Waterfront Weddings (57 page)

The next morning, Jonathan’s mind swam with the image of rows of numbers. He’d thought when he passed his accounting class in college he wouldn’t have to audit someone else’s books again. After a few hours trying to decipher the foundation’s books and comparing them to the various grants, he agreed with Mr. Tomkin. There were more accounts than grants. The problem was figuring out why. Was there a mistake with the bookkeeping or with the minutes? He hadn’t been on the foundation long enough to know if something had been missed. Mr. Hoffmeister could have helped since he served as president two of the four years prior to Tomkin assuming the role.

Alanna had pretended to review the books as she sat next to him. If he inhaled, he could still smell her faint lilac perfume. Each time he’d looked up, she’d ducked as if he’d caught her in the middle of watching him.

It wasn’t right to enjoy every moment with Alanna the way he did without addressing his relationship with Jaclyn. It wasn’t fair to either woman.

Was what sparked between him and Alanna real? Or would it evaporate the moment she could leave Mackinac?

He didn’t want to experience the desolation that blanketed him when she left and never looked back. It didn’t matter that they jumped back to their teenage dynamics. What mattered was whether they could build a lifetime together. Anything less didn’t interest him.

All morning he worked through plans for clients. When those events had up-to-date checklists, he turned to his conversation with Alanna last night.

She hadn’t murdered Hoffmeister. Period.

No matter how much she’d changed in the eleven years she’d been gone, she couldn’t do something like that. Especially to someone she gave every indication of liking. That left one option. He had to help her clear up what happened.

Too bad he didn’t know how to start.

Jonathan closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, praying for wisdom. While Alanna might believe Grady’s death was connected to Hoffmeister’s murder, Jonathan would start with the more pressing issue: proving her innocence.

Hoffmeister had kept to himself this season. Strange for a man who usually stood in the middle of every gathering sharing jokes and swapping stories. Jonathan couldn’t count the number of times Hoffmeister had introduced him to one more woman, this one guaranteed to be the love of his life. The twinkle in his brown eyes had made each exchange memorable. He’d had nothing but disdain in his eyes when Jonathan introduced him to Jaclyn—she hadn’t measured up. Instead, Hoffmeister had let him know she wasn’t the one.

Hoffmeister had complained about Tomkin each time Jonathan ran into him that spring. Real trouble brewed between the two. So he’d start with a trip to Hoffmeister’s house. See what the man had grumbled about. Alanna could go with him.

Maybe if she stood on the site and saw the past from a different perspective, she’d remember something. Now to figure out how to package the idea in a way she couldn’t refuse.

T
he cordless phone clicked into the handset even though Alanna wanted to throw it across the room. The college gal came in for her interview. Any hopes Alanna had that she’d work out evaporated when she looked around the studio.

“I really don’t know anything about art. Guess this isn’t for me.”

“Do you want to talk about the responsibilities?”

“I guess.”

Half an hour later, she mentioned that her father had told her she didn’t have to work over the summer after all. If she was going to spend time on Mackinac, she’d come as a tourist not an employee. After the gal left, Alanna sank onto the stool. At this rate, she would spend the summer on Mackinac.

Considering that the police wouldn’t let her leave, she couldn’t return to Grand Rapids anytime soon. But the idea of taking even one day off a week sounded as exotic as tea with the queen of England at Buckingham Palace.

Alanna dropped her forehead to her arms. She needed help, but where to get it? All the locals would have jobs. And she didn’t have the time to find an international student like so many hotels relied on to fill the summer season employment gap. Honestly, she didn’t want the headaches of helping someone find housing, even with the upstairs apartment. She didn’t have time to get it ready for a resident. Time to call someone in the know.

The phone rang a couple of times before Patience picked up. “Hello?”

“Patience, this is Alanna. I need help.”

“At the studio? I wondered when you’d ask.”

“What?”

