Whispering Pines Mysteries Box Set 3

by Shawn McGuire

  My ex-boyfriend was here? In my home? I thought it but hadn’t wanted to admit that was why the BMW looked familiar. Jonah’s dad had given it to him for college graduation. It was used, three years old at the time, but still a generous gift. I grabbed Rosalyn’s arm and dragged her down the hallway to the B&B office.

  “Okay, tell me everything.” Eight years ago, that phrase uttered between girlfriends would have held a good amount of excitement. Now, his unannounced appearance felt wrong and was unwelcome. “When did he get here? Why is he here?”

  “He got here about twenty minutes ago. Maybe half an hour. I don’t know why he’s here. I saw his face and told Dad to deal with him.”

  “Since when are you shy?” I dropped into the desk chair and held my hands over my face. I hadn’t seen Jonah Price in more than a year.

  “I’m not being shy,” she snapped and sat in one of the guest chairs across the desk from me. “The second I realized it was him, I thought of James.”

  Oh. We O’Shea sisters shared more than parents and a last name. Mostly due to our mother’s encouragement, aka pressure, we had both dated guys who planned to go into politics. James was still in college, the same year as Roz, so had a way to go. But like Jonah, he’d be moving forward without an O’Shea at his side. Rosalyn had broken things off with him after leaving here in October.

  Jonah was a few years into his career. Granted, his first job out of college was for his dad’s law firm, which was sort of cheating and not quite political, but the intention was the firm would help prepare him for the career he wanted. Either way, he’d always had a lot of ambition to become a big name in first the Madison political scene and then the nation’s.

  “Sorry. I hadn’t thought of James.”

  Rosalyn sighed hard. “All I know is that Jonah showed up with a woman and asked if we had a room for the night.”

  “A woman? As in a girlfriend or co-worker?”

  “I’ve heard rumors.”

  When she didn’t volunteer the information, I pushed, “Rumors from who? About what?”

  “Friends of James’ who are big into local politics. They say Jonah has been dating some social butterfly named Millie Gordon who also works in his firm’s finance department.”

  She had to be the same woman Jonah had become so impressed with shortly before we called it quits. He’d dubbed her a go-getter who was going to move up the ladder in no time.

  “Millie Gordon? Sounds like the name of a flapper from the 1920s.” A jolt of conscience stabbed at me immediately. “That was uncalled for. I don’t even know the woman.” I eyed my sister. “Do you know her?”

  “Not personally. I heard they were dating and saw pictures of the two of them online in the society news. As in high society.” She pushed the tip of her nose up, indicating Ms. Gordon was snooty, and then her brow creased. “I’m not really sure if the woman upstairs is Millie or not. I only caught a glimpse of her. Anyway, Dad gave them keys for The Side room.” She pointed at the desk. “Jonah’s credit card is right there.”

  I looked down and saw a Visa signature card with the name Jonah J. Price engraved on it. His buddies called him J.J.

  “It’s not going to bite you,” Rosalyn teased. “Charge him double.”

  “I can’t do that.” I laughed, easing the tension that had suddenly formed in my neck. I ran his card and took care of the paperwork while we sat there. Not that I worried about the charge going through. Jonah might be lacking in the redeeming qualities category, but he had plenty of money.

  Rosalyn asked for details about what happened at Unity, so I filled her in on the patient and how I’d need to go search for a car in the morning. Then I started telling her about the lack of a generator and the stone wall Jola had to face to get decent equipment.

  “You’re stalling,” Rosalyn accused when I paused to take a breath.

  “I’m stalling?”

  “I figured I’d get a sentence or two about the patient. Not a blow-by-blow recounting from the moment you left the house to the moment you returned.”

  “I didn’t tell you everything. For example, Tripp’s aunt—”

  “Go deal with Jonah.” She pointed at the office door. “He’s staying in your B&B for at least one night. You’ll have to talk to him sooner or later. Might as well be sooner.”

