The Secretary Gets Her Man. Mindy Neff

went down the porch steps and Penny noticed how the wood bowed and nails were popping up. The railing between the brick posts holding up the roof overhang were sagging and weather-beaten. This house was a mess.

      “Still a handsome devil, don’t you think?” Georgia said.

      Penny nodded before she realized Georgia had addressed her question to Wanetta. A sneaky ploy.

      “Y’all come into the kitchen and I’ll see if there are any tea bags.”

      “Oh, there are. We had a meeting here for the school board a couple of days before Agnes keeled over with the bad heart. She served a divine coffee cake and an assortment of flavored teas. All very classy.”

      For Christmas, Penny had sent her grandmother a collection of gourmet tea, along with a pot and an antique china cup-and-saucer collection. She’d imagined her grandmother leaving it in the box on a shelf somewhere.

      But according to Georgia and Wanetta, Agnes had used the gift proudly. Entertaining the school board.

      “Why did the school board meet here?”

      “Agnes was a member. Darnedest thing. After grouching at and scaring half the children in the neighborhood, she suddenly developed a soft spot for them—though she did her best to hide it. Even started a fund-raiser to benefit orphaned children.”

      “That’s nice.” Penny set water on to boil and didn’t turn around. She didn’t want the neighbors to see how stunned she was. And hurt, perhaps. Penny herself had basically been an orphan. Her father had been around, but not often, and not for long periods of time.

      And though Agnes had taken her in, given her food and shelter, she’d never made Penny feel welcome.

      Agnes Archer had tried her best to teach Penny that she was unlovable.