Jess met him at the bank. He’d been sitting in the waiting area for a few minutes when she rushed in the door, her hair blowing around her head and a scarf twined around her neck. “Sorry I’m late,” she panted, coming to a stop in front of him. “I got tied up with a customer.”
He smiled. “It’s okay. I haven’t been here long. Thanks for coming.”
She smiled reassuringly and he let out a breath. “Let’s do this, then.”
A cashier led them back to a private room, where the box was waiting. He produced his key while the cashier withdrew her guard key and the lid to the box opened.
The cashier left them alone, quietly shutting the door behind her.
“You ready to look inside?” Jess asked softly.
He wasn’t sure. This felt so strange. He’d never felt like they had any secrets, he and his mom.
Jess put her hand over his. “There’s no rush, you know. You can do this when you’re ready.”
There was no sense putting it off, he realized. It wouldn’t change anything. He opened the lid on the box and looked inside. All that waited for him was a velvet bag. That was it.
He picked up the soft bag, held the heavy weight of it in his palm. He sat in the vinyl chair provided and eased open the drawstring, pouring the contents out into his hand. It was a necklace. A very old necklace with red stones, the dark metal of the settings marking it as antique and nothing new at all.
“What the hell?” He looked up at Jess. Her face held a mesmerized look, almost like she couldn’t believe what he was holding. “What was my mom doing with something like this? It can’t be real, can it?”
Jess swallowed. “It’s beautiful. The color and the setting are a work of art.” Her finger lifted and gently stroked the necklace in Rick’s hand. “God, look at that. I think it is real, Rick. The collets and clasp are rose gold from the looks of it. I think it’s real and very, very old.”
“Real? But that’s crazy. Why would my mom have something like this?”
“I have no idea. Maybe it’s a family heirloom?”
Rick’s frown deepened. “Jess, I don’t come from the sort of family that has heirlooms.”
She picked up the necklace, turned it over in her hand, and examined it.
“What is it?” he asked. “You’ve got this strange look on your face.” He couldn’t read her eyes right now and that troubled him.
“Would you like me to look into it for you?” she asked. “I can make some inquiries. Have it appraised, that sort of thing.”
“Sure. You know more about this sort of thing than I do.” He put the necklace back in the pouch and frowned before handing it over to her. “Are you going to be okay?” she asked again.
He shrugged. “I guess.” He paused, swallowing hard, and looked down at the key in his hand—the key that had somehow felt like the last real connection to his mom—before turning back to Jess. “I think I was expecting more. Something more … meaningful and emotional. Only I don’t know what. That probably doesn’t make any sense.”
She tucked the pouch into her handbag. “It doesn’t have to make sense. You want to come over?” she asked. “We can grab some takeout and veg on the couch for a while.”
“I’d like that.”
They got up and left the box on the table, now empty. Jess took his hand as they went out into the main area of the bank, but he let go when he got to the desk again and spoke to the cashier.
He’d thought today would be about finally letting go of his mom, but instead he was left with more questions. Where did the necklace come from and what was its significance?
CHAPTER 15
Jess clutched the velvet bag in her hand as she knocked on Abby’s front door the week before Thanksgiving. She tucked her chin into her scarf, protection from the cold, raw air that seeped into her bones, and shoved her gloved hands deep into her pockets.
She wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing by coming here. The moment Rick had put the necklace in her hands, she knew she’d seen it before. It had been in the photo that Abby had brought by when she’d asked Jess to make her necklace for the wedding. That day she’d asked Rick if he wanted her to do some digging around, but she’d never told him her suspicions or that she was asking for Abby’s help. There was no sense prompting questions if she’d gotten it all wrong, after all. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him.
Abby opened the door, a broad smile on her face. “Jess! Gosh, it’s good to see you. Tom’s working late and it’s so quiet around here. Come on in.”
Jess stepped inside the warm house and shrugged off her coat. Every time she visited she noticed something different about the mansion, some little detail that made it into the showpiece it was. As they walked down the hall, today’s revelation was the porch door that Rick had painted. Even in the dim light, the colors were vibrant and rich.
He had so much talent.