Blue Ink

by Tess Thompson

  “Well, we’re going to ask God that the minute we get up there,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “For now, we’re going to savor the nectar of every sweet moment from this mysterious life, and endure and adjust as we’re forced to. Charlotte, you brought this house to life…heck, me, back to life. Please, let yourself be joyful.”

  Ardan looked into my eyes. “I’m so proud of you and so damn lucky I’m the one who gets to grow old with you.”

  “You know I feel the same,” I said. “I’m sorry I’ve been down.”

  “Don’t apologize,” he said. “It’s completely understandable.”

  “Not even you can be chipper every moment of your Pollyanna life,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “We love you however you wake up in the morning, but we want you to be happy because you’ve made us so happy.”

  “I love you, mean old thing,” I said.

  “I’ll tell you what we need,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “We need a reason to live.”

  Ardan laughed. “Mother, are you hinting at champagne?”

  “She has a book deal. Charlotte, Luci has another chance to find the readers she desperately deserves.” Mrs. Lanigan slapped the table. “Damn right we’re having champagne.”

  Effie came around the corner with a bottle and three glasses. Clearly, she’d been listening at the door.

  “Miss, we’re so proud of you.”

  Ardan leapt to his feet and popped the champagne cork. “Effie, get another glass. You’re joining us tonight.”

  “No sir, I couldn’t.”

  “Please, Effie,” I said. “You don’t want me to cry again, do you?”

  “No, no. Please don’t.”

  While Effie ran to get another glass, Ardan poured for the three of us. “I have other news. Other reasons to live.”

  Effie was back, eyes sparkling. Ardan filled her glass and they both sat.

  “I don’t know if you two had forgotten, but we had one last mystery to solve about the Garfields. What happened to the money? Was there anyone around to inherit the money? I hired a detective and I now have answers.”

  “And?” Mrs. Lanigan asked.

  “Charlotte was right. Ivy, Randolph’s sister had two sons, contemporaries of Boyce and your father, Nicholas. They’re named John Garfield and Lucius Garfield. Upon the death of Randolph, Ivy inherited everything. When she died, her sons received equal portions of the estate. John married Lila Thorton and had two daughters about your age, Mother. Lucius had no children. From what the detective gathered, he was gay. He died last year at age sixty-nine. However, the two daughters of John, Hattie and Hannah, are alive and well. They’re both widowed and have two children each. As it turns out, we do have long lost cousins. Hattie and Hannah inherited almost the entirety of the estate, as Lucius left his money to them as well.”

  “Have you contacted them?” Mrs. Lanigan asked.

  “I have. They live together in a posh retired community outside of Chicago and are both spry, although they’re in their mid-seventies.”

  “That’s incredible,” Mrs. Lanigan said.

  “They said they’re excited to meet you and want to come visit.”

  Mrs. Lanigan raised her glass. “Yet another reason to live.”

  We all toasted.

  “Think of it, Charlotte. There could be two more just like me.” Mrs. Lanigan beamed a wicked smile from across the table.

  “No one could be just like you,” I said. “You’re one of a kind.”

  “For which we are thankful,” Ardan said.

  We were all laughing when the doorbell rang. Effie jumped up to find out who was at the door. A few seconds later, my father’s voice echoed through the house. I screamed and ran out of the dining room and into the foyer.

  Effie was staring at my father like most women do when they first meet him but managed to tear her gaze from him to step back and announce them in her cute accent. “Miss, your parents are here.”

  “Surprise, darling. We’re early,” Mom said.

  I rushed into her arms and the familiar scent of her perfume. She wore a red and blue polo dress and white sneakers. How did anyone look this neat and put together despite all the hours riding co-pilot in an Airstream?

  I threw myself at Dad who pulled me into a hug like only he could give. “I thought you’d be here tomorrow,” I said.

  “We made good time,” Dad said. “And your mother was anxious to get here.”

  “Me?” Mom asked. “Your dad broke every speed limit law from Florida to here.”

  “I wanted to see my little girl. A cop would’ve understood. Had I been stopped, which I wasn’t.” Dad smiled his dentist smile and put his arm around Mom. “You look beautiful. Glowing.”

  “Sun-kissed,” Mom said. “Idaho agrees with you.”

  Ardan joined us. I introduced them. “This is my Ardan.” When he and my dad shook hands, I had to blink back tears. Savor the nectar of every sweet moment from this mysterious life. What a time we would have tonight. Catching up. Hearing their stories from life on the road.

  We led them back to the dining room to meet Mrs. Lanigan. She’d waited, not exactly patiently, given the tapping of her fingers against the table top. She stood when we came in the room. Mom, being the person she is, rushed to her and hugged her. “We’re glad to meet you, Mrs. Lanigan. Charlotte has told us all about you.”

  “She highly exaggerates. I’m sure you know that,” Mrs. Lanigan says.

