“Those Mercers like things their way. Trust me, I know that family going way back. You’ll have to stand your ground. I hope you will.”
The hairs rose on the back of Shelby’s neck—and not because Charlotte sounded at all mildly foreboding. The part about “knowing the family from way back” meant she might have information about Wilton and Alexandra Mercer. “Oh, I will. I don’t think Liam would have it any other way.” Ask her about the Mercer family, she told herself. This is your opening. “So, Charlotte, you knew Liam’s grandparents? Wilton and Alexandra?”
“Well, of course I knew them. Knew of them, really. Like everyone in Wedlock Creek in some fashion or another. They had glittering parties every weekend at their fancy ranch. If you were invited, you knew you’d arrived.” She smirked. “I was never invited, of course. Oh, the beautiful dresses and coats Alexandra Mercer used to wear—even to the park and to pick up milk at the store. She was so glamorous. She was really the first businesswoman many of us in town ever knew of. Some say she was the serious brains behind Mercer Industries. I admired her, I must say.”
Shelby smiled. “Did she keep working while she was pregnant?” Shelby practically held her breath, waiting for what information Charlotte might have.
“Hmm, I really don’t know. Like I said, I only really knew of her and saw her around town sometimes. But I did see her once when she was heavily pregnant. She looked so happy. I remember thinking, now there’s a baby who’ll have everything he or she ever dreamed of.”
Heavily pregnant. So Liam’s father wasn’t adopted?
Then what was the letter in the music box about? Based on the year the letter was dated, Harrington Mercer was the baby in question.
“Must be nice to be so rich,” Charlotte said. “And now you know, too, my dear.” Before Shelby could tell Charlotte that she had no intention of living her life any differently than she always had, Charlotte added, “My friend Pearl used to work for the Mercers as a maid and was responsible for caring for the jewelry. She told me the first time she saw the collection she almost fainted from shock.”
As a maid. The words echoed in Shelby’s mind. Maids had a way of seeing and hearing things because they were often considered invisible. Maybe Pearl could share some of her memories of Alexandra and Wilton—and the pregnancy.
“I’d love to meet Pearl and hear about those old times,” Shelby said. “Liam was young when Alexandra died, and he said his parents don’t talk much about themselves or the family.”
Charlotte smiled. “Of course you’re interested! Because you appreciate the past and all its history and stories. It’s no wonder you own a secondhand shop. You know that big old farmhouse off the service road? That’s Pearl’s. She has a dog rescue. You’ll hear the dogs barking and you’ll know you’re close.”
“Thanks, Charlotte. I’ll stop by tomorrow.”
Shelby couldn’t wait to tell Liam about the lead. And she had a feeling they were about to uncover a big Mercer family mystery.
* * *
On Saturday morning, with Norah filling in for Shelby at Treasures for the morning and her mother and aunt Cheyenne babysitting “the multiples” as Norah had taken to calling them, Shelby and Liam headed to Pearl’s farmhouse. Just as Charlotte had said, they heard the dogs barking and a curve in the road led right to the house. Six dogs, all sweet mutts, ran up to the car, excited to see who’d come to visit.
“Let the poor folks have a path, for goodness’ sake,” a woman said as she came down the porch steps from the house. She appeared to be in her early eighties. She was tall and looked strong and robust, a long, silver braid tossed over one shoulder, green mud boots on her feet. “Are you here to adopt six dogs? They’re yours.” She smiled and laughed, and Shelby could hear the affection in her voice for the dogs.
“Actually, with two babies and a skittish cat, we’re not looking for a dog,” Shelby said. “A friend, Charlotte Linden, told me you worked as a maid for the Mercer family years ago. I was hoping you could tell us about your time with the family.”
“Interesting timing,” Pearl said, eyeing Liam.
“Meaning?” he asked, glancing at Shelby.
“You’re Liam Mercer, right?” Pearl looked him over from head to toe and back up again.
