To Honor Page 9

  “That wasn’t even the worst part,” her mother continued. She was staring off into the distance as if reliving those moments all those years ago.

  “What was?” she felt compelled to ask.

  Her mother’s gaze swung to hers. “The worst part is that I know Justin did it on purpose. He made sure Lucy died that night because she’d told him she was pregnant.”

  Pregnant? Carla sucked in a harsh breath, stunned at the revelation. It explained so much. Her father’s over-the-top reaction to news of her pregnancy and the lasting resentment toward the entire McNally family.

  Right or wrong, her mom firmly believed Justin McNally murdered Lucy Tate to hide the fact that he’d gotten her pregnant.

  9

  Jesse awoke bright and early to the incessant buzzing of his phone. Squinting against the harsh sunlight, he blindly reached out to find the device. Blinking the fog from his eyes, he peered at the screen.

  Brian.

  With a groan, he let the call go to voice mail. He was tired of Brian’s seemingly endless requests to get him to return to Chicago sooner than planned. It wasn’t as if Jesse took vacations very often, surely he was allowed one lousy week off work.

  But looking closer at the screen, he realized there were several missed calls from his partner, all from the past ninety minutes.

  Something must be really wrong.

  Great. Just great. Swinging upright, he dragged his hands over his face in an attempt to get rid of the remnants of sleep. It was barely seven o’clock in the morning. Normally, he was up early, but Brian was a night owl all the way.

  Concern had him calling Brian back. “What’s wrong? Is the company going under?” It was the only reason he could think of that Brian would be calling nonstop so early.

  “It will if you don’t get back to Chicago. Our company computer system is infected with some sort of virus.”

  “What?” Jesse came awake with a sharp intensity. Rising to his feet, he began to pace. “What do you mean? What kind of virus? How is that even possible?”

  “I’m not sure, but I can’t access my files. Our proprietary software program is frozen. Can you try on your end?” Brian’s voice held a note of panic.

  “Yes. Give me a minute.” Jesse put the call on speaker and then opened his laptop and logged in. His sisters had installed password-protected Wi-Fi at the B&B, so he was able to go into their Software Solutions, Inc site without difficulty.

  Only he couldn’t. He got as far as the main page, but the entire system was frozen exactly as Brian had told him.

  A shiver snaked down his spine. This wasn’t good.

  “Something is very wrong,” Jesse said, more to himself than to Brian.

  “I know. I’ve been trying to go in to fix it but haven’t had any luck. I really need you to come back, Jesse. This could destroy our entire business, not just because we can’t use our own computer system, but just think of what might happen if word gets out that the infamous duo who saves other companies’ computer software systems has been brought down by a virus. It could be the end of everything we’ve worked for.”

  “Yeah, okay.” He couldn’t deny this was a serious issue that needed to be resolved as soon as possible. “But it’s going to take me a while. I don’t have a car and will need to get a ride to the closest airport, which is pretty far away. Plus, my sisters are busy until after breakfast time, so I probably won’t even be able to get out of here until mid to late morning.”

  He could ask Carla, but then he rejected that idea. She’d be busy running the store. It would be easier for Jazz or Dalton to give him a ride.

  “I get it.” Brian sounded relieved to know he would be returning soon. “And I’m sorry about this. I’ll keep investigating the issue from my end. We must have suffered some sort of viral attack. Just do your best to get here, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay.” Jesse disconnected from the call, battling a wave of frustration. The company he and Brian had built from nothing was important. It was their livelihood. Yet the timing sucked. He wasn’t ready to leave Carla and Cassie. Plus, he’d found a small house not far from town that happened to be for rent as of the first of September. It wasn’t ideal to wait that long, but it was the closest property he’d found within walking distance of Main Street, and he planned to jump on it.

  After a quick shower and shave, he headed out to the dining area for breakfast, bringing his laptop computer with him. He chose a table overlooking Lake Michigan, figuring it would be nice to enjoy the view for the little time he had left.

