by Winnie Reed
“You were involved with that girl?” Charlie asked, amazed. “You never talked about her, Uncle Frank.”
“It was too painful. Too, too painful. I wanted to, so many times.” Frank gazed up at him. “You’ll never know how many times.”
“What finally happened, Mr. Welburn?” I asked, kneeling in front of him.
His eyes met mine, magnified slightly by his glasses. He searched my face. “You know?”
“I know,” I whispered, nodding.
“Know what?” Charlie asked. “I’m confused. What are you talking about?”
“Millie’s baby,” Frank sighed. “Our baby.”
“Your baby?” Poor Charlie sank into the armchair. “Since when did you have a baby? What’s happening here? Why am I only now just hearing about this?”
“Simmer down,” Frank barked, and for a second I would’ve mistaken him for a much younger man. I could only imagine the sort of guardian he was in his early days, when his nephew acted up. “Let me tell the story before I get confused. Millie never told me about the baby. It was her father who did it. He came to our house and fired my father on the spot. I thought it would kill him. He loved that job.”
“I’m so sorry,” I murmured, patting his knee.
“He died not six months later. I know it broke his heart. He’d been working there since George’s father was the man in charge, practically since he was a boy. But that’s not what I’m trying to tell you about. He turned on me then, screamed at me, called me every name you can imagine and some you likely couldn’t. I was sure that in the end, he’d tell me I had no choice but to marry Millie.”
A tear rolled down his cheek, glistening in the lamplight. “I would have. I wanted to all along, since the day I first set eyes on her. She was all I ever wanted. All I would ever want in my entire life. Nobody ever held a candle to her.”
“I don’t understand. If you loved her and wanted her, why—”
“Come on.” His voice got that hard edge to it again. “Think. You’re a smart girl if you found me after all these years. Why didn’t I marry Millicent?”
It felt like an elephant settled on my chest. I slumped on my knees, settling back on my calves. Why hadn’t I seen it before? “Because he wasn’t there to demand you marry her. He was there to forbid it.”
A grim smile. “There you are. I knew you were smart. Yes, that’s why he came. He fired my father and threw a contract in my face. I was never, under any circumstances, to see or speak to or contact his daughter ever again. Told me she was engaged to a boy from Philadelphia, that once the baby was born and shipped off someplace, she’d be free to marry the sort of man she was meant to. Somebody with a future. Not some gardener’s son with dirt under his nails. He’d pay me off, asked me to name my price. But he’d take it all away if I ever broke our agreement.”
“I doubt you signed it without a fight.”
He laughed. “Oh, I fought. I had love on my side. I was naïve, barely twenty years old. I thought I had it all figured out. Millie loved me, and I loved her, and I’d break my neck if it meant providing a good life. The life she deserved. He set me straight. The fact is, I understand him a lot better now. She would’ve come to resent me before long, no matter how much we loved each other right then. It wouldn’t have been enough.”
“I don’t mean to rub salt in the wound, but she resented you anyway. I’m sorry,” I winced when he gave me a sharp look. “George told her you didn’t want her. She never married a boy from Philadelphia.”
“I figured that out before long,” he admitted.
“So why didn’t you just tell her what happened? If you knew she never got married—”
“Come on, girl. Think.” He leaned down, staring into my eyes. It was unnerving, but I couldn’t look away. Those eyes had seen so much in almost ninety years. “What would’ve kept me from going to her and breaking that contract? What were the terms? What would’ve been important enough to keep my mouth shut?”
I couldn’t think straight. My mind raced in so many directions. I struggled to bring my thoughts into focus. “Something important. Something you didn’t want to lose. Money?”
He scoffed. “I’m insulted. I was insulted when he offered it to me, too.”
“What then?” I grunted out of frustration.
Darcy didn’t grunt, standing at the foot of the bed. She gasped. I looked up and found her clamping her hands over her mouth. “What?” I demanded.
“The baby.” It was Charlie who said it. “He gave you the baby so long as you promised to keep everything quiet. And if you went to her, or he found out you tried to reach out, he’d take it away.”
“Charlie…” Frank murmured. “Charlie, I—”
“You told me my parents died,” he whispered, while I just about fell flat on the floor. It was Charlie all along. He wasn’t Frank’s nephew. He was his son, his and Millie’s, all that time.
“My brother did die, along with his wife, when you were just shy of two years old. It was almost the perfect story. You remembered them, you used to spend a lot of time with your aunt during the day while I worked. I didn’t have anybody else to care for you and couldn’t afford anything better. When you got a little older, I told you they were your parents. You believed me.”
I couldn’t breathe. It was all too sad, too tragic, too much of a waste. All that time wasted. All those years.
“I hope you can forgive me,” Frank whispered, his voice raspy. “My boy. I’m sorry. I was afraid he’d take you away. And by the time he died, I felt like such a fool. So many years had passed, it seemed impossible to admit the truth. I’d have to explain everything, why I’d lied so many times. All those times I wanted to tell people you were my son, because I was so proud of my boy. I still had you, even if I couldn’t have her. It was the last thing I could do for Millie. Raising you.”
