by Donna McLean
“Right. He seemed okay.” Addie felt relief rush over her like a wave.
Campbell grunted. “Well, looks like he isn’t our boy after all,” he said, and hung up.
It was obvious that Addie felt much more cheerful after chocolate cake, a long conversation with a friend and good news from the investigating officer. She hung up the phone with a merry smile on her pretty face.
Tilda tilted her head to one side, and her hazel green eyes were bright. “Looks like you’ve made that decision already!”
Addie laughed. “Yes. I think I will pay Dane a visit. I haven’t seen him in a few days, after all.”
Ms. MacArdan tried to not to show her disappointment. “Well, if you’re going to go calling on your young gentleman friend, better take some cake. Let me wrap a slice up for you.”
“Thanks, Ms. Tilda! I’ll tell him you sent it especially for him.” She hugged the little lady.
Twenty minutes later Addie had changed from jeans to a pretty wrap dress and flat sandals, combed her strawberry blond curls to an elegant sheen, and freshened her makeup with some pale pink lipstick. She had cheerfully walked the short distance to Dane’s house, enjoying the gathering dusk, the soft scent of newly blooming flowers, and was now standing on the front porch. Addie raised her hand to knock on the front door, but hesitated. A sense of doom rushed over her like a cold wave when she glanced through the large double window of the living room.
Dane Donovan already had a visitor.
A gorgeous brunette.
Sitting on the plush modern sofa where Addie usually sat!
And Dane Donovan was sitting right beside her! Leaning toward her, as though fascinated by every word dripping from the woman’s scandalously red lips!
Addie lowered her hand, scowling, and clenched it into a fist. “Who is this drop dead gorgeous woman and why is she stealing all my men?” Addie thought, a pang of jealousy hitting her gut. She started to move away from the window, but it was too late. He had seen her.
Dane had already leaped up off the sofa and she could hear his quick footsteps heading toward the door.
“Get a grip,” Addie whispered to herself, and then the door flew open.
The young man’s handsome face beamed, his perfect white teeth flashing in a welcoming smile. He grasped her free hand and took the cake with the other. “Addie, my dear, how fabulous! How wonderful! You are just in time to meet someone who is very, very special to me.”
Addie tried not to roll her eyes. “Oh, how nice,” she spoke through tense lips.
Dane led her by the hand, through the small foyer and into the living room.
The gorgeous brunette was even more stunning up close, Addie thought, and sized her up with disdain. A perfect creamy complexion; thick, dark hair in the modern style that cascaded down to the shoulders in one smooth wave, past the tiny shell-like ears that were neatly pierced with simple yet effective diamond earrings. Her nose was upturned in a pert way that emphasized her large and luminous brown eyes. She watched Addie with obvious curiosity.
Dane Donovan stopped in front of the woman and placed the chocolate cake on the coffee table. He held Addie’s hand tightly and grasped the brunette’s hand in his free one. Now he held the hands of both women to his chest and said dramatically, “Ah, the two women in the world who mean the most to me! At last, you meet! Elyse, this is Addie McRae—”
“How nice to meet you,” Addie mumbled with insincerity.
Dane beamed at her, his perfect teeth flashing in the lamplight. “And Addie, this is Elyse Donovan, my sister!”
TEN
“Sister?” Addie squeaked. She stared at the gorgeous brunette and her mind raced. Relief that she was not stealing Dane after all wrestled with the unnerving knowledge that this beautiful creature was free to pursue Pearce Allen!
Elyse flashed her an elegant smile. “Yes, and I am thrilled to meet you, simply thrilled!” she gushed. “Dane has told me everything about you, Addie. Simply everything!”
Dane beamed at his sister and then at Addie, and back again. Addie cast him a wry glance and said, “Well, not everything, I hope.”
He tossed his head back and laughed. The bass tones rolled through the softly lit living room. “Darling, you are wonderful. Didn’t I tell you, Elyse, that Addie’s sense of humor is wonderful?” He kissed Addie’s cheek.
