by Darcy Burke
“I think we should actually look for anything with a last name that starts with R. Take a picture of it with your phone.”
“And what time period?” Brooke asked. “The brick said 1879, so anything between that date and…?”
“That’s a good question,” Kelsey said, looking from Brooke to Crystal. “What do you guys think? If BNR was a person who made that brick in 1879, he or she could’ve died anytime.”
“Well, let’s say they weren’t over a hundred. So how about anything prior to 1970?”
Brooke nodded. “Okay, sounds good. Any ideas on how to tackle this?”
“Why don’t we start at one end and each take a row?” Kelsey suggested. “That way we’re still together in case we find something.”
“Perfect,” Crystal said, whipping her phone from her back pocket. “Let’s do this.”
They walked to the back corner and each took a row. The headstones were an amalgamation of sizes and shapes and conditions. This section was old, and some of the lettering was impossible to read due to weathering.
“How was your trip to LA?” Brooke asked Crystal as they walked.
“Busy,” Crystal said from the row behind Brooke. “We crammed a lot of meetings in and a couple of interviews. Alaina doesn’t like to invite people here, so she usually does that stuff in LA.”
Kelsey, who was in the row in front of Brooke, turned and looked over at Crystal. “Any new movies coming out?”
“She’s voicing an animated feature in a month or so. That’ll be fun.”
“Oooh, is it the sequel to Frozen?” Kelsey laughed. “I’m kidding.”
Crystal laughed with her. “I wish! It’s still cool, though. I’d tell you about it, but then I’d have to kill you.”
“Of course. That’s top-secret intel right there,” Brooke said, smiling. She liked both of them and was glad they’d met. Forming connections made her think she could maybe stay in Ribbon Ridge long-term. Or maybe something else was making her think that…
She shrugged the thought away and focused on the headstones. “I’m not finding any Rs yet.”
“Me neither,” Kelsey said. “Ironic given that the town is Ribbon Ridge.” She rolled the Rs for emphasis.
“Totally.” Crystal chuckled. “Wait, here’s one. Joseph Rollins died 1889. Not a B or an N, but I’ll take a picture.”
Brooke saw the same name on the headstone in front of Crystal’s. “This is a Rollins too. Ann Bedelia. There’s a B, at least.” She took a picture.
“And an N in Ann,” Kelsey said. They continued for another minute in silence. “How was your beach trip, Brooke? Sell a lot of wine?”
“I did, actually.” West Arch Estate had been quite popular. She’d shared her sales information with Cam earlier via text and was sure they’d talk about it later—assuming they’d get together.
“And how are things going with Justin?” Kelsey asked.
“Who’s Justin, your boyfriend?” Crystal chimed in.
Brooke suddenly wished she hadn’t overshared with Kelsey last week. But why? They were friends, right? “No, he’s not my boyfriend. He was a blind date, and I told Kelsey I was thinking of calling him again.”
Kelsey turned to look at her. “Uh-oh,” Kelsey said. “You didn’t?”
Brooke shook her head.
“What happened?” Crystal asked.
Brooke pivoted so that she could see Crystal too. “Uh, Cam happened.”
Crystal came into Brooke’s row. “Cam as in Cameron Westcott? Are you two a thing? Wait, I think I heard he was seeing someone. That’s like major news in the Archer circle.” She rolled her eyes, grinning. “Small towns. You gotta love ’em. I come from one in North Carolina.”
Kelsey moved closer so that she was just on the other side of a headstone. “Did you have sex again?”
“Yes. He came to the beach.” Where they’d had sex. But he’d called it making love. Did he always call it that, she wondered?
Crystal’s grin didn’t fade. “Sounds hot.”
“It was…romantic.” Aside from the baby disaster, she’d felt incredibly close to him. He’d been an amazing and thoughtful lover—as gentle as he’d been aggressive in their other encounters. She’d loved seeing that side of him.
“Uh-oh, sounds like you’re falling for him.” Crystal’s tone was teasing, while Kelsey was watching her skeptically. But then Kelsey knew a little about Brooke’s history and Crystal didn’t.