  While he knew it was best to use the main computer in his home office, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to get a jump start on investigating what was wrong by using his laptop.

  Brian should be able to fix the problem, too. They’d been college roommates, and both had the same degree in computer science. It was how their business had been formed, by combining their strengths into a troubleshooting computer software restoration business. He squelched a flash of annoyance at Brian’s request for his help. His partner had been preoccupied lately, and he knew they needed to talk.

  But not now. First, he needed to get their software program up and running.

  Thankfully, his personal laptop was loaded with powerful software. As Jazz brought him fresh coffee, a cranberry muffin, and a slice of lemon poppy-seed bread, he began running a diagnostic program, going in through the back door of their personal security system. The one he and Brian had created.

  “You want the full Irish again?” Jazz asked. “Or do you want to try Jemma’s infamous French toast?”

  He glanced up at Jazz with a distracted smile. “Um, the French toast sounds good.”

  “Something wrong?” Jazz gestured with her free hand toward his computer.

  “Yeah, you could say that. I’m going to need to fly home for a few days. Do you think you or Dalton can drive me to the airport once I find a flight?”

  “Of course, but I thought you wanted to stay the week.” Jazz’s expression mirrored her disappointment. “Tonight is the Fourth of July. We were planning a large barbeque outside and wanted to invite Carla and Cassie to join us. You know, our way of welcoming them to the McNally family.”

  He was touched by Jazz and Jemma’s efforts and wished once again he could have had just a few more days here in McNally Bay. “That’s very nice of you, but we can still do that. Just postpone it for a few days. Once I get this issue resolved, I’ll come back, okay?”

  “Sure, I understand.” Jazz managed a sad smile before returning to the kitchen, leaving him to focus on the diagnostic program he was running on his laptop.

  “Oh yeah, there you are,” he muttered as the program picked up a Trojan horse virus. “I’ve got you, but how in the world did you get in there anyway?”

  Talking to himself was a bad habit he’d picked up through hours of working alone on computer systems. He managed to isolate the virus, then sat back in his chair, sipping his coffee as he considered the best way to dismantle the hold it had on their operating system. He texted Brian to back off working on the problem, not wanting to create more issues by having both of them poking around in the security system.

  He was still thinking when Jazz brought him a plate of Jemma’s infamous French toast. He pushed the laptop aside, remembering all the great reviews he’d seen online related to Jemma’s cooking.

  “Thanks, Jazz. And thank Jemma, too.” After adding a dollop of maple syrup, homemade from a farm located in Clark County, he dug in.

  Man, oh man. It was just as good as the reviewers had claimed. As he devoured every morsel, he continued dissecting the virus problem in the back of his mind.

  Knowing he should look for the next available flight out of either Kalamazoo or Grand Rapids, he instead dawdled over his coffee. It occurred to him that if he could find a way to fix the virus from here via his laptop, he wouldn’t have to travel back to Chicago today.

  Fueled with enthusiasm at the possibility of being able to stay in McNally Bay
to finish out his week, he pushed his empty plate aside and went to work.

  It wasn’t easy. Jesse took a break after an hour. He needed to walk away, to regroup. His hopes of sticking around were fading fast. He decided to check on available flights out of Kalamazoo, as it was closest. There was a flight to Chicago leaving at five o’clock in the afternoon.

  Glancing at his watch, he grimaced. It was already nine thirty in the morning. Kalamazoo was roughly one hundred and twenty miles from McNally Bay, and the airport was even a bit further out, servicing both Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. He needed to get to the airport by three o’clock at the latest, and it would easily take them close two and a half hours to get there.

  That gave him a little more than three hours to break through the Trojan horse virus and to repair the damage.

  With reluctance, he purchased the one-way ticket, hoping, praying he wouldn’t need it. Then took a quick moment to pack his stuff.

  He intended to work all the way up to the noon hour if necessary. Jazz brought him more coffee. He thanked her, then requested the ride he’d likely need to get to the Kalamazoo airport.

