Mack sat bolt upright. “Thomas. Is Richard still alive?”
“He is, Mack. He lives in a nursing home now because he needs round-the-clock care.”
Mack sat back down across from Thomas. “Do you think they would let me talk to him?”
“He has a daughter, Sally, I think. She works in town at the coffee shop with the yellow paint. You could go see her and maybe she’ll phone the home to give permission for you to visit.”
“Over the years, have you ever asked Richard what happened that night?” Mack asked him tentatively.
“I tried, when I was older, maybe ten years later. He said that he lost the only woman he has ever loved that night and didn’t want to remember. Then he walked away from me.”
“I don’t know what to say. But I do know more happened that night than what you were told, I’m sure of it. I’m going to find out what. Perhaps now that Richard isn’t doing so well, he may be more open to talking about what happened that night, providing he remembers.”
Thomas finally pulled himself together and looked across to Mack. “Thank you. This is the first time I’ve ever forced myself to remember that night, and I feel as though a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’ve always blamed myself, you see, for not telling my father. If I had, he’d probably have done his best to split them up but, at least, she would’ve lived. It was my fault Richard went after her on the cliff path.”
“You don’t know that. She could’ve still run away with him. Please don’t blame yourself anymore. It wasn’t your fault. I’m glad you told me, and I’ll let you know how my visit to see Richard goes,” Mack explained.
“Take Dean with you when you go, okay, Mack? He might need round-the-clock care, but I don’t want you alone with him.”
She glanced at Thomas. “Okay. Do you want to come back with me for some lunch?”
“No, thank you. I think I just need some peace for a short time. I’ll see you for dinner though.”
When Mack left Thomas, she realized that she still had many unanswered questions.
Chapter 31
Mack walked into Rose Cottage and was met by cheers and shouts coming from the living room. Lucas and Dean were obviously enjoying the Wii game.
Feeling rather cold, she made herself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the kitchen table, mulling over everything Thomas had just told her.
There were many ‘what if’s’ about that night, and she just couldn’t stop obsessing about them. She needed to call for coffee in town and ask Sally if she would let her visit her father. She would beg if needed.
If Richard found Rose that night, which he obviously had in order to have seen her go over the cliffs, then he must remember something, and perhaps, she was hoping, he would decide it was time to tell someone what really happened.
“Hey, Mack. I didn’t know you were back.” Dean walked over to pour himself some coffee. Not getting an answer from Mack, he stopped mid-pour and turned back around to take a look at her, noticing she was miles away. “Mack, what happened?” Dean asked, going over to sit beside her, and pulling her onto his lap.
Mack turned to Dean and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close, breathing in his scent. All man. She felt soothed sitting with Dean, as though all was okay with the world.
With Dean holding her tight, caressing her back, Mack finally felt herself warming up. “I’m okay, Dean. Just upset, and I guess frustrated. I still don’t know what happened the night Rose died.” She sighed. “Thomas told me he’d watched Rose sneak out, and that shortly after she left, Richard showed up. He told Richard she was gone, and then Richard followed her. A short while later, Richard returned to tell them she had gone over the cliffs.”
“Mack, I’m sorry you still don’t have closure.”
“I won’t have until I know what actually happened, and I’ve told your grandfather.”
“I’ll arrange that soon, okay?” Dean continued as he stroked Mack’s back, not wanting to let her go.
“Thanks, Dean. There is one more thing. Richard is still alive.”
“What?”
“Apparently he’s in a nursing home and needs round-the-clock care, but he has a daughter who works at the yellow coffee shop in town. So, I was thinking, maybe after lunch we could take a trip down there and, with luck, get her permission to talk to him.”
“Okay. I’ll make us some sandwiches, we’ll go drink coffee, and then hit the supermarket, where you can load the cart to your heart’s content, and I’ll pay.” Dean planted a kiss on her lips to stop her protesting. “I’ve eaten here practically every mealtime since I’ve been in Cape Elizabeth so I’m paying. If it bothers you that much, you pay next time.”
With her forehead resting against his, she looked into his eyes. “I love you. It’s never happened to me before, and I’ve only known you a short time, so it’s kind of frightening.”
“What I feel for you, Mack, frightens the hell out of me, but instead of running, I’m not going anywhere because you belong to me. Is that okay?”
“Most definitely!”
“Now that’s settled, lunchtime, I think.” Dean walked over to the refrigerator to retrieve some cold meats and salad vegetables.
Watching him work, Mack found it a real turn on. She watched the rippling muscles across his back when he moved. Oh boy, what a view she had when he dropped a tomato and bent down to pick it up.
“Yummy!”
Dean turned to look at Mack, raising an eyebrow in question as he wondered what she was up to. When he saw the direction she was looking, he laughed out loud. “You like what you see, babe?”
“Mmm, I certainly do.”
He pointed the butter knife at her. “Control yourself. Lunch is ready in a minute. You can nibble on that for now.”
“Spoil sport!”
“Who’s a spoil sport?” Lucas asked, running into the kitchen and sitting on Mack’s lap.
“Dean is. He won’t play,” she pouted.