  “She always sees the good in people,” Dad said. “Sometimes that’s gotten her into trouble.”

  “Not this time,” I said.

  Ardan put his arm around my shoulder. “We’re celebrating tonight, as you can see. My fiancée has exciting news.”

  I told them about the book deal.

  “That malnourished agent finally sold them,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “It’s a miracle.”

  “How wonderful.” Mom hugged me again. “I’m thrilled for you.”

  “We thought Mother was going to have to become her agent,” Ardan said.

  “From what Charlotte tells us about you, Mrs. Lanigan, it sounds like a good idea,” Dad said.

  Mrs. Lanigan turned her face to the sound of his voice and smiled. “Please, call me Riona.”

  Even women without sight swooned when my dad was in the room.

  Effie had brought out two more glasses and another bottle of champagne. “I’ve made a chocolate cake, miss. Should I bring it out?”

  I realized she was asking me, not Ardan or Mrs. Lanigan. I was the mistress of the house now. “The answer to cake is always yes,” I said.

  “And more champagne,” Mrs. Lanigan said.

  We gave my parents a tour of the house while Effie helped Mrs. Lanigan to the living room. Mom couldn’t stop exclaiming over the house. “Charlotte, Ardan has just our taste.”

  “I know. Weird, right?”

  “The designer I hired had just your taste,” Ardan said. “She did most of it.”

  When we settled into the living room, Dad made a toast to Ardan and me and our engagement. Mom, next to Mrs. Lanigan on the couch, tapped her glass with her own. “To future grandchildren.” Mom said this in Mrs. Lanigan’s ear, but everyone heard her.

  Mrs. Lanigan nodded and smiled. “Hopefully I’ll still be alive by then. All this travel nonsense has Charlotte distracted.”

  I laughed. “Mrs. Lanigan wants me to travel. She says I need to find more stories and traveling is the way to do it.”

  “Did I say that?” Mrs. Lanigan asked. “I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut.”

  Mom and I laughed.

  “I see where Charlotte gets her lovely laugh,” Mrs. Lanigan said to Mom.

  “How kind of you to say,” Mom said.

  “Charlotte’s been helping me to become a Pollyanna like her,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “It’s nauseating but effective.”

  Mom laughed again. “You’re even funnier than Charlotte described.”

  Mrs. Lanigan smiled like a satisfied cat. “My sense of humor has been grea
tly exaggerated.”

  “We understand you’re traveling for part of next year?” Dad asked Ardan and me.

  “That’s right, sir.” Ardan was perched on the arm of my chair with one hand on my shoulder. “My house in Italy is centrally located. Charlotte wants to see Europe. We’ll leave after the wedding and spend the fall there.”

  “Paris in October. How romantic,” Mom said.

  “So that’s where she gets it,” Mrs. Lanigan said under her breath.

  “But we’ll be back by Christmas,” I said. “We want to spend our first Christmas in Idaho.”

  “It’s beautiful here in the winter,” Ardan said.

  “Mom, it’ll be a white Christmas,” I said. “Just like you always wanted. You and Dad will plan to be here, won’t you?” I gestured toward the big window. “Ardan says he puts his tree right there. See the mantel? We can decorate it with fresh branches from our own property.”

  “Darling, it’s perfect. You won’t be able to keep us away,” Mom said.

  “We noticed some ‘property for sale’ signs on our way out here,” Dad said.

  I studied him. Was he hinting around that they might like to stay?

  “We’ll have room for your Airstream anytime, Doctor Wilde,” Ardan said. “We have enough land that you can pick your favorite spot and spend as much time as you want here.”

  “Or stay with us,” I said.

  Mom’s fingers plucked the stem of her champagne glass. “We were thinking of something more permanent. Like you, we might like to intersperse our travel with a more permanent residence.”

  “Mom, what are you saying?” I told myself not to get my hopes up, but it was too late.

  “We might like to build a little house of our own,” Dad said. “Near our only daughter.”

  “Darling, we missed you and now that you’re getting married into a large family, like we always dreamt of, well, it’s cruel to think of being anywhere but here with you.”

  “We’ll still travel some,” Dad said. “But your mother missed having a home.”

  “Cooking beef Bourguignon is just not the same in the Airstream,” Mom said.

  “Completely dodgy,” Effie said as she handed Dad a piece of cake.

  “We have plenty of room for another house on our property,” Ardan said. “There’s only one spot spoken for by Teagan. The rest of the acreage has great locations for houses. It would be silly to buy another piece of land when we have all this.”

  “I don’t know. That feels like a freeloader type of move,” Dad said.

  “You’re family now,” Ardan said.

  “Plus, the closer the better,” I said.

  “There’s a house already built,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “That’s sat empty for too long.”

  Ardan jerked back, like she’d smacked him. “Are you talking about Finn’s house?”

