Page 12 of Love and Loathing

“What is it?” Caroline asked, sitting up. “Daniel?”

Jessie nodded as she went to his page. Caroline and her dad were the only two people who knew that Jessie was basically cyberstalking her ex. And for good reason. Her younger sisters and mother would never be able to keep their mouths shut, and they would take it in the completely wrong way. She pulled up his latest image. This time it was his feet and a friend’s feet in sandals on a beach. The caption read: White beaches and best buds. Living the good life.

Ugh. He was always living the good life. If that boy had one original thought in his head, it’d die of loneliness.

“Ew, I hate feet,” Jessie said.

“At least we know he’s on a beach,” Caroline said.

Jessie smiled at her. No point in bringing up the number of miles of beach there were in the world. “Right. I’ll add ‘beach’ to my list of clues. Maybe when I put it all together, it’ll help me narrow down his location.”

Caroline rubbed her back. “You don’t have to do this, Jessie. Torture yourself like this. You didn’t know he was going to do what he did. It’s not your fault.”

“No, but when Allie and Jo had to move out of their house, I didn’t feel any less guilty for my part.” Allie and Jo were her beautiful redheaded cousins who owned the honey shop next door. Jessie and Caroline adored them.

“Okay, well, let’s talk about something else.” Caroline lay back again. “I did something last week that I didn’t tell you about that has to do with you.”

“What?” Jessie frowned. “And why does this sound so ominous?”

“You know how I’ve been talking with Charlie Beaumont since the wedding?”

Jessie about rolled her eyes. “Talking with Charlie Beaumont” was putting it lightly. They spoke on the phone for at least an hour every day—that she knew of. “Yep.”

“Well, he’s moving to Harvest Ranch.” She furrowed her brow. “Well, sort of.”

“What does that mean?” Jessie grinned.

“He and his partner are developers. They purchased some property by the river and are putting up eight homes,” she explained. “They need to be in town as the first house goes up, and they also want to make sure that their project is in line with our town and the people in it. So, Charlie rented a villa at Sunset Valley Lodge and Spa for a few months.”

Jessie let out a low whistle. “They must be wealthy to afford a villa at that place for that long.”

Cecilia worked at Sunset Valley a couple two or three nights a week as a server. She often brought home a couple hundred bucks in tips.

“So what does that have to do with me?” Jessie asked.

Caroline gave her a fake nervous smile that was really more excited than anything. “I sent Charlie the link to your online portfolio.”

“What?”

“He loved it, and he wants to hire you for a project.”

“What kind of project?”

Caroline pulled a card from her purse and handed it to her. “He says to call him.”

Jessie had so many questions. What did he want her to do? How much time would it take? How much would it pay? And when had Caroline seen Charlie so that he could give her a card to give to Jessie?

“Call him,” Caroline said. “He really didn’t give me specifics, but I get the feeling this project will pay well. And just so you know, he asked me about you, not the other way around. I didn’t push you on him. He asked for your portfolio, asked if I thought you’d be interested, and asked to have you call him.”

Jessie furrowed her brow. “Okay, but why would he want me? He’s a land developer. I’m a videographer.”

“Only one way to find out for sure.” Caroline tapped the card in Jessie’s hand. “Now come on. I’m starved, and we have some Wicked Dough waiting for us.”

Jessie’s stomach growled. “All right, but I have questions.”

* * *

They waited in line at Wicked Dough, a restaurant where you ordered at the checkstand and waited at a table of your choosing for your food. They ordered their slices, then found a table to sit at. A few minutes later, their name got called and Jessie got up to grab their food. She picked up Caroline’s one slice of veggie and her two slices of pepperoni, then turned to head back. She nearly ran into someone and had to take a quick step back. Right there before her was one of two men she never expected to see in Harvest Ranch ever again. Her eyes bulged.

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