We walked into the house to no greeting, which was odd, so we continued through the kitchen and looked out the back window, only to see our family outside in the yard. When we stepped out the door, I could see that they had dinner ready and waiting on us. Cole stepped up to Ted and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Dad, if you told me you were having a fish fry, I might have left work early,” he said. “You should have warned me ahead of time, and I could have gone fishing with you.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve had better things to do lately,” Ted stated. “Besides, I didn’t catch all the fish by myself. Some of these were caught by your wife.”
“So it’s almost like I made dinner myself, right Dad?” I interjected. Cole smirked over at me, and Ted laughed at the look exchanged between us.
“I don’t know, little lady,” Ted said dubiously, chuckling at me. “Your inability to cook has almost reached legendary proportions.”
“Cole!” I scolded, as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
“You can’t solely blame him,” Ted corrected. “Rosalie’s had her share of tales, too!”
“What a traitor,” I teased as Ted gave me a playful wink. Liz stepped up to us then, handing each of us a glass of sweet tea.
“Camdyn, I thought about coming to visit you today, but I figured you were busy,” Liz said, smiling in my direction.
“I wish you would visit her, Mom,” Cole implored. “Maybe that would keep her out of trouble.” I gave him a quick look of exasperation, and he laughed to make his mom think he was joking; however, I doubted he was.
“What you need is a baby to take care of,” Cole’s sister Rachel stated, joining the conversation. “Ever since I held your little nephew Cooper, all I’ve wanted to do is hold another little one.”
“I’m doing everything in my power,” Cole insisted with a wink, and I could feel my cheeks burning.
“One thing at a time,” I tried to ward off the direction of the conversation. “I’m still in the phase of trying to convince Cole that I’m not insane.”
“True enough,” he admitted. “There are days that I have my doubts.”
“Oh, Cole, you shouldn’t say such things,” Liz admonished. For a moment I considered telling her that his concerns might be warranted, but I decided it was best not to admit anything.
“Sorry, Mom,” Cole sighed. “I’m sure Camdyn is perfectly sane. Someday she’ll convince me.” He gave me an enticing smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Can we eat already? I’ve got to coach a ballgame tonight, and I don’t want to be late.”
“Can we watch Unca Cole do baseball?” Charlotte wanted to know, tugging at her mom’s elbow. When I smiled at her, she took that as an invitation to lunge at me and leap into my arms.
“Uncle Cole doesn’t play baseball, he teaches boys how to play,” Rachel told her matter-of-factly. Charlotte started twisting a piece of my hair, clearly undeterred.
“Aunt Cammie, please take me to do the baseball,” she implored. At that, I chuckled and shrugged at Rachel.
“I don’t know how to tell her no,” I stated guiltily, which caused Rachel to roll her eyes.
“It’s fairly easy,” she suggested, but then she smiled. “Yes, Charlotte, we can go watch Uncle Cole’s baseball game, if you want.”
“Yay!” she stated excitedly, hugging my neck. With that settled, we were able to eat dinner without any protest, and fairly quickly, since Cole had other obligations. Ted told me that he purposely gave me the fish I caught, but I was doubtful that he could tell the difference, so I’m pretty sure he was trying to put one over on me. It tasted good regardless, so I supposed it didn't really matter in the long run.
After dinner, everyone loaded up to head to Cole’s game. Charlotte insisted upon riding with us, and she talked nonstop while we were driving. Even after we arrived, while Cole was off taking his team picture with the boys, Charlotte chattered to me about everything she could think to say. She had a lot of deep questions to ponder, such as whether Tinkerbell could still be a fairy if she had no wings, or whether there were any dogs that could stay puppies forever. Eventually Rachel implored her to stop asking me questions, but I assured her that I didn’t mind at all.
“Do you sit with Unca Cole in that box?” she asked, pointing to the dugout.
“No,” I told her with a laugh. “I sit over there on the bleachers, and try really hard not to stare at Uncle Cole.”
