Because of You: Just Because Series Book 1

  Because of You

  Just Because Series, Book 1

  Mari Carr

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Because of You

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  About the Author

  Other Books by Mari Carr

  Copyright © 2016 by Mari Carr

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Dedication

  * * *

  This one is for the gals at work who keep me sane and laughing during the day so I can spend my nights lost in fiction. Your encouragement and support of “my second job” makes all the difference. Thank you, Nan and Lisa!

  And for my editor, Lindsey. You may have made me rewrite this book 37,504 times and I wasn’t always happy about it, but I have to admit, I really like Caleb and Jessie’s story now! Thanks for not giving up on them….and me!

  Because of You

  Starting over isn’t always a bad thing.

  Jessie’s life is a mess. Her husband died in a freak accident, she’s been mugged, her house trashed, and she’s receiving frightening pranks calls. In an attempt to leave the danger at home behind her, she takes a vacation and meets Caleb James, a dedicated ER doctor.

  The attraction is instantaneous and hot, but Jessie’s heart was lost when her husband died and she’s not emotionally ready to commit to anyone new. When it becomes apparent her bad luck is connected to the death of her husband, Caleb decides—ready or not—Jessie needs his help. And his love.

  Chapter One

  “I don’t understand why you can’t tell me who he was meeting with,” Jessie Warner said, her hands shaking with frustration. She’d tried for two weeks to get her late husband’s partner to agree to see her, but to say the man had been evasive was an understatement.

  “Client confidentiality, Jessie,” Rex replied so smoothly she wanted to reach across the desk and ram her fist through his smug face.

  “You’re an accountant, Rex. Not a fucking priest or psychologist. It’s not like I’m going to grill them about their back taxes. All I want to know is which clients Tommy met with the day he died.”

  “Why?”

  Jessie sighed, perfectly aware that this discussion was going to end like every other conversation she’d had regarding the night of her husband’s death.

  “I just want to talk to them. See if they noticed anything strange in his demeanor that day.”

  “Why?” Rex repeated, and for a moment Jessie was struck by the fact that the man was no longer looking at her with annoyance, but rather with pity in his eyes.

  Shit.

  She hated pity. She’d seen it on the faces of too many people lately and it only made her angrier, more frustrated. She was tired of being treated like she was weak, and she was sure as hell tired of being treated like she was crazy.

  “Forget it,” she said, rising quickly. “You aren’t going to tell me a fucking thing. You know it and I know it. Thanks for nothing, Rex.”

  “Dammit, Jessie, don’t leave like this. I know you think Tommy’s death wasn’t an accident, but believe me when I say it was. It’s been seven months since he died. You’ve got to let this go.”

  An accident. She’d read the police and coroner’s reports and she knew what they all believed. They’d said it was an accident, but she couldn’t shake the idea that it wasn’t—despite the fact she had no proof to the contrary. Tommy had fallen on the ice and hit his head. It seemed to be an easy answer for everyone—everyone but her.

  Shortly after his death, she’d begun probing into the details a bit more—asking the police and hospital workers questions, but so far everyone she had encountered had been less than helpful. They thought she was some silly, grieving widow who had watched one too many episodes of CSI and had decided to create a crime out of thin air.

  Apparently Rex was no different. He’d ignored her phone messages until finally she’d decided to take the direct approach. Her spur-of-the-moment, “oh I was just in the area” visit had been a surprise to him. She knew he was too wrapped up in appearances to throw the widow of his former partner out on her ass in front of an office full of employees. She’d seen in his face that he wasn’t pleased about being shanghaied into this visit. No doubt he’d heard the rumors that she was chasing shadows and had hoped to avoid this conversation.

  “I can’t let it go, Rex,” she said quietly as she reached for the door. At one point, she’d considered the man a friend, but nowadays she found it harder and harder to reconnect with the people she’d known before Tommy’s death. Aside from her best friend Todd, she’d drifted away from everyone else in her life. “Please help me.”

  The man shrugged sadly. “I’m sorry, Jessie, but I can’t.”

  “There’s a world of difference between can’t and won’t. I think you have them confused,” she said, storming out. She closed the door loudly behind her and sighed heavily. She’d known when she left the house this morning it would be a wasted trip. She’d been a fool to think that Rex would offer her any sort of help. Hell, the man had avoided her calls like she was a telemarketer.

  “Jessie? Is that you?”

  “Jordan.” She smiled at the older man in the foyer as he leaned down to hug her. Jordan Scott had been a good friend to Tommy in addition to being one of his biggest clients. He’d always been kind to her as well. He’d never forgotten to send a birthday card or his traditional bottle of champagne Christmas gift. They’d dined at his penthouse apartment on more than a few occasions. Neither she nor Tommy had been close to their families, and in some ways Jordan had taken on the role of a beloved uncle. One they didn’t see often, but with whom they were always happy to reconnect.

