Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem

Chapter 1429

Someone had been texting him from a burner number-a bunch of messages, all weird.

"There's a chess set in the coffin. Don't take it out. I put it there."

"If you're worried, check it. The chess set's wooden, totally harmless."

"If you toss it out today, I'll just have to make another one and find a way to slip it in again."

"If you don't want me disturbing their rest, just leave the chess set exactly as it is."

"And one more thing-after you seal the coffin, light a candle for me, okay?"

Tarquin's face was stone cold. He didn't have to guess who sent it. It was the mystery man. Again.

He put his phone away and went to find the chess set.

He opened the box: inside was a hand-carved, wooden chess set. Even the letters on the pieces were scratched in by hand.

The pieces were a little rough, the letters uneven and downright ugly, some even misspelled.

The craftsmanship was nothing to brag about, but the thought behind it was obvious.

Hand-carved-way more meaningful than anything bought off Amazon.

Everyone knew Kendrick loved chess. It was his thing.

had wanted to put a chess set in the coffin at the funeral,

power. Hobbies

long time.

it. That was

guy coming around to

want to see that man again. Accepting the chess set was better than seeing its

breath, pulled himself together, and started sorting through the rest of

was searching for

that looked like it was

been looking for. Thank

his relief twisted into

lunchbox, memories he'd tried to

once.

the only thing he'd managed to put

box was an

back together, over and over is dad had given it

Tarquin

still remembered begging Gideon to let him put the puzzle in the

of his power. Every little thing about the Bradford family was

as his son's wife, so her things weren't

had gathered a bunch of keepsakes from both his parents, wanting to bury them

Gideon wouldn't

in—and he wouldn't give them back, either. Instead, he burned

front of

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