“I don’t even know where he’s living now. He moves around a lot with his job, remember?”
“So hire a PI again. By the time you get back from Ireland you might have an answer.”
Mia had been weighing that thought since she’d finished reading the letters last night. She’d been a soggy mess, lying in bed amongst a graveyard of crumpled tissues. But she was thinking clearly now, and she knew Brooke was right. She had to do whatever was necessary to find him. She had to let him know she hadn’t received his letters.
“I’m going to do it.” She looked at Brooke, her heart in her eyes. “My dad cares about me, Brooke.”
Her friend reached over and took her hand. “How could he not?”
After Brooke left, Mia located the PI she’d used before. It was after hours, so she left a voicemail. Then she settled in her bed and began reading through her grandmother’s letters. They made her heart hurt.
Dorothy may not have written about her daughter in her journal, but in these letters she’d poured out her heart. Her grandparents had obviously grieved their daughter’s absence. The relationship sounded nothing like the way her mother had portrayed it. But then, her mother hadn’t been very stable.
Why had Mia taken her word on so many important things? How many other things had she lied about?
She shifted in her bed, her eyes clinging to the words her grandmother had written.
Lake season is upon us, and your father and I are busy with guests. The dogwoods have bloomed, and the weeping willows you loved so much are dipping their fingers into the water. The mountains are green with life, and the lake ripples with activity.
Mia’s eyes stung as she thought of Bluebell. Of the inn. Of Levi. What was he doing right now? She wanted to tell him about the letters from her father. She wanted to tell him she was going to find him and held out hope for a relationship with him.
Levi would be so happy for her. He’d hold her in his arms, stroking her back until she felt worthy of a father’s love.
Mia hugged a pillow to her aching chest. She missed Levi so much. Especially when the busyness of the day was done, when the moon rose high in the sky. Some nights she thought she’d die of missing him. She’d picked up her phone a dozen times only to make herself put it back down. If he wanted to talk to her he’d call.
There was only one final connection between them. The package. She hadn’t seen it since she’d buried it under her clothes—the same way she’d buried her mom’s boxes in the closet. Was she going to wait seven years to face his parting gift?
No. She was done with hiding from things that might hurt. She was going to live bravely, pain or no.
She slipped from bed and walked to her bureau. The drawer glided open easily, and her fingers sifted through the silk to find the package at the bottom. Once she had it in hand, she closed the drawer and sank onto her bed.
Steeling herself, she began undoing the generous strips of Scotch tape. She smiled wistfully, envisioning Levi wrapping the gift, his thick fingers clumsy with the delicate task. She unfolded the layers of tissue, and when she got to the center she gaped at the prize nestled there.
A necklace. Her eyes fastened on the sparkling blue stone. The Carolina Breeze. She blinked in disbelief.
He’d found it.
When?
Where?
And why had he given it to her? It belonged to him. She thought of the mess the flood had created. Of all the money Levi was losing while the business was down. He was so stressed. That inn meant everything to him and his sisters.
And all he had to do to save it was sell this necklace. She looked down at the jewel, still sparkling with life even after all these years. But he’d given it to her instead.
Her heart caught at the thought. She clutched her fist to her chest. He’d never even told her he loved her. But hadn’t he shown her in a hundred different ways? He’d taken care of her when she’d fallen. He’d supported her through the scandal. He’d listened patiently as she’d shared her deepest wounds.
This necklace was just one more piece of evidence—and a very convincing one.
Maybe he did have too much on his plate right now. But couldn’t she partner with him, share some of the load? Long-distance relationships weren’t easy, but she had significant time off between projects. Surely there was a way to work through these challenges if they loved each other enough.
But Levi couldn’t know how she felt because she’d never told him. Despite her efforts to open up and allow herself to be vulnerable, she’d held back this one thing.
She palmed her forehead. How had she forgotten to tell Levi the most important thing of all?
forty-eight
Levi ran the roller over the base coat of paint in the upstairs hallway. The drywall was now up, taped, mudded, and sanded. The last few days an army of friends/painters had come and gone at the inn, putting in what time they could.
