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Her Last Letter

Page 31

by Nancy C. Johnson


  I handed the letter to Caroline. When she’d finished reading, she raised a brow at me. “The man is still carrying a torch. What a waste.” She sighed, then fingered her pendant again. “He heard about Craig, right? That they got him?”

  “Yes, Josh called me as soon as he found out. Amazing how quickly news spreads around here.”

  “Sure is.”

  Annabelle was back, having abandoned the cat toy, begging Caroline to pick her up. Care stooped, reaching down for her. “You just can’t get enough of your Aunt Caroline, now can you? So …? Gwyn?”

  “What?” I asked, realizing Care was talking to me now.

  “Are you going to open that package or am I going to just stand here and die of curiosity?”

  “It’s addressed to Trevor too. Maybe I should wait until he gets home.”

  “Oh, come on, Gwyn. Do you really think for a minute Josh bought whatever that is for Trevor? Open it. I can’t stand the suspense. And I have to leave soon to meet Nate before he starts his shift.”

  “But maybe I should wait.”

  “Look, whatever it is, you’re going to need time to come up with a decent story so Trevor won’t sulk when he sees it. He’s not going to be too thrilled that Josh is still sending you presents.”

  “No, he’s okay about Josh now.”

  “Right. Gwyn, open it.”

  I wedged my fingers into the folds of cardboard, then Caroline joined in to help. The staples popped free. We laid the box on its side and I pulled out some of the packing foam. I could see that the object inside was a framed painting. Carefully, I eased it out. “Oh my God. It’s the LaRoche. He sent me his LaRoche.”

  “Is it expensive?”

  “Well, yes, but that’s not the point. He loved this. I can’t believe he sent it to me.”

  “To you and Trevor.”

  I eyed the painting of the small boy and the feisty weed he sought to pull. “You know-I think this is Josh’s way of saying goodbye-to us, to what we had.”

  “Yeah, I’d say so.”

  “Here, help me, Care.” We lifted the painting and walked with it to my studio. “I think I’ll leave it right here for now,” I said as we placed the painting onto an empty easel next to the now completed portrait of my sister. And silently I added, So I can remember two of the people I loved most, whom I will miss very much.

  Table of Contents

  Her Last Letter

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

 

 

 


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