Page 48 of A Whisper of Summer Magic

“Old habits. It’s not ladylike to shout, especially indoors.” She mimicked G. Millie perfectly, but in that way, their grandmother and mother had been perfectly aligned.

“Cheers.” Meghan clinked her glass with Sarah’s. “How can I help?”

Sarah took a dainty sip of the tea, and then stared at the glass like it held the answer to a question she’d yet to say aloud.

“Moral support,” Sarah said. “I’ve gone through Grandma Millie’s will with her lawyer, met with her investment advisers, sent copies of her long-form death certificate to all the appropriate parties.”

“You’ve been busy,” Meghan commented. “You didn’t have to do all of that alone, Sare, especially the legal stuff.”

“I did,” Sarah said softly. “That part was straightforward, and you’ve been busy with all the changes in your life. Jessica is going to handle taxes for the trust and Grandma Millie’s… final taxes. You’re handling the legal work for turning the farm into an LLC with all of us on the board. I wanted to talk to you about the house… what we should do.”

“Me? Not all of us?”

“Yes, all of us, eventually, but I wanted to… think out loud and Chloe always wants to jump all in and gets so emotional, and Jessica wants to have an action plan and take over, but I want to… have a say, and I want to…”

“Muse,” Meghan slotted in the word.

“Yes.” She smiled and sipped her tea. “I think a lot. And then I take action when I deem it warranted.”

Like finally moving back home to Belmont after working and living close to her deceased husband’s family for more years than Meghan had wanted to think about, though she’d tried to understand and respect Sarah’s decision.

“Do you still miss Harry?”

“I’ve been a widow far longer than I was a wife.”

Not an answer, her lawyer brain prodded, but there was something different in Sarah’s tone that both startled her and also made her rejoice. She was open to starting again—probably why she’d come home finally a couple of years ago. Sarah wanted to find love.

And Meghan was determined to help smooth the way.

“Do you want to eat first, or have me look at some of the paperwork? I can put our entrées in the oven to keep warm.”

“Is it dinner time?” Sarah looked at her watch—a gift from their father when she’d graduated college and was heading off to medical school. “Oh. I got so caught up. I wanted to show you something first. Something I found last weekend, but with the open house I didn’t want to—” She broke off, frowned. “It’s… disturbing.”

Sarah reached into the cedar chest and removed a faded pink envelope with a card inside.

Dear Madam,

Merry Christmas. I wish the best for you and your beautiful, blessed family this Christmas and many others. I wish to introduce you to your granddaughter. I call her Chloe. In Greek mythology, it is often another name for Demeter. It means a young bud, verdant, promising life. You may wish to call her something different. I am unable to care for her as I travel internationally with an opera company and must return to my career.

Children deserve a home, and yours is beautiful. Children deserve love and a family, and I see that you have other well-loved grandchildren. Forgive me for spying and intruding, but I hope your heart can open for another child. Her father claimed us both a mistake and warned me away. But life is never an error but an opportunity to shine. I hope time and his strong, community-minded mother will change his mind. She is a happy, beautiful baby with a spirit that shines.

God and angels be with you both,

ZP

Meghan read the letter twice and then slowly sank to the floor next to Sarah. “Where did you…” She trailed off. Did it matter where?

“Why didn’t she…” Meghan read the letter again as if it would contain more information. “She never told Chloe?”

“Chloe?” Sarah practically yipped. “What about Dad? Did she ever confront him? Did she… Oh, dear Lord. Does Mama know?”

They stared at each other.

So many questions started to form and then disintegrated. Meghan stared at Sarah, and for the first time, she wasn’t sure what to say, and worse, what to do. She had always been the problem solver of the family. She always had a plan, led the charge.

“We’ll have to tell Chloe, won’t we?” Sarah asked. “It’s only right… isn’t it?”

“I don’t know,” Meghan said slowly. She’d had to keep a lot of confidences for work, but nothing from her family. Not ever. And she felt like she and her sisters—except Sarah—were all on thin ice with her parents at the moment.

---