Page 24 of The Words We Lost

I appreciate when he steers our conversation back to the breezy topic of hotel staff changes. “My mom enjoys the flexibility of retired life and spending as much time as she can with Wendy. Thankfully, the guests seem pleased with Barbara Spencer. She’s made a good impression.”

And so has at least one of her daughters, I think to myself. An image of Madison Spencer’s graceful fingers wrapped around Joel’s forearm at the party last night materializes in my mind. Her affection for him is obvious, and why wouldn’t it be? It’s easy to visualize the things she’d find most appealing about the man sitting beside me. Confidence, intelligence, leadership qualities, loyalty to hisfamily and career, and a face that’s only grown more attractive with time ...

I squint and imagine the two of them together, like the cover couple on a summer beach-read romance. I fork a bite of cinnamon roll into my mouth, hoping the sweetness will drown the acidity lining my belly.

“Is there a reason you’re squinting at me?” he asks, narrowing his own eyelids to match mine. “Is this the way people look at each other over brunch in San Francisco?”

“Sorry, no.” The tips of my ears burn hot. “I was just thinking.”

“About how many dishes our new summer waitstaff has dropped since June? Or something else?”

And because I can’t say,Actually, I was just thinking about how you and Madison must be the golden couple of Port Townsend, I lead with the first layer of a plan I’ve been working on since I woke up to a text from SaBrina at dawn. As if I’d forgotten my purpose for being here, she’d reiterated my mission to retrieve Cece’s missing manuscript as well as the consequences of what would happen if I didn’t. And seeing as I have no new leads to follow, I need the gatekeeper of the Campbell family as my ally, not my enemy. “Allie mentioned seeing Cece working onThe Fate of Kingshere at the cottage a few months before her surgery.”

Joel’s fork hovers above his quiche. “Makes sense.”

I pick around at the food on my plate. “I was thinking I might poke around a bit while I’m here, see if it might turn up somewhere.”

“I thought you searched Cece’s laptop. Aunt Wendy told me you took it with you after the service.”

“I did, but there was no trace of it on her hard drive, and honestly, I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to think outside of the box. Maybe there’s a second laptop nobody knew about? Or an iPad she was using instead? Or maybe it’s as simple as her saving it to an external hard drive that could be in a junk drawer in the kitchen.” I pop a grape in my mouth, hoping my quest will be that simple. “I’m thinking of mentioning it to Wendy when I visit her tomorrow, see what she might know about it.”

“She doesn’t have it,” he says a bit too flatly to be nonchalant. “Believe me, if she did, she would have turned it over a long time ago. I’m pretty sure she’d be fine never hearing about that missing book again.”

My shoulders tense. “It’s not like I was planning to accuse her of holding it hostage. I just thought she might know something about—”

“She doesn’t. And you’re hardly the first person to ask.” He sets his fork down. “If you want to search the cottage, do it. Have at the garage and the storage unit, as well. But please leave Aunt Wendy out of it.”

The finality of his request rubs me all sorts of wrong ways, but I clamp my jaw closed to keep from saying anything I’ll regret. Instead, I nod once and lift my coffee mug to my lips. It’s empty. I set it down and circle back to Wendy. My mind can’t seem to let thoughts of her go. “Did you know she’s been ordering her flower arrangements from a wholesale vendor in Seattle?”

Why I expect him to show the same level of surprise I experienced last night when Joel is only a half-step away from inheriting the hotel is beyond me. Of course he knows.

“I’m aware, yes,” he says, slowly. “But it’s not a subject we discuss with her much.”

I feel the tentacles of frustration beginning to weave their way into my subconscious. “Is there a list of all the acceptable conversations and activities I’m allowed to have and do with Wendy? I didn’t know there was a special protocol I should be following.”

An exasperated sigh escapes him. “There isn’t a protocol.”

“Are you sure?” I push. “Because I certainly wouldn’t want to skip over any necessary permissions in order for me to assist her with a gardening project tomorrow.”

To my annoyance, he doesn’t come back at me with sarcasm. “I assumed, by the workload you mentioned last week, that you’d be spending much of your time here working remotely.”

“There’s some work I can do from here, yes, but I have an incredibly reliable assistant at my office.” At the mention of Chip, Icringe inwardly. There are currently five unanswered text messages waiting on my phone from him.

“Gardening projects are fairly involved.”

I eye him pointedly. “As in water, soil, sun? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can handle that.”

“And time,” he challenges. “Projects like that take time.”

“Two weeks may not be long enough to see an entire garden bloom, but it’s certainly long enough to help prepare her beds for the months ahead,” I blurt without thought.

The air shifts between us as I watch the information take root for the first time. “You’re here for two weeks?” The stunned, almost hopeful way he asks spears through me. I don’t want Joel to find reason to hope where I’m concerned. And I certainly can’t afford to find any hope where he’s concerned, either.

“I talked to my boss.” My palms grow damp as I dig for a half truth. “She insisted I use up my PTO days so I don’t lose them. I figured staying a little longer made the most sense—takes the pressure off us having to finish reading the memoir in only a couple days.” I swallow, thinking also of the time staying will afford me during my search forThe Fate of Kings. “Unless, of course, you have other plans for the cottage?”

His eyes are firmly fixed on me now. “It’s yours for however long you want it.”

“Thank you.” With anxious fingers, I reach for my phone and tap the screen to check the time.1:21 p.m.

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