Chapter Fifteen

The next morning, Franklin went out to the garage to talk to his father. Again, he found him underneath the hood of his niece’s car, listening to Aretha. If Franklin had the chance, he’d snoop around the area to see what he could find that linked his father to Sophia.

“Pop, do you think you’ll be able to fix the car? When are you going to give it to her?”

He was turning the socket wrench, and all Franklin heard were the clicks. He figured that his father hadn’t heard him, so he repeated his question. Still, he didn’t acknowledge his presence, which meant he was still angry about the night before.

By the time Franklin returned after dropping Kira off, his father was in bed. He’d waited until today to talk to him. By the sound of the socket wrench, he knew his father wasn’t too pleased with him bringing Kira to the house.

His father came out from under the hood and wiped the tool off with the towel he had thrown over his shoulder. “Now, tell me again what that little stunt you pulled last night was all about.”

“It wasn’t a stunt. I wanted you to see for yourself that Kira was a really nice person.”

“Franklin, I know that you’re not naive. You have a brilliant mind, so I know that you know that you can’t base someone’s heart on one dinner.”

His father’s words stung. “So, tell me what you saw, then, Pop, since you’re convinced that she’s not a good person.”

Charlie’s arms fell to his side as he released a resigned sigh, dropping his head momentarily. “She looks just like Sophia.” He walked to the other side of the garage. “I mean the spitting image of her.”

“Did that affect you in any way? I noticed that at first you didn’t look her in the eye. But I figured it was because you were angry that she was there.”

“When you walked in the house, it was like I was seeing a ghost.”

Franklin walked over to his father, who was leaning against the wall. “Pop, I really need you to talk to me about Sophia.”

He moved away. “Let her rest in peace.”

“You have to tell me something. As I’ve said before, I really like Kira, and if I’m going to move forward with her, I need to know.”

His father turned around so fast, Franklin thought he was going to lose his balance. “I told you that you are playing with fire. But you just go ahead. As for me, I’ve had enough of the Davis family to last me a lifetime.” He threw the towel down on top of the toolbox and walked out of the garage just as the soul singer belted out: “Think.”

Franklin’s thoughts about his father had changed with that conversation. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe him before, but he finally got a sense that talking about Sophia brought him pain. He saw it in his eyes today, and it made him feel bad for badgering him about it. On the other hand, he only wanted his father’s side to be heard, but he was being shut out by the only person who could tell it. And that was becoming increasingly frustrating.

It seemed that everyone in Clover always heard what the Davises had said happened. His father had lived it, though, and he wanted his voice to resound as loudly with the truth.

Franklin went to his car so he could finally get to the inn and go through the things in the attic. Maybe it would bring him more pieces to this puzzle that he was so eager to solve.

…

After meeting Charlie Bennett the night before, Kira couldn’t put off talking to her aunt Mary Louise about him any longer. Anxious and nervous about what she was about to do, Kira went through various ways she could start the conversation. But in the end, she’d just have to go with her gut. It was the only way she’d get some understanding about something so important to their family that they wouldn’t talk about it.

On top of all that, they were moving along with updating the inn, and she needed to talk to her aunt about having a look/see party.

She pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. She sat for several moments just looking at the house. The modest brick ranch-style home had been built by her grandparents in the early 1940s. The way the story went, the Davises had been in Clover since the start, and she believed because the Bennetts owned quite a few of the businesses in town, they had as well.

Kira picked up her notebook filled with her thoughts concerning the inn and got out of the car. Even though she had nervous flutters in her stomach as soon as she stepped onto the porch, she knew that she had to have this conversation. Mrs. Potter’s comments the other night made it even more necessary. And even after visiting the Bennett home, there was still something missing that her aunt might be able to provide.

The front door was open, because she could see through the screen, but she didn’t want to just walk into the house, so she rang the bell.

“Come on, Kira. It’s open,” her aunt yelled.

She stepped inside. “Auntie, where are you?”

“In the kitchen, come on and have a seat.”

As she walked through the house, she smelled vanilla and lemon floating through the air. She found her aunt bending over the oven, pushing a toothpick into the cake pan.

“Just checking to make sure my cakes are fully done,” she said, removing it. “They’re done.”

She placed the clean toothpick on the counter before grabbing her mittens to remove the pans from the oven.

“What are you making, Auntie?”

“A lemon velvet cake.”

Kira’s aunt loved to bake, and she didn’t mind being her tester, either, since Mary Louise was a great cook.

“Is there a special occasion?” Kira asked, pulling out a chair at the table. “You said that you weren’t going to spend your retirement slaving in the kitchen all the time.”

After putting the cakes on the wire rack to cool, Mary Louise turned to Kira. “Today is a special day. It’s my sister Sophie’s birthday.” Mary Louise pushed down on the counter. “I’d love to hear her voice today.” A small smile grew on her face. “She’d be so excited about me making her a cake.”

“Did you always celebrate her birthday this way?” Kira asked, gleaning from her aunt all the information she could.

“Yes, every year since she was about eight, I made her a cake. Lemon was her favorite. Until…”

Grabbing the seat of her chair, it hit Kira that they’d had lemon cake last night at the Bennett’s. Was there a connection there? Was lemon Charlie’s favorite, too, or was it a coincidence? She needed to steady herself as she watched her aunt’s reaction while she reminisced about her sister’s special day. She’d had no idea when her aunt Sophia was born, because all the family ever talked about was her death.

