21

Kelli was bent into the back hatch of her car, lifting a load of clothes, when she heard a voice behind her. “Welcome to the neighborhood! Need help carrying anything?”

She turned around. “Beth?”

“Yep, we saw your car just now when we drove up. Rand’s just putting away the groceries and then he’ll be down. Here, give me a handful. I wish we’d known that today was moving day. We’d have been over to help you sooner. You got a lot more?”

“No, this is it, really. I didn’t plan to stay here for more than a week when I first came. Kenmore and Shane rent the place furnished, so I just have a few clothes and nothing much else.”

“That makes it nice for moving, then.”

“Good afternoon, young ladies.” Miss Birdyshaw came walking around the corner of the house. “I thought I heard voices over here, and I was hoping that it was move-in day. I’m so glad to see I was right.”

“Yes, ma’am, it is.” Kelli had been in town for just over a week, but that was plenty long to know that around here, you addressed a woman as old as Miss Birdyshaw as ma’am, whether you were southern or not. “Just getting settled in.”

“Well, I’ve got something over at my place to add to your settling in.”

“Oh?” Kelli pictured another plate of cookies. “Shall I come around and get it after I carry in this load?”

“Ho there! Have I stalled long enough to miss out on most of the work?” Rand walked up wearing an orange University of Tennessee T-shirt and khaki shorts, grinning at Beth.

“Looks like you’ve lucked out. No furniture involved.” Beth swatted him. “But don’t worry, we would have saved it for you if there had been anything heavy.”

“Well, young man, you can come over to my place.” Miss Birdyshaw waved him toward her front door. “The mailman delivered a box today that was intended for Kelli. He brought it to me and asked me if I’d watch over it. I promised him I would see that the rightful owner got it.”

“A box, really?” Kelli stopped moving. “Are you sure it’s for me? I’m not expecting anything.”

“Yes. It was marked Express Delivery, and it’s from an Opal Larson.”

“Oh, that’s my . . . grandmother.” Kelli remembered Denice’s stern talk about boundaries and realized she needed to steer this conversation elsewhere. “She must have sent me some of my summer clothes or something.” That most certainly was not the case, but it was the quickest thing she could think up to diffuse any interest.

Miss Birdyshaw looked at Rand. “Would you mind being the beast of burden? It’s a bit too much for me to carry.”

“At your service, ma’am.” Rand extended his elbow for the older lady and the two of them disappeared around the corner.

Kelli and Beth made their way inside Kelli’s section of the duplex, each carrying a load of clothes. As they walked through the small living room, Kelli saw the mound of paperwork on the coffee table. She had put all her information about her family there. The envelopes were sealed, but there were so many possible ways things could go wrong now. “Let’s just carry these clothes on back to the bedroom.”

“Sounds good.”

“Hellooo. Where do you want this box?” Rand called through the apartment.

“Uh, back room, I guess. Knowing my grandmother, it is clothes.”

“My kind of grandmother!” Beth set her load on the bed. “Lucky girl.”

“Yeah.” Kelli had to turn her attention to the closet. “I guess so.”

Rand appeared at the doorway, carrying a medium-sized box. “Also, I brought another set of muscles along in case we need any help.”

Shane followed him through the door, his eyes scanning the room as if expecting damage. He looked at her. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d make sure everything was going all right with the move-in.”

“Just fine. I don’t have a lot of stuff.” Kelli turned her back toward him and continued arranging the closet. The sooner he left, the better.

Miss Birdyshaw followed the men inside. “Shane, you sure did a nice job fixing up this place after that last group. Those young men left the place a bit of a mess and you’ve done a really nice job.” She looked around the room. “Where is that drum set of yours, Kelli?”

“Drum set?” Beth let out a squeal. “I knew it. When we were talking the other day, I could just feel that you weren’t being completely truthful.”

“Truthful?” A cold sweat broke out on Kelli’s forehead. “What do you mean?” Shane was completely focused on their conversation now, looking like a tiger ready to pounce.

