Page 125 of Eight Years Gone

“Asa, I’ve been reading my mom’s old journals. I found them when Jagger and I went back to the mansion last week.”

He opened the door. “Maggie mentioned something about that.”

She nodded as she licked her lips in the chilly air. “Do you remember Mom bringing someone with her to Preston Valley to help with some of the bigger weddings when I was younger? I would have been about ten or eleven.”

He frowned, clearly contemplating, as he slowly shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Grace struggled with a wave of frustration because Mom had mentioned bringing Jessica with her several times in the journals. “Nobody named Jessica?”

Asa’s frown returned. “Actually, now that you mention her name, yeah. The blond girl. Or maybe she was a brunette. I think she changed it from time to time.”

Grace beamed as she nodded because she remembered the same thing. “Yes. She watched Logan and me the summer Bea had to go to Washington to help her mother. She watched us a couple of times that fall too.”

Asa smiled. “I definitely remember her now. She was a nice kid—a hard worker.”

“I think she was nineteen or twenty,” Grace added, hoping to jog loose more memories.

Asa nodded with more certainty. “In college, if I remember right.”

Now they were getting somewhere. Because Mom had also mentioned that Jessica had been entering her sophomore year at Pittsburg State. “Do you happen to remember her last name?”

Asa immediately shook his head. “I have no idea. That would be a question for Maggie, especially since she undoubtedly paid her for her time.”

Grace smiled again, but she didn’t want to ask Aunt Maggie about any of this. She didn’t want to have to explain why she was sniffing around until she knew exactly what was what. The last thing Aunt Maggie needed was another stress-induced setback, especially if none of this turned out to be anything at all. “Yeah. Thanks, Asa.”

“Anytime.” He tossed her a wave as he got behind the wheel.

Hurrying up the ramp, Grace locked the back door behind her, then made her way to the front of the shop, more than a little relieved that no one was waiting to be helped.

The day had been busy, giving her little time to think, which had been perfect. Mostly, she wanted to forget about what she’d read and pretend that the life she remembered with her family had been as happy as she’d always thought it to be.

But her father had most likely cheated. Her dad had more than likely fathered another child.

If that was true, she had another brother. The idea made her as sick as it did hopeful. If she had a sibling out there, she was going to find him.

Eager for more answers, she pulled her phone from her pocket, scrolling through her contacts, looking for Bea’s number. She hesitated before she dialed, reaching out to the only woman who had known Rose Evans as well as Aunt Maggie had.

“Hello?”

“Bea, it’s Grace.”

“Sweetie, what a wonderful surprise. It’s always a good day when I hear from you.”

Grace’s shoulders relaxed by degrees, treasuring the voice she’d known her entire life.

Bea had been hired to help at the house the year after her mom and dad had married and moved to the suburbs—when they’d both had thriving careers, but her mom had been eager to give hers up and start a family.

“Am I catching you at a bad time?”

“Not at all. I’m just making a pie. Apple, of course. I’m heading over to Jeremy’s for dinner tonight.”

Bea had always doted on her son. Jeremy had just graduated from college the year Bea had moved in to help full-time at the mansion. “Aren’t they lucky?”

Bea laughed. “Emily has a choir performance at seven. She’s a freshman this year if you can believe it. We’ll eat first, then go over to the high school.”

“That sounds lovely. Tell Emily I told her to break a leg.”

“You know I will.” Bea sighed. “When are you coming to visit? When do I get to see my girl?”

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