The woman snorted. “Who do you think gave your mom time off? Your dad hasn’t worked for a while.”

Why didn’t Mom say anything? Alanna had no idea his health had deteriorated until he’d landed in the hospital. “Was I that out of touch?”

“Protected
is how I’d frame it. Want me to come tomorrow? I could work after services.”

“That would be great. Any ideas who might like a job?”

“I’ll talk to a few people. See what I can stir up.”

“Thank you.” Alanna hung up. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but having one day to herself sounded like a kiss from heaven. The uninterrupted time to find answers could be a gift.

When she walked out, something barreled into her. “Oof.”

She glanced up and saw she’d stepped into the path of a towheaded little boy.

Jaclyn hurried up, an apology coloring her cheeks. “Dylan, get back here.” She grabbed his hand and tugged the toddler closer. “I’m so sorry.” She wiped her free hand on her skirt then stuck it out toward Alanna. “Nice to see you again.”

Sure it was. Alanna took a breath to end that train of thought. “Dylan is a cute little guy.”

“I like him. He just runs faster than I do sometimes.” She eyed her strappy, three-inch-heel sandals. “I forgot to pack different shoes. I’ve teetered from the Grand and am ready to get out of these things.”

Alanna would take them off—then she looked at the road. Horses were quieter than cars but provided a waste product unknown to vehicles.

Jaclyn seemed to read Alanna’s mind as she grinned. “Not the safest place to go barefoot.” Dylan tugged on her hand. “Where are you headed?”

“Home. I decided to lock up a few minutes early.” Start that day off now.

“Mind if we walk with you? We’re headed to the fort. Jonathan’s meeting us.” The slightest glint reflected in her eyes, and it wasn’t the sun shining off Jaclyn’s cute glasses. Just when Alanna had begun to like her.

“That’s fine.” Alanna swallowed as the trio started down the sidewalk, Dylan tearing ahead. “Is he okay?”

“As long as I can see him.”

Alanna nodded and glanced at her companion out of the corner of her eye. So this was the woman Jonathan spent time with. Jaclyn had a sparkle that would attract men even if her curves in all the right places didn’t. No wonder Jonathan liked her. It shouldn’t bother her, since Alanna was an independent woman, one who didn’t need or want a man. Not even Jonathan. She almost choked on the thought.

“How long will you stay?”

“I’m not sure. I have to find someone for the studio before I think of leaving.”

“Maybe I can help.”

Sure she could. Anything to remove competition. Alanna blanched. Where had this attitude come from? Jaclyn was welcome to Jonathan. If she said it often enough, surely she’d come to mean it. Right?

It was a theory.

She pasted on a smile, feeling the strain. “I could use help. My leads have disappeared. The firm partners will call soon, and I’m stuck here. They won’t like that at all.”

“I’ll check around. Send people your way.”

“Thanks.” Whatever the motivation, she needed employees. If she could find some soon, she could focus on clearing her name. She didn’t even want to think what the partners would say when she had to tell them about the murder investigation. She hadn’t found time to open a web browser, let alone start tracking down her classmates during the day. There’d been enough customers to keep her busy. She’d start the search tonight.

They reached the green space in front of the fort. The rows of stairs running up the steep hill exhausted Alanna each time she saw them. It didn’t matter how fit she was, her calves burned each time she climbed those steps.

Dylan squealed and ran toward someone. “Jonathan!” Then his words blurred together as Jonathan knelt down to his level. In an instant, Alanna pictured him interacting with a daughter. Hers. He’d be an amazing dad, and his kids would be blessed.

“I’ll call with possibilities.” Jaclyn nodded toward Dylan and Jonathan. “I’d better catch up with them. Nice to see you.”

“Bye.” Alanna stood a moment watching the interaction between Jonathan and Jaclyn. Jonathan’s response to Jaclyn seemed less enthusiastic than his intense interaction with Dylan. Instead, he smiled, gave the pretty woman a halfhearted hug, then turned back to Dylan. Could Dylan be the reason he stayed?