“Are you ready for that?” Kelsey asked, her gaze laced with concern.
“I don’t know.” Brooke turned her head toward Crystal. “I got divorced a couple of years ago, and it was kind of ugly. Cam’s the first guy I’ve dated—the first guy I’ve paid any attention to really—since then.”
Crystal nodded. “I get it. And that sucks. Sorry about your ex.”
“I hope you’re taking it slow,” Kelsey said.
“We are. Very. It feels…good. A little foreign, like a pair of shoes I forgot about in the back of my closet, and putting them back on is a little strange.”
Crystal chuckled. “Good analogy. That happens to me all the time.” When both Brooke and Kelsey stared at her, she added, “With shoes! I’m a total shoe whore. I, uh, actually don’t date that much. Too busy with work.”
“Even since Alaina’s career has slowed down?” Kelsey asked.
“Yep. Always tons to do. I do get a little more sleep now.” She winked at them. “Back to the grind.” She returned to scanning headstones, and Brooke and Kelsey did the same.
A few minutes later, Crystal called out to them. “Guys, here’s Benjamin Archer’s headstone.”
Brooke and Kelsey walked over to where Crystal stood. Ribbon Ridge’s founder had a large, rather new and fancy headstone, as did his wife next to him, though hers was a bit smaller.
“The family replaced his headstone a while back because the original was so decrepit.”
“How awesome to have founded a town,” Crystal said, her tone glazed with reverence. “I love history like this. My grandpa was a Civil War reenactor. I can’t tell you how many battles I attended when I was a kid.”
Kelsey smiled, her eyes lighting. “Now, that’s awesome. Were your ancestors rebels?”
“Ha, rebels! You’re such a northerner. Actually, my family was both Confederate and Union. All dirt poor and fighting for their state. That’s what it was about to them back then. My family comes from North Carolina and Pennsylvania.”
“It sounds like you know a lot about them,” Brooke said.
“I do. My grandmother was really into genealogy. I’m a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution too.”
Kelsey shook her head. “So cool. I can only trace to my great-great-grandparents. Someday I’d love to go back further. I guess that’s why I find this project so fascinating. It’s silly, but I can’t rest until I know who BNR is and why he had that brick.”
Crystal nodded. “I completely understand. The less we learn about those initials and that date, the more I want to find the truth!”
“You guys should start your own show—solving small-town historical mysteries.” Brooke chuckled. “Reality show, buddy comedy, with a bit of Indiana Jones thrown in.”
Crystal howled. “Yes. I’m so pitching that to Alaina and Sean for their production company.”
“I’m game,” Kelsey said, smiling. “But so far, we suck at solving this one.”
“True.” Crystal’s tone was wry. She looked back at Benjamin Archer’s headstone. “Hey, any chance the B is for Benjamin and the N and R are just other people? Like maybe they were a trio and the brick was something they made?” She shook her head. “I know that sounds like a longshot.”
“Any idea is a good one,” Kelsey said. “Let’s keep that in mind as we look. Maybe we’ll see an N or an R first name with dates that are similar to Benjamin’s.”
A few headstones down, Brooke got a little excited. “Guys, here’s an R—Reginald Carver.”
Kelsey
and Crystal moved to stand beside her, and they all took in the fading letters of his name. There was no birth date, but the death was listed as April 2, 1879.
“This has the year and one of the letters,” Crystal said, her tone hopeful.
Kelsey took a picture. “Just in case.” She glanced around. “Let’s keep looking, particularly for an N.”
They fanned out and scoured the surrounding area for several minutes. Kelsey was a few rows away when she called out, “Anything?”
Brooke looked up and saw Crystal shake her head. “No,” Brooke answered.
They continued with their search and found a few more single B, N, and R names, but no N first names and nothing else that sparked an idea. They gathered back near their cars.
Crystal frowned. “So it looks like Reginald is our only lead.”
“At least it’s something,” Kelsey said. “We can go back to the records and zero in on him and look for N names.”
Crystal nodded. “Good plan. It’s not a lot to go on, but it’s something. Do you want to set up a time to look through the records together? Alaina and I should bring them to the library anyway in preparation for the exhibit.”
