By facing ghosts, I assume she means Billy. But I don’t go there. I’m not her shrink. “So, you got drunk and lost your child in the worst storm of the summer.”
“I had a glass of wine while I reheated some mac and cheese and another while Jazz ate. They wouldn’t let me have my phone in rehab, so I was catching up on the news. Jazz went up to our room to get her iPad. But she never came back.”
I sense movement behind me, and Jack is at my side. “How much time passed before you went to check on her?
Naomi’s eyes fall to the floor. “As long as it took me to finish the bottle of wine. I found Jazz’s iPad in our room.”
My hands itch to throttle her neck. “Have you checked with my mom? Maybe she’s seen Jazz.”
“I went there first. The door was ajar, so I let myself in. Her suite’s empty, and her clothes are gone. I assume she left town. You don’t think she kidnapped Jazz, do you?”
With a stab of guilt, I remember my last conversation with her. No one wants you here, Mom. Do us all a favor. Come down off your weed cloud and get on the next plane back to New York.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Even though it’s not out of the realm of possibilities, it would be extreme, even for my crazy mother. “Did you call Derrick?”
“Yes. He hasn’t seen her.”
“Did you check all the closets and under the beds?” Jack asks.
Still staring at the floor, Naomi nods. “She’s not in the carriage house.”
When I fear my legs might give way, I lean into Jack. “Something’s wrong. Jazz would be too afraid to go out in the storm alone.”
Jack places a reassuring hand on the small of my back. “Think hard, Naomi. How long has Jazz been missing? Thirty minutes? An hour?”
“At least an hour,” she mumbles.
“We need to get on it.” He retrieves our cell phones from the bedroom, handing me mine. “See if you can get through to your on-duty security officer while I contact the police.”
Jack and I spring into action while Naomi stands by watching us. My first call isn’t to Martin but to my mom. When the call goes straight to voicemail, I leave an urgent message and follow up with a text, asking her to get in touch with me ASAP.
Martin reports that he hasn’t seen Jazz, or signs of anything out of the ordinary, but he promises to call in reinforcements.
Our calls concluded, Jack and I retreat to the bedroom, and we’re finishing getting dressed when three patrol cars, with two officers in each, arrive ten minutes later.
The air in my living room quickly becomes stifling with so many bodies pressed tight. Officer Kennedy—an imposing man, tall and bald—takes charge, asking Naomi the pertinent questions. Where was Jazz last seen? And what was she wearing.
To her credit, Naomi leaves nothing out when she walks him through the events of the evening. But she can’t remember what Jazz was wearing and can’t find a picture of her daughter on her phone to show him.
I lock eyes with Naomi. “When I left Jazz with you earlier, she was still wearing her dress from church. Did she change clothes after that?”
Naomi hugs herself. “Not that I’m aware of.”
I turn to Kennedy who’s taking notes on an iPad. “The dress was sleeveless, blue-and-white seersucker with red flowers embroidered on the fabric.”
I whip out my phone and scroll through my pictures. Kennedy gives me his cell number, and I text him three of the clearest images of Jazz.
“Should you issue an Amber alert?” Jack asks.
Kennedy shakes his head. “Not unless we have reason to believe the child has been abducted. Where is the child’s father?”
“Her father is dead, and my soon-to-be ex-husband says he hasn’t seen her. But you should verify this.” Naomi provides Derrick’s contact information.
Kennedy points at Naomi. “You need to go back to the carriage house in case your daughter returns.” He gestures at the only female officer in the room. “Officer Stevenson will go with you.”
To me, Kennedy says, “I want you to call your friends, family, and neighbors, and organize a search party. We need all hands on deck. It’s nasty out tonight, and we have a lot of ground to cover.”
As the others are dispersing, I pull Kennedy aside. “In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that my mother was staying in the other suite in the carriage house. We had a bit of a disagreement earlier. According to Naomi, her room has been cleared out. If she left town, she didn’t say goodbye. She would never intentionally hurt anyone. But this might be some kind of sick prank to get back at me.” I give him Mom’s cell number and provide a physical description of her and the rental car she’s driving.
