Just Breathe (The Protectors Book 2)

by Leeanna Morgan

  “What is life if not for living? Now let us see what jewel you have found.” Nick gazed at the painting. He lifted one side of the gilt frame, studying the canvas like a wine connoisseur contemplating a fine red wine.

  He pulled one of the spotlights closer and examined the brush strokes. “Do you know anything about the provenance of the painting?”

  Kelly reached into her pocket and took out a piece of paper. “This is the information the North American Auction House gave me.”

  Nick looked at the short paragraph of text and frowned. “Has the painting always been with the same family?”

  “As far as I know.”

  Nick opened a drawer and took out a magnifying glass, studying the canvas in more detail. “It is an excellent example of mid-nineteenth century portraiture.” He looked at the paper Kelly had given him. “I cannot say for sure who the artist is. Would you be happy if I held onto the painting for a week or two? I will do some research and contact some friends.”

  “That would be great. Are you sure you’ve got time to help me?”

  Nick shrugged. “I like a mystery every now and then. I would be happy to help.”

  The gallery’s doorbell chimed and Nick looked at his watch. “That may be Mia. Let me go and check.”

  Kelly followed Nick into his gallery.

  Mia smiled as she unzipped her jacket. “Hi, Kelly. It’s so cold outside. I thought I was going to freeze.” She walked across to Nick and kissed her grandfather’s cheek. “How has your day been?”

  “Better now that you’re here. Come and see what Kelly found.”

  Mia left her jacket on one of the chairs in the workroom. “Wow. It’s lovely. Where did you find it?”

  “I bought it at an auction. Nick’s going to help me work out who painted it.”

  Mia’s gaze traveled over the canvas. “Whoever it was knew what they were doing. If you need someone else to help, I’m only a phone call away.”

  The doorbell rang again.

  Mia smiled at her grandfather. “I’ll go. See you later, Kelly.” She clipped her staff name badge to her shirt before walking into the gallery.

  Nick watched his granddaughter leave. “She is a good girl.” He pulled his gaze back to the painting. “At the moment, your portrait is a mystery. But we will do everything we can to make her a little less mysterious.”

  Kelly gave Nick a quick hug. “Thank you. If I discover anything that might help, I’ll call you straight away.”

  “That would be appreciated.”

  Kelly picked up her bag and thought about the other auction items she had in her apartment. Apart from coming from the same family, she had no idea how each of the pieces related to each other. But with Nick and Mia’s help, she was looking forward to finding out.

  ***

  Later that night, Kelly sat on her sofa and studied the items she’d bought at the auction. If she was going to find any connection between them she needed to make a list of anything they had in common, then try to decipher the journal.

  She picked up the teapot and turned it over. Apart from the hallmark and a few scratches, there were no other clues that would tell her where it had come from.

  A key turned in her door and she frowned.

  “It’s me,” Avery yelled from the hallway. She rushed into living room pulling someone behind her. “Look who I found on the street.”

  Tanner took off his beanie. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

  Kelly uncrossed her legs and stood up. “No. I was just going through the box of things I won at the auction. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  Avery threw her jacket on the couch. “I’ll get everyone a hot drink. Would you like cream and sugar in your coffee, Tanner?”

  “Cream, no sugar, thanks.”

  Kelly waited until her cousin had disappeared into the kitchen.

  Tanner looked uncomfortable and not at all sure he should be in her apartment.

  “I hope Avery didn’t upset your plans. She can be a bit bossy sometimes.”

  “I heard that,” Avery yelled. “And bossy is too strong a word. I prefer assertive.”

  Kelly smiled at Tanner. “You’re welcome to stay. Did Avery tell you what we found in the box?”

  “No. She wanted it to be a surprise.” He looked at the coffee table and frowned. “Are these the items?”

  “They are. The silver teapot and tray were made around 1850. The newspaper is from 1987 and the quilt and journal are a mystery.”

  Tanner leaned forward. “Can I have a closer look at them?”

  “Sure. I was about to make a list of each item and what I know about them.”

  “You’re organized.”

  “I need to be. Between everything else that’s happening I don’t have a lot of spare time.”

  Tanner opened the quilt. “You must work long hours.”

  “I do. If I’m not buried in my accounting system, I’m buying more stock and helping in the store.”

  Avery came into the living room with three steaming mugs in her hands. “Coffee for Tanner and hot chocolate for you, Kelly.”

  Tanner folded the quilt and put it beside the journal. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. What do you think of our mystery box?”

  “It’s an interesting mix of items.”

  “They were all inside the original box from the estate.”

  Tanner’s eyebrows rose. “Isn’t that unusual? Most of the mystery boxes I’ve seen are put together by the auction house.”

  “I never thought about that,” Kelly said.

  “Did you keep the original box?”

  Kelly put her hot chocolate on the table. “It’s in my office. I’ll be back in a minute.” She’d been so focused on what was inside the box that she’d completely overlooked an obvious place to find more information.

  The auctioneer’s brown box was sitting beside her desk. She took it into the living room and sat down.

