“That’s wonderful, honey!” Mom darted toward her and Jenna popped to her feet to intercept the hug. “Which position?”
“The one with Parks and Rec to manage the athletics department.”
“That sounds perfect for you. They’ll be lucky to have you.”
“I have togetthe job first.”
“They’d be crazy to turn my girl down.” Mom’s smile slipped a bit.
She was no doubt thinking about Jenna leaving the island. If Jenna was honest, the thought of leaving also weighed on her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her island, her people, until she returned home. “You know, Mom, I plan on coming around a lot more often in the future. And when I’m not here I’ll be calling and texting you. You’ll hear from me so often you’ll get sick of me.”
“Not possible, my sweet girl. But you know I only want what’s best for you.” A twinkle entered her pale blue eyes. “Sooner or later you’ll figure out that’s the island.”
Jenna chuckled. “Not that you’ve got an opinion or anything.”
“Oh, I’m chock-full of opinions.” She snapped the towel at Jenna before she ducked from the room.
Jenna redialed Nancy’s number and got her on the phone right away. The woman sounded warm and friendly. The person currently holding the management position was seven months pregnant and not planning to return to work. P and R wouldn’t need a replacement until the beginning of July. That was a whole month away, but Jenna couldn’t just ignore this opportunity.
They scheduled the interview in a week and a half, which was the soonest opening Nancy had.
Jenna was still wearing a smile as she opened her text app and typed out a message.I got an interview!
Ten seconds after she sent it, her phone buzzed with an incoming call. She rolled her eyes even as her heart kicked into gear. “Don’t you ever just text?”
“News like that deserves a phone call,” Ty said. “Congratulations, that’s great news. Which position?”
She caught him up to speed on the job. “I’m so excited just to get my foot in the door someplace.”
“I’m excited for you.” There was a smile behind his words. “Seems like the job would be perfect for you. Though I’ve gotten so used to having you around, I can’t imagine you leaving again.”
She was having a little trouble with that one herself. But a little distance between them might be a good thing—since she couldn’t seem to control her thoughts. “I have an empty apartment just sitting there and a lease through the end of summer. I need a paycheck and soon.”
“What if you get the job before we figure out what’s going on with Gordon?”
“Hang on a second.” Jenna slipped upstairs to her bedroom, closed the door, and lowered her voice. “I don’t know. Guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. But even if I get the job, we still have a month. Although he’s already been here almost that long, and I haven’t heard a peep about him leaving anytime soon. You’d think the man would have some obligations back home.”
“Have you done any more research on him?”
“Not really. I’ve been pretty busy the past few days. You?”
“I looked up his home on Zillow. It’s a Federal-style row house in what seems to be a nice neighborhood.”
“Just like he said. That can’t be cheap in DC.”
“Oh, it’s not.” He named the value listed by the site. “It’s a three-bedroom, three-bath home. The interior looks to be well kept if a little dated. I’ll send you the link.”
A moment later the text arrived and Jenna clicked on the link. It was an attractive brick row house sitting several feet higher than the sidewalk. A cobblestone retaining wall fronted the home, and steps led from the sidewalk to a small porch. The home was two stories tall. “Seems like a big house for just one person. And it’s just sitting empty? He can afford to keep up with the bills?”
“Maybe it’s paid off. And it’s not like it’s costing him anything to be here.”
True enough. Jenna scowled. They had to get to the bottom of this. “Maybe we should make a trip out there. It’s only a few hours away.”
“What would you hope to uncover once we’re there? Where would we even start?”
Good question. “I don’t know. Let’s give it some thought.”
“Maybe Gordon will say something that sparks an idea or gives us some kind of direction.”