“About not being musical. You’re just one of those really modest people, aren’t you? Don’t worry, I’ve already talked to Mom, and she said she would give you a singing lesson on the house any time you want it. But maybe you don’t really need that either, huh? Maybe you were just playing that down just like you didn’t tell me you play the drums.”

“I . . . well . . . I was just kind of learning the drums back home. I decided I wouldn’t bring them here, though. It’s too expensive to ship them back and forth for just a few months.”

“Really?” Shane said. “Judging from what you said when you were looking over the place, I thought you were quite a serious drummer. Didn’t you say something about it calming your nerves at night?”

Beth looked toward him, wide-eyed. “Oh, then you definitely are going to want a set here, so you can relax. Don’t you worry about that. I’ll bet Mom can find you an old set to borrow while you’re here. She knows every single musical person in town. A few calls, and we’ll have you completely taken care of.”

“I really don’t—”

“It’s settled. Now, what else do we need to do around here?”

Kelli could think of one answer and one answer only, but she thought it best not to say it aloud.

Run.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to help you with the clothes your grandmother sent you? They’ll all likely need to be ironed after traveling cross country in a box. I’d be happy to stay behind and help you with that.” Beth seemed more than a little determined not to take no for an answer.

Problem was, Kelli had no idea what was really in that box. Opal had never in her life sent Kelli a package—not for birthdays, Christmas, or otherwise. She always just showed up, extravagant gift in hand, any time there was a party to mark a special occasion. But when it came to spontaneous mailings, it never happened. Never.

“No, really. I think I’m just going to rest a bit before I dig into it. Moving was more work than I bargained for, and I want to be ready to start work on Monday—don’t want to wear myself down at this point.”

“All right, if you absolutely insist, but how about we agree now that we will pick you up for church tomorrow? We’ll be by about 8:45.”

“8:45? But church doesn’t start until 10:30.”

“That’s big church, of course, but since you’re going to be living here, don’t you want to start coming to Sunday school, too? It’s a great way to get to know everyone. Unfortunately, I’m in the class for young marrieds and you’ll be in the women’s class, so we won’t be together.” She offered this information with no indication that it had entered her mind that Kelli might be uncomfortable with any aspect of this.

“You know, I think I’ll probably just meet you there for—what did you call it? Big church?” Kelli did plan to attend tomorrow. It was another excuse to talk to her mother, but she didn’t want to listen to any more teaching or preaching than was absolutely necessary. A class full of strangers who’d probably memorized the Bible by the time they were teenagers didn’t sound even remotely tempting.

“But you really—”

“Beth, she says she’ll meet us at church, now back off.” Rand gave her a pointed look.

She shook her head. “There I go again.” She reached out to touch Kelli’s hand. “I am so sorry. I just get so carried away sometimes when I’m trying to be helpful. I know it drives people crazy.”

Kelli squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’m touched by your concern.” More than Beth knew, and for reasons she would never know. “How about if you save me a seat in church? That would be great.”

Beth’s face broke into a huge smile. “Of course I will.” She nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Beth and Rand made their way down the hallway, Shane following. He turned to Miss Birdyshaw. “Shall I walk you back home?”

“No thanks. I think I’ll continue on down the street. There’s a little girl who lives across the street from Beth and Rand that I’ve taken to visiting. Might as well keep moving that way.” She walked outside with the others but then turned back toward Kelli. “I finally figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

“Who it is you look like. I knew the first time I saw you that you looked familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why. You remind me of a girl I knew from high school, that’s who it was. You don’t have any family around these parts, do you?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Thought not. It’s a striking resemblance, though. I’ll see if I can find an old picture and show it to you sometime.”

Shane had stopped walking and was clearly listening to this exchange. Hopefully this would be the last time Kelli would see him, as he was far too intuitive. Did he hang around his father’s store much?

