Accidental Lovers (The Accidental Series, Book 3) by Tina Martin Read Free Book Online Page A

Carter?”
    “We’ll chat over lunch, tomorrow. Where can
we meet on your side of town?”
    “Uh…hmm…what about the Showmars on
Eastway…over there near Food Lion. You know where I’m talking
about?”
    “Yeah. Can you meet me there around eleven?”
he asked her.
    “Sure. That’s not a problem.”
    “Okay. See you tomorrow then.
Goodnight.”
    “Goodnight.”
    Carter set his cell back on the nightstand,
re-read Jacob’s passages and rubbed his hand across his face and
thin mustache. Shayla thought Jacob was perfect, but if he let her
read these passages, she would see that something was clearly wrong
with him. But even though the notes would put Jacob in a bad light,
while simultaneously making Carter look so much better to her, he
decided not to show her the notebook. He didn’t want to pain her
and for that reason, he wouldn’t let her read it. He loved her that
much.

Chapter 9
     
    Carter sat at a booth in Showmars waiting
for Jacqueline to show up. He’d brought Jacob’s notebook with him
as ammunition and would whip it out to hopefully get some answers
out of her. Why was he so nervous? He rubbed his sweaty palms
together, thinking that he wanted answers to his hidden family
secrets and since his mother, Lenora, was deceased as well as his
brother, Jacob, Jacqueline was the only person he could turn to for
answers.
    Jacqueline walked in wearing a thin, trench
coat. He met her at the door, then they walked to the counter to
order. Carter handed the cashier a twenty dollar bill, then
escorted his aunt to the booth where his briefcase sat.
    “So how are you on this bright, crisp, Fall
day?” Jacqueline asked, looking at him. “You look mighty
handsome.”
    “Thanks, Jackie. I’m well as I could be,
given the circumstances. What about yourself?”
    “I’m okay. Sorry I was late. It takes a
while for these old bones to wake up.”
    “That’s not a problem. I’m just glad you
made it.” He studied her for a moment. She had a stale look on her
face like she was hiding something, like there was something on her
mind she wanted to tell him, but withholding it. Her lack of eye
contact said a lot.
    “So,” Jackie said inhaling deeply. “What’s
on your mind?”
    Around then, one of the waitresses brought
over their combos on two trays. And after they were alone again,
Carter said, “I have something I want you to read.” He took the
notebook from his briefcase and flipped to the third passage. He
hadn’t planned on being this transparent with Jacob’s notes, but
changing his plan late in the game, he decided this was the best
plan of action. He handed her the notebook and she began
reading.
    As she read line by line, Carter studied her
face. She’d frowned and grimaced several times, placed one hand
over her mouth at one point and with trembling hands and watery
eyes, she handed the notebook back to him.
    “As you can imagine, I have questions,”
Carter said, then bit into a fish sandwich. He washed it down with
a swig of Coke. “First off, you never told me you kept in contact
with Jacob.”
    “Well, I didn’t really—”
    “Jackie, this passage is dated two days
before Jacob killed himself. You kept in contact with him.”
    “Okay, um, I went to see him because I was
worried about him.”
    “How’d you know where he lived?”
    “I followed him home one day.”
    Carter shook his head. “Why would you do
that, Jackie, when he’s your nephew? You could’ve just walked up to
him and spoke…asked him where he lived instead of resorting to
stalking techniques.”
    Jacqueline didn’t respond.
    “So you met Shayla back then as well?”
Carter inquired.
    “No…never met Shayla…I only visited Jacob a
few times. She was never there.”
    “So how was he? Two days before his suicide,
what was his demeanor? What did he look like? Act like?”
    Jacqueline sighed. “You know you don’t have
to do this, Carter.”
    “I do,” he replied quickly. “How was
he?”
    “Uh…he was