“You’re no good on the Wii so that’s probably why he won’t play with you.”
She tried not to laugh. “Dean’s making lunch, and then we’re going to head into town for a short while. After that, we’re going to the supermarket, where under no circumstances do you get involved in a water fight again.”
“Water fight?” Dean queried.
“Please, don’t ask.”
The coffee shop in town was a small wooden structure, painted in yellow with white trim. It had a large corner window that faced toward the ocean. They had tables and chairs outside on the sidewalk, underneath white canopies with an amazing view of the ocean.
Inside, there were a few people already drinking and busy chatting away. Lucas had chosen his seat, in the corner where there were toys to play with, so Mack and Dean joined him.
“Mack, Lucas, what would you both like to drink?”
“Vanilla latte for me, please. Lucas, would you like a chocolate milk?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay, back in a few minutes.”
Mack looked around and could see a couple of girls who worked there and they both looked to be in their early twenties. Neither of the girls could possibly be Richard’s daughter. They were far too young.
The girls seemed friendly enough so, as one of the girls walked past, Mack got her attention. “Hi, I was wondering if Sally is around?”
“She’s in the back. Does she know you?”
“My name is Mackenzie Harper, and I would really appreciate five minutes of her time.”
“Okay, give me a minute.” She dashed off, doing a double take when she caught sight of Dean, who had no idea he’d just been eyed up.
Mack smiled to herself as Dean sat back down and placed the drinks on the table. “What?”
“You were just being ogled, and I was kind of having a happy dance in my head because you’re all mine!”
“Who by?” he teased as Mack smacked him on the shoulder.
“Behave.”
“Hi, I’m Sally. Did you want to talk to me?” An older woman walked up to them and interrupted their playful banter.
“I do. Do you have time to join us?”
Sally had to be in her late fifties or early sixties, but she didn’t really look that old. She was of average height with a slim build and light brown hair. She took the seat next to Mack. “Okay, I only have a minute though.”
Dean was holding Mack’s hand underneath the table, offering his support. “Sally, would it be possible for you to let me talk to your father?”
Sally’s eyes opened wide as she obviously hadn’t expected that. “Why my father? Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t know him. I’m staying at Rose Cottage and I’ve found a diary that was written by Rose Degan in 1947. She mentions your father. He was the last one to see her alive, I just want to ask him what happened.”
“I’m not sure it would be worth your while,” Sally said.
“Please, Sally,” Mack begged.
“He loved Rose. I once asked my mother why Dad was the way he was to her. Oh, he loved her, but not how a man and woman should love each other. She told me that he had been in love with another woman, who went over the cliffs one night. He never spoke about her or could abide to hear her name spoken.” Sally looked toward the window. “I’m not sure after all these years if he’ll be much help to you. I’m not even sure how he will be when he hears Rose’s name. I just don’t know.” Sally chewed on her bottom lip.
“Please, Sally. At least let me try.”
“Perhaps it’s time to lay old ghosts to rest before he dies. He hasn’t got long left. I’ll make the call for you. When do you want to go?”
“Tomorrow, if possible.”
She pushed the chair back to stand up. “Give me a minute and I’ll get you the address.”
Mack watched Sally retreat to the back of the shop again and turned to look at Dean. “Will you come with me?”
Dean placed a quick kiss to Mack’s lips. “Yes,” he whispered.
Mack realized Lucas had hardly drunk any of his chocolate. “Lucas come, finish your drink. We’re going soon.”
He stood from the floor where he was playing with some wooden blocks. “What are we doing later?” he asked.
“Shopping!”
“Here you go.” Sally handed Mack a card with the address of the nursing home written on it. “If you go in the morning, he’s more responsive.”
“Thank you, Sally. This means a lot.”
Chapter 32
Climbing out of the car at the supermarket, Mack turned to Lucas, only to watch him slip his hand into Dean’s. Dean looked pleasantly surprised, but recovered quickly and gave his little hand a squeeze.
With a bit of luck, Dean would keep him out of trouble. “Lucas, you behave this time, okay?”
“Auntie Mack, can Dean take me to the bookshop instead?”
Mack glanced at Dean, then back at Lucas. “If Dean says it’s okay, then it’s fine by me.”
“That is the best idea I’ve heard in a long time. Come on, champ. Mack, I’ll be back before you pay,” Dean said confidently.
“We’ll see!” Mack muttered as she walked into the supermarket, relieved at not having Lucas with her to cause trouble.
“Dean, look at this book. It has pirates in it.”
“Do you like pirate stories?” Dean asked as he pulled Lucas onto his lap in the reading corner.
“Oh yes, and dinosaurs . . . and dragons. I like those comics that Thomas reads me as well.”
“Which comics are those?” Dean didn’t remember any comics being mentioned.
“Our Gang.”
Ah, those; the ones that Rose and Jacob’s picture had been hidden in for all those years. “Okay, well you have a pirate book here so what do you say about finding two more books, one about a dragon and the other about a dinosaur, then we’ll go and find your Auntie Mack?”
Forty-five dollars later, they crossed the road back to the supermarket to look for Mack.