Kelli held her breath until they all finally made their way down the sidewalk. She had no idea if one of her relatives had gone to school with Miss Birdyshaw, but this was dangerous territory.

She walked back inside and immediately picked up the box from Opal. She brought it into the kitchen, but not before she locked and dead-bolted both the front and back door. She wasn’t going to take any chances.

Inside the box, there were a couple stacks of letters, bound by rubber bands. On top of it all was a lone envelope on which Opal had printed READ THIS FIRST.

Kelli opened the envelope to see a long letter in Opal’s handwriting.

Dear Kelli,

Given the fact that you have made the journey to Shoal Creek and decided to stay for a while, I can only assume that you have come across information in your father’s things that has led you to do so. Ever since the crash, I have wrestled with whether or not I should say anything to you about all this, but I didn’t want to do anything to hurt your fond memories. Apparently this decision has been taken out of my hands, because you are up to something.

I have included letters that your sweet Mimi sent to me over the past twenty years, and which I feel might help you understand why things happened the way they did. You know that I’ve always had a reputation for bluntness, saying what I think when I think it. Let me warn you, these letters are Suze’s heartfelt letters to me, and there are some things in them that you will find painful. It may be that you would prefer not to know all this, that you would rather be left with some less painful questions than the sharp edges of the truth. If you choose not to read them, I honestly believe you will be doing yourself a favor, but I also know that if I were in your situation, I would want to know everything. I am sending these to you. Choose what you will do with them.

Please know that Mimi and your father loved you very much. None of what you may learn will change that.

Yours always,
Opal

The two stacks of letters both had a yellow sticky note on top, the first with a number 1, the other with a 2. Kelli assumed this meant they were in chronological order. She picked up stack 1 and pulled out the top envelope. The return address was from Suze Larson, Shoal Creek, TN. A place that, until her parents’ accident, Kelli had never even heard of. Somewhere that, until this very second, Kelli had never known that her stepmother had resided.

Mom, you’re not going to believe it. I can barely believe it myself, but I have finally met the man I have been waiting for all my life. Oh, Mom, he’s just so amazing. He’s considerate, and thoughtful, and he tells me all the time how beautiful I am and how much I mean to him. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, because when he says it, I actually think that I might start to believe it. I never thought that would happen to me again.

He came into Jerry’s Place one day during lunch, and even though he’s quite a bit older than me, I just felt this instant connection—and I could tell by the way he kept watching me that he felt it, too. He started showing up every day for lunch, and it seemed like it would take forever, but he finally asked me on a date.

We drove up to Nashville and ate at one of the fanciest restaurants in town. Then we stayed out dancing until the early hours of the morning, just having a blast together. He’s exactly the kind of man I’ve dreamed of finding some day.

Next week, he has business in New York and he asked me to go with him. I managed to get the time off and I can hardly wait to spend some quality time, just the two of us, because we’re having to keep everything here on the down-low because he’s married.

Not for long, though. He’s in the process of filing for divorce. His wife doesn’t give him the time of day, and I’m telling you that kind of woman doesn’t deserve a man like him. He’s working all these long hours as a stockbroker, you’d think she’d appreciate him a little more than she does. She doesn’t even care about him anymore, she gives her attention to the kids and that’s it.

As they say, her loss is my gain. I can’t believe how happy I am.

Love,
Suze

So her father and Mimi had started their affair right here in this town while Kelli, her siblings, and her mother were all left in the dark? Or was Alison in the dark? Kelli found herself curious as to what her real mother did and did not know. The problem was, how was she going to find out answers and stay within her predefined boundaries?

She didn’t know the answer yet, but she was going to keep pushing until she found a way. She reread the letter, and this time she focused in on Jerry’s Place. She did a quick Internet search and found that it was a local diner, still open. Maybe someone there would remember something.

For now, she set the letters back in the box and slid the whole thing into the back of the bedroom closet. She didn’t think she had the emotional strength to read Mimi’s version of things all at once. Or the stomach for it.