“I am,” Liam said. “Interesting timing because our visit is either a total coincidence or you left the music box on my parents’ porch?”
Shelby almost held her breath. Had she?
Pearl lifted her chin. “I’m sure it’s no coincidence. I did leave the music box on their porch. But I’m surprised Harrington Mercer isn’t here himself to ask questions. I suppose he sent you to try to find the person who wrote the letter.”
Shelby and Liam stared at each other for a moment. Thank you, Charlotte! The woman and her frog lamps had led them right to the very woman who’d left the jewelry box for Liam’s father. “Actually, Harrington never saw the letter,” Shelby said. “His wife found the package on the doorstep, thought the box was lovely, but said their house was overflowing with stuff and she donated it to my shop, Treasures. I found the letter under the lining while examining the box.”
“Ah. So Harrington never saw the letter,” Pearl said, and it was hard for Shelby to tell how the woman felt about it. She seemed to be thinking about it, considering it. But her expression gave nothing away.
Liam shook his head. “Not yet, anyway.” He stared at Pearl. “Charlotte told Shelby that she recalled seeing my grandmother, Alexandra, when she was heavily pregnant. So we’re confused. If Alexandra was pregnant and gave birth to my father, then...”
“She wasn’t pregnant,” Pearl said. “She didn’t give birth to your father.”
What? “But—”
“I’ll get to that,” Pearl said. “It’s quite a story. Anyway, anyone can look pregnant with the right device or pillow strategically placed. Actresses wear that kind of stuff for movies all the time.”
Liam stared at Pearl, taking that bit in. “Are you my father’s birth mother?”
“Goodness, no,” Pearl said. “But I know who was. I was her friend.”
Was, Shelby thought, tucking that away for now.
“So it’s true,” Liam said, surprise and wonder in his voice. “My father was adopted by Alexandra and Wilton Mercer?”
Pearl nodded. “Yes. At birth.” She glanced at Liam and bit her lip. “Why don’t I make some coffee and we’ll talk.”
Liam nodded. “Thank you,” he added, strain in his voice.
“Well, come on in, then,” Pearl said. “Make yourselves comfortable,” she added, leading the way into the living room and gesturing at the couch and love seat and overstuffed chairs.
As Pearl disappeared into another room, Shelby squeezed Liam’s hand and sat down beside a cocker spaniel napping on the couch. The dog eyed Shelby, gave her a sniff, then went back to sleep. Liam finally sat down beside her, hands on his hips as if bracing himself for what was to come.
“I didn’t doubt the letter,” he whispered. “But to hear it said so plainly...to learn something so fundamental about my father all these years later...” He shook his head.
“Something he likely doesn’t know about himself,” Shelby said.
Liam nodded and turned away. They’d had their share of major surprises concerning close relatives—that was for sure.
Pearl returned with a tray holding a silver coffeepot and three cups and cream and sugar. She sat down on the love seat across from them and poured three cups.
Liam fixed his and then sat back. “What was it like working for my grandparents?”
“They treated me well,” Pearl said. “I even got myself promoted to head maid. They were good to me.”
“Pearl,” Liam said, taking a sip of his coffee. “How did you come into possession of the letter to my father?”
Pearl took a sip of her own coffee.
The cocker spaniel jumped off the couch and jumped up next to Pearl, curled next to her and went back to sleep. “I had a good friend named Jeannie. She wasn’t in the best of health and it was hard for her to work, but she was all alone in the world and had to earn a living, so I got her a job on the housekeeping staff at the Mercer mansion. Your grandmother employed a housekeeper who had three maids reporting to her.”
A housekeeper and three maids—one being the head maid. Shelby couldn’t imagine. At that point, Alexandra and Wilton were childless, too.
“Well, poor Jeannie put her hopes in the wrong man who turned out to be a cad. He got her pregnant and that was the last she ever saw of him. Jeannie could barely take care of herself and was so scared about her future—her child’s future.”
Shelby’s heart squeezed. Shelby had done the same—trusted the wrong guy. But at least she’d had family support. She’d never been on her own, not really.