Darcy had to sit on the bed, she was crying so hard.
Frank handed her a box of tissues. “Here you are.” He smiled. “I’m sorry to make you cry.”
Meanwhile, Charlie didn’t know which end was up. He kept looking around the room like he was expecting a camera crew to jump out and tell him he was being pranked. “I can’t believe it. I mean, I can, sorta. I always felt like there had to be more to it than you being my uncle. The way you kept taking me back, forgiving me, encouraging me. Being hard on me. You never gave up.”
“I never would.” Frank’s voice bore a quiet dignity. “You’re my son.”
He looked down at me then. “It feels good to tell the truth. Thank you for giving me a reason to. I might never have found the courage, but when I saw that photo.” He looked at it again, cradling it the way I imagined he might’ve cradled Charlie when he was just a newborn.
“I have another one. This is the one that got me started.” I pulled out the pregnancy photo and gave it to him. “They’re yours. They should always have been yours.”
“My goodness,” he beamed. “There she is. More beautiful than ever. My beauty.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking. This had to be done carefully, or I might end up killing both men from the shock of it.
“Charlie? Is your birthdate August twentieth, nineteen forty-nine?”
He jumped, startled. “Yeah. How did you know that?”
I leaned over and took his hand. “It’s a good thing you’re sitting down.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Thanks for sneaking us in,” I whispered to Holly as stood together on the deep front porch which wrapped around the entire first floor of the Montbatten house.
“It’s fine. Besides, I just stopped crying over the whole thing this morning. I’m pretty sure I cried all night long when you called to tell me what happened. I couldn’t pass up the chance to let him have a look at the place.” She gave me a hug. “Look what you did for him. And for Frank.”
“Believe me, I didn’t mean to. It just sort of… happened.” We both watched as Charlie wandered the manicure
d lawn, examining the house his mother had lived and died in without him ever knowing.
“How’s he taking it, do you think?” Holly whispered.
“I don’t know. He’s dazed. How would you feel if you found out everything you thought about yourself was a lie? And you were a millionaire all along and just never knew it?”
“Before or after I stopped doing cartwheels?” she deadpanned, looking me straight in the eye.
I covered my mouth to hold back a laugh. It didn’t seem right, laughing at a time like this. Charlie was so solemn, taking it all in.
“I heard that Bernard Lewis character is in deep, deep trouble over this,” Holly smirked. “Good. He deserves it. All these years he’s been sitting on that money. He couldn’t touch it, but he wouldn’t let anybody else. The jerk.”
“He’ll never practice again,” I mused. “Good riddance. I bet Millicent would’ve regretted letting him call her Millie if she knew the sort of guy he was.”
We strolled into the house, which was just as breathtaking inside as it was from the sidewalk. Which was as close as I’d ever gotten before then. I whistled softly at the details. Exquisite plasterwork, pocket doors, stained glass windows. “At least they didn’t change everything,” I murmured. It was like walking around in a church. I felt that solemn.
“True. They weren’t complete idiots. But they painted the floors. Can you imagine? It took a ton of effort to restore them.” She shook her head in disgust. “Paint. Ugh.”
“Monsters.” I gave her another hug. “Would you mind if I took a minute of my own? Just to, you know…”
“Please, go ahead. I’ll catch up with Charlie and tell him some of the things I’ve learned about this place.” She went outside, and the sound of her calling out to him echoed and got smaller the further away she walked.
It was just me in that big, gorgeous house. Me and a ghost.
“Millicent?” I whispered, feeling like a total idiot even though it seemed like the right thing to do. My voice echoed off the hard floors, walls, the fifteen-foot ceiling. “I hope you can rest easy now. Your son got what you wanted him to have—or he will once things are settled. And Frank got to admit the truth. I don’t know if I would’ve had the courage to do what he did, especially when he must’ve known how you’d hate him for abandoning you. He still loves you.”
I wandered into the library, the shelves empty. There were boxes stacked everywhere. Probably random, attractive books that would give a nice, homey look to the room. Millie’s books used to sit there. Including the books that held the keys to her heart.
I ran my hand over one of the shelves. “I’m so glad I found you,” I whispered to the room at large.
“There they are!” Mom raised her hands, clapping, when I entered the café with Charlie in tow.
“What’s this?” he asked, laughing at the sight of a cake sitting on one of the tables. Mom had written the word Congratulations on it in frosting.
“She wanted to do a little something for you,” I explained in a soft voice. “She means well.”
“This is… much more than I ever would’ve expected. I wouldn’t expect anybody to care.” He looked genuinely touched, maybe a little overwhelmed. Who could blame him?
“You always have friends here,” Mom assured him. “And it isn’t every day justice is served.”
“Thank you,” he croaked, looking around the café. Darcy was there, and Joe. Trixie, Nell, and even Rance. Lola hobbled around on three legs. I was quick to scoop her up.
Mrs. Merriweather elbowed her way to where Charlie stood. “Your mother was one of my dearest friends,” she beamed, taking his hands. “She would’ve been proud of the fine man you’ve become.”
I left them to talk, since Charlie wanted to hear all about his mother.
