a house in her hometown. “You’re probably right. Once I come back I’m going to contact a real estate agent and see if she has any listings within my price range.” She wasn’t a pauper, and neither was she wealthy. She’d saved most of her earnings from modeling, given half the proceeds from the sale of her parents’ house to them for their future retirement, and invested Justin’s military combat death benefit in a college fund for her children.
“When are you leaving for Florida?” Lee asked.
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Are you flying or driving?”
“I’m driving. Barring delays it should take about ten hours.”
“Drive carefully.”
“I will. And thanks, Lee.”
“What are you thanking me for?”
A hint of a smile touched the corners of her mouth. “For letting me bare my soul.”
“Don’t even go there, Angela. How many times have you listened to me go on about what was going on my life and what I wanted for my future? And it was the same with Justin. Remember when we put our wish lists in that sealed envelope with a promise we would open it the day before graduation?”
“How can I forget?”
“It was also the day we promised each other that we were friends for life, and that we would always be there for one another. And that means in the good and bad times, Angela. So, you don’t ever have to thank me for anything.”
“I want to thank you one last time for reminding me of that. I’m going to hang up now because I have to finish packing. I’ll be in touch once I get back.”
“I’ll be here.”
Angela couldn’t help smiling. She placed the phone on the bedside table and thought about what Joyce had said about Leland liking her beyond friendship. He’d always treated her with respect and told her if she ever needed him for anything he would be there for her. And if he did love her, then it was not as a boyfriend, but like a sister.
Angela walked over to the closet to select what she needed to pack for her vacation. It was the first time in more than a year that she would take a break from the medical office where she had initially been hired as a receptionist.
She hadn’t planned to reenter the workforce until her children were enrolled in school, but when she heard that Dr. Henry Franklin was looking for someone to work the front desk after his longtime employee relocated to Delaware to care for her elderly father, Angela had submitted her application and had been hired despite not having any prior office experience. She’d taken to her position like a duck to water, and had been promoted to office manager soon after because of her organizational skills. Dr. Franklin had also taken on a partner, Dr. Natalia Hawkins, and the result was that the wait time to treat patients was cut in half.
Working outside the home offered Angela the opportunity to vary her daily routine. The first week she’d experienced guilt at leaving her son and daughter and made it a point to come home during her lunch break to be with them. At first they were glad to see her, chatting excitedly about what they had done with Grammie, but Joyce had changed their schedule and Angela had found them napping whenever she arrived.
It had taken a while, and Angela didn’t want to believe she was suspicious or even paranoid, but she couldn’t shake the notion that her mother-in-law was using subtle methods to drive a wedge between her and Malcolm and Zoe. And it was Malcolm in particular. Not only did he look like Justin, he was also bright for his age—articulate, curious and outgoing—while Zoe was shy and more reserved.
She thought about the terse back-and-forth with Joyce about Lee. Joyce’s views about her friend and his father were echoed and believed by so many in The Falls that it was difficult to find someone who thought otherwise. However, Angela was different. She’d liked Lee from the moment she and Justin befriended him in the high school cafeteria. She’d seen him around town, and was as surprised as a lot of kids when he had transferred from a private Catholic institution to the local high school. Angela found him more mature than most boys their age, and despite living in what most called a mansion he was modest and unpretentious.
Did she like him? Yes. Was she in love with him? No. Justin Mitchell was the love of her life, the only man she’d slept with, and she doubted if she would ever fall in love again.
Angela piled slacks, blouses and several sundresses on a chair before taking out a Pullman, and then made quick work of packing her clothes.
Lee opened the door to his sister’s knock. The first thing he noticed was that she didn’t look as tired as she had the week before. Pulling her into the suite, he dropped a kiss on her hair. She had blown out the curls and in its place was a cascade of raven strands sweeping down her back.
“Welcome to my humble abode.”
Viviana smiled and the gesture lit up her brown eyes. “It doesn’t look that humble to me. I’ve passed this place a number of times and never knew it looked like this inside.”
“I was also quite surprised,” Lee admitted. He had spent the past few days catching up on sleep, swimming laps in the outdoor pool, working out in the exercise room and binge-watching a favorite TV series of which he’d missed a few episodes. The suite had everything he’d want if he was looking to rent a furnished apartment. “How are you?”
“Much better now that you’re here.” She sniffed the air. “Something smells good.”
Reaching for her hand, Lee eased the canvas tote from her fingers and placed it on a side table. He led her into the dining area and pulled out a chair to seat her at the table set for two. “I decided we’d eat before wading through what I expect is tons of paper.”
Viviana’s expression sobered. “And it’s more paper and receipts than I’d expected to find. I still can’t believe that rat hid bills that the mail carrier delivered to the house. And it wasn’t until the bank manager called and told me that I’d overdrawn my line of credit that I realized something was wrong.”
“We’ll talk about your rat later, but right now I need you to tell me how much you need to cover the delinquent property taxes.” Lee schooled his expression not to reveal his shock when Viviana quoted a figure that was a lot more than he’d anticipated. “That can’t be for one year.”
“It’s for two years.”
“I’ll make arrangements to get a bank check and then drive over to the county offices and take care of it.”
Viviana lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry you have to dip into your savings to bail me out. As soon as the boardinghouse is up and running again I promise to pay you back.”
Lee smiled. “Did I say anything about you paying me back? Remember, I own half the property, so I do have a personal stake in keeping it in the family.”
Their mother’s will bequeathed them the house and the twelve acres on which it sat. He and Viviana were also equal recipients of their mother’s life insurance. The terms of the policy had designated her older sister Barbara Wolfe-McCarthy as executor and legal guardian for her children until they were eighteen. Lee had taken control of his trust months before enlisting in the army, purchasing ten-year tax-free municipal bonds. Once they matured he’d reinvested half in a retirement fund and purchased certificates of deposits with the remaining half, while Vivi had used her inheritance to pay for college and set up a partnership with their aunt and uncle to convert The Falls House from a private residence to a boardinghouse.
“I can’t believe I trusted someone so much that I wasn’t able to see what was right in front of me. His online profile was almost picture-perfect. I’m definitely through with online dating sites.”
“I didn’t invite you here for a pity