“Now I insist that you both have a seat and get to know each other while I make some espresso. Is that all right with you, my dear?”
“Yes,” both women said simultaneously, then shot each other rude glances. An awkward silence tinged the atmosphere as Dane Donovan exited the living room, leaving the newly introduced ladies alone.
Addie attempted to make polite conversation. “So,” she said, and paused.
Elyse waited, staring at her with wide eyes and making no attempt to converse.
The strawberry blond cleared her throat, scratched the tip of her nose and glanced backward toward the kitchen.
They could hear Dane humming while he opened cabinets, started the espresso machine, shut the refrigerator door.
Addie tried again. “So, what do you think of Sparrow Falls?”
Elyse smiled brightly. “It’s a small town. Charming, of course! Quaint. Not what I am used to, naturally.”
“Naturally . . .” Addie echoed. “You’re probably used to a big place, like L. A. or New York?”
The gorgeous brunette giggled. “Well, Manhattan is quite different from Sparrow Falls, it simply is, you know! So many chic shops and expensive boutiques and things like that. So many people there. So many!”
“Shops and boutiques and lots and lots of handsome single men, I suppose?” Addie said, and could have kicked herself for saying that last part out loud. She was fishing, and she knew it! Not very sophisticated, she reproved herself silently.
Elyse giggled again. “Yes, lots of handsome men, but they aren’t like your southern gentlemen. Simply no chivalry at all. Not like the young men here!”
Addie figured she might as well go ahead and cast a line. She’d already baited the hook, and the fish seemed to be biting! “Like that handsome Pearce Allen Simms, you mean?” The redhead batted her emerald green eyes innocently and prepared to reel in her catch.
“Oh, he is simply dreamy, he really is!” Elyse Donovan gushed. “So polite and so intelligent too, you know. He is the editor of the local newspaper, did you know that?”
Addie grit her teeth, bit back a retort and simply nodded her head, very simply.
“And to think we met on my very first day in your little town!”
“Wonder how that happened?” Addie asked in perfectly feigned innocence. She slung her arm over the back of the sofa and placed one hand beneath her chin, in an insincere pose meant to show her girlish fascination with the topic of meeting cute boys.
It worked.
Elyse described the scene in a rush of words. “I pulled into the parking space in front of that little café, so quaint and sweet, you know. And I saw this handsome young man standing on the sidewalk, and I just waved at him and asked if the little café only served cappuccino or if it also served food, because I was hungry after driving all day to get here, and he said yes and walked right over to my car. And before I could even open the door this handsome young man was standing there with his hand on the handle of my car door!”
“Oh, he was, was he?” Addie snapped, then smiled ever so sweetly. Don’t let the fish get away, she silently reminded herself.
The gorgeous brunette nodded in happy oblivion. “Yes, he opened the car door for me, ever so gallantly. That never happens back home! And he introduced himself, and he offered to buy my meal. In fact, he said,” and here Elyse deepened her voice and mimicked the handsome young man, “Would you be so kind as to join me inside for a bite to eat?”
Addie’s green eyes flashed fire and she hoped that the steam wasn’t rising from her ears. She bit her lip and listened.
Elyse pressed red fingernails to red lips a
nd giggled. “Well, of course I couldn’t say no, so I went inside and he pulled out my chair at the table—”
Our table, Addie thought with a pang.
“—and we sat down and had the nicest meal together. It wasn’t a gourmet meal, not like what I’m used to back home, of course, but delicious all the same, simply delicious!”
She noticed her brother approaching the living room and her face lit up with a glow, like a delighted child.
“The espresso has arrived!” Dane Donovan, bending over with a flourish, placed a bamboo tray upon the coffee table. He straightened up and admired the women with a benevolent smile. “And the two of you are getting along famously. Famously! It’s simply wonderful!”
Addie accepted the fancy cup with a frozen smile. She thought: I cannot wait to hear Ms. Tilda’s take on these two!
