“Please, Holly, get back to me. I would like to talk and clear the air. It’s Christmas. Remember how much we enjoyed our Christmas traditions together?”
“Wow,” Jane said, reading over his shoulder. Her voice filled with anger. “After what she did to your mother, that woman has got a lot of nerve.”
“I know, right?” Gabe agreed, feeling anger simmer in his chest. “I have a good mind to message her back and give her a piece of my mind.”
He was about to do just that, but Jane moved suddenly.
“No,” Jane said, putting her hand over his before he could start typing. “Wait. Think about this.”
Gabe looked at her, seeing the wheels turning in her mind. “What are you thinking?”
“We could pretend to be your mom,” Jane said, a grin spreading across her face. “Set up a meeting with Terry and then press her for information.”
Gabe’s eyebrows rose. “You want to catfish my father’s new fiancée?”
“Why not?” Jane asked. “From what I saw the day she and your father arrived at the inn looking for rooms, she’s the weakest link in that chain. She was uncomfortable, apologetic. Not like your father, who was all arrogance and entitlement.”
Jane’s expression grew more serious. “And maybe Terry knows what Pamela’s up to. Charlie suspects Pamela has switched tactics now that we know Victor is behind the takeover attempt. If Terry knows anything, we should find out.”
Gabe considered this, his mind working through the possibilities. “What if she doesn’t crack? Terry was shocked when she saw my mom that day. It had been the first time they’d seen each other since the day Mom caught them together.”
“How about this for an incentive, then?” Jane said, her voice dropping lower. “Trinity is going to be so angry at me for telling you this?”
“Why?” Gabe’s brow furrowed with concern. “What does Trinity have to do with this?”
“She knew about the affair for months,” Jane told him, her voice tight with anger on Trinity’s behalf. “She caught them kissing, and they forced her to stay quiet about it.”
Gabe exploded. “What?”
Fury boiled through him, hot and immediate. Of all the terrible things his father had done, the lies, the betrayal, the manipulation, this was the worst. Trinity was just a child. She should never have been put in that position, never been forced to carry that secret, never been made complicit in her grandmother’s heartbreak.
“Of all the low-down, dirty things my fatherhas ever done,” Gabe said, his voice shaking with rage, “this is the lowest of them all.”
“So...” Jane encouraged, looking pointedly at the phone in his hand. “Do you want to go interrogate her?”
“I absolutely do,” Gabe said. He pulled up the phone and frowned at the lock screen. “I just need to get past Mom’s passcode.”
He tried the obvious combinations—Trinity’s birthday, his birthday, and the combination of the two—and the phone unlocked. Gabe shook his head with a sigh. “Oh, Mom. How many times have I told you to change your passcode to something more secure?”
Jane laughed. “My dad, Gran, and Uncle Logan are the same. I know all their codes. They use the same four digits for everything.”
Gabe sighed again. “Parents.” His eyes caught hers, and he felt some of his anger ease at the warmth in her gaze. “So what do I say?”
“Give.” Jane held out her hand, and Gabe placed the phone in it.
She typed quickly, her fingers flying across the screen with confidence. When she turned the phone back to show him, Gabe read the message.
“Terry, meet me at the St. Augustine Municipal Marina today at 10 a.m.”
“Huh,” Gabe said, impressed. “Simple, elegant, and to the point. I like it.”
Jane sent the message, and didn’t have to wait long for a reply. They watched as the three dots appeared on the screen, indicating Terry was typing a response. A moment later, her reply came through.
“I’ll be there. Thank you for giving me this chance, Holly.”
“There you go,” Jane said, handing the phone back to Gabe. “Now you’ll have to keep your mother’s phone until after we’ve met Terry.”
“Good thinking,” Gabe told her, feeling proud of her scheming mind. “Though I’m going to feel guilty lying to Mom about not finding her phone.”
