Page 27
Story: Birdie By the Bay
“Why don’t we make it a girl’s trip and hang out? I’ve never been on a movie set before.”
“Me either. Harlow might not want us in Vancouver.”
Aunt Birdie waved dismissively. “We’ll stay out of the way and on the sidelines. I think she would feel more comfortable knowing people who love her are close by.”
“So we can make sure Robert isn’t being a jerk.”
“Exactly.” Birdie’s head snapped to the side. “Six o’clock. Looks like wretched Robert.”
Eryn craned her neck. “Nope. Close. Robert has more of a rugged look, like a mountain man.”
“He certainly doesn’t match the Hollywood image. I wonder what’s lurking in his background, the skeletons hiding in his closet.”
“That’s an excellent question.”
Birdie changed the subject. “What’s the scoop with Caleb Jackson? Harlow and I ran into him in town yesterday. She seemed a little edgy around him.”
“You want my honest opinion?” Eryn asked.
“Of course.”
“They still have feelings for each other. At least Harlow does.”
“I sensed the same. In fact, if you’re free around twelve thirty tomorrow, you can swing by the cottage.” Aunt Birdie told Eryn about Caleb and the city workers who were coming by late morning to flush the hydrants. “I invited Caleb to lunch. Judging by the look on his face, he knew it made Harlow uncomfortable.”
“And he accepted,” Eryn guessed.
“Yep. So Caleb is coming by for lunch tomorrow if you want to join us.”
“I would love to. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it. I’ll need to get back to work.”
“I understand.” Aunt Birdie sent a quick text to Harlow, letting her know they’d checked into the hotel and were sitting in the coffee shop, staking out the apartment. “This is odd.”
“What?” Eryn leaned in.
“Harlow wanted to know if we had a problem at the front desk when we checked in. She said there was an issue with her credit card. She ended up putting the room charge on another card.”
“You don’t think.”
“Robert tinkered with Harlow’s credit cards.” Birdie finished her sentence. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
“Based on how he’s acting, I wouldn’t be surprised if he cancelled them.”
Birdie set her coffee cup aside. “I’m sending her a message, suggesting she check out her bank accounts.”
Harlow texted back, letting her know she already had and that some of the money was gone. Or at least no longer available for her to access.
“This guy is the scum of the earth.” Birdie shook her head in disgust. “He’s going to go for guardianship. I can feel it in my bones.”
“Which makes proving he’s screwing around on Harlow even more important,” Eryn said.
“Money sure can bring out the worst in people.”
“Robert Barbetz wasn’t a good person to start with.”
The women grew quiet, mulling over the new information. Harlow needed to act and fast. If only they could catch Robert and Jillian together, not that the court would care, but for Harlow to confirm her suspicions once and for all.
“I think we need to move this operation to DEFCON 2 level,” Aunt Birdie said.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27 (Reading here)
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59