The insight surprised Alanna, and then she felt guilty for watching. If Jonathan wanted to be with Jaclyn, he was a grown man and could do what he liked.

See, it was easier to say this time.

It did get easier to lie to herself.

Jonathan focused his attention on Dylan and Jaclyn, not on the beauty watching from a distance. He didn’t know whether to be annoyed or flattered at her attention. Then she left without even a small wave, and he wanted to punch something.

He never should have violated his one-date policy. It was easier to avoid the thought of lifelong relationships if one never allowed things to advance past one or two dates.

Jaclyn sidled up to him and tried to grab his hand, but he slid free. “Hey, isn’t Hoffmeister’s home near the Grand Hotel’s property?”

She shook her head a bit and looked at him with a blank look. “Hoffmeister?”

“The old guy who was murdered.”

“Oh. I don’t know. I suppose he lived close. Jonathan, I work in the spa. Schedule appointments. I don’t know all the hotel’s neighbors. You know how big the property is, right? And then there’s the golf course.”

“Right.”

“Why the interest?”

“Curiosity.”

Dylan joined them by grabbing one of each of their hands and running then swinging as he hung between them. Jaclyn tugged him to a stop then looked at Jonathan. “Just curious? Really? You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s not every day a murder happens here.”

“Or every day that a long-lost love returns.” She stared him down. “I’m not saying this again, Jonathan. You have to choose, because you can’t have both of us. It’s her”— she gestured to where Alanna had stood—“or me. One or the other. Make up your mind, and let me know.” She swiped at her eyes in a short, angry chop. “Come on, Dylan. We’re going home.”

Dylan looked over his shoulder at Jonathan, confusion twisting his face as his mom tugged him down the sidewalk.

Jonathan took the long way home. He needed every step to pray and sort through Jaclyn’s challenge. Part of him wanted to push them both away. Reestablish his independence and live life without the risks and entanglements that getting close to a woman involved.

Who did he love: Jaclyn or Dylan?

It was a question he didn’t want to chase to an answer. The implications bothered him. It wasn’t right to maintain a relationship with Jaclyn for Dylan’s sake. At the same time, he couldn’t imagine facing Dylan if he did end any hope of a future with Jaclyn. Spending time with her hadn’t seemed like a bad idea when dinner with her served as an attractive alternative to another long evening alone.

Still, it wasn’t fair to Jaclyn if Dylan held them together.

He turned up the path to his cabin but detoured to the shed and his fishing gear. He carried his pole and tackle box to the dock. The small circles on the surface indicated fish. Maybe a couple would try his bait rather than a tasty fly. And maybe insight would hop in his mind while he waited. A guy could hope.

Jonathan settled on the edge and baited the hook. He cast to the side and watched the bobber dip up and down in the placid pond. The
chuck-chucking
call of the gray jay pulled his attention to the trees. After a minute, he spotted the white face and gray feathers of the bird. Soon an answering call echoed back. Jonathan reached for the binoculars tucked in the box. Since nothing seemed to be happening with the fish, he’d scan the trees and see if the Kirtland’s warbler hid in the trees along with the gray jays.

At the sound of steps on the dock, Jonathan swung around, the binoculars catching the midsection of someone. He lowered the device. Alanna stood a few feet away, an uncertainness in the slump of her shoulders and question in her eyes.

“May I join you?”

The fishing pole bobbed, so Jonathan dropped the glasses and tugged the pole up. She took his silence as an invitation and moved to sit next to him. Jonathan swallowed as he set the hook, her lilac perfume weaving around him.

“I’m sorry about tonight.”

He turned to look at her, noting the sadness around her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t mean to cause trouble for you with Jaclyn.” Wistfulness softened her words.

The pole jumped, and Jonathan tugged again. He didn’t want to let whatever fought on the other end get away.