Joe was grinning, watching them as I approached. “I gotta hand it to you, Harmon. You do good work.”
“Maybe there’s an open spot for me on the Paradise City police force?” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t go that far. I shudder to think of you with a gun.”
“Shush. Anyway, I think this is my last adventure for a little while. I have a ton of work to do, and this girl here to take care of.” I kissed her head and was rewarded with a million chin licks.
“I doubt it.” He smirked. “Something else will fall into your lap and you won’t be able to resist. You’re addicted to this sort of thing. It’s in your blood.”
I scoffed. “Whatever. You act like you know me.”
“Deke!” Mom called out, probably a little too loudly and with way too pointed a look at Joe. “It’s good to see you here!”
“Mom, relax,” I whispered, handing Lola off to her.
“You don’t need to carry her everywhere. She’ll come to expect it.”
“But I don’t see you putting her down, do I?” I turned to Deke with a grin. “Hey. I’m glad you could stop in.”
“Me, too. Congrats on another case solved.” He waved with a smile at Joe, and I was gratified to see Joe’s smile in return. So things had thawed a little, thank goodness. Not like I wanted them to be besties or anything, but I didn’t want them fighting over me.
Even if it was slightly exciting to think of them doing just that, as long as I was being honest with myself.
“Do you want a piece of cake?” I asked, as Charlie started slicing it.
“No, thanks. I wanted to tell you Marsha has me off on yet another assignment.” He shrugged, sheepish. “What can you do?”
“Where to this time?”
“Sicily. I know, I know, my job is so difficult.” He sighed deeply.
“Yeah, you’re heartbroken. And I hate you.”
“Maybe she’ll send you there next time something comes up,” he suggested. “Anyway, thanks for taking some time with me this week. I really did need to clear my head, and being with you helped.”
“Any time. I mean that. Just, you know. Call first? No more of these sudden appearances in my life. My heart can’t handle it.”
He bent to kiss my cheek. “That’s a deal. I’d better get going, my flight’s in a few hours. Talk soon?”
“You know it.” I watched from the window as he strolled down the street, looking like God’s gift to denim in those jeans of his. It wasn’t easy to watch him go, to know it would be difficult to pin him down for long.
“You okay?” Darcy asked, standing just behind me.
“Me? Sure, of course. We worked things out. For now, it’ll have to be enough to drift in and out of each other’s lives.” I turned to her with a wink. “This way, he can’t get tired of me.”
“What about that one?” She nodded to Joe, who was busy being peppered with questions by both of our aunties.
Rance stood back, watching with a grin.
“I couldn’t tell you, honestly. I don’t know what’s going on there.”
“Just listen to your heart,” she advised.
“I’m a little more worried about that heart right now.” I nodded to Mom, who kept exchanging looks with Charlie as he handed her slices of cake to give out. “She’s blushing, for the love of Pete. And he won’t stop smiling at her.”
“He’s way too old for her,” Darcy hissed.
“That doesn’t matter. Besides, even if nothing comes of it, she’s noticing a man for the first time in forever. That’s saying a lot.”
“Jeez.”
“What?” I asked, turning to her in surprise. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Of course! It’s just, you know…” She bit her lip, glancing at Mom with her brows drawing together. “She’s bad enough now, when she’s only trying to plan our love lives. What happens when she has one of her own?”
“I think I’m gonna need two slices of cake,” I groaned.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“I got a call from Charlie today,” I announced while cutting up vegetables for salad. “He’s already looking into another facility for his dad, closer to Cape Hope. He wants to move
here. I guess he feels a connection to the town now.”
“That’s nice. It’ll be good to have him around. He belongs here. Isn’t that a strange thing to say?” Holly laughed at herself, stirring the sauce on the stove. “He’s a total stranger, but it feels like this is where he should be.”
“Not strange,” Joe said. “His mother lived here. This is where his parents met and fell in love. Probably where they would’ve lived if things had been different.”
“To think, they were only a half-hour from each other that whole time,” I mused, shaking my head. “I could never have kept the secret for that long.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.” Joe snorted.
I raised my knife menacingly before bringing it down in stabby motions.
“You’re in my apartment, in case you forgot,” I warned, stabbing the air.
“You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t wanna clean my blood off the floor.”
“Then I’ll have to throw you out the window.” I caught Holly grinning in a Cheshire Cat sort of way and pointedly ignored her.
“I have to say,” she said after testing the sauce. “Yours is just as good as mine. Maybe better.”
“Now I know pregnancy brain is a real thing, because there’s no way that’s true!”
Dad entered the kitchen, took a spoon from the drawer and dipped it into the pot. “Only one way to find out. An impartial judge.”
“Impartial?” I asked, skeptical.
He blew on it. Tasted it. Closed his eyes. “Hmm. I’ll leave my opinion to myself.”
“Oh, come on!” I shouted.
Lola barked in agreement, standing at Dad’s ankle.
“Careful,” he laughed along with the rest of us. “You’ll end up with sauce all over your fur.” She hopped away.
I was still laughing when the bell rang.
I looked at Joe, who looked at me. We both looked at Holly, who raised her gaze to the ceiling and whispered in what sounded like Italian.