“I feel so sorry for her,” Liam said. “To be all alone like that.”
Pearl nodded. “We were all struggling, but Jeannie’s poor health added to her problems. Well, one day she had terrible morning sickness and had to sit down and chose to sit right on Alexandra Mercer’s new divan the moment Mrs. Mercer was coming down the stairs. Your grandmother did not look pleased. But by then, Jeannie was beginning to show and your grandmother’s expression changed. Mrs. Mercer took Jeannie into another room.”
“Now things are beginning to make sense,” Liam said.
Shelby nodded. “Did Jeannie tell you what was discussed?”
“It took some prodding but she finally did. She swore me to secrecy because Mrs. Mercer swore her to secrecy. Jeannie told me that Mrs. Mercer asked if she was in trouble, and when Jeannie told her she was, that the baby’s father had abandoned her, that she was sickly, and had no idea what to do, Mrs. Mercer offered to adopt the baby and give Jeannie enough money to convalesce out of town. Far away from Wedlock Creek. Jeannie said that Mrs. Mercer promised to raise the baby with all the love in her heart and that the little one would want for nothing.”
“What a position to be in,” Liam said, shaking his head.
Pearl nodded. “Jeannie was both relieved and heartbroken. She knew letting her boss adopt her child was the best thing for the baby. And so she followed Mrs. Mercer’s instructions to the letter. Mrs. Mercer rented her a small home a few towns over, paid for her prenatal care, and when the baby came, took the newborn son home to Mercer mansion. No one knew the child had been adopted. It was all a big secret.”
“And no one was the wiser because my grandmother wore a prosthetic of some kind,” Liam noted.
“Exactly,” Pearl said. “One that grew as needed with the passing months. No one knew. I’m sure her husband did, of course. But no one else. Your grandmother didn’t like the ruse, though, so she kept a very low profile for almost the entirety pregnancy.”
“Wow,” Liam said, seemingly speechless.
Shelby leaned forward. “Pearl, what happened to Jeannie?”
“She died a few months after the baby was born. Complications from a flu strain or something like that, the doctor had said. In the weeks before she died, she gave me the music box, the one thing she’d never sold for money, and said she’d tucked a letter under the lining for her baby boy, that maybe one day, if the time was ever right, it would find its way to him. I wasn’t sure I wanted the responsibility of deciding when the right time was.”
“I can understand that,” Shelby said.
“A closed adoption, a secret adoption at that,” Liam said. “Sharing that letter would affect many lives.”
“Right,” Pearl said. “Which was why I held on to it for almost sixty years. But now that I’m in my eighties... I don’t know. It just seemed wrong to hold something so...vital, a truth that does matter, that does mean something. It felt wrong to take it to my grave.”
“So you put it in a bag with Harrington’s name on it and left it on his porch,” Liam said.
Pearl nodded. “I figured one of two things would happen. It would be brought to Harrington Mercer and he would take a look, notice the bumpy lining and see what was tucked under and find the letter. Or, a maid or his wife would find the package, mention it to him, get dismissed and toss the box in the garbage or the attic. I just wanted to try—to do something that might get the letter to him, exactly as it had been given to me. I admit, I hadn’t considered the music box might end up in Treasures, a secondhand shop where someone else might find the letter. In fact, I figured no one ever would.”
Shelby took a sip of her coffee. “But someone did. And not just someone—Harrington Mercer’s son’s new wife.”
Pearl seemed to notice Shelby’s ring for the first time. She gasped. “Congratulations!” she exclaimed. “Isn’t that something? I thought by leaving that box on the porch that whatever would be would be. But perhaps it ended up in just the right hands after all.”
“Why is that?” Liam asked.
“Because you’re family,” Pearl said gently. “You’ll know whether you should reveal the secret or burn the letter.”
Liam let out a breath. “God, I don’t want that responsibility.”
“I know just how you feel,” Pearl said. “Sorry.”