  It was a big house. I could avoid him if I wanted to. She was right, though. This wasn’t just my home. It was my business, and I needed to be professional. I was also the big tough sheriff of this little village. I’d dealt with characters a lot more challenging than Jonah Price. If nothing else, going off to find him would keep me from blabbing about Hawaii. If I spilled that news too soon, Rosalyn would start a stream of appeals for me to take her with us that would put a new toy-wanting toddler to shame.

  With Jonah’s credit card in hand, I opened the office door, strode confidently down the hallway, and ran smack into him at the bottom of the stairs.

  He looked different. His dark hair was still cut in the same politician’s side part, clipped neatly on the sides with longer, slightly messy bangs on top. He still dressed in tan khakis with a red-white-and-blue checked button-up shirt beneath a navy cabled cardigan that probably cost more than half my closet. His cheeks still had those red spots next to his nose that always made him look like he’d just come in from the chilly outdoors. The different thing was, he’d lost weight. Jonah had always carried ten or fifteen extra pounds, which gave him a full face. I could see cheekbones now, and he had purplish circles beneath his eyes. He had been driving in a blizzard, however, and was probably tired.

  His face went blank when he saw me. I looked different too. My hair was longer because I’d stopped with the every-six-weeks trims my mother insisted on. I’d also lost a little weight, ten pounds, but mostly had firmed up a lot due to walking all around the village over the summer. A little of that muscle tone had faded over the past few months, but I was still firmer and stronger now than the last time he’d seen me. Stronger both physically and mentally. And Rosalyn reported that my skin looked better than she’d ever seen it, which had to be because of all the fresh air I was getting. Or maybe it was all due to the simple fact that I was happy now.

  After realizing it was actually me standing before him, his eyes took on that sparkle that had first caught my attention nearly eight years ago. Then came the bright-white smile.

  “Look at you.” He placed a hand on each of my shoulders and pulled me in to kiss my cheek. “You are more beautiful than I remember.”

  I couldn’t breathe. And not in a good way. The instant he touched me, my chest tightened. Oxygen was only getting about halfway into my lungs, and I couldn’t look him in the eye. The thought repeating over and over in my head was, the last time I saw him, I was moving out of our apartment. He’d been two beers past drunk and had no intention of helping me. The only thing he had been interested in at that moment was berating me.

  “Biggest mistake you’ll ever make,” he had slurred. “The second you’re back in your parents’ house, you’re gonna regret this and ask to come back . . . But don’t even think about calling me . . . Remember this was your choice. You woulda had the life of your dreams with me. Now you’ve got nothing.”

  And on and on he went. He’d been hurt and angry, so I stayed silent and kept packing.

  After watching me struggle with boxes and heavy suitcases, the landlord finally took pity on me and gave me a wheeled cart to load everything onto. Once I got to the house, my mother, who was equally furious with me, wouldn’t help me either. I’d broken her heart the day I refused Jonah’s proposal of marriage as much as I’d broken his. Her dream of having a family member in the political spotlight was dead. Until Rosalyn met James.

  Pull yourself together, Jayne in my head ordered now. This is your home. Think about how much better your life is without him.

  As always, she was right. My life wasn’t just good, it sparkled. And regardless of how my life was now, our relationship hadn’t been
working for me. I took control of my world and had nothing to be ashamed of or to apologize for. Walking away from him was the first and hardest step. No way would I slink back into my old submissive self now.

  I couldn’t believe he was standing in front of me again. “What are you doing here, Jonah?”

  A woman stood on the staircase behind him. She was well-dressed in dark-brown leggings, knee-length riding boots in the same shade, and an ivory tunic sweater. Angora or more likely cashmere. She was polished and poised. Rosalyn thought Millie Gordon came from the upper crust of Madison. If this woman wasn’t Millie, she was a replacement from the same economic group.

  Be nice, Jayne in my head snipped.

  To my knowledge, Jonah never had a type of woman he preferred. At least not that I remembered. I watched his social media pages for a couple weeks after we broke up, and it seemed any female who would smile pretty and look good with him on camera sufficed. He’d had no problem trying to mold me into his version of the perfect woman, and I was sure he’d do it again. My career choice was the first and biggest thing he tried to remold. A police detective wife who could potentially expose corruption in local government presented all sorts of problems. The realization that he wanted a wife to help further his career and not a partner in life was what had finally pushed me away.

