As fun as our day was, I was looking forward to getting home and seeing Elijah. He came out to greet me when I pulled into the driveway. “There’s my Freckles. How was the hunt?”
“I think it went well, but I might’ve volunteered for a project beyond my capabilities.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, so I took him around to the back of the SUV so he could see the locker for himself. He opened it up and looked inside. “Did this stuff belong to the man who recently passed away?”
“Kind of, but not in the sense you’re thinking.” I reached into my purse and pulled out the packing slip I found inside the shipping box. “He bought it from an eBay auction then died before he received it.” I told Elijah about Dawn’s theory and waited for his input.
“It’s possible he wanted to return it to the soldier’s family, assuming they weren’t the sellers. I think contacting the seller would be your best bet. Find out how these items came to be in their possession.” Elijah looked quietly into the box then picked up the thick stack of letters wrapped with twine. “Those letters probably hold many clues. The return address would be a good place to start if the seller can’t give you any promising leads.”
“Name and rank of the soldier might help someone at the VA locate an heir,” I said.
“True, but it might be hard getting someone willing to search for a family simply to return clothes and letters.”
I blew out a long breath. “Help me get this inside, and I’ll start my search after I clear a few other things off my plate.”
“I wasn’t trying to discourage you, Freckles,” Elijah said, grabbing the right handle while I grabbed the left.
“I know you’re not, babe. You’re being practical like always, and I need it sometimes. How was golf with Andy?”
“Interesting.”
I glanced over when I heard the humor in his voice and saw he was trying to suppress a grin. “Why? Was he sharing stories about my brother?”
“Well, there were some funny Milo stories, but I was mostly thinking about your parents who joined us on the course today.”
“Oh boy,” I said, snickering. “I assume they were in a heated competition.”
“Very much so.”
“I feel like I should apologize for not warning you, but then again, I had no idea you’d invited my parents.”
“Andy invited them, but I was glad to have them along. We had a fun day. Very enlightening.”
“How so?”
“I see where you and Milo get your competitive streaks,” Elijah said mildly, but I could tell there was something else he wasn’t sharing with me. But what and why wouldn’t he… I screeched to a halt which jerked Elijah back a step when he had continued walking.
“Oh my God! Andy is about to ask Milo to marry him, isn’t he? That’s why he invited Mom and Dad on the outing. Andy is surprisingly old-fashioned sometimes.”
“Um…” Elijah’s panicked look gave him away more than anything else.
“Don’t even bother denying it!” I set the trunk down and began jumping up and down like a lunatic for a few minutes. “How’s he going to do it? Big extravagant proposal?”
“Um…”
“He probably hasn’t thought it all out yet. I wonder if he wants help. Should I call him?”
“No!” Elijah said suddenly. “He has everything under control, Freckles. He’s already come up with the proposal idea, but he isn’t sharing it with anyone just yet. Not even you.” Elijah kissed the tip of my nose, hoping it would soften the blow of his words. It helped a little. “I know how much you love Milo, and I know it’s killing you not to be involved in the planning of one of the happiest days of his life, but Andy wants it to be a huge surprise for everyone.”
“Apparently not you,” I said with a slight pout.
“Freckles, I only know he asked your parents for their blessing. I wouldn’t have known if your mom hadn’t burst into tears and your dad hadn’t shouted ‘hallelujah.’ It didn’t take me being an ace detective to figure out what made them so damn happy.”
“I can’t believe my mom hasn’t called me yet.”
“Would you want your mom calling Milo and filling him in after I expressly asked her to keep it quiet so I could surprise you?”
“No, I wouldn’t want your plans to get ruined by Milo’s big mouth. He’d never be able to keep a secret like that from me.”
