Free Old Flames Never Die (Valentine Mystery) by Jenna Harte Page A

Tavern.”
    “It's been a tough market. Have they
been selling?”
    “They ain't even built yet.”
    That took Tess by surprise.
    “You know how it goes. If you dig up
something other than rock or dirt the historical people have to come in and
make sure it's not a Civil War burial ground or something. Then there are the
permits and inspections. Nothing ever seems to go as quickly as you hope.”
    “So the project is behind?”
    “A little. But we hoped to have the
roads and water in by the end of the year and first houses on the market by
next spring.”
    Tess frowned. If the homes weren't going
to be sold until spring, where was Danforth getting the money for the horses?
    “Are you aware of any other business
dealings Mr. Danforth had?”
    Wilson shook his head.
    “He was planning to make some big horse
purchases? Any idea where he'd come up with the money?”
    “His family has money.”
    Tess knew that was an option. Perhaps
one of Danforth's relatives was going to go into the horseracing business with
him.

Chapter Six
    Mrs. Shauffer cheerfully announced Tess'
arrival. One nice thing about Jack working in Jefferson Tavern was that his
secretary liked her. Mrs. Standish in Washington didn't like Tess much, even
after Tess bribed her with chocolate caramel goodies.
    Tess found Jack looking out his office
window, brooding. He turned. His face softened when he saw her, but didn't perk
up as much as Tess would have hoped.
    “Daniel said you stopped by.”
    “Did he get beat up a lot as a kid?
That's what always happened to tattlers when I was in school.”
    “I don't know. I didn't know Daniel
then.” She studied him. She had seen him mad before, but there was something
different this time. “It's not like you to go off like that. What's going on?”
    “Haven't you seen the paper?” he asked.
    “Yes.” He waited for her say more. “I
don't believe that's what this is about. What do you care about gossip?”
    His face darkened. “It's not just me
that gets hurt in gossip, Tess. The Senator, Lauren and Philip were here this
morning worried about the reputation of the company. Brad called about the same
thing.”
    Tess began to feel sorry for Jack.
    “But you, the one person who has a right
to be mad, you don't care.”
    Huh? “What are you talking about?”
    “I left you last night to help Liv and
you're completely indifferent about it.”
     “Wait a minute. You're mad at me
because I'm not mad at you about last night?”
    “I can feel you moving away from me,
Tess. You've always had one foot out the door in this relationship, waiting for
me to mess up and prove that you shouldn't trust your heart.”
    He had to be joking, she thought. Except
the fierce look in his eyes told her differently. “I did tell you last night
before you went that you shouldn't go. So what would be the use of rehashing it
after the fact? Especially since you would accuse me of being jealous.”
    “So you just gave up on us?”
    “I didn't give up on us. Just on the
argument. I can't believe this is why you're so angry. If you want to be mad at
someone Jack, look in the mirror. You knew what you were doing last night. You
brought this on yourself.”
    “Is that your version of 'I told you
so'?”
    “Yes, it is! I can't seem to win here.
If I speak up, you think I'm jealous. If I don't speak up, you think I'm
indifferent. What do you want from me?”
    He turned away. “I don't know.”
    Tess' heart dropped. He didn't know what
he wanted from her. The shoe she'd been waiting to drop was now dangling
precariously, ready to fall at any moment. And then what would she do? She knew
for a fact that it was hard to go through the motions of life with a broken
heart. But what motions would she go through? She had no job, no house. She'd
become completely dependent on him, despite the fact that she'd promised
herself she'd never let that happen again.
    He turned back to her, his eyes more
tortured than angry. “I can deal with negative