Page 23 of Letters from the Heart

“I called because I wanted to say good luck.” She giggled. “I hope you have a wonderful time.”

I looked out the front window in time to see a car pull into my driveway. I frowned. It looked like Melinda’s car. “Well, you called just in time. I believe he might be here.”

“Okay, I will let you go. Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

I laughed. “You mean, anything you wouldn’t do now?”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, if I recall correctly, you too had your share of apprehension when Thomas returned.”

“That’s because I thought I knew what he was all about.” She giggled. “Turned out I was very wrong, but that’s not a subject we need to talk about now.”

I heard a firm knock on the door. “Okay, I’ve got to go,” I whispered and hung up before Trinity said anything else.

I smoothed my dress down over my hips, removing any wrinkles that may have appeared, and walked to the door. Grabbing the door handle, I noticed my hand shaking, and I stopped to take a breath and calm myself down. When I opened the door, Ethan stood there. His eyes ran down the length of my body and back up before meeting my eyes.

“Hi, Peggy.” He hesitated for a moment, his eyes once again looking me over.

My stomach dropped. This was the wrong dress. I knew it. My stomach flipped with nerves, and I felt self-conscious. I shifted from one foot to the other, wanting to run and change before we left.

Ethan cleared his throat. “You look stunning.”

I felt my cheeks heat as we stood there, and somewhere inside of me, I felt a little more comfortable in this dress. Ethan looked handsome, dressed all in black. It brought out his piercing blue eyes, which I loved looking at. I also noticed his strong tatted forearms. It was as if he’d stepped off the pages of one of my books. A surge of excitement ran through me when I noticed his eyes roam over my body once again.

“You ready to go?” he questioned.

I nodded. “Just let me grab my purse.”

“Sure thing.”

As I pulled the door shut and locked it, a loose piece of window trim fell onto the porch. Immediately, I went to grab it, but Ethan beat me to it. “Looks like this needs to be repaired.”

“Oh, yes, it’s been broken for a while. I’ll get around to fixing it, eventually,” I said nervously, taking the wood from him and putting it back up over the window from where it had fallen. “Isn’t this Melinda’s car?” I questioned, trying to take the attention off my rundown old place.

“It is. I asked her if I could borrow it. I had to sell mine before I left for overseas. There really wasn’t much point in having a car here when it was just going to sit and rust.”

“That’s true,” I replied. “That would just be a waste.”

“Yep, when I left, Melinda wasn’t old enough to drive yet. So, I couldn’t give her the car.”

“How old was she when you left?” I questioned.

“Thirteen. I had to work to support her. So, after Polly passed away, I sold our place and our vehicles. I left shortly after that, and Melinda went to live with her aunt and uncle.”

“Wow, you really just let go of everything?”

“I did. I had to. It was the only way I knew how to move on. The only thing I regret about that decision is that I wasn’t here to see my daughter grow up. I missed out. But there is time to rebuild what we lost.”

“Did you find you moved on okay after that?”

“I did. Healing somehow seemed easier. Didn’t you find that after you moved here?”

“In some ways, yes. In other’s not so much.” I shrugged.

“How so?”

“Well, I gave up the life I knew for a life I didn’t. It was a big change, leaving a lot of our friends behind.”

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