  “Here it is.” She opened the flaps and carefully slid the original box onto the coffee table.

  Avery’s mouth dropped open. “There’s a name on the outside.”

  Tanner peered at the name. “I wonder who Jasmine was.”

  Kelly picked up the newspaper. “It can’t be that easy…” She unfolded the paper and searched through the birth, deaths, and marriages section. “Look…”

  She pointed at one of the entries. “I read this part of the newspaper last night. Jasmine Sargeant died in 1987. Celeste Madison, the lady whose estate was being sold, was her daughter.”

  Tanner studied the entry. “No other children are listed. Celeste must have been an only child.”

  Kelly added Jasmine and Celeste’s names to her list. “The silver teapot and tray could have been a family heirloom.”

  “Or someone could have given it to her as a gift,” Avery said. “If the things in the box belonged to Celeste or her mom, then it makes sense that the journal would be theirs, too.”

  Tanner opened the journal to the front page. “Someone wrote the entries in code?”

  “We’re going to work out what it says.” Avery moved closer to Tanner. “The text is very organized. Kelly thinks it could be a diary.”

  Kelly re-read the death notice in the newspaper. “The names in the newspaper give us a clue as to who looked after the box, but it still doesn’t make the items theirs. We really need to work out what the journal says.”

  Tanner opened the small, brown book to a random page. “Do you want me to try and decipher the code?”

  “Have you got time?”

  “I leave for Calgary tomorrow morning. I could take some photos of the text and look at it while I’m away.”

  “That would be great. Thank you.”

  Avery frowned. “Do you decipher many codes as part of your job?”

  “Not a lot. We have a team of staff who help with things like that. If we get really stuck, I could ask a friend at Fletcher Security to help us. Sam’s cracked every code
I’ve ever come across.”

  Kelly closed the newspaper. “It’s good to know we’ve got options.”

  Tanner took his cell phone out of his pocket. “I won’t share the photos with anyone unless I check with you first, Kelly.”

  “I guess I should be discreet, too,” Avery said with a frown. “I’ve already told most of my friends about the mystery box.”

  “You don’t need to worry,” Kelly said as she sipped her hot chocolate. “What’s in the box isn’t going to threaten national security.”

  Tanner opened the journal and took half a dozen photos. “If you want my advice, I’d wait until you’ve cracked the code before you tell more people about it. If it’s important, you might need to keep the journal somewhere safer than your apartment.”

  Kelly folded the quilt and put it inside the box. “This building used to be a bank. There’s a vault downstairs—it will be safe there.”

  “All the bank deposits were kept there,” Avery said in an excited voice. “When Kelly first moved in I was sure she would find a bag of diamonds on one of the shelves.”

  Kelly laughed. “I’d already checked for gold and diamonds when I worked for Uncle Mike.”

  Tanner picked up his mug of coffee. “When did you work here?”

  “When I was in high school. I worked with Uncle Mike for a few hours each week. Back then, he stocked mostly craft supplies and stationery. I loved unpacking the boxes and arranging everything in tidy rows on the shelves.”

  “You did?”

  Kelly nodded. “There was always something interesting to do.” She thought about her uncle, the fun they’d had when new stock arrived or when someone came into the store looking for a present. “He knew I’d enjoy running my own business. By the time I left high school I was helping him with his accounts and paying the bills.”

  “When did you start your own business?”

  “Two years ago.” She moved the teapot and silver tray into the box. “When Uncle Mike died he left me the store. I wasn’t going to stay. I came home to sell everything, but as soon as I saw the store I knew I couldn’t do it. I think he would be happy with the changes I’ve made.”

  Avery sighed. “I know he would.”

  Kelly smiled at her cousin. They both had tears in their eyes.

  Tanner picked up his jacket. “Thanks for the coffee and the update. I’d better leave you to the rest of your evening.”

  “You can stay for longer if you want to?” Kelly said. “Avery came over for dessert. We’ve got plenty of ice cream.”

  Tanner shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but I need to leave Bozeman at five o’clock tomorrow morning. Remember to keep your windows and doors locked.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me. I can look after myself.” She led him downstairs and opened the back door. “Enjoy Calgary.”

  “I’m working,” he said with a frown.

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. If you figure out the code for the journal, let me know.”

  Tanner stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. “I will. I’ll be back on Friday. I’ll call you when I get home.” He turned toward his car, then looked over his shoulder. “Lock the door, Kelly.”

  She took a deep breath and saluted him. “Yes, sir!” And before he gave her more instructions, she locked the door and ran upstairs.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kelly placed eight chocolates in the center of the wedding favor she was making. Her friend Rachel was getting married in two weeks’ time and she’d offered to help with any last-minute details. And this afternoon, that involved wrapping table favors for the guests.

  “Avery and I spent two hours last night trying to work out the code for the journal.”

  “No wonder you look tired,” Rachel said. “What time did you make it to bed?”

  “About midnight. Tanner’s warning about locking all the windows and doors freaked me out. I kept thinking every creak and groan was someone breaking into the store.”

  “He means well.”