* * *
And Addie did tell Ms. Tilda all about it, the very next morning when she dropped the Sparrow Falls Harbinger off at the spry little lady’s house after glancing quickly through it, per her usual custom.
“His sister?” Ms. MacArdan echoed, surprised. She ran an eye over the front page headlines and decided the official news was not nearly as interesting as the latest development in Addie’s love life. She folded the newspaper flat and stuck it under her elbow, next to the coffee cup. “I am shocked to hear that!”
“Yes, his sister. I was a little shocked myself!” Addie said.
“What’s she like?” Tilda asked.
Addie shrugged. “Okay, I guess. She’s very uptown, classy, you know? Beautiful clothes and jewelry and shoes. Trendy hairstyle. The whole works.”
Tilda noticed the slight bitterness creeping into her voice. “And purty, too, I reckon.”
“Yes. Very pretty.”
“Nice-looking, like her brother?”
“There’s a strong resemblance. Both have dark hair, big brown eyes, and perfect white teeth.”
Tilda drummed her fingertips on the folded newspaper. “Close enough to be twins?” she asked thoughtfully.
Addie opened her mouth to say something, closed her mouth, and turned the idea over in her mind before answering the question. “I guess they could be twins, Tilda. I never thought about that!”
The two women stared at each other, their imaginations racing.
“Do they appear to be about the same age?” Tilda asked.
“They could be, or maybe very close in age. Dane’s tall, though, and Elyse is petite.”
Tilda nodded. “Even so, they could be twins, or it could be that one is the knee baby.”
Addie looked baffled. “The knee baby? What the heck is the knee baby?”
The spry lady laughed. “An old fashioned term my Granny used. Don’t see many knee babies in this day and age, but back in her day there were lots of them. That’s when a mama has babies like stair steps, one right after the other. A baby in your arms, that’s the newborn. And a baby on your knee, that one is about a year older than the little one.”
“Ah, that’s the knee baby! A toddler. I get it.” Addie nodded. “Yes, I would say it’s possible that Dane or his sister is a knee baby. On the other hand, they might be twins.”
“Big coincidence if they are twins, showing up just when McGrady is looking for his kinfolk. Could be about the right age, though. A little older than you, I expect?”
Addie nodded. “Yes, Dane is forty-two. I guess Elyse is about the same age.”
“That’s about the right age for the twins, near as I can remember.” Tilda put a finger to her lips and tilted her head to one side, pondering the possibilities. “Maybe I need to pay Lach McGrady another visit. Or I might just talk to Hannah first. Yes, that’s the best way to go, I think, until we know a little bit more about the missing heirs.”
“What are you going to ask her, Ms. Tilda?” Addie said, curious.
“I might ask her about names, for one thing. If there were two boys or two girls, or one of each, or birthmarks, or any such thing. Might be something she has remembered after all this time. She was there in the house when the twins were born, I do know that much, although back then she wouldn’t have had a close relationship with the family. They wouldn’t have let her anywhere near the new mama or the babies. She would have been more like a downstairs parlor maid or some such thing. Yes, I think having a little talk with Hannah might shed some light on this whole matter. But not a word to anyone until after I’ve spoken to her, you understand!” She wagged a cautionary finger at Addie.
“Yes, ma’am. I won’t say a word—but you better let me know something as soon as you find out!”
Tilda set out for the McGrady house that very same morning, but spotted Hannah leaving the grocery store on her way over. The little lady quickly pulled into the parking lot, hopped out of the Rambler, and feigned surprise.
“Oh, good morning, Hannah! Fancy meeting you here.” She trotted over to the housekeeper and lifted a bag to put into the trunk of Hannah’s car.
“Hey, Ms. Tilda, how you doing. Don’t go lifting these heavy bags! I can manage.”
“No trouble at all. There you go! All done now,” Tilda said cheerfully, and closed the trunk. She leaned back upon the car (to prevent Hannah from driving off) and asked conversationally, “And how is Mr. McGrady today?”