“Why?” she wondered. Rachel gave me a look of warning, and I wondered what that was about.
“Because it’s probably hard for him to concentrate with people staring at him,” I suggested.
“Why?” Charlotte wanted to know.
“Well, because he has to keep his mind on the game.”
“Why?”
“So he can tell the boys what to do.”
“Why?”
“Does this ever come to an end?” I questioned Rachel quietly, and she shook her head with an exaggerated eye roll. When Charlotte eventually quieted down, Ted settled next to me on the bleachers and offered me some of his popcorn.
“You know how to win me over,” I joked as I helped myself, and he simply laughed. “Does this remind you of old times, watching Cole play baseball?”
“I suppose so,” he stated, “although it seemed like he paid a lot less attention to the bleachers then.” Glancing over at Cole, I caught his eye briefly, and he smiled as he went back to talking to the boys.
“He’s probably watching to make sure I don’t escape,” I offered, stealing a little more popcorn.
“Think that’s it?” Ted asked sarcastically. “I heard about town that your mother is still here. How you holding up?” I watched Cole grab his clipboard and make a couple of notes while I pondered how to answer the question.
“Honestly, it’s bothering me way more than it should,” I admitted. “But I’m not one to let a mystery go unsolved, and this one’s a puzzler.”
“What’s puzzling about it?” he wanted to know. By that time, Liz had joined us and was listening to our conversation.
“Why is she here?” I shrugged, not knowing how else to explain it. Liz nodded, but Ted just gave me a crooked smile.
“She’s here because you’re here,” he stated. At that, I turned to fully face him.
“Why would she do that? After all the years of nothing, that doesn’t make sense.”
“Sometimes, people just get to a certain point in their life when they realize they’ve made mistakes,” Liz added, and I smiled sadly at her.
“I don’t know,” I shook my head. “I can see that being the case if she had come to me and apologized or something, but to just show up at my wedding rehearsal like she owned the place… That doesn’t seem very repentant.”
“Well, maybe you should talk to her and find out,” Liz suggested. At that, I laughed and turned my attention back to the ball field.
“You sound just like Jerry,” I chuckled, and Liz gave me a very strange look.
“Jerry?”
“Jerry Farner, the guy Rita’s living with,” I informed her. “That’s what he told me to do, too.”
“Oh my heavens,” Liz whispered. “She’s living with Jerry?”
“Just until she ‘gets on her feet,’” I stated in a slight accent, using the air quotes. Liz shook her head, and Ted let out a loud sigh. “Let’s stop talking about her, okay? Tell me more about what it was like when Cole played baseball.”
“There wasn’t near this much jabbering,” Ted let me know, and I peeked at him slyly out of the corner of my eye.
“You would miss me if I wasn’t here,” I told him, giving him a big smile.
“Yes, I would,” he agreed, offering me the popcorn once more.
-§-
Later that night, when Cole and I were finally home, I could barely think of anything besides taking a warm shower and climbing into bed. The events of the past couple of days had taken their toll, and I was exhausted. After I threw on m
y pajamas and spent a moment checking my phone for messages, Cole entered the room with my dad’s book in his hand, looking at me with a slight amount of concern. Settling down beside me on the bed, he held the letter out in front of me and wrinkled his nose a bit.
“What’s this?” he asked. I slid the paper from his hand and held it gingerly in my own.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It was glued in the back of my dad’s book.”
“Let me get this straight,” he stated, looking at me intently. “You found a mysterious letter glued to the back of your dad’s book, and not only have you not mentioned it all evening, but you still managed not to leave the house all day?”
“Correct,” I agreed, keeping a straight face while he assumed the posture of a prosecuting attorney.
“And I’m assuming you don’t know who sent the letter?” he continued.
“No idea,” I answered.
“And who is Migsy?” he laughed.
“Not a clue,” I assured him. He kissed me on the cheek before he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
“I’m really proud of you,” he said with a smile. “I’m sure this has driven you wild. You probably would have been halfway to Philadelphia by now, wouldn’t you?”