  “They won’t have the memories we have,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “It won’t be painful for them to be there. We can have it gutted and remodeled, but the house itself is spacious with tall ceilings and the most wonderful kitchen that looks out over the valley.” She said this last part to my mother.

  “Since we’ve retired early, we can’t really afford a big remodel,” Mom said. “We were thinking a small cottage.”

  “Dear, we’re Lanigans. Enough money is not our problem,” Mrs. Lanigan said.

  “But it’s too much,” Dad said.

  “Charlotte came and waved her Pollyanna dust and fixed us,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “The least we can do is give her parents their dream home.”

  Next to me, Ardan shifted.

  I looked up at him. “Is it all right with you?”

  He smiled with a hint of sadness. “Finn would love the idea of the smell of beef Bourguignon filling that house. I think it’s a great idea.” He turned to my dad. “Mr. Wilde, it would make your daughter happy, which means it makes us all happy. Please, think about it.”

  “I will,” Dad said. “Thank you.”

  “Now that we have that settled, my glass is empty,” Mrs. Lanigan said. “And where’s my cake?”

  After everyone finally went to bed, Ardan and I grabbed a blanket and went out to the patio to snuggle in a chaise. A full moon hovered over Blue Mountain. An owl hooted from the woods. Billions of stars lit the sky.

  “Tell me again why the stars shine so brightly?” I asked.

  “To remind us of our purpose.”

  “Which is to love.”

  “Do they still shine as brightly for you as they did that first night?” he asked.

  I nodded against his chest. “Just like when you walk into a room, my stomach does the flipflop dance. Some things will never change.”

  “I’ve loved you for at least a dozen lifetimes. I’ll love you for the rest of this one and the one after that and the one after that.”

  “I’ll find you. Wherever you are, I’ll find you,” I said.

  “And I you.”

  The stars shone so brightly in that moment, the dark sky feared for its existence. I understood then that all the ways in which we love each other nourishes the stars, just as they nourish us. Love would always outshine the darkness if we remembered our purpose.

  Our only purpose. To love.

  To love so fiercely and fearlessly that hate shrinks and cowers and disappears.

  * * *

  The End

  Also by Tess Thompson

  Miller’s Secret

  Duet for Three Hands

  The Santa Trial

  * * *

  The River Valley Series

  Riversong

  Riverbend

  Riverstar

  Riversnow

  Riverstorm

  A River Valley Christmas: Tommy’s Wish

  * * *

  The Blue Mountain Series

  Blue Midnight

  Blue Moon

  * * *

  The Legley Bay Series

  Caramel and Magnolias

  Tea and Primroses

  * * *

  The Cliffside Bay Series

  Traded: Brody and Kara

  Deleted: Jackson and Maggie

  Jaded: Zane and Honor

  Marred: Kyle and Violet

  Tainted: Lance and Mary

  About the Author

  Tess Thompson writes small-town romances and historical fiction. Her female protagonists are strong women who face challenges with courage and dignity. Her heroes are loyal, smart and funny, even if a bit misguided at times. While her stories are character driven, she weaves suspenseful plots that keep readers turning pages long into the night.

  * * *

  Her desire is to inspire readers on their journey toward their best life, just as her characters are on the way to theirs. In her fiction, she celebrates friendships, community, motherhood, family, and how love can change the world. If you like happy endings that leave you with the glow of possibility, her books are for you.

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  Like her characters in the River Valley Collection, Tess Thompson hails from a small town in southern Oregon, and will always feel like a small town girl, despite the fact she’s lived in Seattle for over twenty-five years. She loves music and dancing, books and bubble baths, cooking and wine, movies and snuggling. She cries at sappy commercials and thinks kissing in the rain should be done whenever possible. Although she tries to act like a lady, there may or may not have been a few times in the last several years when she’s gotten slightly carried away watching the Seattle Seahawks play, but that could also just be a nasty rumor.

  Her historical fiction novel, Duet for Three Hands won the first runner-up in the 2016 RONE awards. Miller's Secret, her second historical, was released in 2017, as were the fourth and fifth River Valley Series books: Riversnow and Riverstorm. The sixth River Valley book will (hopefully) release in the latter part of 2018.

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  Traded: Brody and Kara, the first in her new contemporary, small town romance series, Cliffside Bay, released on February 15
th, 2018. The second in the series, Deleted: Jackson and Maggie released May 7th. The subsequent three Cliffside Bay books will released every couple months in 2018.

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  She currently lives in a suburb of Seattle, Washington with her recent groom, the hero of her own love story, and their Brady Bunch clan of two sons, two daughters and five cats, all of whom keep her too busy, often confused, but always amazed. Yes, that’s four kids, three of whom are teenagers, and five cats. Pray for her.

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  Tess loves to hear from you. You can visit her website http://tesswrites.weebly.com/ or find her on social media.