  Kelly tied a red ribbon around the tulle bundle of chocolates. “I just wish he wasn’t so intense. Everything he says and does is so serious.”

  “That’s what makes him good at his job. He was a Navy SEAL.”

  “He was?”

  “Tanner told me about his military career not long after I met him.” Rachel’s fiancé, John Fletcher, owned the company where Tanner worked.

  Kelly added another table favor to the box at Rachel’s feet. “How many is that?”

  “Eighty-five. Only another twenty-six to go.”

  “It’s just as well you’re one of my best friends.”

  “I’ll be standing in line to help you with your wedding when the time comes,” Rachel said. “I appreciate your help.”

  “You don’t need to worry about helping me. I won’t be getting married for years.”

  “Why not?”

  “I have to meet someone first. My brothers do a good job of scaring most men away from me.”

  Rachel cut a length of ribbon. “Don’t tell them you’re dating anyone.”

  “That’s easier said than done. They have spies in every corner of Bozeman.” She added a handful of chocolates to the tulle circle in front of her. “One day they’ll all have girlfriends and be too busy to pay me any attention.”

  Rachel raised her eyebrows.

  “I know. I’m seriously delusional.”

  “Hopeful might be a better way of putting it.”

  Kelly didn’t care what Rachel called it. Her brothers were a massive problem, but nothing she said or did made any difference to the way they treated her male friends.

  She passed Rachel another finished table favor. “It must be a crazy time for you. When does John’s family arrive?”

  “Two days before the wedding. They’ll stay with John and I’ll move in with Tess.” Rachel added another tulle-wrapped wedding favor to the box. “Tell me about the journal. Do you know who it belonged to?”

  “No, but I’ve made an appointment with Professor Harding at Montana State University. She’s worked at the Smithsonian Institute. I’m hoping she’ll be able to tell me when the journal was made. Once I have an approximate year, I’ll know where to start looking.”

  “Has the auction house been any help with names and dates?”

  “They gave me all the information they had when I bought the box. There’s one other person who may be able to help, but they’re away until next Monday.”

  “When does Tanner get back?”

  “Tomorrow. I haven’t heard from him so I assume he hasn’t managed to crack the code.”

  “You’ll figure it out. What are you going to do once you know what the journal says?”

  “I’ll try and find a relative of the person who wrote the journal and offer it to them. If there’s no one, I’ll give it to the local museum. For all I know it could be someone’s recipe book.”

  “Even that would be interesting.”

  The front door opened and Avery rushed into the store. “You’re not going to believe this.”

  Kelly was almost afraid to ask what had happened. The last time Avery had said the same words she’d changed her college program.

  Avery looked at the rolls of tulle and ribbon covering the front counter. “What are you doing?”

  Rachel passed her a chocolate. “Wrapping table favors for my wedding guests. What won’t we believe?”

  Avery swung her backpack off her shoulder and pulled out two big books. “I was in the college library at lunchtime. I was doing some research on the impact steamboats had on the American economy in the nineteenth century.” She opened one of the books and turned it toward Kelly and Rachel. “I saw this photo. It’s the living room of the Jackson family estate in Boston.”

  Kelly studied the photo. “It can’t be.”

  Avery sent her a smug smile. “It is.”

  Rachel frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  Kelly took a magni
fying glass out of a drawer. “The painting on the wall looks like the one I bought at the auction.” She focused on the portrait, comparing the image she remembered with what she saw. “It is. It’s my painting.”

  “The photo was part of a series taken in 1862.” Avery opened the second book. “I didn’t know who the Jackson family were, so I did some more research. They were incredibly wealthy. Alexander Jackson made a fortune from textile mills in the 1830s.”

  Kelly grinned at her cousin. “You’re amazing.”

  “It gets even better.” Avery pointed to a page in the second book. “This is a photo of the Jackson family. It was taken at their family home in Boston in 1853. If I’m not mistaken, the lady in the painting is Mary Elizabeth Jackson, Alexander Jackson’s wife.”

  Rachel looked at the photos in both books. “How did a portrait of a woman from Boston end up in an auction house in Bozeman?”

  Avery shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t have time to look for more information.”

  Kelly gave her cousin a hug. “We can visit the public library. They might have access to online genealogy databases or maybe some books about the Jackson family. I’ll call Nick at his gallery and tell him what you’ve discovered.”

  “I don’t know who painted the portrait, but it’s more information than we had before.”

  “It’s a whole lot more than we had before.” Kelly thought of the items she’d won at the auction. She had no idea if they were all from the Jackson family, but after Avery’s discovery, she hoped they were closer to finding out.

  ***

  On Saturday morning, Tanner jumped on the treadmill beside Tank. If it wasn’t snowing, they would have been outside, running on one of the trails around Bozeman. But mid-November was the worst time to do anything outside.

  Tank grabbed his towel and wiped his face. “Have you remembered about tonight?”

  Tanner stared straight ahead. “I have and I can’t come.”

  “There’s no way you’ve got a date. So that must mean you’re chickening out.”

  “You guessed wrong. I want to work on the journal. I haven’t figured out the code yet.”

  “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”