Taken by Barbara Freethy Page B

him.”
    Kayla was relieved to hear that. She’d always held up her grandmother’s long marriage as the kind of relationship she wanted to have. “Thanks for telling me.”
    “I do understand what it feels like to love the wrong man. You have to forgive yourself for doing that,” she said, patting Kayla’s leg. “It’s in the past now, dear. Let it go.”
    “I don’t move on as easily as you do.”
    “Try. You can’t change what happened.”
    “But I can find Evan and get that watch back for you.
    Do you have any idea why the watch would have been important to Evan? I understand why it’s important to you, but why would he care? What’s special about it?”
    Her grandmother hesitated a split second too long. “I don’t know.”

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    Kayla didn’t believe her. “I think you do know. Where did the watch come from?”
    “It was a present.”
    “Do you know what the inscription meant?”
    “Johnny never said.”
    Kayla frowned. She was getting nowhere fast. “So you don’t know anything about the watch? There’s nothing you can tell me?”
    “I think I already said that, Kayla,” Charlotte replied, sounding irritated. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you. Just forget about the watch. It’s not important.”
    “It is important. If it weren’t, you wouldn’t be so evasive. You have to tell me what you’re not saying. I’m not the only one involved, Grandma. Nick won’t forget that Evan stole his money or that I helped him spend it. I owe it to him to try to help.”
    “You don’t owe him anything. You were a victim, too.”
    “That may be, but I’m still involved. Nick will not give up this search. He’s going to go after the truth until he finds it. And the watch is the only clue we have.”
    “I don’t want to put you in danger,” Charlotte said.
    Kayla was surprised by her grandmother’s choice of words. “How could you put me in danger?”
    “By telling you too much. I think the watch was stolen, Kayla. That’s why I don’t want you to look into it.
    I don’t know who the real owners are or what they’ll do if someone goes looking for that watch. Will you stop now? Will you do that for me?”
    Nick pulled into a parking spot behind his sister Jenny’s beauty salon in Noe Valley and turned off the engine. He had debated whether or not to involve her in his search for Evan. In the end, he’d decided it would be bet-74
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    ter to warn her that Evan was back in his life rather than leave her vulnerable. He didn’t want Evan to show up and catch her off guard — if he hadn’t done so already.
    Nick found it odd that Jenny hadn’t contacted him while he was away. They’d always kept in touch, at least sporadically. He hadn’t worried about it. Instead, he’d been relieved not to have to worry about his family and just concentrate on work. Now he couldn’t help wondering if he’d missed something. Not that Jenny would have helped Evan rob him. But he didn’t know what she would allow Evan to do. Or what game he might be playing with her. Because if Evan hadn’t forgotten about him in twelve years, Evan certainly hadn’t forgotten about his sister.
    Jenny was blow-drying a woman’s hair when he walked into the shop. Her jaw dropped when she saw him. She shut off the dryer. “Nick, you’re back. What are you doing here?”
    “I came to catch up,” he said.
    “I’m almost done, if you want to wait.”
    He nodded and sat down in a chair. There were two other stylists working in the shop, both young women, and their chairs were occupied. There was music playing and a busy, energized air about the place. He knew Jenny wanted to open her own shop one day. She’d already approached him about investing, but he’d put her off. A part of him still wished she’d do something more with her life than cut hair. She’d been such a smart girl, such a good student, until Evan had sapped her confidence and her ambition.
    Jen finished a few moments