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“Ah …” Mack quickly recognized that this was a troubled path, one he didn’t want to follow. Lying didn’t come naturally to him but he was afraid to tell her the truth, afraid that if she knew, she’d pack up and move out, angry about being manipulated.
“Yeah, I will,” he promised.
“Soon?”
“Soon,” he agreed, trying to change the subject.
“It’s just that I’m so curious about those letters,” she burbled on. “Oh, Mack, I wish you’d read more of them. They’re so beautiful.
“I was thinking,” Mary Jo continued, “that if anyone could tell us about the previous owner it would be Charlotte Rhodes. Maybe she even knew the Manrys.”
“Yeah, good idea.” He’d ask her, but he’d do it when Mary Jo wasn’t around. He was worried that his mother might have told her friend that he’d bought the duplex.
“She knows everyone in town,” Mary Jo was saying.
“Right,” he said curtly.
Mary Jo sent him an odd look, which he chose to ignore. He pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and heaved a sigh of relief, grateful for an opportunity to direct the conversation away from the duplex, the letters and talking to Charlotte Rhodes. He found an empty space not far from the entrance and turned off the engine.
When Mary Jo had retrieved Noelle from the backseat, the three of them went into the store. Mack grabbed a cart and Mary Jo set Noelle safely inside.
“Do you want me to push?” he asked.
“Please.”
This felt good to Mack, almost as if they were a young married couple. Maybe it was foolish, but he liked to pretend they were and hoped to make that vision a reality one day.
Mary Jo walked toward the baby department with Mack and the cart behind her. He was making vroom-vroom noises, his attention on Noelle, when he suddenly heard Mary Jo say, “Look! There’s Charlotte and Ben.” She pointed at the book and magazine section.
Mack’s head snapped up. Great. Just his luck. He wondered what Charlotte might know regarding the letters, but he was worried she’d reveal more than he was ready to divulge.
“Maybe she’s in a hurry….”
“Don’t be silly.” Mary Jo bustled after Charlotte, and Mack had no choice but to follow, pushing Noelle in the cart.
“Charlotte!” Mary Jo called loudly, and the older woman turned around.
Charlotte was with her husband, Ben Rhodes, Noelle’s grandfather. Her eyes brightened as soon as she saw Mary Jo, Mack and Noelle. “Oh, my, this is a pleasant surprise,” she said, moving toward them with her hands extended. After hugging Mary Jo and Mack, she smiled down at Noelle. “I can’t believe how much she’s changed since we last saw her.”
“It wasn’t that long ago,” Ben said mildly. He was leaning forward, chucking Noelle under the chin.
Ben was still distinguished-looking, and Mack had no difficulty picturing him as an admiral. He knew Ben Rhodes was an honorable man who took his responsibilities seriously. His son David had deeply hurt him by his actions.
“If you like, I could bring Noelle by once a week for a short visit,” Mary Jo offered. “You’re the only grandparents she has.”
Charlotte and Ben exchanged a glance. “We’d love that,” Charlotte said enthusiastically. “Thank you, Mary Jo. That would mean so much to us.”
“Wednesdays would be best for me if that’s okay with you? I can come by when I’ve picked her up from Kelly’s.”
Kelly Jordan was Noelle’s day-care provider.
Again, the older couple conferred with a single glance. “That would be perfect,” Ben assured her.
“I’ll stop by after work, then. I won’t stay long, I promise.”
“You stay as long as you like. Ben and I will look forward to seeing our granddaughter—and you, too, of course.”
“Actually, Mack and I were just talking about you,” Mary Jo told Charlotte.
“Oh?”
“We discovered the oddest thing in the duplex. I found a box of old letters under the floorboards of my bedroom closet.”
Mack moved closer to Mary Jo.
“They’ve been there for years,” Mary Jo said. “The letters were written in the early 1940s to a woman named Joan Manry, who lived in the house.”
“Joan Manry.” Charlotte slowly repeated the name.
“Does that sound the least bit familiar?” she asked hopefully.
Charlotte’s forehead wrinkled. “I can’t say it does. I was a young bride myself back then. Clyde and I had just married, against the wishes of my parents, mind you. I was far too young, but these were desperate times and Clyde was about to go off to war.”
“From what I’ve been able to decipher, Joan lived at 1022 Evergreen with her sister and worked in the shipyard.”
“As I did,” Charlotte said. “I’m sorry, but the name doesn’t ring a bell. Let me think about it, though.”
“Who wrote the letters?” Ben asked. “A soldier?”
“Yes. His name was Dennison,” Mack supplied. “Jacob Dennison.”
“Jacob Dennison.” Charlotte frowned thoughtfully. “His name does sound familiar but I can’t recall why.”
“I’d love to find out what happened to those two,” Mary Jo said, her voice full of enthusiasm. “I want to know if Dennison survived the war and if he and Joan ever got married. If so, I’ll bet their children and grandchildren would treasure these letters. They’re beautifully written and very moving.”
“Hidden away like that, too,” Charlotte commented.
