Tessa.
At the same time, Grace saw the tail of her charger poking out behind the futon. Pausing only to unplug it and wind it up before tossing it on top of the cushion, she jogged over to her door. Just in case, she peeked through the peephole.
It was Tessa, and she was alone.
Grace opened the door, gesturing for the other woman to step inside.
“Thanks,” murmured Tessa. Her golden eyes widened when she saw the pile growing on the futon. The second, smaller suitcase was lying open on the floor next to the table.
The flowers were tucked in her spare room. Out of sight, out of mind. They could stay there for all she cared.
“You’re really going to go? Already? That seems so crazy to me.”
Grace shrugged, trying to downplay the magnitude of picking up and leaving everything she worked for behind again. “I’ve got it down to a science now. I’ll be heading out in a couple of hours.”
Tessa lifted up her hand, waving a folded piece of paper. “I probably should have mentioned before, but you can’t find Hamlet on any map. GPS is useless. Either you stumble on it or a local invites you in. This is your invitation. My husband wrote detailed instructions on how to find Hamlet. You won’t be able to miss it.”
Because Grace could sense Tessa had more to say, she didn’t reach for the instructions. Not yet.
She was right. With barely a breath between, Tessa continued.
“So, um, Lucas also made me promise to tell you that, if Maria asks, he’s your neighbor and he says you’re a perfect fit for Ophelia. That’s the name of the B&B she runs in town. Luc is very particular about who stays there so if he says you’re good, Maria won’t question it.
“But she might have a couple of questions about him. I think he’s being ridiculous, but he’d rather it not get out where he is and what we’re doing. It’s not for any bad reasons,” Tessa hurriedly added. Probably because the look on Grace’s face had to reveal her sudden worry that Lucas and Tessa were hiding from something, too. “Hamlet is a small town and the locals love to gossip. It’s why we decided to live in the city. It used to drive Lucas nuts.”
Grace reached out, taking the paper from Tessa. “My lips are sealed.”
If that’s all he asked of her after being such a help, Grace would keep his secrets gladly.
Impulsively, Tessa threw her arms around Grace. “We’ll meet again. I know we will. If I have to drag Lucas home to check in on his sister again like I did last Christmas, I know I’ll see you soon. And don’t worry. If that guy you’re running from shows up here, Lucas will take care of it. He definitely won’t hear from us where you’ve gone. And once you’ve made it to Hamlet, you’re home free.”
Grace returned the squeeze. “Thank you, Tessa.”
There was a glossy sheen to Tessa’s golden eyes as she pulled back and, with a wave, left Grace to finish her packing. Sadness settled heavy on her back. In the two months she lived in Strawberry Village, she only thought of Tessa De Angelis as a neighbor.
Turned out she was a pretty good friend, too, and just one more thing Tommy wouldn't let her have.
She only veered away from Lucas’s directions once. About two hours into the drive, Grace dared to turn her phone on long enough to find the address of three local pawn shops. Jotting them down on the back of a receipt, she turned her phone off again and got verbal directions from the first gas station attendant she found.
He recommended the second shop over the others and Grace was grateful for the tip. When she pawned the tennis bracelet, even though she only got a fraction of its worth, she pocketed enough cash that she would be set for a good while without having to worry about it.
She already had more than enough to worry about.
The rest of the drive was easy. Since Lucas was an ER doctor, she expected his handwriting to be chicken scratch. She was surprised to discover that, like everything else about the man, his penmanship was neat and orderly, with a hint of purposefulness illustrated by the bold strokes and heavy hand.
She started to get hungry around hour four, remembering that she never had her oatmeal. The box of instant was buried with the toilet paper and tampons under the two suitcases and her favorite quilt. Everything else was left behind in Strawberry Village, including a bowl to eat it out of and a spoon to eat it with.
Her stomach growled. Ignoring it, Grace drove on.
When she reached the highway, she knew she was getting close. The next step on Lucas’s list was the big one. All she had to do was go another seventy miles down the endless stretch of road, hope there wasn’t any traffic, and pray she didn’t have to pee.
It was Sunday, early afternoon, and it wasn’t as congested as it could be. Grace’s resolve broke down about twenty miles in because it was a battle between her bladder and her belly, with her ending up the loser either way.
She pulled into the first rest stop she saw, squatted over a pretty iffy toilet, filled up on two protein bars, and made sure her car had a full tank. She found it hard to believe that Hamlet was as small as Lucas and Tessa made it sound, but she got the idea gas was a luxury there. Once she found the town, she didn’t plan on leaving until she was sure Tommy hadn’t figured out where she had gone to hide.
Caffeine was the only drug she put in her body. Feeling both exhausted and emotionally drained, Grace bought two rest stop cups of coffee. The coffee was burnt, the milk not as fresh as she would’ve liked, but the buzz it gave her was enough to get her through the rest of the drive.
She needed it.