“I’m not sure,” I acknowledged with a laugh. “The map on my phone said it would take over fourteen hours to drive there.”
“The map on the phone,” he repeated. “I love you, you crazy, beautiful woman.”
“Enough to learn the Michael Bublé song?” I asked sweetly. I had been bugging him to sing one of my favorite songs nearly every night, and he kept refusing.
“No,” he chuckled. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not interested in trying to replicate your hero. You’ll never look at me the same way again.”
Plot foiled, I gave him a slight pouty face, but I couldn’t protest because he silenced me with a kiss.
When I fell asleep that night, it was a blissful slumber, with no thoughts of Rita or the mysterious letter, but only the knowledge that the man next to me loved me with all his heart.
-§-
Waking up the next morning, my mood from the night before had carried over, and the day seemed particularly pleasant. I didn’t even mind that Cole had left his dirty socks in the bathroom rather than keeping things tidy like normal, or the chore of doing laundry, or giving Pop a bath outside with the hose after he rolled in something dead. Only after ensuring the house was in tip-top shape did I sit down to make notes about my next book, jotting down facts about World War I that I thought would prove useful.
When Cole pulled up at lunch time, he walked in to find me sitting cross-legged on the living room floor with three books spread out in front of me and a pencil stuck through an improvised bun on the top of my head. I hesitated before I looked up at him because I was mid-thought, but when I heard a clicking noise, I glanced at the doorway to see his cell phone held in front of him.
“Are you taking my picture?” I asked, and he gave me an enticing grin.
“Yeah, you’re just so darn cute,” he laughed. “I have something for you.”
“Really?” I wanted to know, rising to my feet. He occasionally picked wildflowers and brought them to me, so that was what I was expecting, but since both hands were in front of him, that seemed doubtful. When I stepped up to him, I waited expectantly, and he seemed to take pleasure in making me wait.
“Come on, what is it?” I asked, placing my hands on his chest and gazing up at him.
“Well, we technically didn’t go anywhere on our honeymoon,” he stated, “and I know we’re going to be traveling in a couple of weeks for your book publicity, but I want to take you out of town. We’ll leave tonight, and we’ll have to come back Sunday, so it’s going to be a short trip.”
“Where are we going?” I questioned him, staring into his brown eyes. Rather than answering me, he leaned down and kissed me. As he pulled back, I laughed and pushed against his chest a little. “Stop tormenting me and tell me where we’re going already!” Reaching into his back pocket, he handed an envelope to me, and I excitedly peeked inside, letting out a little shriek.
“Philadelphia, are you kidding me?” I squealed. “Cole!”
“I know that letter is driving you crazy, but you’re trying to keep your cool for me,” he reasoned. “You’re probably not going to find the answers you’re looking for, but once you have it out of your system, we can see the Liberty Bell, eat some Philly cheesesteak…”
“You are so amazing,” I whispered, and he laughed.
“Yeah, I know,” he said with a smirk. “Now, get yourself packed, and pack me a bag too, because we’ll have to leave for Memphis as soon as I get home from work.”
“We’re flying to Philly,” I stated happily, and he wrapped me in a hug. Afterwards, he fixed himself a sandwich and was ready to head back out the door within just a couple of minutes. I leaned down to pick my books up off the living room floor, and he paused at the door to smile at me.
“You know, just pack light,” he suggested with a wink. “Very light.”
Chapter Six
That glorious Saturday morning, Mr. and Mrs. Parker awoke in a cozy bed at a hotel somewhere in Philadelphia, I let the play-by-play run through my head. Smiling a little at my own private joke, I leaned up on my elbow and stared over at my husband, who was pretending to be asleep, but finally peeked at me from the corner of one eye.
“What?” he wanted to know.
“I do believe you’re the most handsome man alive, no matter where you wake up,” I breathed, and he looped his arm around me and pulled me against him. My curls cascaded across his chest, and I leaned against him contentedly.
