Twenty minutes later, I walked back to the B&B, trying to process what I had just heard. I had been invited to come to London to interview for a position with Rogers. They said they had heard about my work and had seen the projects I hadrecently completed, and they thought I would be a solid addition to their international company. I hadn’t known exactly what to say, but I knew I had to at least fly over there and have a conversation with them in person.
We had arranged for me to fly out in one week. I knew by then Brenna would be in a walking cast, and her friends from New York were coming out to help her. Rylan would stay with my parents, and I would be free to go. I knew I needed to take some time to think about what all this meant, but as I walked up towards the B&B, I knew I would have to wait a bit.
I walked into the living room and Brenna was sitting on the couch. Her face was pale, and as she looked at me her normally cheerful eyes were a mix of confusion, sadness, and a hint of anger. I didn’t know what happened, but I knew that something was very, very wrong.
Chapter 13
Brenna
"What happened?" Josh asked.
He started to walk towards me, but I just stared at him and he stopped. He turned and looked at my mom. “Is she okay?” he asked.
I was so confused. He sounded sincere and genuinely concerned about me. He had been kind and helpful, and had basically saved my life. Was it all just a ploy? Was he really that underhanded? Could someone who would willingly take in an orphaned child be as heartless as Karly had described?
It didn’t make sense to me, but Karly had been so sure about everything, and her source was the woman’s aunt.
“I’m not sure what’s going on,” my mom said. “I came out of the coffee shop and she was like this. All she said was that she needed to get home and talk to you, and she hasn’t said anything else.”
He nodded and looked at me again. “What’s going on?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not in here,” I said. I didn’t want to have the conversation with him inside. I didn’t want my mom to hear, and I knew I needed fresh air.
“Do you want to move onto the deck?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, standing up.
He started to walk towards me again as if he was going to help me, but I glared at him and he stepped back. “I’m fine,” I said. I turned towards my mom, who was looking at me, worried.
“It’s going to be okay, Mom,” I said. “You can wait in here and I’ll talk to you in a bit.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I promise.”
She nodded and sat down on a chair. She picked up a book, but I knew she wasn’t going to be able to read.
I hopped down the hallway and out onto the deck. I felt a little bit ridiculous, but I knew I didn’t want his help. I also didn’t want my mom to be involved.
Once I was outside, I sat down in the nearest chair. Josh asked if he could sit next to me, and I nodded. I took a deep breath and tried to settle the nerves in my stomach. Finally, I turned and looked at him.
“Tell me about the woman in Santa Barbara,” I said, my voice calm and steady.
He seemed confused for a minute, and then a look of recognition spread across his face. “Linda Byers,” he said flatly.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know her name. But tell me about her.”
He nodded. “Okay. Well, her name is Linda Byers. She owned an inn in Santa Barbara. She partnered with our company for a while, and then we bought her out and she moved away.”
I just looked at him, waiting for him to tell me more.
“I’m not sure what exactly you have heard, but that is the basic story. Now, given the expression on your face, I can assume what you may have heard. And given what has been going on with us over the last few weeks, I can completely understand why if what you heard was true, you would be very, very concerned right now.”
I nodded my head.
“I don’t want to be disrespectful to Linda, and I don’t want to disclose her business. But to put it as kindly as possible, when she moved away she went to live with her parents for a short while, but then spent about a year at a facility receiving some help because she often had delusions.”
“Did you date her?” I asked.
