1022 Evergreen Place

“Ah …” Mack quickly recognized that this was a troubled path, one he didn’t want to follow. Lying didn’t come naturally to him but he was afraid to tell her the truth, afraid that if she knew, she’d pack up and move out, angry about being manipulated.

“Yeah, I will,” he promised.

“Soon?”

“Soon,” he agreed, trying to change the subject.

“It’s just that I’m so curious about those letters,” she burbled on. “Oh, Mack, I wish you’d read more of them. They’re so beautiful.

“I was thinking,” Mary Jo continued, “that if anyone could tell us about the previous owner it would be Charlotte Rhodes. Maybe she even knew the Manrys.”

“Yeah, good idea.” He’d ask her, but he’d do it when Mary Jo wasn’t around. He was worried that his mother might have told her friend that he’d bought the duplex.

“She knows everyone in town,” Mary Jo was saying.

“Right,” he said curtly.

Mary Jo sent him an odd look, which he chose to ignore. He pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and heaved a sigh of relief, grateful for an opportunity to direct the conversation away from the duplex, the letters and talking to Charlotte Rhodes. He found an empty space not far from the entrance and turned off the engine.

When Mary Jo had retrieved Noelle from the backseat, the three of them went into the store. Mack grabbed a cart and Mary Jo set Noelle safely inside.

“Do you want me to push?” he asked.

“Please.”

This felt good to Mack, almost as if they were a young married couple. Maybe it was foolish, but he liked to pretend they were and hoped to make that vision a reality one day.

Mary Jo walked toward the baby department with Mack and the cart behind her. He was making vroom-vroom noises, his attention on Noelle, when he suddenly heard Mary Jo say, “Look! There’s Charlotte and Ben.” She pointed at the book and magazine section.

Mack’s head snapped up. Great. Just his luck. He wondered what Charlotte might know regarding the letters, but he was worried she’d reveal more than he was ready to divulge.

“Maybe she’s in a hurry….”

“Don’t be silly.” Mary Jo bustled after Charlotte, and Mack had no choice but to follow, pushing Noelle in the cart.

“Charlotte!” Mary Jo called loudly, and the older woman turned around.

Charlotte was with her husband, Ben Rhodes, Noelle’s grandfather. Her eyes brightened as soon as she saw Mary Jo, Mack and Noelle. “Oh, my, this is a pleasant surprise,” she said, moving toward them with her hands extended. After hugging Mary Jo and Mack, she smiled down at Noelle. “I can’t believe how much she’s changed since we last saw her.”

“It wasn’t that long ago,” Ben said mildly. He was leaning forward, chucking Noelle under the chin.

Ben was still distinguished-looking, and Mack had no difficulty picturing him as an admiral. He knew Ben Rhodes was an honorable man who took his responsibilities seriously. His son David had deeply hurt him by his actions.

“If you like, I could bring Noelle by once a week for a short visit,” Mary Jo offered. “You’re the only grandparents she has.”

Charlotte and Ben exchanged a glance. “We’d love that,” Charlotte said enthusiastically. “Thank you, Mary Jo. That would mean so much to us.”

“Wednesdays would be best for me if that’s okay with you? I can come by when I’ve picked her up from Kelly’s.”

Kelly Jordan was Noelle’s day-care provider.

Again, the older couple conferred with a single glance. “That would be perfect,” Ben assured her.

“I’ll stop by after work, then. I won’t stay long, I promise.”

“You stay as long as you like. Ben and I will look forward to seeing our granddaughter—and you, too, of course.”

“Actually, Mack and I were just talking about you,” Mary Jo told Charlotte.

“Oh?”

“We discovered the oddest thing in the duplex. I found a box of old letters under the floorboards of my bedroom closet.”

Mack moved closer to Mary Jo.

“They’ve been there for years,” Mary Jo said. “The letters were written in the early 1940s to a woman named Joan Manry, who lived in the house.”

“Joan Manry.” Charlotte slowly repeated the name.

“Does that sound the least bit familiar?” she asked hopefully.

Charlotte’s forehead wrinkled. “I can’t say it does. I was a young bride myself back then. Clyde and I had just married, against the wishes of my parents, mind you. I was far too young, but these were desperate times and Clyde was about to go off to war.”

“From what I’ve been able to decipher, Joan lived at 1022 Evergreen with her sister and worked in the shipyard.”

“As I did,” Charlotte said. “I’m sorry, but the name doesn’t ring a bell. Let me think about it, though.”

“Who wrote the letters?” Ben asked. “A soldier?”

“Yes. His name was Dennison,” Mack supplied. “Jacob Dennison.”

“Jacob Dennison.” Charlotte frowned thoughtfully. “His name does sound familiar but I can’t recall why.”

“I’d love to find out what happened to those two,” Mary Jo said, her voice full of enthusiasm. “I want to know if Dennison survived the war and if he and Joan ever got married. If so, I’ll bet their children and grandchildren would treasure these letters. They’re beautifully written and very moving.”

“Hidden away like that, too,” Charlotte commented.

“Yes, I can’t imagine why she’d do that. The only thing I’ve come up with is that, for some reason, Joan’s sister didn’t like Jacob.”

“Maybe,” Charlotte murmured. “I’ll see what I can learn about those names for you,” she said.

“That would be great.” Mack felt some of the tension ease from between his shoulder blades.

Mary Jo turned to Charlotte again. “You don’t happen to know who lived in the duplex in the forties, do you?”

Charlotte shook her head. “No, sorry, but I do know it wasn’t originally a duplex.”

“When did it become one?”