“Hey, wait up, Lucas. Let’s go in here and buy your Auntie Mack a present.” Dean opened the door to the jewelers. “Don’t touch anything in here, okay, Lucas?”
“Okay.”
Not really finding anything he liked in the bracelet section, Dean moved on and found a pair of small gold shell earrings. “Lucas, what about these shell earrings?”
“Oh yes. Auntie Mack loves shells. She has them all over her apartment.”
Before Dean had a chance to change his mind, the shop assistant had them wrapped and charged to his credit card.
They exited the shop looking shell-shocked. “That was quick, are you sure you paid for them?”
Dean laughed and ruffled Lucas’s hair. “Oh, I paid. That was the first thing I did. Come on. Let’s go find Auntie Mack, and remember, don’t say anything about her present, okay?”
“I won’t.”
Mack arrived at the checkout at the same time Dean and Lucas reappeared. “Hi, guys.” Then she turned to Lucas. “I see Dean’s been buying you another book.”
Lucas had a cheeky grin on his face. “He bought me four. We couldn’t decide between two dragon books.”
“Oh, really.” Mack cocked an eyebrow at Dean.
“Yeah, I liked the green dragon, but Dean wanted the red dragon so he bought both books because we couldn’t agree.”
She laughed and started to load the shopping onto the checkout with Dean helping her. “Just who’s the child here?”
He grinned. “That wasn’t what you said last night.”
She threw the burger buns at him. “I can’t believe you said that.”
They finished unloading the shopping cart and heard a throat being cleared, only to discover the cashier had been listening to everything they’d been saying. Mack blushed and Dean laughed as he paid before leaving to load the car with the groceries.
Dean had waited until after dinner before retrieving the earrings that he’d bought for Mack. Taking them out of the box and putting them into his pocket, he went in search of Mack. Finding her sitting outside on the step with two glasses of wine, Dean sat down behind her with a leg on either side and wrapped his arms around her.
“Hey, you okay?”
She snuggled deeply into Dean. “Oh, yeah.”
Dean placed a kiss to the side of Mack’s head. “I bought you a present today.”
She moved slightly away from him so she could see him. “What?”
He wasn’t sure why but he felt nervous when he pulled the earrings out of his pocket and held his hand out to Mack. She studied them intensely, unshed tears shining in her eyes.
“Oh, Dean, they’re gorgeous.” She took them from his palm. “I love shells.”
“Hmm, a little bird might have told me that.”
She smiled and removed her current earrings to replace them with the shells. “How do they look?”
“Amazing.” Smoothing his hands down the side of Mack’s face, he gently pulled her forward and placed a kiss to each earring. “I love you, Mack.”
Mack shivered. “I love you, too . . . Take me to bed.”
“My pleasure!”
Chapter 33
Enroute to Richard’s nursing home, Mack watched the countryside flying past while she nervously pondered what Richard might tell them.
Yesterday, when they got back from the supermarket, Dean had taken them to the beach where they’d had fun in the sand and sea with Lucas.
Dean had sat and watched them wading in the ocean, and when they returned, he had produced a sketch of them. The image had brought tears to Mack’s eyes. He’d captured the love between aunt and nephew perfectly.
Mack had spoken to her sister last night and both Melinda and Daniel were missing Lucas something fierce. Melinda had told Mack they were going to try to get a flight home and then take Lucas down to Florida for a week.
Thomas would miss him when he went home to Boston, and Dean would have no one to beat him on the Wii. At least M
ack got to see him all the time. She’d already planned to stay in touch with Thomas when the summer was over and perhaps bring Lucas to visit every few weeks. They would both like that. Mack would enjoy visiting with Thomas, also, as she’d started to look at Thomas like he was a part of her family.
Mack was so in love with Dean, she had no idea what was going to happen at the end of the summer. However, she had a gut feeling Dean was with her for much longer than the summer.
Lucas was staying with Thomas and Levi in the bar until after lunch so they had a couple of hours to spare. Mack just hoped Lucas behaved himself, and with a bit of luck, kept his thoughts to himself for a change.
“We’re here, Mack.” Dean pulled into a parking space at the home.
She stared out of the window and surveyed the scene as Dean walked around to open her door.
Dean rested his arms on the side of the car, and asked, “You ready to do this?”
“No, not really. Do you think I’m doing the right thing?” She was terrified of what Richard might reveal.
“You have to do this. If you don’t, you’ll always regret it.”
She let Dean pull her out of the car and took hold of his hand as they walked toward the entrance.
Inside they were greeted by a nurse, who asked them the name of the person they were there to visit.
Mack replied, “Richard,” then it suddenly dawned on her that she didn’t know his surname. She blushed fiercely trying to recall it, but she didn’t think Rose had written it down . . . Thomas had certainly never told her. When she mentioned Sally, they were pointed to the correct room.
On entering Richard’s room, they found it rather dark, and there were two small lamps switched on, although it did little to illuminate the small room with their soft, orange glow.
“I can’t see you over there,” a rather rough voice grumbled.
She moved forward, her hand still held tightly by Dean, and took a seat to the side of the bed.
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