That Thursday, he was about to step into his office when Janice, one of the front-of-house staff and the only person left in the store, called out to him, “I’m off now, Jake.”
He walked over to her. “Okay. Did you grab some leftovers for the kids?”
“I did, thanks. Oh… and there was a girl—well, a young woman really, in here looking for Jesse the other day.”
Jake frowned. Janice had worked for him for a little over a month, and while she knew who Jesse was, they’d never discussed his twin. “Really?”
“Sorry, I forgot all about her until now. I got a bit flustered at the time and didn’t know what to say, so I asked if she wanted to leave a message, but she said she’d come back another day.”
Having lived in Europe for most of his twenties, Jake knew only a couple of Jesse’s female friends, so he struggled to think who it could be. “Okay. Thanks.”
Janice rummaged in her purse and pulled out her car keys. Just as she was about to open the door, Jake called her back. “This woman, what did she look like?”
“Tallish, long blonde hair. Quite stunning, actually. Very well put together, but natural, if you know what I mean.”
“And she didn’t leave her name?”
“No. I did ask her, but she seemed kind of anxious, like she’d had to pluck up the courage to come in and couldn’t wait to leave.”
“Hmm.”
“Right, I’d better get home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Janice. Have a nice evening.”
Puzzled, Jake locked the door behind her and strolled back to the office.Quite stunning, actually.When they were younger, he’d often been jealous of how easily his twin brother picked up attractive women when, because of his shyness, he’d struggled to even speak to the opposite sex.
Now one of those women had come into his store looking for Jesse.
Jake shook his head. Sad. That’s what it was.
Plain freakin’ sad.
The phone on his desk rang. Jake let it go to answer, but when he heard his lawyer’s greeting, he picked up. “Annabelle. What can I do for you?”
“Afternoon, Jake. You’re still there. Sorry, I should have called your cell but wasn’t thinking.”
“No problem. You sound terrible. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, fine. Well, it will be as soon as I get over this dreadful flu. I mean, who gets the flu in summer? But enough about me. I just wanted to touch base while I had a spare minute to tell you that Molly Parker’s finally made contact as of this morning. I’m seeing her on Monday.”
Molly Parker?“You’re meeting online?”
“No, she’s in town at the moment. I don’t have any other details, but Monday’s the day. I’ll keep you informed of my progress.”
Interesting.Molly Parker was in Clifton Falls, but with all her social media accounts private, apart from a side-on profile picture on one of them, Jake had no idea what she even looked like. According to Jesse, she’d been working in the States for much of last year.
“Then we can set up a meeting with your father once he’s back from Fiji,” Annabelle continued. “Jake?”
“Sorry, my mind’s in overdrive right now. Mum will want to be in on that.”
“I thought that might be the case, although Henry is the primary executor. Still, an informal get-together might satisfy Hazel’s curiosity.”
Or not.“Yeah, maybe.”
“Okay, I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, if you’re talking to your father, can you fill him in? I’ve sent him an email, but he hasn’t replied.”
“Will do. He’s back early next week.”
