“How can I forget?”
“It was also the day we promised each other that we were friends for life, and that we would always be there for one another. And that means in the good and bad times, Angela. So, you don’t ever have to thank me for anything.”
“I want to thank you one last time for reminding me of that. I’m going to hang up now because I have to finish packing. I’ll be in touch once I get back.”
“I’ll be here.”
Angela couldn’t help smiling. She placed the phone on the bedside table and thought about what Joyce had said about Leland liking her beyond friendship. He’d always treated her with respect and told her if she ever needed him for anything he would be there for her. And if he did love her, then it was not as a boyfriend, but like a sister.
Angela walked over to the closet to select what she needed to pack for her vacation. It was the first time in more than a year that she would take a break from the medical office where she had initially been hired as a receptionist.
She hadn’t planned to reenter the workforce until her children were enrolled in school, but when she heard that Dr. Henry Franklin was looking for someone to work the front desk after his longtime employee relocated to Delaware to care for her elderly father, Angela had submitted her application and had been hired despite not having any prior office experience. She’d taken to her position like a duck to water, and had been promoted to office manager soon after because of her organizational skills. Dr. Franklin had also taken on a partner, Dr. Natalia Hawkins, and the result was that the wait time to treat patients was cut in half.
Working outside the home offered Angela the opportunity to vary her daily routine. The first week she’d experienced guilt at leaving her son and daughter and made it a point to come home during her lunch break to be with them. At first they were glad to see her, chatting excitedly about what they had done with Grammie, but Joyce had changed their schedule and Angela had found them napping whenever she arrived.
It had taken a while, and Angela didn’t want to believe she was suspicious or even paranoid, but she couldn’t shake the notion that her mother-in-law was using subtle methods to drive a wedge between her and Malcolm and Zoe. And it was Malcolm in particular. Not only did he look like Justin, he was also bright for his age—articulate, curious and outgoing—while Zoe was shy and more reserved.
She thought about the terse back-and-forth with Joyce about Lee. Joyce’s views about her friend and his father were echoed and believed by so many in The Falls that it was difficult to find someone who thought otherwise. However, Angela was different. She’d liked Lee from the moment she and Justin befriended him in the high school cafeteria. She’d seen him around town, and was as surprised as a lot of kids when he had transferred from a private Catholic institution to the local high school. Angela found him more mature than most boys their age, and despite living in what most called a mansion he was modest and unpretentious.
Did she like him? Yes. Was she in love with him? No. Justin Mitchell was the love of her life, the only man she’d slept with, and she doubted if she would ever fall in love again.
Angela piled slacks, blouses and several sundresses on a chair before taking out a Pullman, and then made quick work of packing her clothes.
Lee opened the door to his sister’s knock. The first thing he noticed was that she didn’t look as tired as she had the week before. Pulling her into the suite, he dropped a kiss on her hair. She had blown out the curls and in its place was a cascade of raven strands sweeping down her back.
“Welcome to my humble abode.”
Viviana smiled and the gesture lit up her brown eyes. “It doesn’t look that humble to me. I’ve passed this place a number of times and never knew it looked like this inside.”
“I was also quite surprised,” Lee admitted. He had spent the past few days catching up on sleep, swimming laps in the outdoor pool, working out in the exercise room and binge-watching a favorite TV series of which he’d missed a few episodes. The suite had everything he’d want if he was looking to rent a furnished apartment. “How are you?”
“Much better now that you’re here.” She sniffed the air. “Something smells good.”
Reaching for her hand, Lee eased the canvas tote from her fingers and placed it on a side table. He led her into the dining area and pulled out a chair to seat her at the table set for two. “I decided we’d eat before wading through what I expect is tons of paper.”
Viviana’s expression sobered. “And it’s more paper and receipts than I’d expected to find. I still can’t believe that rat hid bills that the mail carrier delivered to the house. And it wasn’t until the bank manager called and told me that I’d overdrawn my line of credit that I realized something was wrong.”
“We’ll talk about your rat later, but right now I need you to tell me how much you need to cover the delinquent property taxes.” Lee schooled his expression not to reveal his shock when Viviana quoted a figure that was a lot more than he’d anticipated. “That can’t be for one year.”
“It’s for two years.”
“I’ll make arrangements to get a bank check and then drive over to the county offices and take care of it.”
Viviana lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry you have to dip into your savings to bail me out. As soon as the boardinghouse is up and running again I promise to pay you back.”
Lee smiled. “Did I say anything about you paying me back? Remember, I own half the property, so I do have a personal stake in keeping it in the family.”
Their mother’s will bequeathed them the house and the twelve acres on which it sat. He and Viviana were also equal recipients of their mother’s life insurance. The terms of the policy had designated her older sister Barbara Wolfe-McCarthy as executor and legal guardian for her children until they were eighteen. Lee had taken control of his trust months before enlisting in the army, purchasing ten-year tax-free municipal bonds. Once they matured he’d reinvested half in a retirement fund and purchased certificates of deposits with the remaining half, while Vivi had used her inheritance to pay for college and set up a partnership with their aunt and uncle to convert The Falls House from a private residence to a boardinghouse.
“I can’t believe I trusted someone so much that I wasn’t able to see what was right in front of me. His online profile was almost picture-perfect. I’m definitely through with online dating sites.”
“I didn’t invite you here for a pity party, Vivi. What’s done is done, and hopefully it will never happen again.”
Viviana met her brother’s large eyes, eyes that reminded her of their mother’s. When he’d walked into The Falls House, she was seeing him for the first time in nearly four years, and she was shocked at how much he resembled their father. He could have been Emory Remington’s younger clone, except for the eye color. She was only two years younger than Lee, but there were times when she felt he was more of a father figure to her than an older brother. She was also aware that if he did come back to Wickham Falls it would be to visit, but never to live again.
Days before he was scheduled to leave for basic training he’d told Viviana there were too many bad memories to make him feel at home in his place of birth. However, he did come back to attend her high school and college graduations, and to sign the legal documents transferring half their share of the boardinghouse to Aunt Babs before she relocated to Arizona. He had also come back for the funeral of Justin Mitchell. Not only had he looked different, but something inwardly had changed. There was a vacant look in his eyes that frightened her, and he didn’t speak unless spoken to. He’d