Taken by Surprise

Chapter 3

God, I hope this isn't a disaster.

Jessie had been repeating that mantra ever since she'd left Houston-and civilization-behind that morning. This was hardly what she'd seen as her future, but she had no choice. None. Nada. Zip. Whatever she found in Fort Mavis, she had to make it work. She was out of options.

Maybe when she saw the restaurant and the house, she thought, she could contact a local realtor and sell them. But who knew how long that would take and who on earth would even buy it? Besides, a relative had left it to her and relatives were scarce in her life. She wanted to know who this woman really was and why she'd left all this to her. And it gave her a place to reorganize her life.

She checked her watch. She'd been on the road since seven that morning, stopping only for lunch and bathroom breaks. She'd been driving now for eight hours already and wondered if she'd ever get where she was going. The GPS told her she only had another six miles, but with nothing but ranchland and empty spaces stretching on either side of the two-lane highway she wondered if it was mistaken. She hadn't seen a lot of people but she'd seen more than her share of cattle, with a few horses here and there. She now saw what people meant about the wide open spaces. She wondered if there was even a town on this road and if she'd get there before it got dark.

And then, just as she tapped the GPS to make sure it was working, some houses came into view. Not too close together, but a change from what she'd been seeing. Just as she saw a sign with Fort Mavis on it and an arrow to the right, the mechanical GPS voice told her, "Turn right and drive one mile."

She realized with a start that she had spent most of her life in large cities-Houston, and New York when she was away at culinary school. This was her first exposure to small town America. She had no idea what to expect and felt a catch of excitement in her throat as she got her first sight of the town. The streets were wide, with a nice mixture of historical and renovated buildings. The storefronts all had tall doors, freshly painted in white and black, and large glass windows fronting the street displaying merchandise. The town looked busy, with people shopping or in some cases just stopping to chat. She took a moment to absorb it all as she pulled up to the curb.

"We're upstairs over the custom boot shop," Marshall Wohl had told her.

And there it was.

Jessie climbed out and stretched, happy at last to be out of the SUV. Then she pulled in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It might be her imagination but the air smelled cleaner here. Maybe it would clear her head.

I will look at this as a new opportunity. How bad can it be At least if I own a house and a business I won't be out of work or out on the street.

The door between the boot shop and the store next to it matched those of the businesses up and down the street. The legend Marsten & Wohl, Attorneys at Law, was painted in gold script. Jessie turned the knob and pushed the door open to find a flight of stairs leading up from the small foyer.

Well, Jessie girl, here goes.

At the top of the stairs, she stepped into a wide reception area, where a pleasant-looking woman sat behind a desk. She rose at Jessie's approach and held out her hand.

"You must be Miss Coford. We've been expecting you. Nice to meet you." She picked up the phone on her desk and pressed a button.

"Mr. Wohl, the young lady is here."

An inner door opened and a tall man with a lined face and grey hair, his mouth stretched in a wide smile, came out to greet her. Jessie took in his outfit-button-up shirt with a string tie, slacks, and what she was sure were very expensive boots.

It really is a movie set. Oh lord. I didn't think towns like this really existed.

"Miss Coford." He shook her hand. "Marshall Wohl. I am so pleased to meet you. Delfina spoke very highly of you."

"She did?" And exactly how did she know anything about me at all?

"Yes, she did. Well, come on." He ushered her into his office. "Let's get the paperwork taken care of so you can see your property.

Her property. Up until now, her property had been her furniture, her clothes, and her car. Wow!

Marshall Wohl opened a file and spread the papers out on his desk, explaining each one to her. The will. The deeds. The tax receipts. Spreadsheets that were the profit and loss statements for the diner. Profit and loss? She hadn't figured there'd be anything that sophisticated, although she knew you needed them to run a business. By the time he finished, her head was spinning.

"I can tell this is quite a shock to you," the lawyer said.

Jessie gave a hysterical giggle. "You have no idea. Mr. Wohl-"

"Marshall. Please."

"Marshall. I'm not-I don't want-" She bit her lip. "I'd hate to take all this under false pretenses, but I have to be honest. I don't remember any aunt or other relative named Delfina."

He nodded his head. "She said you might say that. She and her sister were estranged for many years."

Sister?

"Sister? What sister?"

The attorney gave her a sad smile. "She didn't share the family history with me, only that little nugget about a sister and you being her grand-niece. When I asked her for a further explanation, she said she'd have to think about it."

Jessie frowned. "What on earth could be so complicated?"

"I wish I could answer that for you. She called later and said she was going to write it down and she'd bring by a letter to give you. Unfortunately, she never did."

"So I'll never have an answer to this?"

"Why don't you settle in, Jessie." His voice was kind. "Maybe I can do some genealogy research for you. Or perhaps she left the letter in the house for you to find. Meanwhile, if you'll just sign these forms, I'll take you to see the house and the diner and we'll be in business."

Jessie's head was spinning. The day had been very long but now things were happening so fast. In a daze, she signed where the attorney told her to, accepted the folder he handed her with copies of everything, and followed him from the office.

"You just leave your car here," he said. "I'll bring you back after our little tour." He nodded to the woman at the front desk. "Mary, I'll be back in an hour or so. Hold the fort."

"Always do." She grinned.

The house was about ten minutes from downtown Fort Mavis on a quiet little street. Her breath caught at first sight of the one story bungalow, with its dormer windows and wide front porch. Pale blue with navy trim, it stood in the shade of immense oak trees like something from a postcard. Whatever Jessie was expecting, it sure wasn't this.

"It's charming," she whispered, her eyes glued to it. Certainly not the dilapidated shack she'd envisioned. Hell, it was even nicer than her apartment. Go figure.

Marshall Wohl nodded. "Delfina took real good care of this place. Well, come on in and let me show you around."