Page 18 of The Last Autograph
She glanced down at her hands, then up again, her expression one of sadness. “I’d like to apologize for the other night at the bar. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Apart from a curt “thank you,” Jake remained silent. He’d let her speak until he had the measure of her, because her connection to his twin was a topic of intrigue, and he wanted the full story, good or bad.
“It was such a shock when the lawyer told me Jesse had passed away. When I saw you that day at the traffic lights and again in the bar, I mistakenly thought you were him. He never really talked about his family. I didn’t realize he had a twin.”
Jake nodded. That didn’t surprise him. Jesse had been a closed book until he got to know someone well. Outwardly, he was the life and soul of the party, but he could also be reserved, almost distant.
“Annabelle Sutton said you’d fill me in. I don’t even know what happened. How… how he died.”
Given how easy it was to find information on social media, despite the scene in the bar and her explanation that she’d thought he was Jesse, the skeptic in Jake questioned this once again. While the family hadn’t posted an announcement on Jesse’s social accounts, there were many tributes from his friends. All she had to do was look.
“Was he in an accident?” Molly continued.
“No.” Jake hesitated. There was no point being confrontational, although the thought had crossed his mind. “He died from a rare form of blood cancer.”
“Blood cancer? You mean leukemia?”
“Yes.”
“Was it sudden?”
Again, her sorrow seemed genuine, but for Jake, the doubt remained. He glanced across the road, through the pines to the shore, where an afternoon haze softened the strength of the sun.
Jake released a deep breath before giving her his attention once again. “He was diagnosed the summer he lived in Tulloch Point. The first eighteen months were difficult, but after that, he was in remission until last year. The end was swifter than anyone anticipated.”
“I’m so sorry. I can’t begin to imagine the sorrow you and your family have endured.”
Interesting.She wasn’t pretending to understandexactly how he felt,and because of that, Jake’s stance shifted a little. Everyone grieves differently, and for Molly to acknowledge that was a gift.
“Yeah, it’s been tough, that’s for sure.”
Another nod. “The lawyer mentioned Jesse’s will—that I’m named as a beneficiary.”
And there it was. The real reason for her visit. Money. The root of all evil—orthe path to true happiness, depending on your perspective. “That’s correct.” Jake failed to suppress the curtness in his response, and Molly recoiled a fraction.
“It was all quite a shock. I hadn’t heard from Jesse in years?—”
“Apart from the card?”
She held his gaze as if trying to gauge his mood. “Yes, apart from the card, but I only received that recently, so… Were you aware that he’d included me in his will?”
This was neither the time nor the place for that discussion, and all Jake wanted was to shut down their conversation. The initial rawness he’d felt still remained, and he wondered if grief, once experienced, clings on for dear life—pun intended. “I was, but we barely discussed the details. In the end, time wasn’t on our side.”
Molly nodded, and in the silence that followed, Jake took a moment to study her. With minimal makeup and exuding an understated sophistication, she seemed too demure to be Jesse’s type. But then, people could change, and this version of the woman was a stark contrast to the much younger one in that grainy image on his brother’s phone. Her hair, while still well below her shoulders, was a softer blonde, and she seemed smaller somehow. More delicate.
“Anyway, it’ll be a while before the will’s settled,” he continued. “In the meantime, once you receive a copy, I suggest you seek independent legal advice.”
Molly rested her elbows on the table and clasped her hands under her chin. He recognized the pause-for-effect tactic. “I take it you don’t approve.”
At least she’d caught his drift, so that was one point in her favor. In all honesty, Jake struggled to reconcile his own behavior. He seldom judged people harshly, but something about this seemingly perfect specimen of the female form annoyed the shit out of him.
And while Jesse had every right to do whatever he wanted with his assets as his last dying wish, with Molly about to inherit a tidy sum from his life insurance, Jake couldn’t help but question why. “Whether or not I approve is irrelevant. Jesse had his reasons, and it’s not for me to second-guess his decision. But I won’t lie—you turning up after the fact does seem a little tooconvenientif you ask me.”
She sat ramrod straight, both hands now flat on the table. “And it seems to me that second-guessing is exactly what you’re doing, which I find particularly unfair.”
“That’s your prerogative.”
“Perhaps, and sure, we got off to an unfortunate start, but while I regret my outburst at the bar, I have no desire to sit here and argue my case. I know what happened between Jesse and me, and I don’t need my truth verified by someone who isn’t even prepared to listen.”