I call Katherine, Cecily, and Brian while Jack contacts his two most trusted workmen. Everyone arrives within thirty minutes. The men help the police search the grounds while Cecily, Katherine, and I cover the inside of the main building. We start on the top floor and work our way down. The process is tedious. There are tools and building materials stacked up in nearly every room. We’re combing through the main floor when Brian calls with an update.
“The police located your Mom, who swears she knows nothing of Jazz’s whereabouts. She was at the airport in Roanoke, waiting for a flight to New York. Her flight was canceled due to the storm. She’s headed back to Hope Springs now.”
“I’m relieved, and I’m not. I was hoping for some strange reason that Jazz was with her. How’s the search coming on your end?”
“We’re scouring the grounds. We’ve checked the obvious places, the barn and summer house and the site for the new storage building. So far, we’ve seen no sign of her. I’ll stay in touch.”
When we finish at the main building, we head over to the carriage house. Mom is seated at the table with Naomi and Officer Stevenson. We don’t speak, and our eyes don’t meet. In the kitchen, Cecily makes a fresh pot of coffee while Katherine and I throw together a plate of cheeses and crackers. We’re serving our snacks to the others when Officer Stevenson receives the message that Bernard is holding Jazz hostage in one of the cottages on Cottage Row.
My vision blurs with red hot fury. “I’m gonna kill him.”
I take off toward the cottages with the others on my heels. The rain has finally stopped, but the ground is muddy, and more than once, I nearly lose my footing. We find the other members of the search party, officers and civilians, hiding behind a stand of trees a hundred feet away from the furthest cottage.
I ask Kennedy, “Are you certain it’s Bernard? And that he has Jazz with him?”
“Yes, ma’am. One of my men spotted them through the window. Bernard fired at him, so we know he’s armed. We’re trying to communicate with him, to find out his demands, but he either doesn’t have his cell phone with him or he’s ignoring our calls.”
Before he can stop me, I make a dash toward the cottage. Kennedy runs after me. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going to talk some sense into that crazy old kook.”
He grabs my arm, but I shrug him off. When I near the cottage, I crouch down in front of the porch. “Here, wear this.” Kennedy tosses a bulletproof vest at me with one hand as he unholsters his revolver with the other.
“Bernard!” I call out. “It’s Stella. We need to talk. This is between you and me. Let Jazz go.”
Bernard responds by throwing his boot through the window. It tumbles across the wooden porch floor toward us.
Jack appears at my side. “Stella, are you crazy? Let the police handle this.”
“Too late now.” Cupping my hands around my mouth, I yell, “If it’s money you want, Bernard, just tell me how much.”
Bernard’s voice booms out from within. “You ain’t nothing like your father, Stella. He would never have fired me. He was a good man.”
Kennedy whispers to me, “Don’t argue with him.”
“You’re right, Bernard. Billy was a good man. And I know he was your friend. Did you know that Jazz is his daughter?”
I can’t see my sister, but I imagine the surprise on her sweet face at hearing this news. I hate for her to find out this way. I wanted to tell her myself.
“You’re lying,” Bernard hollers.
“Look at her eyes!”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Bernard says, his voice now muffled.
“Let her go, Bernard, and I’ll make sure you get the help you need.”
“I’m too old for prison,” Bernard yells.
“No one said anything about prison,” Kennedy responds.
“Please, Bernard,” I beg. “I just found out today that Jazz is my little sister. Give us a chance to be a family. Billy arranged for me to come to Hope Springs so that Jazz and I could be together.” Although I don’t know for certain if this is true, I’d be willing to bet this is what my father had in mind.
After an excruciating long moment of silence ensues, we hear, “Aw, heck. Get on outta here.”
The pitter-patter of little feet against hardwood floors is followed by the screeching of the front door opening. Jazz is in my arms and, together with Jack, we run away from the cottage, back into the woods.
