Page 131 of My Heart Will Find You

He started piling meat and cheese onto bread. “I identify with the owner of the place. There was a whole row of old-time canned peaches in there. My favorite fruit.”

Something else Henry didn’t remark on, she thought. “So. You became a veterinarian.”

“I did. I wanted a job that would let me travel. There are animals everywhere.”

She made herself a sandwich. “You weren’t tempted to become a doctor like your mother?”

“Too much responsibility. When a patient died, Mom would get depressed.”

“I never saw that in Martha. I guess she hid it.” When Max was silent, she realized her error. “Sorry. I’ve read and heard so much about this place that I feel like I know the people.”

“Ben said you and Dad were writing a novel, a piece of fiction. He’s never done that before. You two work well together.”

She didn’t want the conversation to be about her. “I guess you know that he wants you to stay here.”

“Oh yeah. Like Ben. Marriage and kids and a mortgage.” When he looked at her, his eyes were sparkling. “I’m willing, but she hasn’t found me.”

Etta remembered what she’d been told, but she wanted to hear his side. “What do you mean?”

“When I was a teenager and saying I wanted to travel forever, Dad said that some girl would find me.”

“Like Henry found you.”

He gave a little laugh. “You know as much about my family as I do. Anyway, Dad said this girl would find me no matter where I was in the world. Even if she had to travel from the moon. She hasn’t found me yet, so I must keep wandering.”

“Maybe she’ll go in the other direction. If you were in, say, 1871, maybe she would appear out of nowhere. She’d suddenly be standing in a church wearing a lace jacket and her father would be conducting a marriage ceremony.”

Max laughed. “Ben said your book was good. I see how vivid your imagination is. I really hope you’ll stay with Dad.”

“So you can leave?” There was a wave of something that crossed his eyes. A sadness, a longing, and it was painful to see. “What happens if she finds you?” she asked. “Would you trade the jungles of the world for a mortgage?”

He looked as though all humor had left him. “I’d trade my life for what my brother has.”

For a moment their eyes locked, and it was like a bond passed between them. They understood each other. She saw what Henry called the “melancholy” and the emptiness that lived inside him. She had a feeling that her eyes looked exactly the same.

He was the one to turn away. “What’s that?”

He was looking at the brochure she’d picked up at the church. She handed it to him.

He unfolded it and looked at the photos. “It’s nice to see a forgotten town so well documented. ‘Cornelia Kecklin Lloyd,’” he read out loud. “She seemed to have been the money behind it all. Wonder where it came from?”

“Her father, John Kecklin, tried to buy Kansas. Looks like his daughter talked him out of it. What does it say about her?” She handed him a chocolate-covered oat bar.

He began to read.

“‘The small town of Garrett, Kansas, was frozen in time by the renowned artist, Henry Fredericks, in his book of drawings and paintings from 1871.

“Unfortunately, when the train moved to Wichita, the townspeople left. They abandoned their homes and businesses, often leaving their possessions behind.

“Over the years, only the church was kept in repair, while the town buildings were allowed to decay. In 1930, Mrs. Cornelia Kecklin Lloyd, the brilliant architect for the Church of Garrett, was eighty-six years old. She said that it was a ‘loss of our heritage’ that the town would eventually disappear.

“Mrs. Lloyd hired her son and her four grandchildren to rebuild the town, using Kecklin money. In the restoration, she gave many jobs to people during the Depression. It took years to rebuild the town, but Mrs. Lloyd lived long enough to see it restored to what it had been. At the ribbon cutting, she said, ‘I cannot adequately describe what it means to me to see this dear little town brought back to life. To those of us who lived here, it wasn’t just a town. It was where we made lifelong friends. To me and to the people I have lost, it is the most beautiful place on earth. I miss all of you and I will join you soon.’”

Etta was blinking quickly. Cornelia had lost her beloved Bert, but she’d had at least one child and multiple grandchildren.

“You okay?” Max asked.

“Fine. I’m glad she got to see the town restored.”

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