‘Suit yourself,’ Nana said with a shrug, replacing the lid on the food crime. ‘I’m off to aerobics. You all can help yourself if you get hungry.’
The men barely lifted their heads from where they were peering over the pictures.
‘Okay, dear,’ Henry murmured when Estelle pressed a kiss to the top of his head. ‘See you later.’
Daisy plopped back down next to Elliot, leafing through the pictures spread out in front of her while she tried to think of a polite way to suggest they get out of here.
And then she found a familiar face.
Her Great-Aunt Daisy was staring up at her from a black and white photo. She stood with a few other men and women, all looking around the same age like maybe they were all friends. But in this photo, her aunt was smiling. Beaming really. And she wasn’t turned toward the camera like everyone else. Her gaze was set on the man beside her. And that was the part of the picture that had Daisy staring in disbelief.
That man also had a familiar face, kind and shy with disheveled hair.
Somehow Elliot’s face was staring up at her from the past.
Two immediate and horrifying possibilities sprang to Daisy’s mind. One, Elliot, the Elliot sitting beside her, had died years ago and was actually a ghost. Which was certainly unsettling, but not quite as horrifying as option number two, which was that she and Elliot were related because her great-aunt clearly had a thing for this Elliot lookalike, who could very well have been his ancestor. And if they had had children, then, quite possibly, Daisy and Elliot were some kind of cousins, and she certainly hadn’t been thinking about him in a cousin-like manner lately.
Ew.
A full-body shiver ran through Daisy, big enough to get Elliot’s attention.
‘You okay?’ he asked. That furrow of concern between his brows, the one that made Daisy think impure thoughts about a naughty professor, deepened.
Oh, no.
‘Look at this,’ she said, pushing the photo toward Elliot who peered down at it, a lock of hair flopping over his forehead in a way Daisy really did not need right now!Stop looking at your hot cousin like that!
‘It’s your great-aunt,’ he said and then stopped as his eyes tracked over to his lookalike. ‘Jesus, that looks exactly like?—’
‘You.’
He cleared his throat. ‘That’s uncanny!’
‘You’re not a ghost, right?’ Daisy poked him in the arm. Very solid. Didn’t seem like a ghost. And he usually made her feel warm, not cold…
Elliot laughed. ‘I’m definitely not a ghost.’
‘So, who is that, then?’
‘I’m not sure. Henry, do you know who this is?’
Henry peered down at the picture. ‘Well, this right here is my father,’ he said, pointing at one of the other men in the photo. ‘And my Aunt Blanche is there.’
‘Okay, but who’s the guy who looks exactly like this guy?’ Daisy asked, cutting in and jabbing a finger at Elliot. ‘And do you happen to know if he procreated with my great-aunt?’
Henry’s bushy gray brows rose. ‘Well,thatI wouldn’t know. As for who he is, I’m not sure. You got family around here?’
‘My mother’s family is from nearby.’
Henry shrugged. ‘Could be a relative, then, I suppose.’
‘Do you mind if I take the picture to show my mom? Maybe she’ll recognize him.’
‘Of course.’
‘Thank you, Henry. We should probably get going,’ Daisy said, jumping on the opportunity to wrap up this little history fest.
‘Yes, thanks so much. You are a wealth of knowledge.’ Elliot shook the older man’s hand while Daisy continued to stare at the photo. It was like she and Elliot had gone to one of those old time-y photo booths where you can get your picture taken in vintage costume. It just looked so much like them!