Thirty-One
Despite the trauma of last night, Jazz dances beautifully, the best I’ve seen from her to date. She knows she performed well and talks excitedly about it on the way home. But the minute we arrive at the cottage, she goes silent.
I put the Jeep in park and turn around to look at her in the back seat. “I don’t feel like working today. Why don’t we go for a drive in the mountains? Maybe we’ll come across a quaint little place to have lunch.”
She gives me a small smile. Not exactly what I was hoping. But it’s something.
I’m backing out of the parking space, when Jack appears in my rearview mirror. I roll down my window, and he sticks his head inside. “Where are you two lovelies headed?”
“For a drive in the mountains,” I say. “Wanna come?”
Jazz claps her hands. “Please, Uncle Jack!”
A broad smile lights up his face. “You bet.” He opens my door. “But move over. I’m driving. I’m not riding on winding mountain roads with a novice driver.”
Scrambling over the center console, I buckle my seat belt as he takes off around the main building. Jazz falls asleep before we reach the town limits.
“Did you watch Billy’s video?” I ask as we begin our first ascent.
Jack glances over at me, but I can’t read his expression. “I did.”
“And? What do you think?”
He returns his eyes to the road. “I think Billy went to extreme measures to protect Jazz. He had good reason to suspect trouble ahead with Naomi. He makes it clear how much he missed having you in his life. He obviously had faith in you.”
“How could he, when he never really knew me? He only had reports from private investigators to go on.”
“Maybe so, but you’re his daughter. His and Hannah’s.”
“True.” I brace myself against the dashboard as Jack takes a hairpin curve too fast for my liking. I wait until my heart stops pounding to ask, “Do you think Brian’s been testing me? I have a hunch Billy authorized Brian to use the renovation project as a gauge, to see whether I measure up to Jameson standards.”
“Can you blame him? You’re awfully young for such an enormous responsibility. But you passed with flying colors. You’re doing a remarkable job with the renovations, and you’re taking excellent care of Jazz, much better than her mother.”
When we come to a steep incline, Jack steps on the gas, and we ride for a while, each of us lost in our thoughts.
We’re cruising along a straight stretch of highway when Jack breaks the silence. “I love you, Stella. Whether today or next week or a year from now, I’m gonna marry you.”
Despite the fluttering in my belly, I pretend to be insulted. “You’re awfully confident.”
“Damn right, I’m confident. We have something special. You know that as well as I do.”
I smile. “I do know that. There’s nothing I want more than to be with you.” My smile fades. “But how does Jazz fit into your vision of our happily ever after?”
“However she fits into your life, she fits into mine. I love that kid.” He flashes me a grin. “And she loves me too. Did you hear her call me Uncle Jack earlier?”
I laugh. “I did hear that.”
“If you want to try for custody, I’ll raise her as my own,” Jack says.
Warmth radiates throughout my body. “You’re too good to me, Jack.”
He takes my hand. “I’m just getting started,” he says, bringing my fingers to his lips.
Craning my neck, I watch Jazz sleeping peacefully in her car seat. “I’m not ready to give up on Naomi just yet. For Jazz’s sake, I feel compelled to give her one more chance to straighten out her life. As we work through the issues, though, Jazz will continue to live with me. It’s not ideal, I know. I’d much rather be sharing my bed with you than a six-year-old.”
“The two of you could live with me. I have enough empty bedrooms for all three of us to have our own.” Jack winks at me. “Then we can sneak around at night after Jazz goes to bed.”
The arrangement could work. His house is close enough to the farm. But I want to do what’s best for my little sister. “As much as I relish the thought of living in your beautiful home, we need to remain at the cottage. Jazz feels safe there. The location is ideal. I only wish there was more than one bedroom.”
“At some point you’ll have to address that issue.”
“How do you suggest we go about doing that?”
“Raise the roof. You could easily add a second floor with three bedrooms. You’d need an architect, of course.”
