“Thanks,” I said as I ran for the door.
“You’re welcome!” she called after me. “I’ll bill you for the session!”
I drove by her parents’ house, but her car wasn’t there. I wasn’t sure where else she might be staying—with one of her sisters?—so I drove home and called her before going in the house.
As I suspected, her voicemail picked up. I left a message. “Hey, it’s me. I found your letter. I want to respect your need for space, but I also really want to talk to you. Can you call me back please?”
Inside the house, I began to overthink every single word I’d said in the message and wondered if she’d even think twice before deleting it. But when I caught my mind getting stuck in that negative loop, I decided to go work out instead of sit there and speculate about how she might react. I pictured her making her little witch hat over her head, and she’d be right. I was letting fear have too much power. I needed to give her a chance to think and breathe.
But when she hadn’t called me back by two o’clock, I was losing my mind. I drove by her folks’ house again, but her car still wasn’t there. I had no idea where either of her sisters lived, but I knew one of them worked at Cloverleigh Farms and one worked at Abelard Vineyards.
Abelard was closer, so I headed up Old Mission Peninsula.
After parking in the guest lot, I rushed into the lobby of the French chateau-inspired inn, and frantically looked around. A few people stared at me, and I started to sweat. “Can I help you?”
I looked at the reception desk, where a young woman stood smiling at me. I had no idea what to say. I may have grunted.
“Hutton?”
When I heard my name, I spun around and saw Felicity’s sister Winnie standing there.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Can I talk to you?” I strode toward her. “Please?”
She looked nervous. “Um, okay. Let’s go to my office.”
I followed her into an office off the lobby. “Thanks,” I said as she sat down behind her desk. “I appreciate this.”
“Of course.” She gestured to the chairs across from her. “Please have a seat.”
But I was too worked up to sit. “I need your help,” I blurted.
“Okay.” Her fingers kneaded together. Two lines appeared between her brows.
“I’m looking for Felicity. Do you know where she might be?”
“Do I know where she might be?” she repeated.
“Yes.”
“Um.” She looked off to one side. “I can’t say.”
“Winnie, please. I need to talk to her. It’s important.”
A high-pitched whimper escaped her, and she began to rock back and forth. “But I promised.”
“Okay. Okay.” I sat down in one of the chairs. “I know she probably told you not to say anything to anyone. But did she specifically mention me?”
“No,” she admitted, still not meeting my eyes. “But she said not to tell anyone. And I can’t let her down.”
“I understand.” I took a breath. “But this is sort of an emergency.”
She looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes and no. I will be if I can talk to Felicity. There’s something I have to tell her.”
Winnie continued to rock back and forth, murmuring to herself. “I can keep a secret. I can keep a secret.”
“I’ll give you a billion dollars.” I was only half-kidding.
She reached over to her tape dispenser, ripped off a piece and put it over her mouth.
I blinked at her. “Is that necessary?”
She nodded, ripped off two more pieces and taped her mouth shut.
“Okay.” I held up my hands. “I get it. You don’t want to betray her, and I appreciate that. But . . .” I closed my eyes and exhaled. “I’ve never been in love before, and I’m not handling it very well.”
She made a little squeak of surprise, or maybe sympathy. Her blue eyes were bright.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m scared every word out of my mouth will be wrong. I’m scared she won’t believe me when I tell her how much she means to me. I’m scared that I blew my chance to be with the only girl who has ever made me feel like I’m okay.”
Winnie squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. Then she peeled off the tape. “You didn’t. You can win her back. But maybe it should be something more than words.”
“Like what? Tell me,” I begged. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”