  “Sure thing. I’ll be happy to take you.” Jazz gestured to his table. “Looks like you’re settling in, but I need to go up and clean some rooms. Jemma’s working on cleaning up the kitchen, too, but I can ask her to keep the coffee going.”

  “That would be great. I may need it.” He shooed her away. “Go on, do whatever you need. I’m going to see if I can’t fix the issue before we need to hit the road.”

  “Okay. Although, you may want to talk to Carla and Cassie before you go.”

  He winced, belatedly realizing she was right. “Yeah, okay. Just give me some time to work first. If it’s not looking good, we can leave a little earlier so I can stop by the grocery store on the way.” It wasn’t optimal, but it was the best he could do if he wanted to stay.

  “If you say so.” Jazz didn’t seem too impressed with his plan.

  Pushing those thoughts aside, he went back to work. He needed to find a way to eliminate the virus without an impact to their operating system.

  A task proving far easier said than done.

  Carla stewed about the story of Lucy Tate’s death as she worked. When she had to review the inventory twice, because she hadn’t been paying attention, she pushed it away.

  Today was the Fourth of July, but they always kept the store open over the holiday. There would be last-minute dashes to the store to pick up food for barbeques and snacks for parties. There was already a serious dent in her second shipment of sparklers, and she wished she’d purchased more because the markup was better than that on most of the food items.

  It wasn’t easy to make a living off a grocery store. Food went bad, especially produce, and it wasn’t easy to figure out what people were interested in buying. She did her best to make sure old produce and meat nearing their expiration date didn’t go bad by purchasing them herself, but still, the amount of food that was discarded each week was criminal.

  She’d half expected Jesse to stop by, asking to meet her and Cassie for lunch. When he still hadn’t shown up by eleven thirty, her annoyance grew. Did he think he could just show up whenever he wanted? To simply barge in on the alone time she normally spent with her daughter?

  Even if at some point they agreed on some sort of co-custody arrangement, it wasn’t as if he could just pop in and out without notice. These sorts of things had to be planned ahead of time.

  As the hour inched closer to noon, she finished up the last of the paperwork and headed outside. When she saw Jesse striding toward her, looking as handsome as ever with a broad grin on his face, her ire faded fast, and it was all she could do not to run and throw herself into his arms.

  Instead, she tried to hold on to her previous annoyance. “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you.” Jesse reached for her hand, but she took a step backward to avoid him. He frowned, sensing she was upset. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner, but I spent the morning reconstructing my company’s operating system after being hacked by a virus. But I fixed it, just in the nick of time.”

  “You did?” She felt ashamed of her petty irritation. She had no idea he’d actually been working.

  “Yeah, it was touch and go for a while there.” He shook his head with a rueful smile. “I almost had to fly back to Chicago to take care of it, but I managed to fix the problem remotely. I gave myself a deadline of noon and managed to finish everything by eleven forty-five.”

  Fly back to Chicago? She struggled not to reveal how hard the news hit. “I, um, didn’t you say something about relocating?”

  “You bet. In fact, I have an appointment with a realtor named Melanie Ryerson at two this afternoon.” His gaze held a note of uncertainty. “I was hoping you might be able to spare some time to go with me.”

  “Ah, sure. That would be great.” She gestured toward Daisy’s. “I’m meeting Cassie for our usual lunch date. You’re welcome to join us if you’re interested.”

  “I’d like that.” He looked pleased at the offer, and she silently berated herself for giving in so quickly. What was wrong with her anyway? It was as if she couldn’t be mad at Jesse no matter what he did.

  “Oh, and I’m supposed to extend an invitation to you and Cassie to come to the McNallys’ B and B for a big Fourth of July dinner tonight,” he added, falling into step beside her.

  “Dinner? At a B and B?” She headed toward the diner, sending Jesse a confused look. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “This is Jemma and Jazz’s way of welcoming you and Cassie to the family.”