“Sounds great. Just this past weekend, I finally got the upstairs cleaned out enough,” Kelsey said. She turned to Brooke. “Do you still want to help, or has your interest in this waned—I wouldn’t blame you.”
On the contrary, Brooke was as intrigued as ever. The mystery of BNR had bitten her too. Or maybe it was their enthusiasm that was contagious. “Oh no, you’re not getting rid of me now.”
Crystal grinned. “Excellent! Okay, I’m off. See you guys soon.”
As Crystal jumped in her car and drove away, Kelsey turned to Brooke. “Hey, I didn’t mean to be negative earlier. I’m sorry if I came off that way.”
“About Cam?” Brooke shook her head. “Not at all. I appreciate your wariness, actually. I’m feeling cautious too, but optimistic. For now, it’s casual and slow, and we’re just enjoying each other’s company. There would be…issues if we wanted to make a go of it, but I’m nowhere near that yet.”
“I think you’re being very smart. And I’m glad it’s going well. Maybe even a tad jealous, but when I think of starting something…” She shuddered.
Brooke sensed genuine fear, not just anxiety from a bad breakup. “Kelsey, are you okay? I definitely don’t want to pry, but if you ever want a shoulder—a confidential one—I’m here.”
Kelsey smiled, but there was sadness in the lines around her mouth. “Thanks. I really appreciate that. It’s tough to open up about it. I was pretty stupid. He…wasn’t very nice.”
Brooke knew right then that he’d hurt her—emotionally and physically. She also knew Kelsey wasn’t ready to talk about it, and Brooke both understood and respected that. “I’m so sorry. And now I’m going to hug you. Not because I think you need it, but because I suddenly do.” Hearing even this much about Kelsey’s past reminded Brooke of the struggles she’d been through, of the pain of Darren’s betrayal and the agony of her dream life breaking into tiny impossible-to-put-back-together-again pieces.
Brooke squeezed Kelsey tight and was happy that Kelsey squeezed back.
“Now we’re BFFs,” Kelsey said, smiling and offering a wink.
“Definitely.”
Kelsey pulled her keys from her purse. “I’ll be in touch about our next research session.”
“I hope it’s soon. I’m anxious to find some answers!”
“Me too!” Kelsey waved before turning toward her car.
Brooke climbed into her SUV and pulled out of the parking lot. As she turned onto the main road back to town, her phone rang and she answered it via the Bluetooth in her car.
“Hello!”
“Hey,” Rhonda’s voice sounded from the speakers. “You have a minute?”
“I’m driving, what’s up?”
Rhonda exhaled and hesitated. Brooke instantly knew something was wrong. Her muscles tensed, and she gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles whitening. “Rhonda? Is everything okay?”
“Yes. I just wanted to tell you something before you saw it on social media or something. Darren and his home-wrecker girlfriend are getting married.”
Brooke’s insides wavered for a moment—like they turned to jelly and then went back to normal again. It didn’t matter to her that he was getting married again. She took a deep breath. “Well, good for him. I hope she doesn’t expect him to be faithful.”
“There’s, uh, more.”
Brooke had loosened her hold on the wheel, and that fluttering feeling came back to her. What more? She suddenly knew…
“They’re having a baby,” Rhonda said, confirming Brooke’s fear.
Brooke’s vision blurred. She blinked madly to keep her focus on the road. She wrapped her fingers around the leather wheel as if it was the only thing keeping her from drowning in a sea of black emotion. “Of course they are,” she choked out.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted kids—she knew he did. It was that he hadn’t seemed to care that she couldn’t have them. All during her infertility battle, he’d been supportive, but in a very hands-off way. As the medical bills had mounted and her anxiety increased, he’d started to change his tune. He’d said having kids didn’t matter, especially if it meant spending a fortune and her losing her mind. She’d realized much later that she hadn’t been “losing her mind.” She’d been understandably devastated. All the while, he’d been sleeping with his coworker and then blamed Brooke for driving him away.