“As it happens, I’m meeting with an architect next week about the summer house.” I play-punch his arm. “You’re full of good ideas. Having a builder boyfriend comes in handy.”
“I want to be more than your boyfriend, Stella. I want to be your fiancé. I won’t pressure you to get married until you’re ready. But I need a commitment from you now.” He unbuckles his seat belt and digs into his pocket. He produces a gray silicon wedding band. “This is the best I could do on short notice. We’ll shop for a diamond together later.”
I stare at the ring and back at him. “Are you seriously proposing right now, while you’re driving on the highway?”
He grins. “At least it’s a scenic route. What do you say, Stella? When the time is right, will you marry me?”
I take the plastic band from him and slip it on my ring finger. “Oh look!” I say with mock surprise. “It’s a perfect fit!”
“I take that as a yes.”
Leaning across the console, I lay my head on his shoulder. “Yes, Jack, I’d be honored to be your wife. When the time is right.”
We drive for another twenty miles as we make plans for the future. We agree to keep our engagement a secret for now, to put some distance between last night’s traumatic event and our happy announcement. We’ve known each other only a little over two months, and we want to take our time in getting to know each other better.
When Jazz finally wakes up, we grab sandwiches from a gourmet market in the next small town and have a picnic at an overlook park on our way back to Hope Springs. As we’re pulling into the farm, I say, “I have something I need to take care of, Jack. Any chance you could watch Jazz for a few minutes?”
“Of course.” He searches for Jazz in the rearview mirror. “Hey, kiddo, wanna walk through the main building with me? I’m pretty sure I can find a hard hat to fit over all that hair of yours.”
She sticks her tongue out at him. “Funny, Uncle Jack.”
He parks the Jeep beside the cottage and drops the key in my palm. “Cecily wanted me to tell you she’s preparing a tasting menu for us to sample later this afternoon. She’s even including some kid-friendly dishes for Jazz.”
“Sounds like dinner to me,” I say. “Maybe afterward, we can take Jazz for a swim in the lake.” I say this for Jazz’s b
enefit, and out of the corner of my eye, I watch for her reaction. She appears visibly relieved that, for the foreseeable future, she’ll be with me.
Jack says, “I’ll have to run home for my swim trunks, but count me in.”
When Jack and Jazz head off toward the main building, I cut across the lawn to the carriage house. Naomi doesn’t answer when I knock on the door of her suite, but I find Cecily sautéing mushrooms on the stove in the kitchen.
“Have you seen Naomi? Her car’s out front, but she’s not in her room.”
Rolling out biscuit dough on the counter, Cecily says, “She left about an hour ago, but she didn’t say where she was going.”
I talk to Cecily for a minute about her plans for this afternoon’s tasting before continuing my search for Naomi. I don’t have to go far. I find her sitting on the ground, leaning back against Opal’s tree. When I approach, she springs to her feet.
“Where’s Jazz?” she asks, looking past me. “I’ve been waiting for you for hours. I thought you’d bring her back after her ballet lesson.”
“She’s up at the main building with Jack. I asked him to keep an eye on her while we talk. We’re playing by my rules now, Naomi.”
She rolls her eyes. “And what rules are those, Stella?”
“Jazz is going to continue living with me for the foreseeable future. She doesn’t feel safe with you. Who can blame her after everything that’s happened?”
Naomi looks down at her feet. “Can I visit her?”
“Of course. On Jazz’s terms. It’s up to you to earn back her trust. You’ll have to find somewhere else to live, though. Jack will be starting renovations on the carriage house soon. As for your job, you can head up our marketing department. On a trial basis. If it doesn’t work out, you’ll have to find a job somewhere else. You have issues you need to work through, Naomi. Take this time for yourself, to sort out your life.”
She glares at me. “And what if I don’t play by your rules?”
“I’ll sue you for custody of Jazz. Brian thinks I have a good chance of winning.”
Dream Big, Stella! Page 23