“Yes, I can’t imagine why she’d do that. The only thing I’ve come up with is that, for some reason, Joan’s sister didn’t like Jacob.”
“Maybe,” Charlotte murmured. “I’ll see what I can learn about those names for you,” she said.
“That would be great.” Mack felt some of the tension ease from between his shoulder blades.
Mary Jo turned to Charlotte again. “You don’t happen to know who lived in the duplex in the forties, do you?”
Charlotte shook her head. “No, sorry, but I do know it wasn’t originally a duplex.”
“When did it become one?”
“Oh, heavens, I’m not sure. It must’ve been twenty years ago. The previous owner hadn’t kept up the place, but that all changed when Mack bought it. He’s made such a difference.”
Mack’s heart sank all the way to his feet. He glanced covertly at Mary Jo and was surprised she didn’t react to the news.
“Mack’s made improvements, then?” she asked without letting anything slip.
“The difference is like night and day,” Charlotte said.
Mack stayed quiet, for fear that any remark he made would damn him all the more in Mary Jo’s eyes.
“I’ve kept you long enough,” Mary Jo said after a moment. “I’ll come by on Wednesday with Noelle.”
“Ben and I will see you then.” Ben started to push the cart away when Charlotte turned back. “I’ll find out whatever I can about Joan Manry and Jacob Dennison in the next couple of days and tell you what I learn on Wednesday.”
“Oh, thank you. I can’t wait.”
Mary Jo yanked the cart away from him and steered it back to the diaper aisle at a clipped pace. Mack had to hurry to keep up with her. The anger and betrayal she felt seemed to radiate from her rigid back and stiff shoulders. Unsure how best to proceed, Mack trailed silently behind her.
Not a word passed between them as Mary Jo finished her shopping. He stood, still silent, as she paid for her purchases and exchanged pleasantries with the friendly cashier. The woman’s name tag said Christie. He thought he’d seen her before, but troubled as he was, Mack couldn’t remember where.
Mary Jo seemed quite cheerful—until he caught her eye. Her gaze narrowed and Mack knew there’d be no reprieve for him. She was upset and she wasn’t going to forgive his deception easily.
Once she’d paid and collected her bags, Mack dashed ahead of her and unlocked the car, opening Mary Jo’s door. Usually he put Noelle in her infant seat but this time Mary Jo did it, not giving him a chance. With nothing more to do, Mack slid into the driver’s seat, and simply waited until Mary Jo got in. His hand on the ignition key, he looked at her.
“Can we talk about this?”
“No.”
Her voice was stark.
“Uh, can you let me know when we can talk about it?”
She didn’t answer.
“I guess that means it won’t be anytime soon?” he asked, attempting a bit of levity.
“Probably not.” She stared out the passenger-side window.
Mack exhaled slowly, then backed out of the parking space. He drove in silence.
“Just when I thought I’d met a man I could actually trust,” Mary Jo blurted out five minutes later, “I discover that not only did you outright lie to me but you continued with the fabrication when you had every opportunity to set the record straight. Were we not discussing this very matter no more than thirty minutes ago?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Can I trust anything you have to say?”
“Yes,” he insisted.
“I doubt it.” She looked pointedly out the passenger window again, her arms crossed.
“Would it help to say I’m sorry?” he asked. And he was. But once he’d told her someone else owned the duplex, he couldn’t ever find a way to introduce the truth. He wished now that he’d tried harder.
“No.”
“That’s pretty harsh, don’t you think? Okay, I screwed up. I admit it.”
“Fine, apology accepted.”
Despite what she said, it certainly didn’t sound as if she meant it. “Thank you.”
“Why did you lie?” she demanded.
“Okay, good question. I was afraid—”
“Of what?”
“Afraid you wouldn’t agree to the lower rent payment if you knew I owned the duplex.”
She threw him an angry look. “You’re right, I wouldn’t have. What I want to know is why you felt it was so important for me to move next door to you.”
“Because.” He didn’t have an answer that would satisfy her. He couldn’t very well say he’d fallen completely and totally in love with her and that he couldn’t stand the thought of losing Noelle. Not that she was really his to lose …
“‘Because’? Oh, that explains everything.”
“I wanted to be nearby in order to protect both of you,” he returned, losing his own patience. “What’s so underhanded about that? If David showed up, I wanted him to deal with me, and leave you and Noelle alone.”
“I can take care of my own problems,” she snapped. “I don’t need a knight in shining armor riding to my rescue.”
More like tarnished armor, he reflected, but didn’t say anything.
“Besides, David did show up,” she added.
“And you panicked,” he reminded her.
“Yes, I did panic, and then you jumped into hero mode again, asking me to marry you.”
That hadn’t been one of his finer moments.
“Of all the ridiculous solutions to come up with,” Mary Jo muttered. “And I was frightened enough and foolish enough to say yes.”
“We came to our senses,” he said.
“Yes, thankfully.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, Mary Jo. I was wrong to mislead you.”
“You did more than mislead me. You lied.”
“Okay, I lied.”