  “What a nice surprise,” she said as he released her. Always dressed to a tee, he was an extremely attractive gentleman in his mid-fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and expressive deep blue eyes. She had often questioned him about why he’d never married. She couldn’t imagine a whole generation of women letting Jordan slip through their fingers. He was handsome, rich and charming.

  “I haven’t seen you since—” He paused and Jessie nodded at the silence that followed.

  “Since Tommy’s funeral,” she finished for him.

  “How have you been, my dear? I meant to call, but I’m afraid a problem at work pulled me out of the country for a few months. I’ve only just returned from Italy this past week.”

  “I’m fine,” she answered, the lie a familiar one. She hadn’t been fine for seven months. Not since the night she’d found her husband’s dead body.

  “What brings you to the firm?” Jordan asked. “I thought Rex said you’d sold Tommy’s half of the business to him.”

  “Oh, I did,” she said. She looked into Jordan’s compassionate face and found her suspicions, her fears falling from her lips. “I’ve had this feeling since Tommy passed away that something was wrong and I wanted to know which clients Tommy met with the day he died. I was hoping to speak to them, hoping one of them could help me understand his frame of mind that day.”

  Jordan’s puzzled look gave her a moment’s
pause. “Frame of mind?” he asked.

  “I don’t think his death was an accident.”

  “You don’t?” he asked in such a way that for the first time, she felt a glimmer of hope that someone actually understood.

  She shook her head.

  “I met with Tommy the day he died, Jessie.”

  Jordan’s confession stopped her short. She’d anticipated another pitying look, another pat on the head, another condescending comment about being foolish. She hadn’t expected an answer. “You did?”

  “We met earlier that morning about the audit he was performing for my company. Rather run-of-the-mill stuff. I can assure you his behavior was perfectly normal. I wish I’d known then that I’d never see him again. So many things I would have liked to have said to the dear boy.” The older man looked away and Jessie could see the glimmer of tears at the corner of his eyes. When he turned back toward her, the look of sadness was replaced with one of concern. “What’s going on, Jessie? Why don’t you believe it was an accident?”

  The tightness in her chest that never left eased as Jordan spoke. For the first time in months, someone was listening to her, answering her questions, taking her seriously. “Tommy called me earlier in the afternoon, the day he died. He said something that made me think—” She paused, uncertain how to word her concerns.

  “Made you think?” he prodded.

  She paused and shrugged, her thoughts were traveling a different direction. Jordan had seen Tommy, spoken to him that day. She couldn’t focus on anything other than that fact. “Was Tommy acting strangely that day? Did he seem preoccupied, overwrought, worried?”

  “Not at all. What did he say on the phone, Jessie?”

  “Nothing specific.” Tommy hadn’t said anything at all really. Perhaps it was his tone more than his words that had sparked her suspicions.

  “I suppose you’ve spoken to the police about this,” he said.

  She nodded and sighed. “Yes, for all the good it’s done me.”

  “I take it they don’t share your belief that there was foul play involved?”

  She shook her head. “No. I sort of get the impression they think I’m insane.”

  Jordan laughed lightly at her lame attempt at a jest. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish there was something I could say that would help you, but honestly, there was nothing in Tommy’s demeanor that day that leads me to suspect foul play. Tell you what. Why don’t you let me do a bit of digging around? I’ll see if I can’t scare some information out of old Rex, the shyster.”

  Jessie grinned. Jordan had never made any bones about the fact that Tommy was his preferred accountant in the firm.

  “Would you? Really?”

  “I’m not sure what help I can be, but if it will put a smile back on that pretty face of yours, I’m willing to try.”

  “Oh, thank you, Jordan, you’ve already been more help than you know. If you remember anything else about that day, will you call me?”

  “Of course, my dear. You will be the first person I call.”

  She said her goodbyes and walked to her car feeling lighter than she had since Tommy’s death. She still hadn’t discovered any answers, but Jordan genuinely seemed to believe her and wanted to help. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel as if she was wandering around in a dark room with no doors. Jordan had just offered her a flashlight and, God willing, a way out—back into the sunshine that had eluded her for months.

  Maybe she wasn’t so crazy after all.

  Chapter Two

  One month later

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Jessie said as she walked up to the front porch of the huge ranch house. The party she’d been reluctantly dragged to was already in full swing if the blaring music and loud voices coming from inside were any indication.

  “You need to get out, Jess. You can’t hide out in that tiny apartment of yours forever. You need to live a little,” Todd said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and dragging her forward.

  “I’m not ready for this. I told you that,” she said, repeating the argument that had begun several days ago when Todd, her best friend since childhood, had told her he was taking her out to a party.

  “No,” Stephen said, walking on her other side. “I believe what you said was you weren’t ready to go out and meet other men. That’s not going to be a problem here.”