  My stomach tightened as I took in the woman standing on my stairs. Her ebony-brown hair was cut in a sensible bob, much like mine was before I let it grow. She had a round face and light blue eyes. Also like me. What the hell was Jonah doing? It was the woman standing before me and not my ego telling me he had replaced me with a lookalike. Was he remolding her the same way he had tried to with me?

  “Who’s your friend?” I asked with a smile just as forced and phony as his.

  He made a face that indicated a silly mistake on his part and held his arm out to her. “Darling, come say hi. Jayne, this is Camille Gordon. Millie, meet Jayne.”

  Millie, who stood a couple of inches taller than me, held out a perfectly manicured hand. “It’s a true pleasure to finally meet you. Jonah speaks very highly of his Jayne.”

  My smile froze in place as Jayne in my head spoke up immediately. His Jayne? Speaks highly of you? He was furious when you left.

  Any wonder why I’m not ‘being nice’? I thought at her.

  A hand on my lower back startled me. It was a familiar feeling, though, that could only mean Tripp was now at my side. Oxygen instantly flooded my lungs as I took a deep, nourishing breath and then another. Strength flowed back into my legs, and my knees straightened. Blood once again flowed freely through my veins and arteries, warming my chilly fingers.

  “Welcome to Pine Time,” Tripp greeted.

  I looked over and smiled at the man I’d been born to be with. “Tripp, this is Jonah.”

  His expression didn’t waver at the introduction, but his fingers pressed momentarily harder into the flesh of my back. He held out a hand to our guest.

  My ex slapped his into Tripp’s like they were long-lost reuniting buddies. “Jonah Price. Great to meet you.”

  Jonah pumped Tripp’s hand as though trying to ensure his vote, and Tripp replied, “Tripp Bennett. Jayne’s partner.” He paused for a half-second before adding, “And we run the bed-and-breakfast together.”

  Staking his claim, was he? A smile played at my lips. This should be interesting.

  Feeling both confident now that Tripp was at my side and annoyed that I seemed to need backup in order to talk to my former boyfriend, I repeated my earlier question. “What are you doing here, Jonah?”

  He laughed his oh, you’re going to like this chuckle and reached his hand back for Millie’s. She looked at it but paused an instant too long before taking it.

  “We’re supposed to be spending the weekend with Millie’s family. We got a bit of a late start leaving Madison and underestimated the strength of this storm.”

  Millie smiled and nodded.

  Cameras might be watching. Play along now and smile pretty.

  I mentally silenced Jayne in my head by stomping on her foot. Don’t make me laugh.

  “You thought it was a good idea,” Tripp began quizzically, “to drive five hours north even though they’ve been warning about this storm for two days?”

  I didn’t point out that my dad had done the same thing. Although Dad had gotten a much earlier start.

  Jonah had a firm grip on Millie’s hand with his left and patted it with his right.

  He’s going to blame her.

  Where had that thought come from?

  “You know how it is.” Still patting. “Gotta keep our ladies happy.”

  Tripp paused before saying, “I’d never put Jayne’s life in danger that way.”

  Winner! Jayne in my head cheered. You clearly have the better beau.

  Something wasn’t right about this. And I didn’t mean Tripp’s suddenly bold attitude with the dash of chauvinism. There was something in the way Jonah spoke and the way Millie kept nodding and smiling. Perhaps Jonah truly had finally found that beautiful woman who would just stand at his side and make him look good. My instincts told me something else was going on, but I didn’t have a clue what that might be.

  I looked past Jonah directly at his girlfriend. Or date. Despite what Rosalyn told me a few minutes earlier, this couple didn’t seem close enough to be dating. Maybe they were fighting.

  “Where do your parents live, Millie?” I asked.

  “They’re in St. Cloud, Minnesota,” she responded in a cultured voice that matched her poised appearance.