  Her thoughts veered for a moment to her mother and her deep dislike of the McNallys. Even though Carla knew it was ridiculous to extend the sins of the father to Jesse and his siblings, her mother would not be happy to hear about a welcome to the family party.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she hedged as they approached the diner. “I don’t want Cassie to think she’s going to be moving into the mansion anytime soon.”

  “She won’t, we already told her it’s a B and B.” Jesse put a hand to stop her. “Come on, Carla. Tell me what’s really going on.”

  “You know what the problem is,” she countered. “My mother isn’t going to like knowing we’re having dinner at the mansion. She doesn’t like you, remember?”

  “I know, I’m the jerk who got you pregnant.” His expression turned somber. “I totally get that. But she loves Cassie, and I have to think she’ll get over her hatred of me eventually.”

  “Listen, Jesse, she told me the real reason she and my father hated your family. It goes way back.”

  He lifted a brow. “I figured as much when I saw your mom all cozy with Leon Tate. I’m sure he’s filled her with all sorts of heinous stories about my dad. But I’m telling you, they’re not true.”

  “Are you so sure about that?” She glanced around, looking for signs Cassie might be nearby. She didn’t want her daughter to overhear what her mother had confided.

  “Yes.” He sounded confident. “I know that my dad dated Lucy and that he was driving the boat the night she fell overboard and drowned. And Leon Tate blames my dad because his younger sister wouldn’t have even been on the boat that night if it wasn’t for the fact that she and my dad were in love. But the truth is, my dad was heartbroken afterward. We found a letter in the attic addressed to Lucy from my dad.”

  “Letter?” Her heart thumped wildly in her chest, and she grabbed his arm. “You found a letter?”

  “Yeah. Jemma was up in the attic looking for the old silver candlesticks my grandmother had stored up there and found it tucked into the family Bible.”

  “The family Bible?” She felt a bit like a parrot repeating everything he said. She pulled herself together. “I’d like to see the letter, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind.” Jesse waved a hand as Cassie and Bucky approached. “But that means you and Cassie will have to join us for dinner.”
He raised his voice louder. “Hi, Cass, how are you?”

  “I was hoping you’d be here,” Cassie said with a smile. “I want to show you and Mom what Bucky learned today.” She turned toward the puppy. “Bucky, sit,” she said in a stern voice, using her finger to point to the ground. “Sit,” she repeated when he simply looked at her.

  He sat, tongue lolling to one side.

  “Good boy,” Cassie praised. “Now shake. Shake, Bucky.” She held out her hand, and the dog lifted his paw into her hand.

  “Good boy,” she said again, pulling a dog treat out of her pocket. Bucky went a little crazy as soon as he smelled the treat, his entire body wiggling with excitement. Cassie gave him the treat, then looked up at them. “Isn’t that awesome? He’s so smart!”

  “Amazing,” she agreed, her mind still swirling over the idea of getting a closer look at the letter. “Hey, Cassie, guess what? Your dad invited us to have dinner tonight at the McNally Mansion so you can meet your aunts and uncles.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened comically. “I have aunts and uncles?”

  “You have lots of them,” Jesse said dryly. “You can’t meet them all today, they don’t all live here, but hopefully someday soon. Tonight, you’ll meet your Aunt Jazz and Uncle Dalton, and your Aunt Jemma and soon to be Uncle Garth, and your cousin Trey.”

  “I have a cousin?” Cassie began to bounce up and down with pure excitement. “That’s so cool! I can’t wait!”

  In that moment, Carla knew that her daughter deserved this time to get to know the McNallys. As an only child herself, Carla knew how lonely it could feel, especially during holidays. Wasn’t that one of the reasons she’d been so drawn to the McNallys all those years ago? The siblings had fought constantly, but at the same time, it had been clear that they would do anything for each other if needed.

  Besides, she couldn’t help thinking that maybe the letter Jesse’s family had found in the attic would be the key to helping her mother get over being so angry with Jesse’s father.