“About like usual, thank goodness! Well, maybe a little bit weaker than before, but doing well, considering.”
“That’s good to hear.” Tilda noticed that Hannah was in no hurry to leave, and was glad of that. “Heard anything more about the twins?”
Hannah’s face fell. “Oh my goodness, Ms. Tilda, everybody has been asking me that question. The man at the gas station, and Sally at the grocery store, and that nice-looking stranger, and the fellow from the newspaper! We don’t know a thing more than we knew before this whole mess started! It is all very distressing, especially for Mr. McGrady.”
Tilda nodded sympathetically. “Bless his heart, he has been through a lot. And so have you.”
“Yes, you’re right about that. But I don’t mind a bit. The McGradys were always good to me.”
“You started working for them when you were just a wee girl, didn’t you, Hannah?” the spry lady asked innocently.
“Yes, ma’am, I was fifteen years old. A long time ago now!” She laughed and Ms. Tilda remarked that it couldn’t have been all that long ago!
Hannah said, “You are just being kind, Tilda MacArdan! Why, it has been forty-odd years now.”
This was exactly the opening Tilda had been waiting for! She said, “About the time the twins were born, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, a year or two before they arrived, as a matter of fact.”
“They must have been the cutest little things, if they looked anything like their mama. That Sarah was so purty, with that dark curly hair and those big dark eyes!”
Hannah bent her head to one side and her face grew thoughtful. “You know, I never did get a good look at those babies. Caught a glimpse of them after the doctor stepped out of the room. I must admit, I wanted to see them so bad that I opened the door and peeped into Ms. Sarah’s room, but it was too dark to see much of anything and I was afraid to go inside. Doctors were so strict in that day; they would have given me a good scolding if I had gone into that room!”
Tilda tried to hide her disappointment. “So you didn’t know if they were boys or girls, I suppose.”
Hannah shook her head and rooted around inside her pocketbook for the car keys. “No, I’m afraid not, Ms. Tilda. Sure do wish I knew something now! It would be a big help to Mr. McGrady and Mr. Frederick.”
“And Officer Campbell,” Tilda stated glumly.
ELEVEN
An uneventful week passed at the usual relaxed pace, sprinkled here and there with all the small events of small town life. The choir began meeting twice a week to practice special songs for the Easter cantata. The Official Ladies Garden Club continued to weed and water, water and weed the new flower bed on Main Street. All around the outskirts of
Sparrow Falls farmers plowed fields in preparation for planting and discussed the possibilities of early crops and late frosts.
A surprising twist was soon to catch everyone off guard, however, even Ms. Tilda MacArdan!
Officer Douglas Winton Campbell made a visit to Tilda’s cottage early one morning with the startling news.
The spry little lady ushered him into the dining nook with pride. She pulled out a chair. “Now you sit right here at the table, Douglas Winton, and I am going to make you a nice cup of coffee to go with my fresh made buttermilk pancakes. Don’t you dare say no! Do you want maple syrup with that?”
The big blond man started to utter a bleak protest (having already devoured his wife’s delicious bacon and egg biscuits at home) but changed his mind when he caught a whiff of the hot pancakes. “Yes, ma’am, that will be just fine. Thank you, Ms. Tilda.”
She placed a tall stack before him and turned to pour the coffee.
Campbell held a fork in one hand and a knife in the other. He paused before digging in. “Now I’m not eating your breakfast, am I, Ms. Tilda?”
“Land sakes, no!”
The officer quickly swirled a piece of pancake in the maple syrup and stuffed it into his mouth.
“I finished eating about thirty minutes ago,” Tilda continued. She handed him a coffee cup, and winked. “Best not mention it to Addie, though,” she said with a grin.
He placed the knife and fork on the table, dejected. “This is her breakfast?”
“Not anymore, it’s not!” Tilda waved a careless hand. “Don’t give it another thought. I only give her what’s left from my breakfast if she happens to be passing by at the time. And she hasn’t been by here yet, today.”