Page 21 of From Rivals to I Do

“No!” I snap and Mitch peeks around his box at me. “Sorry. . . I mean no. . . no, it’s farther down here,” I say, trying to stay calm.

He didn’t open her door.

It’s okay, it was only an accident. . .

No one’s been in her sewing room but me since she died. Not even the boys. The idea of anyone touching or moving anything

overwhelms me. So much so that I nearly had a padlock put on it.

I’ve left it the way it’s been since the day we lost her, and when you look in there, it’s as if she’s never left. Because somehow, in my

mind, if I do that, when I’m at my lowest, I can almost trick myself into feeling like she’s still coming home.

“Whose room is that?” Mitch asks as we walk into Jeff’s old room, and he sets his box down on the bed.

“This was my son Jeff’s room,” I say.

“No, I mean the room I almost went into,” Mitch says. “You got so upset, and I want to make sure I didn’t do something wrong.”

I pause for a moment as I hand him the key to his room, unsure if I really want to talk about it.

“You didn’t,” I reply, forcing a smile. “You just can’t go in that room, okay?”

“Okay,” Mitch agrees with a little nod, a confused look on his face. But I’m content to let him be confused. At least for now. “So, this

was Jeff’s room? Your oldest boy?”

“And Robert’s—well, until they got older,” I say with a sigh, feeling thankful that he didn’t push me for more information. It’s too

painful to talk about, and I’m certainly not in the mood to relive it all.

“Wait, you’ve got four kids?” Mitch asks, sounding a bit surprised.

“Yep! All boys,” I say with a chuckle. “How about you? Got any kids of your own?”

“Two, actually, a boy and a girl,” Mitch replies, and at first he smiles. But then the smile quickly fades into a frown, and his brows furrow

in what I can only imagine is pain. “We uh, haven’t talked much since their mama died.”

“Oh,” I say, “sorry to hear that.”

“No worries, they’ll come around eventually, I’m sure,” Mitch replies, but something about it seems off to me. I know that mourning

and loss can really mess people up, but for a family to break up like that after such a devastating loss, it’s not only heartbreaking, but

odd. But in the same spirit that Mitch hadn’t been nosy about Mel, I decide to let it go. If he ever wants to tell me, he will. Until then,

it’s his business.

The boys wake up, and before I can say a word about Mitch, Zack slips out the door. So, Noah and I leave Mitch to get his stuff all

unpacked and sorted. I see him walk back and forth from his truck a few times while we’re running around on the farm, and I feel bad,

trying to rush around so I have time to help him. But Eugenia finally gave birth to her piglets, and I’m caught up making sure they’re

okay until lunch.

“You sure you don’t want any help?” I call out again as I walk back toward the house to grab something.

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