“Three?” Patrick repeated, not sure where William was going with this.
“Three,” William said again. “I just got off the phone with Lily,” he said, referring to their late cousin Ryan’s wife. “She just called. Someone slipped a note into her purse. She had no idea what to make of it. I told her I thought it was someone’s inebriated idea of a joke.”
Patrick looked at the note in his hand. “That was my first thought, too.”
“And now?”
“And now I don’t know,” he admitted truthfully.
He was getting a very uneasy feeling about all this. Why would someone target all three of them with this note? And were they intended as warnings—or threats?
“What do you want to do about this?” William asked.
“We sit tight until something else happens.”
William sounded clearly disturbed. “Who do you think the note’s referring to?”
As far as that went, Patrick hadn’t a clue. “It still might be a joke, albeit a poor one.”
“Nobody comes to mind?” William pressed.
There had been no long-lost second cousin, twice removed on the scene, no reason to believe that members of the family weren’t who they were supposed to be.
“No one,” he assured his brother. “Listen, I know you’re coming over for lunch this afternoon. Bring the note with you. And tell Lily to do the same.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Nothing yet,” Patrick said truthfully. “But it certainly wouldn’t hurt to circle the wagons, just in case.”
There was silence on the other end of the line and for a moment, Patrick thought William might offer an opinion or solution of his own. But when he finally spoke, it was just tacit agreement on his part. “I’ll pass the word along to Lily.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you all later,” Patrick said just before he hung up the receiver.
He was fairly certain he’d managed not to sound as concerned as he felt. It could very well be nothing, just some fool yanking their collective chains. But he was a Fortune and, contrary to the name, he and his family had had their share of adverse dealings.
It never hurt to be prepared.
Jorge stood in the center of the still-crowded restaurant, looking around. He felt exactly like the Prince must have just after Cinderella fled from him at the stroke of midnight.
Except that he was holding a light gray coat instead of a glass slipper. When he’d returned from the coatroom, she wasn’t standing where he’d left her. She wasn’t anywhere at all.
He spent the next twenty minutes scanning the room and describing her to people, asking them if they’d seen her. Finally, when he talked to the bartender who’d ultimately taken over for him, Carlos said he’d thought he’d seen her pushing her way to the front door. And yes, the man added, she wasn’t wearing a coat, which had made him think it was rather odd.
Why, Jorge wondered. Why had she suddenly taken off like that? What would have made her leave without saying anything to him?
And without her coat? It didn’t make any sense to him.
Everything about the woman aroused his interest.
Frustration ate away at him. He had no phone number for her, and no address either. He told himself to just go home and forget about it. But he couldn’t.
Draping her coat on one arm, he took out his cell phone and dialed Information. With one hand pressed against his ear to drown out the surrounding noise, he gave the operator Jane’s name and waited for a response.
She was unlisted.
It figured, he thought. Biting back a curse, Jorge stared at the coat he was holding.
What had made Jane bolt out of here like that? She’d given every indication that she liked being with him. So then what—?
“Did one get away from you?”
The question, spoken so close to him, nearly made him jump. Gloria was standing right behind him. Her husband Jack was next to her.
Jorge saw her looking at the coat, an amused expression on her face. Not what he needed right now, he thought. Squaring his shoulders, Jorge shifted the coat to his other arm. He’d already made up his mind that he was going to find Jane Gilliam and give her back her coat—and ask for an explanation—no matter what it took.
“Not for long,” he told Gloria, his voice cocky. And then, just for a moment, he dropped his guard. “Did you see the woman I was with earlier?”
“The one Mama liked so much?” Gloria countered innocently. Maria had brought all three of her daughters’ attention to Jorge and the woman he was talking to. “Yes, I did,” Gloria added quickly before he could profess any denials. “She didn’t look like your usual arm candy.” Gloria patted his face affectionately. “Looks like you’re finally growing up a little, big brother.”
If she was baiting him, he wasn’t about to bite, Jorge thought. He had more important things on his mind. “You didn’t happen to see where she went, did you?”
Gloria shook her head, surprised. A woman avoiding Jorge? This had to be a first. “Sorry.”
“Maybe someone told her about your reputation and it scared her off,” Jack speculated as he helped Gloria on with her coat.
Gloria felt a tug on her heart, empathizing with her brother. She was certain this had to be the first time he’d ever experienced rejection on any level.
“If it helps any, I think I heard Jack’s father say she works for Red Rock ReadingWorks. I could ask Mama to make sure—”
The second Gloria mentioned the organization, Jorge remembered Jane mentioning the name.
“ReadingWorks,” he repeated. “That’s right.” Grateful, he kissed his sister’s cheek. “Thanks.”
Something different was going on here, Gloria thought, looking at her brother more closely. She’d never seen him like this about a girl. But then, as far as she knew, no girl had ever pulled a disappearing act on Jorge. If anything, it was always the other way around.
“Any time,” Gloria murmured. She’d teased him about finally growing up, but maybe, just maybe, there was something to it.
If so, she thought, Mama was going to be thrilled.
January 2 was a typical cold winter day.
Jane shivered as she made her way to Reading-Works’ front door. She was going to have to dip into her savings and buy another coat, she thought glumly. Wearing three sweaters, one on top of another, just didn’t do the trick.
Maybe her coat was still at the restaurant, she