“He’s such an asshole,” Rhonda said, as if she’d read Brooke’s train of thought. But then she probably had. They’d discussed his betrayal at length last weekend.
He was going to get his happy ever after—the life they’d planned together. The injustice of it curled Brooke’s stomach into a heavy knot.
She drove into town and willed herself into a sort of numbness. She wasn’t going to break down. She couldn’t—she had to get home.
“Brooke, you okay?” Rhonda asked tentatively. “I’m so sorry. But I wanted you to hear it from me.”
“I’m glad.” This was hard, but anything else would’ve been much worse.
“Hey, I think you should talk to Cam.”
What the hell? “Why? We’re in a fledgling relationship.”
“I know you say that, but I spent the weekend with you. I saw how your eyes lit up when you talked about him. And you said your beach date was spectacular.”
Brooke had texted her sisters yesterday during lunch and told them about him surprising her. She hadn’t, however, told them about the baby situation that had derailed her yesterday morning.
Gah, there were babies everywhere!
Brooke turned toward her loft and pulled into the parking garage. “I can’t talk to Cam about this. He totally wants kids someday. There’s no future with him.”
“Damn it, Brooke, you’re being so shortsighted! Just because you can’t carry a kid or even make a kid doesn’t mean you can’t be a mom or have a family someday. You guys could use a donor egg and a surrogate, you could adopt—you have options!”
“Not for someone whose mother can’t wait to have a grandchild with ‘her’ blood.” Bile churned in Brooke’s stomach as she thought of what Cam had said about his mother.
Rhonda made a sound that sounded like an angry gargle. “You are so stubborn. Sometimes I think you like to wallow in your circumstances. This doesn’t define you. You’re an amazing aunt, and you’ll be an amazing mom. Not if but when.”
Brooke pulled into her parking place and started to shake with her anger and frustration and sadness. “It must be nice to call the shots from the sidelines. You have no idea what this feels like or how painful this journey has already been. Yes, there are options. Expensive options with zero guarantees.”
“There are no guarantees in life, period.” Rhonda sounded cold and dispassionate. “Come on, Brooke, you know better than that.”
“Yeah, I do. W
hich is why I prefer to err on the side of no risk, no pain. I’ve been down that road, Rhonda, and right now, I can’t do it again. Cam is not The One.”
Except as soon as she said those words, something opened up inside her. The wobbliness, the uncertainty faded, and she felt a clarity. But just for a moment. It was gone almost as quickly as it had come.
“Fine. I just hope you aren’t screwing up a good thing.”
“I’m not screwing up anything. We’re having fun, and we’ll continue to have fun. Thanks for letting me know about Darren.” Brooke thought about all the passive-aggressive, snarky ways she could congratulate her ex. That gave her a small bit of satisfaction. Of course, she wouldn’t do any of them.
“Will you please call me if you want to talk?” Rhonda asked. “I’m sorry I upset you. I love you.”
Brooke closed her eyes briefly. “I love you too. I’ll talk to you later.” She disconnected the call before Rhonda replied.
Suddenly weary, Brooke leaned her head against the steering wheel. Her mind churned from Darren to Rhonda to Cam. Part of her wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to believe he’d understand, that he’d stand by her when Darren hadn’t. But how could she know that? She’d been with Darren for several years and she’d only known Cam, what, five weeks?
It seemed clear to her that he wanted kids given the way he interacted with his niece and his reaction to the new baby yesterday, and then he’d asked her about kids. You didn’t ask about kids unless they were important to your future. And yes, she realized it could be that he didn’t want them, but that just didn’t seem to be the case based on her observations.
And if that were true…she’d be doing him a favor if she walked away now. Before things got complicated and messy. Before it hurt too much to walk away.
Oh, who was she kidding? It was going to hurt either way. She wasn’t completely sure, but she suspected she was in love with him. She loved his sense of humor. She loved the things they shared in common. She loved the way he looked at her, the way he touched her, the way he made her feel like the best woman in the world.
Which was no small feat given how he’d been hurt in the past. More than anything he deserved to be happy, and she wanted that for him. She was just afraid she wasn’t the woman to make it happen.