Shelby took the last sip of her coffee. “Pearl, do you think it’s possible that Harrington Mercer knows he was adopted?”
Pearl shook her head. “I can’t see how. Alexandra went as far as to fake her pregnancy. She swore Jeannie to secrecy.”
“Do you think I should tell my father?” Liam asked Pearl.
“That’s for you to decide,” Pearl said. “It all comes down to whether or not you think he would benefit in any way from the information, whether it would change his life in a positive way. If it would only hurt, then no, maybe not. I’m just not sure, dear. Truth is important, but then ignorance is bliss. Right?”
Shelby thought about Shane and Alexander. She’d been living in ignorant bliss for six months while the baby she’d given birth to was being raised by someone else, also living in ignorant bliss.
“I really don’t know,” Liam said. “Not anymore.”
And with that, they thanked Pearl for everything they’d shared, said goodbye to the dogs who’d come to see them off, and then left, both of them quiet on the ride home.
Her new husband had quite a decision to make.
Chapter Twelve
Liam sure was glad to be back home at the ranch and not at Shelby’s tiny apartment. He’d walked the fields for over an hour, Shane against his chest in a sling. Shelby had taken Alexander to work with her, wanting to show him the shop and point out all her favorite pieces.
And Liam had pointed out all his favorite spots on the ranch to Shane. Starting with the outdoor play yard his father had ordered as a surprise for Alexander to celebrate his one month on earth. There was a big cedar playground with swings and slide and a jungle gym for when he was a bit older, and a toddler area with pint-size climbers and hidey spots.
“You and Alexander will play here together as brothers,” Liam said, one hand against the protective sling at Shane’s back, the other on the wood fence surrounding the play yard.
Shane looked at him with those beautiful blue eyes.
“One day, when the time is right, Shane, I’ll tell you about your birth mother. Liza was a wonderful person. And I know she’s looking out for you and always will be watching over you.”
Shane’s little bow mouth quirked. Liam caressed his soft cheek, so in love with this precious boy that he felt like his heart would burst. “I lost the first six months of your life but I want you to know I’ll always be here for you. No matter what,” he added. “You’re my son. Same as Alexander.”
If only his dad could see it that way. That Alexander was Liam’s son same as Shane. How could the man who’d raised him have such a different way of looking at t
hings? How could they have such different values?
“DNA alone doesn’t make you family,” Liam said, watching a bird land on a post. “Family is about love and taking responsibility and commitment.”
How could his father not understand that?
And because Harrington Mercer didn’t understand that, how could Liam show him the letter Shelby had found in that music box?
But how could Liam not?
“I’ve been walking around that question for over an hour, Shane,” Liam said, heading back toward the house. “And I’m no closer to knowing what I’m going to do than I was when your mother and I left Pearl’s house.”
“Ba-la!” Shane babbled, reaching out a hand.
Liam smiled and shook Shane’s tiny hand. “What should I do, wise one?”
“Ba-wa!” Shane said with a huge smile.
Unfortunately, Liam could take that to mean anything: tell him or don’t tell him.
Maybe Shelby would have some advice. “Let’s go home and wait for your mother. If I know Shelby Ingalls—Shelby Mercer,” he corrected, “she’ll have been thinking about it all day at work. It’s good to surround yourself with smart women, Shane. Remember that.”
On the way to the house, he’d decided he should share the letter with his father.
But by the time he opened the door, he’d changed his mind.
That went on for a good hour more until Shelby finally came home with Alexander. The sight of them made him forget all about the questions buzzing at his brain. Shelby, as usual, looked so beautiful, her blond hair loose around her shoulders, her V-neck sweater bringing out the green in her eyes.
“Make any decisions today?” Shelby asked, shifting Alexander in her arms.
He slapped a hand against his forehead. “I just put it out of my mind a second ago after killing myself all afternoon.”
She smiled. “Sorry. We don’t have to talk about it. You don’t have to decide anything right away.”
The Baby Switch! Page 14