Kira got up and put her arm around her. “Aw, Auntie. I didn’t know that.”

“Actually, this is the first time in years that I’ve been able to do it since her death. I just thought it would be fitting, since today she would have turned sixty.”

Kira couldn’t help but calculate in her head that the Bennetts and Davises had been feuding for over forty years. Wow, talk about holding a grudge. “She was eighteen when she passed, right?”

Mary Louise nodded.

Kira noticed that her aunt hadn’t stopped moving since she’d come into the house. “What are you about to do now?”

“I’ve got to make this frosting.”

“Can we talk while the cakes are cooling? I’d love to know more about Auntie Sophia.” This might work out for the best. She could get some answers without even bringing Charlie or Franklin into it.

She followed her aunt into her bedroom, and she saw things strewn all over the bed. “What are you doing, Auntie?” Kira asked, stepping farther into the room. She noticed an intricate wooden container that reminded her of a jewelry box she’d had when she was a child, only bigger. It had the little ballerina that turned round and round to the music playing when you opened it.

This similar-looking box was open on the bed, and a string of white pearls, a jeweled brooch, and a few pictures were spread out. “What’s this stuff?”

“They all belonged to your aunt Sophia.”

Kira moved closer and picked up the black-and-white photograph. She blinked a few times, because as she looked closer, she could see that she looked eerily similar to the person in the photo. “Wow. Auntie, why haven’t you shown this to me before?”

Mary Louise shook her head. “I never thought about it. I should have shown you long ago. We’ve grieved her for so long, Kira.” Her eyes were on the items on the bed. “As you grew older, you looked more and more like her.” She met Kira’s gaze. “Many times, having you around gave me solace. It was like my sister was with me.”

Tears filled Kira’s eyes as she listened to her aunt. It must have been an emotional day for her father and the rest of his siblings, too. She almost didn’t want to ask her about Charlie, but it might be her only shot. “I’m sure that it’s been tough for everyone.”

“Losing your sibling isn’t something that you can forget. I don’t know why I thought that I could.”

Pulling the strain of pearls from the box, Kira fingered the smooth surface. “They are beautiful.”

“Yes, they were a gift for her,” Mary Louise replied.

The sadness that must have been on her aunt’s heart when she answered concerned Kira a great deal. “Who gave the pearls to her?”

Mary Louise slowly looked up at Kira. “Charlie Bennett.”

Kira swallowed hard to push her heart out of her throat. “Why would you have something that Charlie Bennett gave to Aunt Sophia?”

Mary Louise stood. “It’s a long story, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Jumping off the bed, confused and frustrated, Kira shook her head. “I am so tired of folks not wanting to talk about something that happened, but you don’t mind holding a grudge. I don’t get it.”

Her aunt threw her hands onto her hips. “Little girl, you better watch yourself.”

Kira went around to the other side of the bed and reached for her hand. “Auntie, I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I promise. I just don’t understand why no one will tell us the truth.”

Mary Louise recoiled. “Who is we?” She went around Kira and then turned back. “It’s Franklin. Isn’t it?”

She’d come this far, so there was no need to stop now. She cleared her throat, following her aunt. “Yes, it is. We care about each other.”

“I figured that when I saw you together at the Rotary Club event. I also saw how he supported you on the inn update presentation.”

Kira’s eyes fluttered, blinking away tears, as she shook her head. “He’s become a dear friend. All we both want is to know what happened. You won’t say and neither will Charlie Bennett.”

“You spoke to Charlie?”

She nodded, and her aunt’s eyes widened. “I didn’t exactly talk about auntie,” she explained, “but I went to his house last night for dinner with Franklin.”

Mary Louise went to sit on the edge of the bed, her eyes steady on the things that were in the box. “Kira, I’ve warned you about Charlie.” She picked up her sister’s photo. “Well, at least he had sense enough to keep his mouth closed.”

“Why does he have to?” Kira rolled her eyes.

Every word she’d spoken didn’t bring Kira any closer to what she needed to know. It only gave her more questions. The cryptic messages and statements frustrated her. She was beginning to wonder if there was more to the whole situation than anyone in her family let on. Since the people involved were adamant about not sharing the truth, the attic may hold the only answers she would get.

Her father was the only other person she could ask, but she wasn’t ready to approach him. If he was anything like her aunt warned, she’d have a lot more explaining to do about Franklin. She could only fight one battle at a time.

“Auntie, I don’t know what to say about this anymore.”

“You should have stayed out of it. Everybody had gone their own way. We’d all moved on.”

“It doesn’t seem like it to me. You all hate each other now as much as you did then.”

The words jumped out of her mouth, and she couldn’t take them back. A tear ran down her aunt’s cheek.

“There is nothing else to say, Kira. I want my sister to rest in peace.”

It felt like someone had stuck a knife in her heart. She didn’t want to hurt her aunt Mary Louise. They were all being stubborn and needed to mend the broken relationship.

“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you. I need to get to the inn.” Kira didn’t think that her aunt Sophia or anyone else that had a part in whatever happened that day had any peace. She’d like to give it to them—and ending this feud was the only way to do it. She just had to figure out how.