Page 81 of The Cottage on Plum Island
“What thing?” Jennifer knew exactly what he was talking about.
“You go off into deep thought,” Harley told her. “Like you’ve retreated into yourself behind a mental wall where nothing can reach you.”
“Yet here you are still talking to me,” Jennifer said sarcastically, lashing out at him because she was…No! No! Impossible. Why on earth would I be jealous of someone ogling Harley?Oops, I’m doing it again, and he’s onto me.“Sorry. That was uncalled for, and my daddy issues are not your fault.”
“Are you sure it’s just your daddy issues that have you so touchy?” Harley asked, putting ketchup on his plate.
“I don’t have any other issues!” Jennifer said haughtily.
“Okay!” Harley held up his hands in a surrender gesture. “I just thought that you might feel guilty over playing a part in getting Duncan arrested.”
“That wasn’t playing a part!” Jennifer picked up the knife and fork and cut into the burger. “It was either you or him, and the way I see it, Duncan is the one thatshouldbe in the interrogation room, not you.”
“He told James he didn’t do it when James met him at the police station,” Harley cut a piece of his burger. “We were both there and heard it.” He took a bite, sitting back while he ate before saying, “And from where I was standing, he didn’t look like a young man who had just murdered someone. He was scared.”
“Of course, he was scared,” Jennifer said. “He got caught after trying to frame you for the murder.”
“All Duncan did was call the police,” Harley pointed out. “He also looked genuinely shocked to see a dead body in that car.”
Jennifer took a bite of the burger, hardly noticing how tasty it was, as she watched Harley intently. “What did you get out of James?”
“I went over there and asked him what was going on.” Harley took a sip of his malt, pausing until he put the glass on the table. “James told me that his nephew called him when he saw the cops pulling up at his apartment.”
“If he didn’t do it, how would Duncan know the cops were there for him?” Jennifer asked. “They could’ve been there for another person in the apartment block.”
“Duncan doesn’t live in an apartment block,” Harley told her. “He lives in an apartment over a garage on Angela’s property.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened. “The property that Clair was living at?”
“Yes,” Harley nodded. “The police pulled up in front of the apartment, not the main house.”
‘They could’ve still been there for the main house,“ Jennifer said. “But getting back to your conversation with James,” she picked up a fry, “did he tell you how he and Duncan are related?”
“He did.” Harley paused once again to take another bit of food.
“Are you pausing for dramatic effect or just to annoy me?” Jennifer’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m trying to eat as I’m hungry.” Harley wiped his mouth on a napkin and grinned. “But also for the dramatic effect.”
“Well, don’t do that!” Jennifer advised him. “It’s annoying and the reason I don’t watch game shows.”
“You know, if you just opened the darn present and card, you’d be less testy,” Harley advised. “While I understand you have a lot of unresolved feelings and emotions over your fath… Andrew, there’s only so many knocks I’m willingto take over it.”
Jennifer’s heart squeezed, and guilt washed over her. It wasn’t just the turmoil over her family issues or stumbling into the middle of a murder mystery. It was her mixed emotions over Harley that were adding to her testyness.
Mixed emotions?That annoying voice in her head seemed to laugh at her.Oh, girl, you are tumbling head over heels here.Jennifer gritted. “That’s enough!”
“I beg your pardon?” Harley’s brow furrowed as he looked at her in disbelief.
Shoot! Did I just say that aloud?Jennifer felt her cheeks flame. “Sorry. That wasn’t meant for you. I’m at war about that,” she lied, pointing to the present and card. “Part of me wants to open it so badly.” She picked up the card and showed it to Harley. “This is my mother’s handwriting. I know it well because I kept every note and birthday card she gave me.” She looked at the envelope. “This might be the last thing she ever wrote, and it’s like stepping back in time. I’m eight years old again and clinging to everything my mother touched or gave me.” Jennifer held up the envelope before putting it on the table again. “I thought I had everything of my mother’s neatly stacked on a shelf of memories in my heart, my mind, and a box in my closet at the cottage on Plum Island.”
“Memories you’d dealt with, come to terms with, and found a way to live with,” Harley added and smiled warmly, his eyes filled with compassion and another emotion that took her breath away. “This is something new that you’re afraid will make you relive all that pain.”
“Something like that!” Jennifer swallowed down the burning lump in her throat. “Then there’s the other side of this coin—Andrew!”
Harley reached over the table and took her hand. “Whatever happens, I’ll be right by your side.” He gently squeezed her hand to show his support. “So don’t worry about the trap doors or hidden hooks. I’ll catch you before you fall or get reeled in.”
“Promise?” Jennifer smiled, taking a sip of her malt to try and wash down the stubborn lump in her throat and the tears stinging her eyes.
