“So you and Brett went to school together,” he deduced.
“Yes. We started dating when we were fifteen. Right after he and his family moved to Wyndham Beach.” She hesitated, not sure how many blanks she wanted to fill in right then.
“I’m not going to ask you anything personal,” he assured her. “You’re afraid I’m going to ask you things you might not be ready to talk about right now. I won’t.”
“I appreciate that. There will be a time for those questions.” Maggie talked about her time at the University of Pittsburgh, how she’d gotten a degree in early childhood education, then moved to Seattle after graduation. She could tell Joe had questions, like why after she’d moved to the opposite side of the country she and Brett hadn’t married, but he didn’t ask. “Then I moved to Philadelphia. Taught kindergarten. Met my late husband. Got married. Had two kids. Raised them. My husband passed away two years ago.”
“I’m sorry, Maggie.”
“Yeah. Me too. Art was a great guy. A good husband and a wonderful father.”
“And then I took a DNA test, and here we are.”
“And here we are,” she repeated, and reached for his hand.
“Do you think we could meet up again?”
“Of course. I didn’t consider this a one and done. This has been one of the best days of my life, Joe. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for meeting me. For not resenting me or hating me. Or thinking I didn’t want you, I didn’t love you.” Without warning, tears flooded her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Damn. She’d promised herself she would not cry.
“Please.” Joe moved to the seat between them. “I don’t feel any such thing. I’ve wondered about you for most of my life, but never with resentment or judgment. I’ve wondered what brought you to that place where you made that decision, but that’s something you may someday want to talk about. Or not. Either way, it’s all right. I am grateful to you for giving me life, and I’m grateful to you for giving me a chance to know you.”
He put his arm around her shoulder, and his comfort felt like the most natural thing in the world. “So you think about what you want to come next and let me know.”
“You mean, think about if I want you to be part of my life?” She thought about what that might mean not only to her, but to her daughters. “Yes. I do. Of course I do. I believe Brett does as well.”
“We’ve already talked about him meeting my kids, and me meeting his daughters. You’ve met them?”
“No, I never have.”
“Really?”
Maggie nodded. “We haven’t been particularly close over the years.”
“I’m sorry. The way he talks about you, I thought . . . well, no matter.”
“It’s complicated.”
Joe walked Maggie to her car, and they hugged.
“You have my number,” Joe reminded her. “Please call me. Anytime. I want this to be a beginning.”
“So do I.”
He opened her car door, and she slid behind the wheel and turned on the ignition.
“You’ll hear from me,” she promised. She backed out of the parking space and drove toward the exit. When she checked the rearview mirror, he was still standing where she’d left him, watching her drive away.
Chapter Nineteen
GRACE
“Good morning.” Grace pushed open the bookshop’s front door.
“Hey, early bird.” Liddy stood behind the front counter, going through some papers.
“I thought I’d stop by before customers started coming in so I could get a few pictures for the website.” Grace swung the camera case from her shoulder and placed it on the floor. She looked around the shop and noted, “The lighting could be better.”
“Feel free to wander around. Take whatever shots you want. I’m leaving the whole internet thing in your hands.”
Grace scanned the front part of the store. The morning sun highlighted the faint haze on the large front window, probably the result of not having been properly cleaned in a while. Judging by the dirty floor, Grace suspected Fred hadn’t been big on housekeeping. She walked through the shelves of books, and it occurred to her that the store lacked display areas, making it hard for customers to find the books they wanted. The shelves went almost to the ceiling, too high for most people to reach while at the same time cutting off much of the natural light from the windows, and didn’t seem to follow any particular order. Funny, but she hadn’t realized how haphazard the arrangement was when she was browsing the shelves. She paused throughout the store to take photos, none of which inspired her when she reviewed them.
“Get any good shots?” Liddy asked when Grace returned to the front of the store.
“Not a one.”
Liddy took off her glasses and set them on the counter next to her little handheld calculator. “Why not? I thought that’s what you came to do.”
“There just aren’t any.”
Liddy stared at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Here. See for yourself.” Grace showed her the pictures she’d taken. Liddy watched silently as the images scrolled past. “See anything you think might attract customers?”
“Humph.”
“The place lacks ambience. It’s dark and uninviting. We love this place, but it’s pretty dingy. And it’s in need of a really good cleaning.” Grace looked down at the carpet that was bunched between her feet. “And frankly, this rug’s gotta go before someone trips and breaks a bone or two. I’m surprised no one’s fallen over it.”
“Well, I know one person who has.”
“Who? Did they sue Fred?” Grace asked.
“Me, and no, I did not.”
“That’s not the only problem with this place, Liddy.”
“Do tell, since you seem to be on a roll.”
Grace took a deep breath. “The bookcases are too high. They’re one of the reasons it’s so dark in here. And they’re not well organized.”
“Excuse me, but we’re not the public library.”
“You’d never know it by the way the store is set up.”
“And you have how many years of experience in retail?” Liddy’s ire had been
