to do was face her insecurities about the situation with David, learn how he really felt, and figure out what her future looked like with both families.
That wasn’t all that much, was it?
Then why did she feel like she was staring into the future with blinders on and terrified?
Chapter 27
Tommy
Tommy watched Amanda disappear down the hallway. He closed the door to his luxurious suite and turned slowly to take in the details.
A hand-crafted rustic ash king-sized bed manned the room from the far wall. Dark sage bedding set off the golden hues of the stained wood. Pictures of the mountains and animals in natural settings adorned the walls and elk antler lamps complemented the ambience of rustic elegance while thick plush rugs spotted the hardwood flooring. A chaise and a television graced the wall opposite the bed while a large picture window allowed a picturesque view of the rolling land leading to the mountains beyond the fields.
“Heaven. I think I’ve landed in heaven.” Tommy shook his head. Why would anyone want to give this up? Because that’s exactly what Jennifer Halliwell had done. She’d walked away from the life she’d had there. Forget the fact that she’d walked away from her children and her husband. She’d walked away from a life set in heaven.
The life on a ranch wasn’t easy but there was nothing else like it in the world. Part of the reason Tommy wanted to help his grandmother keep the family ranch so bad. Once you lost a piece of land like that, you never really got it back.
Tommy couldn’t let his grandmother lose that land. He had to do whatever it took. He just had the sinking suspicion that he was trading his soul for something he couldn’t take with him into the next life.
His phone buzzed, reminding him about the text from his bank he’d gotten earlier. He pulled out his phone and checked the text again. Confirmation from his bank that he’d received the deposit amount. His shoulders pulled back and released in tension. They had money to help push some of the pressure off.
Tommy could pay the nurse who was with Grams.
But now… Now, he was bound to do what he’d originally agreed to do.
Putting his phone in his pocket, Tommy pulled out his wallet and slid the yellow piece of paper from its slot.
Ms. Halliwell had given him the list at the beginning. All he had to do were three basic things.
One, get the answers to the questions Tommy had slowly been asking Amanda – things like name of your first boyfriend, favorite color, those types of things. Ms. Halliwell had said something about standard password information. She needed a passcode for a keypad to something.
Two, Tommy needed to get that journal and a key that was with it. Both of them. Not just the key.
And three, Tommy had to somehow break into the Wilson home and retrieve a box from the attic in one of the trunks. Ms. Halliwell had been explicit that both the box, the journal, and the key were all extremely important to getting the money that Tommy wanted to earn. All three. Not two of three. Ms. Halliwell needed all three and that was the only way she would pay the full amount.
He'd gotten half. Could he walk away at that point? Half that would take care of a lot of their problems, but not enough to erase their worries like they needed. It would only stave off the immediate pressures. All of their debts would catch up to them and Tommy only needed a couple things to accomplish his goals.
He was already so close to the journal and key. Amanda had even claimed not to use it anymore. She’d described exactly where it was and she’d invited him into her home, feet from the hiding place.
Tommy couldn’t help feeling like fate was pushing him exactly where he needed to be to save his grandmother’s place and his future.
If he accepted that, though, he would have to accept that a future with Amanda wasn’t a possibility. If that was true, then he didn’t have to worry about her feelings. He could just move forward with what he was doing and get it done then walk away from Mistletoe forever.
And every dream he hadn’t realized he had.
His resolve was weakening. And fast. He had to focus and get things back on track.
Pulling out his phone again, Tommy sank onto the cushions of the chaise and dialed his grandmother’s home