  “Because?” she asked, waiting for Stephen to elaborate. He and Todd had been very closemouthed about where they were going.

  Stephen laughed. “Our friend Jacob James lives here and throws this party every year. It’s an annual event he likes to call Gay Fest.”

  Jessie rolled her eyes at Stephen’s joke. He and Todd had been a couple for nearly a decade and she adored them both. They’d rallied around her after her husband’s death. Although she lived over three hours away, in the city, they’d made the trek to Denver to spend many weekends with her in an attempt to help her through her grief. She was an only child, estranged from her mother and stepfather, and in her mind, Todd and Stephen were her family now.

  “Very funny, Stephen. Really. Hysterical.” She replied deadpan as Todd laughed.

  “It’s just a party, Jess. You used to love to go out. We’ll down a few shots, dance around Jake’s backyard, you can throw your bra on the bonfire, we’ll all sing karaoke and—”

  “Oh Jesus, you never said anything about karaoke.” She groaned, stopping mid-step.

  Stephen gripped her arm and started moving her toward the door. “Just ABBA songs,” he said.

  “Shit,” she muttered. They made their way up the front porch and into the house. The place was packed with people and Jessie found herself instantly besieged by Todd and Stephen’s friends. Jacob was the first to greet them and Jessie instantly liked the man.

  “Well, it’s about time you got the girl over here for me to meet,” he said, playfully chastising Todd. “I mean, you do live a whole mile away. I’ve heard all about you, Miss Jessie, and I’ve decided I’m going to steal you away from Todd and we’re going to be best friends.” As he spoke, he linked arms with her.

  Todd grabbed her free hand and pulled back. “Get your own damn best friend. Jessie is mine,” he teased.

  Jessie laughed and shoved them away. “I’ll be friends with both of you if you get me something to drink. I have a feeling I’m going to have to be very drunk to tolerate spending time with either of you tonight.”

  “Way ahead of you,” Stephen said, fighting his way back through the crowd. He handed her and Todd each a cold bottle of beer. “Good turnout, Jake.”

  “Tell me about it. My brothers are gonna go through the roof when they see how many people have shown up. Attendance seems to double every year. Going to have to start renting a banquet hall at this rate.”

  Stephen laughed. “Well at least it’s not raining. I noticed you’ve got a good crowd hanging around out back.”

  “Doc’s out there right now, working to start the bonfire, and we’ve cleared off the patio for dancing. My brother Matt’s band is setting up to play later.”

  “You’re lucky to have such cool brothers,” Todd said, and Jacob nodded.

  “Tell me about it. They’re the best. Even Mark helped me set up a bunch of tents in the backyard and cleared away some of the living room furniture so people can crash on the floor or outside if they want. Of course, after that, he hit the road. He’s still not comfortable around this many gay men,” Jacob joked. “I told him I had lots of guys I’d like to set him up with. Man, you should have seen him spin tires in the driveway to escape.”

  “You shouldn’t tease the poor guy,” Todd said. “At least your brothers tolerate the fact you’re gay. My parents are still convinced therapy and drugs can cure my homosexual affliction.”

  “Hey, Jake. Where are the chips?” someone yelled from the kitchen.

  “Ah, the duties of hosting never end. Why don’t you all head out to the backyard? Once everyone’s well
on their way to wasted, we’ll start the ABBA singing contest.”

  “Oh crap,” Jessie muttered so only Todd and Stephen could hear her. “I thought you were joking about that.”

  The guys laughed and they walked through the house to the back door. There were even more people gathered on the lawn. Most were men, but Jessie spied a few women scattered amongst the partiers.

  “Who are all these people?” she asked.

  “Jacob’s got lots and lots of friends. We don’t exactly live in the most liberal-minded of communities, so a few years ago—after he came out—he decided to start holding a Gay Fest. Started out with just a dozen or so friends who shared the lifestyle. Word seems to have spread though, and now folks have started driving from as far as two hundred miles away to attend. It’s just a fun night where we can let down our guard and party it up,” Todd answered.

  Jessie nodded. “That’s cool.”

  She tagged along behind her friends as they reconnected with acquaintances from previous parties. They always introduced her and she tried to join in the conversations, but her heart just wasn’t in a festive mood. Before her husband’s death, she’d loved a good time as much as the next person, but lately it seemed to take too much energy—something she was definitely lacking. The memory of Tommy floated through her mind. She was certain Todd had suggested this quick vacation hoping that the break would clear her thoughts and encourage her to stop pursuing shadows that weren’t there.

  Shadows that called her every night.

  For the past month, she’d been plagued by midnight phone calls. She’d tried to have them traced, but the number belonged to one of those pay-as-you-go cell phones. The police and Todd had chalked them up to a prank caller, and Jessie wished she felt as certain the calls were harmless. There was something very frightening about the silence that always greeted her at the other end of the line.