Mary Aaron shook her head. “Ne, I don’t. I don’t think anyone ever said. There was so much confusion when they found him.” She considered the subject and then lifted her hands and let them fall. “I don’t know who was the first person to find him. I guess I just assumed it was Moses. You know . . . because he . . . because he said he did it.”
“I can’t believe we didn’t ask,” Rachel said. “But it must be in the police report.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I think I’ll ask Evan when we—” Rachel broke off as she heard footsteps descending the stairs. It was Mrs. Morris and her son’s family. Rachel went to the doorway.
“Rachel!” Mrs. Morris’s gaunt face was radiant. “I hope it won’t be an inconvenience, but I’ll be leaving today,” she said. She glanced up into her son’s face. He smiled down at her, and she wiped at her eyes with a tissue. “I’m going home . . . to . . .”
“Philadelphia first,” the daughter-in-law explained. “And then, if she’s well enough to travel—”
“We’re taking her home with us,” the son finished.
“To live with us forever!” the small boy declared. “Our own grandmom!”
Mrs. Morris clasped her hands together. “Can you believe it? Did you see these wonderful children? The oldest is the spitting image of Bruce when he was that age.”
Rachel looked at the excited child and then back at his father. Whatever the resemblance, perhaps one had to be a doting grandmother to see it. The little boy was adorable but clearly took more of his looks from his South Asian mother than from his father’s family. But it didn’t matter so long as the notion brought joy to a woman who hadn’t experienced much of it in the last years.
“You’ve been so good to me,” Mrs. Morris insisted, taking Rachel’s hands in hers. “I hate to leave Stone Mill House and all your wonderful staff, but I need to be with my family.”
“Exactly so,” Rachel agreed, leaning to brush a kiss against the older woman’s cheek.
There was no telling how long the family would have together, or what the coming weeks would bring, but for now, looking at all the joyous faces surrounding her, Rachel was certain Eloise Morris couldn’t be in better hands.
* * *
Tuesday morning was the last meeting that Rachel and Evan had with their minister before the wedding, and although Evan was working that day, he’d gotten permission to go on duty a little later than his normal shift required. They ended the session with a prayer and hugs all around before they left the church by way of a side door that led to the parking lot. In the doorway, Evan paused to put on his hat and then opened an umbrella for her before they stepped out into the mixed rain and sleet that had been falling since before the sun came up.
“Yuck,” Rachel said. “Nasty weather. You be careful out on the road.”
Evan had been pulling extra shifts for the past few weeks, and she worried about him when the temperature dropped and winter storms moved in. Actually, she worried about him all the time when he was working, but he loved what he did and he was good at it. Evan believed that he was a much better trooper than a detective, and maybe he was, she thought. He certainly looked handsome in his uniform.
“Last week of being single,” he declared as they prepared to make a dash for their vehicles. “Getting nervous?”
“Nope,” she said. “Excited, but not nervous.” Once before, she’d accepted his offer of marriage but then backed out. This time, she felt none of the apprehension or doubts she’d had then. “I’m absolutely, positively certain that we’re going to make the best couple.”
“One hundred percent?” he teased.
She reached for his free hand. “A hundred percent.”
Evan shook his head. “Sorry. Want to, but I’m in uniform. No public displays of affection.”
“Of course not,” she agreed, then seized his hand and darted out into the sleet.
He could have pulled free, but instead, he came with her, trying to keep the mixture of sleet and rain off her head and shoulders with the bobbing umbrella.
She ducked behind a church minibus and spun around, stopping short. Blocked from the view of the street by the vehicle, she raised on her toes to kiss him. For a brief second, their lips brushed and she felt a warm rush of sweet happiness. Looking directly into his eyes, she said, “I can’t wait for Saturday to become Mrs. Parks.”
“Me, too,” he said huskily.
Rachel giggled. “We both can’t be Mrs. Parks.”
Evan groaned and kissed her again on the forehead. “Into the Jeep with you, woman, before someone sees us and I get into serious trouble for kissing a woman while in uniform.”
She squeezed his hand, savoring the tender moment. Here they were, standing in the cold and rain, under gray skies and on an icy blacktop, and she felt as if they were the only people in the world. “I love you so much, Evan,” she said, and uniform and all, he bent and kissed her tenderly once more.
“And I love you,” he said. “And I thank God every day that He brought us together.” He took her hand again, led her to her Jeep, and opened the door for her. “Stay out of trouble today,” he warned. Rain was dripping off the brim of his hat and ice crystals piled on the shoulders of his coat.
“You, too.” She slid into the front seat and slid her key into the ignition. “Hey, can I ask you a question before you go?”
“Sure.” He started to fold up her umbrella.
“It’s about Daniel,” she admitted sheepishly.
Evan groaned and his eyes narrowed in a frown. “What about Daniel?”
He was obviously less than pleased. She knew he was
