A steel band of tension wrapped itself around Jackson’s chest; the tendons in his neck pulsed. “Jesus Christ, Dad. Could you be any more patronizing?”
“It’s only a phrase. Don’t be so sensitive.”
Oliver appeared in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt, Jackson, but I have a few things to run through with you before your two o’clock.” That was possible, though unlikely. They’d already gone through his day earlier. Oliver, experienced in running interference between Jackson and his father, was worth his weight in gold.
“I’ll be right with you.” He sent a tight nod Ollie’s way and tried to relax the death grip he’d taken on the back of his chair.
His father smoothed careful fingers along the pristine crease of his pants, then slowly uncrossed his legs. He rose to his feet. “Come to dinner tomorrow night.” It wasn’t a request. “We can talk more then. Your mother will be pleased to see you.”
Jackson doubted it. “I’ll come by after work, but I already have plans for the evening.”
Oliver’s eyes met his.Liar, liar, pants on fire, they said.
His dad made a small adjustment to the drinks coaster on the desk, lining it up neatly with Jackson’s in-tray. “Let me know if you get any offers on the house.” He gave a short, sharp sniff. “And your tie is too thin. You look like a teenager interviewing for a weekend job.”
As soon as his father left the office, Jackson slumped into his chair and flicked the drinks coaster crooked again. It would have felt so much better to kick something. “Any chance you could get me a coffee so I can start this meeting, and I’ll return the favor later?”
“Don’t bother. Your coffee stinks.” Oliver shot him an irreverent grin and left, passing Natalia, their project designer, in the doorway.
“I’m not stopping, but I wanted to check why the kitchen appliances have arrived on-site today. I thought we’d agreed they’d be delivered at the end of the month, so we didn’t have storage issues?” Natalia, more casually dressed than usual, was laden with a weighty book of carpet tile samples in one hand and a travel mug in the other.
“I ordered them for the thirty-first.”
“They were dropped off first thing. I’m going to the site now, but the delivery driver’s already unloaded and gone. I’m concerned they’ll get damaged before we need them.”
“Fuck.” Jackson took his cell from his pocket and eyed the date. It was the thirteenth.
“Leave it with me. I’ll sort something out. Better early than late, at least.” Natalia drank a mouthful of coffee from her mug and left the office again.
How had that happened? Had he mixed up the dates?
Jackson forced a long, low exhale from his lips. The issue with the kitchen appliances wasn’t a big deal. Natalia would sort it. Landon Peake was the more immediate problem. The loan could bankrupt them if Amity Court didn’t sell. Everything his father had built and Jackson had struggled to maintain was at risk if he couldn’t get a buyer.
He’d just have to dig in and make it happen.
Chapter 13
Leah
“Did Esther date much before she met Atherton?”
Leah and Hazel strolled on to the top end of Main Street, where a couple of painted benches flanked a trough of freshly planted geraniums at the edge of a small play area. A group of PS High students, heading in the opposite direction, split in half to let them through. She knew she shouldn’t be asking questions, but Esther’s diary was starting to play more and more on her mind.
Hazel rummaged in her purse for her shopping list. Her calm, blue eyes slid sideways to rest on Leah’s face. “Why do you ask?”
“I found some old photographs upstairs when I was looking for a notebook. There was one of Esther with Jackson’s father as a little boy. It got me thinking about her past.” That seemed like a safe answer, nothing too revealing in it.
“I see.” The old lady smiled. “She drew a fair amount of attention, wherever we went. Esther was smart and pretty and sparky even then. So much more outgoing than me. She’d tease the young men right to their faces, and they’d laugh back and moon over her even more. It was impossible to take offense at Esther. Everyone loved her.”
Leah grinned at the image.
“She had the odd date, here and there, but no one took her fancy like Atherton Hale. We first bumped into him in the park one day when we went cycling with friends. Esther helped him untangle a duck from an old fishing line by the lake, if you can believe it!” Hazel’s chuckle was clear and contagious. “They were covered in mud and duck poo by the time they set it free—laughing like a couple of idiots, too.”
Leah might have laughed as well. But even if everyone had loved Esther, there had been someone she didn’t love back. “Did you ever know anyone nicknamed ‘The Creep’?”
Hazel ducked her head to undo one of the buttons on her coat. “Remember that you’re talking to a very elderly lady. I’ve known a lot of people over the years and forgotten many more.”
Leah’s eyes narrowed. Hazel only ever played the age card when it worked to her advantage. “It’s a pretty distinctive nickname.”
