Page 52 of Sleigh Bells and Snowstorms
Soon, I’d be on a plane, heading east. I wondered if the flight path would take me over Tilikum—and the missing necklace.
“What is wrong with you?” I asked aloud. “A chance to recover a famous Rembrandt, and you’re worried about a fucking necklace?”
But it wasn’t the necklace. True, I didn’t like leaving a job unfinished. But it wasn’t the job that made me want to turn around and drive straight back to Tilikum.
It was Natalie.
Why? Why was I so preoccupied with a woman? That had never happened to me before. Relationships were transient things—fine while they were mutually satisfying, but for a man like me, never meant to last. I’d known Natalie for a matter of days, and she was so deeply lodged in my head, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Not just my head. My chest—in a place that felt suspiciously like my heart.
There was only one thing to do. Call my sister. Nora and I had a lot in common. She’d also resisted long-term relationships for years. Yet she was married—to a hulking tattoo artist, no less—and living a blissful family life with her teenage stepdaughter and new baby.
How had she done it? How had she known?
One way to find out.
“Hi, Jensen,” she said, her voice lifting like it was almost a question.
“Nora, I need your help.”
“I’ll try. What’s going on?”
I let out a breath. “God, where do I begin? I’ve been in a small town pursuing a business opportunity. In so doing, I met a woman.”
“And this is news because…?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m calling.”
“Okay, go on.”
“Another business opportunity arose, and I had to leave town abruptly. I’m on my way to Seattle to catch a flight to Paris.”
“What did you do? Sneak out of her bed and leave her behind?”
“No, nothing like that. I’ve not been in her bed. Or had her in mine.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m not nearly the manwhore you think I am.”
She laughed. “Sure, Jensen.”
“Anyway, that’s not the point.”
“What is the point? If you didn’t sneak away, I’m assuming you told her why you had to leave. And if the problem is you want to see her again, can’t you just go back when the new business deal is finished?”
“Yes. That’s a very reasonable way of seeing it.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“That’s the problem. I’m not, and I don’t know why.”
“Uh-oh.”
“What?”
I could almost hear her smiling. “You like her.”