“It’s so hard to believe that I didn’t know you a few months ago,” he whispered. “We haven’t shared a Christmas, or celebrated our birthdays, or watched a World Series together, but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”
“I wish I would have met you a long time ago,” I said then, feeling his breath gently moving through my hair.
“No, we met at exactly the right time,” he told me. “I’ve been through just enough in my life to fully realize what a gift you are, and I will never take you for granted, Camdyn.”
“You do remember yelling at me just a couple days ago, right?” I asked, always taken a little by surprise when he spoke so romantically.
“Because you scared me,” he clarified, holding me close. “I’ve got plans for a whole lifetime with you, my beautiful wife.”
“Trust me, those are plans that I will gladly go along with,” I insisted, snuggling against him.
“Today, though, we visit the address on your envelope?” he suggested. “I’m not very good at this stalking stuff.”
“I prefer to call it investigating,” I laughed, sitting up and smiling over at him.
“Okay, investigating, then,” he agreed. “Maybe I can let you investigate from a safe distance, so I won’t feel so awkward. You can call me to let me know that you’re okay, or if you need help.”
“If you insist, but you’re going to miss the chance to watch the professional sleuth in action,” I argued. “No, really, it’s embarrassing. I usually fall all over myself until whoever I’m researching feels sorry for me and agrees to help.”
“For some reason, I find that easy to believe,” he said. “Come on – let’s get going before we waste the entire day.”
After a quick breakfast, Cole drove me over to the address from the envelope in our rental car. When we started down the street, it looked like a well-established neighborhood with lots of nice, older houses. I imagined that it was probably the place to be at one time or another, although with the way people preferred excess these days, they were just ordinary houses now. The one we were looking for in particular had a red brick exterior with white columns on the porch, and a one-car garage to the side. It looked well-maintained, and there was a white two-door car in the driveway. Pulling up in front of the house, Cole glanced over at
me and took a deep breath.
“Sure you’re okay alone?” he asked one more time. When I assured him that I was, he told me he would be waiting at a little park down the street, and that he would call me in fifteen minutes if I hadn’t called him by then. Nodding my head, I grabbed my dad’s book and the letter and stepped out of the car.
Should I introduce myself as Camdyn Parker? And say what? Hi, I found this random letter…
Maybe I should just say that I’m researching like I always do.
Hi, I’m Camdyn Parker, and I’m researching for my next book.
Except nobody knows who Camdyn Parker is – I’m still C.W. Oliver in that regard, until I give up my pen name completely.
Hi, you don’t know me, but I’m looking for Migsy.
Ugh.
Hesitantly knocking on the door, I rehearsed a dozen lines in my mind, unable to come up with any that weren’t a bit stupid. When no one answered after a moment, I almost felt relieved, because I hadn’t fully decided on a plan of attack.
Attack? Why did I even think about an attack? Maybe I am going insane!
The door creaked open, and I’m sure at that point I was witnessed in all my wild-eyed glory, looking slightly crazed and on the verge of making a run for it. When it was fully flung open, I was met by a woman who looked to be just slightly older than me, with caramel-colored hair pulled into a severe ponytail. She regarded me coolly with her blue eyes, probably mistaking me for a saleswoman.
“Can I help you?” she asked quietly, standing protectively in front of the door.
“Hi,” I started. “I’m a writer – I go by the name of C.W. Oliver. Maybe you’ve heard of me?” Blank look. “No? Well, I’m researching a book right now, and I’ve come across a letter that came from this address, probably close to thirty years ago. You’re not old enough to have lived here that long, though…”
“I was here thirty years ago,” she told me simply.
“Oh,” I stumbled, wishing I could regain my composure. “Well, I’m looking for Migsy.” The minute the name left my lips, I felt a little ridiculous. Maybe this was all some joke, and I had completely fallen for it.
A Reason to Forget (The Camdyn Series Book 3) Page 7
