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Laurie was waiting for me when I walked into the cafe for breakfast the next morning. She's doing better. She waited until I had my cup of tea before asking about my date with her brother.
"How was your night?"
"It was great. How was yours?"
"Home alone as usual. I swear even that cryptid convention you went to sounds more interesting than my normal weekend."
She had no idea. Rita had just walked off after setting our breakfast orders in front of us, when Jim pulled up a chair beside Laurie.
"Good morning, Ladies. Mind if I interrupt your breakfast."
"Hi, Jim. Order breakfast if you want," I said.
"Do you mind if we eat our food while it's hot?"
"Go ahead. I gave Rita my order on my way in."
"Can you set something up with Tom and Chance? I have some information everyone needs to hear."
"Sure. Do you want to do it tonight?"
"If they can, just let me know where and when," Jim said, realizing that Laurie had no idea what he and I were talking about. "Sorry, Laurie. We're just still sorting out some of the particulars from Harry's will. How have you been?"
We talked while we enjoyed our breakfast. "Thanks for breakfast, guys," Laurie said. "I need to open the store. Everly, call me. Let's do a girl's night sometime this week."
I stood up and gave Laurie a hug. She seemed surprised when she turned around and Jim hugged her too. I saw her blush just a bit and realized my matchmaker mission might be easier than I thought.
"Anything you can share with me?" I asked after Laurie left.
"I've learned the true identity of Helen Kepler."
"Have you tried to reach her?"
"Not yet. I have an address and phone number, but I wasn't sure what we really want to ask her."
"I guess we need to figure that out. A meeting is definitely in order. Plan on seven tonight upstairs."
After Jim left, I checked in with Rick and Gus, before spending the rest of the day cleaning up the apartment, grocery shopping, and making a big pot of bacon, mac, and cheese soup. Tom and Chance both accepted the invitation for dinner, and as I thought of questions, I added them to my list. When I walked into my bedroom to decide what to wear, I realized I'd never unpacked my totebag from the convention. It was crammed with stuff, because when Chance disappeared, and I had to pack up in a hurry, I just threw things in wherever they fit. I dumped the bag's contents on my bed and started picking things up and putting them away. Only a few items remained on the bed when I saw the envelope the desk clerk gave me when I checked out. I assumed it had a copy of my bill, but inside were a few pages of hotel stationary with writing on them. I slid down to the floor with my back against the bed. It was a note from Helen Kepler. The revelations were a little overwhelming. I wish I had read the letter two days ago, but I didn't. I needed to read it to all the guys over dinner. We definitely needed a group meeting. It was really strange to be making dinner for three men at the same time. I was glad to focus on Helen and the revelations in her letter. I read it over and over, adding to my notes each time.
Jim showed up first. "Come on in. Can I get you a drink?"
Once Jim was settled in a chair with drink in hand, I explained how I got the letter from Helen and forgot about it. "It explains a lot. Sorry I didn't read it sooner. I know we'll want to go through it together, but I thought everyone could read it when they get here."
Thankfully Chance arrived before Tom or the kiss he greeted me with would have been really awkward. I added an item to my to-do list that said, "explain to Chance."
Tom's greeting got me a curious look from Chance, but the letter quickly distracted him.
"Helen Kepler is Dr. Renee Bellamy former director of the secret lab you and Tom found," Chance said. "I never thought that she might have something to do with the lab."
"Should we believe everything in the letter?" Tom asked.
"It seems legitimate," Jim said. "Maybe there are some things we can validate." Jim read through the letter, and I noted the things we might be able to fact check.
By the end of the night, I felt like we had many of the answers we'd been searching for. If only we could convince ourselves to believe them. It would be helpful if we could find Helen/Dr. Bellamy. Chance and I wanted to talk to her one-on-one.
"I'll be in touch when I have any info," Jim said as he left. "Thanks for dinner, Em. Everything was delicious." He kissed my cheek.
"Listen, would you check in with Laurie while I'm gone. I think she's feeling a little left out of all of this and with me disappearing for a few days, I'd appreciate you touching base with her."
"Sure. I can do that," he said and closed the door behind him.
"Guess, I'll be going to," Chance said. "See you around ten for our next road trip." He bent down to kiss me, but I turned my head, so his lips connected with my cheek. He raised his eyebrows at me.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Chance."
I closed the door and turned around to find Tom standing over me. "Want me to stay or go?"
"Stay. Please," I said as he stepped in and wrapped his arms around me. We ended up on my sofa somehow and spent a couple of hours blissfully lost in each other.
"I should probably get going. I know you have to pack for your trip tomorrow. I want this to work between us, so I'm going to be honest with you even if it makes me seem insecure and needy. I'm not happy that you're going to be spending the next few days with Chance. I understand why it makes sense for him to be the one to go with you, but I'd rather it was me."
"I understand. I'm glad you feel you can be honest with me. I know it probably doesn't help, but you'll just have to trust me. I do plan to explain our situation to Chance during our road trip tomorrow. I assume you're OK with that."
"By all means. I'd be happy if you'd wear a sign, but I suppose that's a lot to ask."
We ended the night with a kiss that made it very hard to send Tom home to his own bed with a promise to keep in touch when I could during the trip Chance and I were making to visit the home address Jim found for Helen/Dr. Bellamy.
I packed my overnight bag and laptop bag, before crawling into bed. My dreams were another episode of the dating came. This time my choice was bachelor number three and we lived happily ever after. It all seemed pretty normal until the host turned into a Sasquatch.