Page 16 of No Headlines Please

This was nearly a month ago. While away, had she forgotten to pay her rent?

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered I was supposed to be meeting someone for dinner – and not just any someone. He was the most fascinating person I'd met in ages, and my pulse quickened at the thought.

But if Tessa was in trouble, there was no way I'd galivant off with a stranger, leaving her God-knows-where.

I returned my attention to the eviction notice. Stapled to it was a second page I hadn't yet read. I flipped up the first sheet and squinted at the update on page two.

Oh. So she wasn't evicted?

Relief flickered through me as I scanned the details. Someone had paid the rent on Tessa's behalf – not just the back rent, but two full months in advance. The amount hadn't been cheap either.

I said the payer's name out loud. "Ryder Vaughn."

Who was that?

It didn't sound like a company. If it was a person, it was probably a guy.

But who?

I bit my lip. Was she living with someone?

What if my timing had been worse? Like…what if I'd shown up in the middle of something naked?

Yikes.

Was I stomping around in her secret love nest?

I needed to know. I rushed to the bathroom and opened a few drawers, scanning for aftershave, men's deodorant, or one of those fancy shavers – anything too masculine for Tessa.

I found nothing.

Still, I had to be sure. Feeling way too nosy, I ducked into the only bedroom and threw open the closet. No suits. No oversized hoodies. No men's shoes lining the wall.

I let out a long sigh of relief, followed by yet another flicker of panic as I recalled my dinner plans.

We'd agreed to meet in forty minutes. But between cleaning up the mess and sizing up the situation here, I'd probably burned through at least twenty minutes already. My gaze drifted to the bathroom, and I frowned.

I should get showered and dressed. And yet, my thoughts lingered on Tessa.

She was gone.

Evicted. But not evicted. And maybe in Miami. Probably for business, but not for sure.

Before we'd lost touch, I recalled her being sent out of state plenty of times – once to California for a whole month for some domestic winery campaign.

So the Miami thing shouldn't have been a big deal. And yet, a twinge of unease prickled at my spine.

She was my only sister. For years now, our relationship had been on shaky ground, but I still loved her.

If anything happened to her…

No. I refused to think that.

I'd been off social media for nearly a year – and for good reasons, too. It wasn't just the family thing – or that weird threat I'd received last summer. It was everything.

Unlike Tessa, I wasn't big into brand names, business news, or celebrity gossip. And the way I saw it, browsing social media was just another way to feel inadequate.

As the family rebel, I'd dealt with that enough already.