  Then Jonah trapped her hand against his side with his and spoke over her. The action set my teeth on edge and instantly reminded me of all the times he’d done that exact thing to me. “Her mother lives in St. Cloud. Mrs. Gordon is an elementary school teacher. Her father and stepmother live in Madison. He’s a congressman.”

  At the top of the stairs, Morgan’s face peered around the corner and down at us. I met her eyes, trying to silently let her know I’d be up shortly.

  “Hang on.” Tripp took my hand in his and laced our fingers together. “You drove north through Wisconsin to get to St. Cloud? So you must’ve been planning to go up to Wausau and then over to St. Paul. But you could’ve cut diagonally through the state to the Twin Cities and saved a good two-and-a-half hours.” He swung our hands casually back and forth, but his grip was a little strong. "Double that today.”

  Jonah chuckled. “I wasn’t paying attention. Ended up taking a wrong turn.”

  Tripp shook his head. “That’s a pretty simple drive. Highway 90 out of Madison, merge onto 94 west when you get to Tomah, and continue on 94 all the way to St. Cloud. Where did you take a wrong turn?”

  “If I knew that,” Jonah’s voice tightened, “I wouldn’t have taken that turn. Once we were off course, I figured we’d just go for a drive.”

  Knowing what Tripp was going to say next and not wanting punches to get thrown, I stepped in. “You went for a drive through a blizzard?”

  Jonah looked down at his feet and then toward the wall of windows in the great room. “What can I say? Not my best plan.”

  A new, more upsetting question came to me. “How did you know about Pine Time?”

  “Always a cop, aren’t you?” He didn’t answer right away, probably waiting for me to back down. We’d be here a while if he wanted to play that way. Finally he blurted, “I don’t remember. Maybe Rosalyn.” He snapped his fingers. “No, it was your mom. I ran into her somewhere.” He paused and the tone of his voice changed. “She mentioned you’re the sheriff up here too. Is that true?”

  Translation using that same tone of voice: Isn’t that cute? Little Jayney playing at being a police officer again.

  I gave him a tight smile, annoyed to have to deal with him. Had he been this awful before? He never supported my career, I couldn’t forget that, but had he always been this condescending? “Sounds like you’re questioning my mother’s honesty.”

  “Oh, no.” He puffed
his chest. “She wouldn’t lie. Of course she wouldn’t.”

  “Then you’re doubting my skills?”

  “Jay, no.”

  At his use of his nickname for me, I squeezed Tripp’s hand. Apparently I squeezed too hard because he squeezed back in response.

  “Babe,” he countered with his own pet name for me, “why don’t we let Jonah and . . .”

  He looked at Millie, not having been formally introduced to her yet.

  “Millie,” Jonah answered for her. Nothing more, just her first name.

  Tripp, charming as always, took her hand. “Nice to meet you. Well, you’re surely both tired from that drive. Why don’t you head on up to your room and get some rest? We normally only provide breakfast, but considering the storm and that nothing in the village will be open until Sunday, let us know if you need anything. I wasn’t planning on a houseful, but I’ll come up with something. I’ll serve around seven thirty.”

  Millie had a few dietary requests—no onions, shellfish, or soy—which Tripp assured wouldn’t be a problem, and then they went on their way. I waited until they disappeared around the corner at the top of the stairs and exhaled a breath that seemed to come from my feet.

  “What is he doing here?” Tripp hissed.

  I threw my hands in the air. “You heard what I heard. Something isn’t right about this.”

  “You think?”

  “I understand why you might be upset,” I stated evenly, “but I didn’t do anything. And I’m no happier than you are that he’s here. Don’t snap at me.”

  His shoulders dropped, and he kissed my forehead. “Sorry. He took me off guard.”

  “Me too.”

  He pulled me into his arms. “You’re shaking. What’s wrong? Other than the obvious.”

  We were standing at the bottom of the stairs where anyone could hear us. “I don’t want to talk down here.”

  “I’ll let Meeka out and lock up the house. You go see how Jola and the others are doing. I’ll meet you upstairs when you’re done.”

  All was well in the Jack and Jill rooms. Jola had our patient tucked comfortably into bed with a dim light glowing in the corner and a diffuser scenting the room with lavender.