Treasure on Lilac Lane (Jewell Cove 2)

“I need to go back a bit, you see. My great-aunt Marian never married. What most people don’t know is that she bore a child out of wedlock. Elijah sent her away to have the baby. The thing is … she was told the baby died. But my investigator turned up some new information.”

She paused and reached over to take his hands in hers. “The baby didn’t die. Rick, Elijah paid to make the baby disappear. She was raised by a family by the name of Murdoch—Stephanie Murdoch was a nurse in the ward at the hospital where Marian had the child. The baby was christened Alicia. Elijah set the Murdochs up with enough money to be very comfortable. All the detective needed to do was follow the money trail.”

“I still don’t see what this has to do with how my mother came to have it,” he said.

“The necklace was passed down through generations. Marian passed it on to her child … presumably to Stephanie, probably thinking it would be buried with her baby. That baby went on to have a son. In Camden. On June fourth…”

“That’s impossible.” He cut her off as his heart began to pound.

“Marian facilitated the adoption of her own grandchild,” Abby said, nodding, “without even knowing it. And that child was you, Rick.”

“I’m Marian’s grandson?” His voice sounded stunned to his ears. Holy hell, what a thing to try to wrap his head around.

And how sad that Marian had been separated from her own child against her will, and had met her again without even knowing it.

She smiled. “Yeah. All we can figure is that the necklace was given to Roberta to keep for you. And that’s why she put it in the safe deposit box.”

He sat back in his chair, trying to make sense of it all. “Wouldn’t Marian have recognized it?”

Abby shrugged. “Only if she actually saw it. But you know what this means, right? This makes us cousins. In fact, you have more of a claim to the mansion than I do. You’re a direct Foster descendant. I’m from the black sheep side of the family.” She gave a little chuckle.

“Go figure.” Christ, a Foster. Who would have thought it? “Don’t worry, I’m not about to serve any eviction notices or contest any wills. I’ve got my mom’s place. That’s all I need. Besides, you belong there.”

“It does sort of feel like the house was waiting for me,” she admitted. “And believe it or not, I’m excited about the news. I thought I didn’t have any relatives left. It’s kind of cool to realize that we’re probably related. Which brings me to one last suggestion.”

“Go on,” he said, “you’re on a roll.”

“I thought we could ask Josh to do a DNA test and send it off to a lab. We’d know for sure if we were related then.”

It wasn’t a half-bad idea. He started to laugh a little and he shook his head. This was so hard to believe, and yet he knew Abby wouldn’t ask unless she was sure.

“What’s funny?” she asked.

“I was always the odd man out,” he replied. “When we were all kids together, I was like a part of the Collins and Arseneault families but I wasn’t really part of the family. And now it looks like I’m a Foster and a part of the family anyway—only through you and not the boys. Life sure is a kick in the pants sometimes.”

“It’s a lot to take in for one day,” Abby acknowledged. “Why don’t you take a while to think about it, come up with any questions you might have for the investigator. We can dig a little deeper for sure, or let it go, whatever you want. Either way, I want you to know that the necklace is yours, and I hope one day you’ll give it to your firstborn, too.”

Rick didn’t answer, but he met Jess’s eyes, saw the happy glow there. Just when he’d thought himself truly alone, he found himself with love. Family. History. Things had been taken away, but he was blessed, too. Blessings that he would never take for granted again.

* * *

The Saturday of the Evergreen Festival was chaotic to say the least. Jess was in the workroom, supervising a constant influx of children coming in to make their “Santa’s List” holders. Tessa and Meggie were manning the store, which was overflowing with customers—each one carrying a greeting card and collecting stamps. Once all the spaces were stamped by local businesses, the cards could be dropped off for a chance to win a shopping spree at any of the participating stores. An extra stamp was handed out at the chicken à la king lunch at the church hall—and each year the lunch tickets sold out.

Rick was at Treasures, too, helping out. He fetched coffee, kept the hot cider going for the patrons, brought in sandwiches for lunch, and stocked store shelves. His hand-painted candle holders and ornaments were flying off the shelves and every time Jess looked up to see him nearby a warm glow filled her body.

Just for today she wore the ruby necklace beneath her hand-knit turtleneck featuring jolly snowmen. Rick had given it to her first thing that morning, before she’d left his place for the shop. She didn’t want a traditional engagement ring—she wasn’t really the flashy diamond type—so he’d given her the necklace instead with a promise that they’d have matching wedding bands custom-made.

He passed by her, carrying a box of peppermint soaps and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You look good around all those kids,” he said in her ear, the feel of his breath sending tingles along her neck. “Just be sure you don’t overdo it.”

“Get going and stop distracting me,” she answered, smiling widely. Then Chase Brubaker started dripping glue and she dashed off to divert the emergency.

When the day was over, Tessa went home, carrying her Christmas bonus, and Jess asked Meggie to hang back for a minute. They were sitting with a cup of tea in the workroom, chatting about the success of the day when Jess finally got up the nerve to break the news. “Mom, we wanted you to be the first to know. Rick and I … we’re getting married.”

She’d expected shock. She hadn’t expected her mother to grin from ear to ear and clap her hands together.

“It’s about damn time!”

“Mom!”