Harper shook her head. “I don’t know much beyond the book flap.”
“The Lamb family adopted Eli when he was thirteen, and he returned after college with a degree in education and a desire to farm. He inherited a portion of land and eventually purchased the rest from his siblings, but his work as a teacher and then principal kept him busy in town, so he leased most of the property to another farmer.” Ingrid nodded to a house in the distance. “After he died, one of our sons decided to farm full-time. It’s been good to have things growing here again.”
“How many children do you and Eli have?”
“Three.” She smiled. “He would have had a dozen if we could, but he loved our three dearly. Then we had eight grandchildren, and I pray for them every morning with my coffee.”
How wonderful to be part of such a large family with connectionsstretching over the miles and then tethering them together. Harper spent much of her childhood dreaming of such a thing until she began creating imaginary people to keep her company, but there was nothing like a real person who knew both your good and bad and still welcomed you home with open arms.
Ingrid took another sip, studying her again like Harper was a story full of threads that needed unraveling. “Finn is the only one who hasn’t married.”
She almost choked on her coffee. “Finn is your grandson?”
“He’s a fine young man. Needs a good wife who loves God and loves him.” Ingrid inched forward on her seat. “Are you seeing anyone?”
Harper couldn’t stop her burst of laughter. The few men who’d seemed interested in her over the years quickly became uninterested when they met Kelsey, but she wasn’t about to explain the beauty and charm of her best friend. Nor would she share what she really thought about the woman’s grandson. This meeting wasn’t about Finn, but pity the poor woman who decided to walk down an aisle for him.
Ingrid refilled their cups, seemingly undaunted by Harper’s laugh. “So no boyfriend back in California?”
Harper swallowed an unsweetened sip, trying to regain her calm. “Where did you and Eli meet?”
“Now that’s a story I love to share,” Ingrid said with a smile.
She told Harper about a small coed college in Ohio where she and Eli attended. The junior who swept her off her feet at an awards banquet and introduced her to his friends. Then she spoke about a professor who took Eli under his wing and taught him how to teach.
“Eli received a scholarship to attend Winfield, and Professor Farrow instilled in my husband a love for teaching as well as learning.”
“Wait—” The name reverberated in Harper’s head. “Professor Simon Farrow?”
“We always called him Professor. During our college years, he became like a surrogate father to my husband.”
Was it possible that Olivia’s husband had relocated to teach in Ohio after the war? And if so, did Olivia go with him? “Eli said that Simon Farrow was the name of Olivia’s second husband.”
“I don’t know what happened to Olivia’s husband after she left.”
Harper would have to sort out the connections later. “How did Eli meet her?”
“She started feeding him and his grandfather in those dark days after the Depression. When Eli’s grandfather became too sick to live in their cabin, Olivia cared for them both in Haven House. Olivia saved Eli’s life, and he worked hard through the years to honor her legacy.”
The pieces were slowly fitting together. Had Eli, in the honoring of her life, skewed some of the history? “Sharing Olivia’s story seems to be a good way to remember her.”
“Olivia continued to support him for years,” Ingrid said. “He was always loyal to her.”
“I’m glad he was welcomed into a good family.”
Ingrid nodded. “Garrett and Jillian Lamb treated him like one of their own.”
Harper stared down at her coffee. How would things have been different for her family if her mother had been adopted? Perhaps Angeline would have been surrounded with a loving family like the Lambs to support her instead of spending so much of her life struggling to find a home.
“The thing is—” Harper leaned forward. “Eli’s life seems to be an open book, but he barely mentioned Olivia’s disappearance in the biography. It’s like he was trying to gloss over what happened.”
“Sometimes there are perfectly good reasons to hold one’s secrets close.”
Her hostess was much more pleasant than Finn, but they were both keeping secrets.
“I can smell that coffee all the way in the front yard.”
Harper jumped as a man—the man who had ousted her twice from Olivia’s property—rounded the corner.
