A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) by Karolyn James

t handle
anything you ’ ve done. You ’ re too afraid. That ’ s why I wanted Trent."
    Jake stiffened and looked down at
Chloe.
    There was plenty to say to her, but
he chose not to say it. Instead, Jake left the bedroom. By the time he realized
that he had grabbed his keys and was leaving his own apartment, he was already
driving away. He had a guitar in the backseat and no place to go.
    He felt free, even if it was
temporary.

(9)
     
    Mel woke up, ate, went outside for
a run, and then showered. She couldn ’ t
remember the last time she had such a good morning. She bought a newspaper and
read one page of it. She watched the local news and then switched it over to a
chick flick. She drank three cups of coffee and kept looking at the clock,
watching the time tick by.
    It felt good.
    It felt really good.
    But as always, it was too good to
be true.
    A little before noon, Jon called.
    Mel considered ignoring the call,
and taking a day off from the search for her biological father, but then she
reminded herself of the money she paid Jon (and the money she would have to
keep paying him).
    “ Hey
Jon, ” Mel said.
    “ Where
are you? ”
    “ I ’ m at my apartment. ”
    “ We
need to meet. Right now. ”
    “ Okay …” Mel stood from the couch and
turned off the TV. She started to head for the door. “ Where do you want to meet? ”
    “ I ’ m twenty minutes away. There ’ s a small corner restaurant
called A ’ s .
Meet me there. ”
    “ Sure.
Do you need …”
    The call ended.
    Mel's stomach sank. Jon always
worked under a sense of total urgency. Maybe it was just his way of justifying
the insane cost of his services. Either way, Mel rushed around the apartment,
wondering what Jon couldn ’ t
talk to her about over the phone.
    Mel closed her door and sighed. “ There ’ s go my relaxing day. ”
    She found Jon ’ s black car and parked next to
it. When she got out of her car, his door opened. It startled Mel as she didn ’ t realize that he was still in
his car.
    “ You
look upset, ” Jon said.
    “ Your
call put me in a panic. ”
    “ Good.
Let ’ s go. ”
    Jon led the way and to Mel ’ s surprise, they went through
the back of the restaurant. As they walked, Jon grabbed a few fries and ate
them. A man in a suit greeted Jon with a handshake and showed them to a private
table.
    The second they sat down, Mel felt
her world spinning. She felt like she was in a  mob movie or something of the
like.
    “ What
is this? ” she asked.
    “ That
guy? That ’ s Jimmy. My
cousin. ” Jon smiled. “ What did you think? ”
    “ I
don ’ t know, ” Mel said. “ It ’ s …”
    Jon waved a hand. “ That doesn ’ t matter. Listen to me. I got
your list last night. ”
    “ Yeah? ”
    “ Gave
me nothing, ” Jon said.
    Mel felt deflated, as usual. “ Oh. You couldn ’ t have told me that over the
phone? ”
    “ Well,
sure, ” Jon said. “ But I kept digging. I tried to
create a picture out of the dates you remembered. Your mother. Your mother ’ s sister."
    “ Okay... ”
    “ There ’ s a connection, Mel. I ’ ve found something. ”
    Mel felt her heart jump around
inside her chest. She ’ d
been waiting to hear those words.
    I ’ ve found something.
    “ What
did you find? ”
    “ Your
aunt is some big wig out in Washington state."
    “ Yeah,
but I knew that already..."
    Jon smiled. Mel nodded. Jon was
leading up to something.
    “ I
started digging around some newspapers in Washington state. That ’ s where I made a little
discovery."
    “ Tell
me. ”
    Jon put his hand on top of Mel ’ s. “ You can ’ t
get your hopes up here …”
    “ Just
tell me. ”
    “ I
found a picture of your father. In the paper. He was involved with some
non-profit organizations and he did some real charitable work. Even worked with
your aunt and her company. ”
    “ Aunt
Jane knew … ? ”
    “ Sorry, ” Jon said.
    He pulled a piece of paper from his
jacket and unfolded it. It was copy of a newspaper