Light of my Life

Fourteen

FOURTEEN

Duke rubbed his palms up and down her arms and around her back, trying to bring back warmth to her body. Perhaps he should have eased into the topic instead of jump right in. He also kept waiting for her to yell at him or get upset for finding the old woman first.

She tilted back her head and met his stare. "Are... you certain it was her?"

He nodded. "I believe so. The older woman has your eyes and the shape of your face. She also has your sweetness. Her name is Mrs. Densley. As we were talking, and I'd mentioned that I was helping my friend, Amelia Florence, she remarked on having a granddaughter with that name."

Slowly, Amelia shook her head. "I don't remember the name Densley." She shrugged. "Then again, I called her Grandmother Ruth and Grandfather Hank. I also remember that she and Grandfather gave us peppermint sticks." Tears filled her eyes again, but they didn't fall. "Our family moved away from them when I was seven. Grandmother and Grandfather had visited us twice after that." She breathed in a shaky breath. "When the Stones first came to the school to take us to the orphanage, Bobby kept telling them that we had grandparents that would raise us. The Stones wouldn't listen. They didn't care."

His heart twisted. "My darling, Amelia." He cupped her face with one hand. "Then we need to get you and Mr. and Mrs. Densley together to see if they are your grandparents. She was a very nice lady. You would love her."

She nodded and pushed out of his arms, wiping her eyes. "Yes, you're right. I'm ready. Lead the way."

He kissed her forehead again. "Darling, I think you'd better go first. We'll be seen coming out of the trees together. That's not a good thing."

"True." She gave him a weak smile. "I'll go first."

"Be strong, Amelia. I know you can do this."

"Yes. I can."

As he watched her walk toward the cabin, his heart swelled with love. Although she didn't really say yes to his marriage proposal, he was certain she loved him enough to want to marry him. They were good together. She completed him just as he knew he completed her. And while she went through this difficult time of finding her family, he'd be right beside her.

Before they married, however, he needed to meet with Mayor Tidwell and get this case closed. Someone else would have to find the mayor's daughter – as long as they stayed far away from Amelia since she was innocent.

Voices from the arriving wagons had him focusing on those instead of his thoughts. Bobby and Uncle Theo had come out to help greet their visitors as Amelia ran toward the group. So far, he could see a table and chairs in one wagon, and a dresser in another wagon, and in the third wagon was a couch.

He smiled, saying a prayer of thanks that Spruce Hill was the kind of town where neighbors helped each other. He also prayed these were forgiving people, too, especially when they discovered Amelia wasn't really widowed and Gracie isn't her daughter.

Once Amelia reached the wagons and was being introduced to some of the townsfolk, Duke felt it safe to leave the trees. He casually walked in their direction as he eyed those who helped to carry the furniture into the house and those wagons still arriving. Thankfully, none of them were Mr. or Mrs. Densley. He didn't want everyone around when Amelia finally recognized her grandparents. That sort of meeting needed to be done in private.

One wagon pulled to a stop and the woman whose hair was dark like Amelia's and who had a little girl sitting beside her, stood up and gasped. Her attention was on Bobby.