although that’s what she wanted to do. As she drove home her panic began to recede and she tried to remember where she’d seen Douglas before. Then it came to her. He was the man at the restaurant who had been so rude to the server.

“Huh,” she said out loud. Then she remembered what Kyle had said about not messing with him, and frowned. I guess Douglas Harrington’s not a very nice person, she thought. She tried to reconcile that with the man she had spoken to moments before and felt fresh worry begin to grow in her mind. What kind of person was he really? Was he the one who took the letters from her room? Did he know she was the one who had found the letters?
 

What could she do about it though? Even if Douglas Harrington was the person who had taken the letters, she had no way of proving that. She wasn’t about to go to the police and accuse him of breaking and entering. Besides, he’d probably destroyed the letters and would flatly deny any knowledge of them. No one would believe her, a visitor to the town, over him, a prominent business owner.

As Jessica pulled up to her aunt’s house she forced her worry to the back of her mind and focused on her programming project since she knew she needed to work on it before she could do anything else. She went into the house, then into the sunroom, where she managed to work for several hours until her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.

After a late lunch she decided to search for the vases before getting back to work. As she passed her aunt’s room she could hear Kyle working. Frowning as she recalled the conversation she’d had with him that morning, she went up the stairs to the attic and turned on the light. The stacks of boxes seemed to mock her and she felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume. Sighing, she decided to just start looking. After searching through a number of boxes she finally found the vases. There were two medium size boxes that held several vases each. Smiling in triumph, she wondered which vases her aunt would want out. Finally she decided to just bring all of them into the kitchen and when her aunt came home they could decide which ones to box back up.

She carried the first box down to the kitchen without incident, but as she neared the bottom of the attic stairs with the second box in her hands, she misjudged where one of the steps would be and her feet slid out from under her. She screamed as the box went flying. Glass shattered and flew everywhere as she landed hard on her backside. A clamorous noise filled the hallway.

“Jess!” Kyle shouted as he raced to her side. “Are you okay?”

Deep concern was evident on his face, making Jessica momentarily forget the pain in her back. And when he wrapped his arms around her, pure electricity pulsed through her, replacing the pain. She rested her head against his strong arm, reveling in his closeness. “I think I’m okay,” she said, though she was certain she’d end up with bruises.

“Are you sure?”

“I only fell the last couple of steps. I don’t think anything’s broken.”

“If you need to carry heavy boxes, you should ask me to help.”

Irritation flickered at his insinuation that she couldn’t take care of herself, but his nearness neutralized any hard feelings. “I took another box down earlier. It was just the stupid stairs.”

“Do you think you can walk?”

“I think so.”

He helped her stand, and when he released her she immediately missed the physical contact. She looked at the shards of glass covering the floor. “I need to clean this up.”

“I’ll take care of it. Why don’t you go lie down for a while?”

“Really? You’ll clean it up?”

“Of course. It’s no big deal.”

“Thank you.” Though she didn’t want to end the conversation, she couldn’t think of anything else to say, so she took a step toward her room, but her back felt so stiff that she moved awkwardly.

“Let me help you,” Kyle said. He put his arm around her waist, but when she faltered again, he effortlessly scooped her up into his arms. “I think this will be easier.”

Inhaling sharply at his unexpected proximity, she placed her arm around his neck. Her face almost touched his and the scent of his cologne overwhelmed her senses. It was all she could do to keep from resting her head on his shoulder. His strong arms pressed against her body as he carried her to her room, and she didn’t ever want him to let her go.

When they reached her room, he gently set her on the bed, then sat on the edge next to her. “You really scared me when I heard you scream and then heard the crash.” His jaw clenched briefly. “I was afraid of what I was going to find.”

His obvious caring and concern filled her with hope. “It scared me too.”
 

He gazed into her eyes and reached for her hand. “I still care about you, Jessica.”

Her heart pounded as he began stroking her hand. Then he suddenly stopped.

“What’s this?” he asked, holding up her hand where they could both see the engagement ring.

“It’s, it’s . . .” she stammered.

“Are you engaged? When did that happen?” He released her hand and she let it fall to her side.

“No. He proposed, but I haven’t given him an answer.”

“I see.” His jaw clenched again, but this time there was no warmth in his eyes. He stood and stared down at her. “But you’re wearing his ring now. I think we both know what that means.”

Feeling any chance with Kyle slipping away, Jessica couldn’t think clearly. “It’s not like that.”

“I didn’t realize things were so serious with you and him.”

Jessica stared at him, at a loss for words. How could she explain her relationship with Alex? She was confused about it herself. And though she knew she was still in love with Kyle, she couldn’t admit it to him. That would open herself up to being hurt and she wasn’t about to do that. Besides, what about Melanie and his daughter? She couldn’t forget about them. Even though he admitted he still cared about her, she refused to break up his family.

“I’d better get back to work,” he said.

She watched as he left her room, then listened to his footsteps go down the hall. A short time later she could hear him cleaning up the broken glass. She knew when she got up and walked down the hall there would be no trace of the accident she’d had. But the scars on her heart were another matter.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jessica lay in bed for a while, feeling sorry for herself. Hudson soon joined her, snuggling against her side. After a while Jessica dragged herself out of bed. As she stood next to the bed, she slowly stretched her arms and bent from side to side, trying to loosen her stiff muscles. She had too much work to do to lie in bed, and after a few minutes of stretching she left her bedroom and walked toward the stairs.

Not a speck of glass could be seen in the hallway and she smiled despite herself, impressed with the job Kyle had done. She could hear him working in her aunt’s room as she walked past. Holding tightly to the handrail, she made her way down the stairs and into the sunroom. Her laptop was where she’d left it, and after settling herself into a plush chair, she booted it up and picked up where she’d left off earlier.
 

A little while later she heard a knock at the front door. Glancing at her watch, she wondered if Alex had come early and felt a moment of panic that she hadn’t come to any kind of decision regarding his proposal. For a moment she considered not answering the door, but the person knocked and then rang the doorbell, obviously certain someone was home.

Setting aside her laptop, Jessica pulled herself out of the chair and walked stiffly toward the door. Preparing herself to face Alex, she opened the door, but it wasn’t Alex standing there.

“Jessica, right?” Melanie said, her blond hair pulled up in a French twist, emphasizing the blue of her eyes.

“Yes. Hi, Melanie.” Jessica self-consciously pushed her hair behind her ears, knowing how plain her hair looked.
It’s no wonder Kyle prefers her over me. She’s stunning.

“Oh my gosh,” Melanie exclaimed, reaching for Jessica’s left hand. “Are you engaged? That ring is gorgeous.”

For some reason, having Melanie think she was engaged made her feel better. As if she had proof that someone cared about her enough to marry her. “Do you want to come in?”

Melanie stepped inside and Jessica closed the door behind her.

“What’s his name?” Melanie asked, like she and Jessica were old friends.

“Alex. But I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to accept.”