It still didn’t make sense.
First, it was the news of the foreclosure.
Then, it was finding out her mother had been sick, sick enough that it appeared to have sidelined her career.
Now, she was realizing her grandfather had kept secrets too
The book looked untouched and undisturbed by time, and she wondered if it was because her father hadn’t found it yet.
Was it a family curse she was doomed to pass on?
When the microwave beeped, Emma pressed a button and drifted out of the kitchen. She stood in front of her father’s study for a long time, trying to talk herself out of going in. Squaringher shoulders, she twisted the knob and breathed a sigh of relief when it swung open without the need for her to pick the lock. Inside, the room revealed a mahogany, rectangular-shaped desk, a telescope set up next to the window, and rows upon rows of books scattered on a shelf next to a fireplace.
The fibers of the carpet tickled her bare feet as she held her breath and crept inside.
Emma flipped through a few maps and charts, all of them marked with her father’s cursive handwriting. Then, she sat down behind his desk and idly rummaged through the drawers, listening carefully as she did. As soon as she stopped at the last drawer, which wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she yanked, she threaded two fingers through her hair and pulled out a clip.
Her heart raced as she unlocked the drawer and took out a frayed, brown folder with old letters and photographs shoved inside. Frowning, she carefully placed the folder on her father’s desk and paused to flick on the lamp. All of the pictures were of her grandfather in an army green uniform with piping—a helmet perched on his head and a grim look in his eyes.
Emma studied the dog tags around his neck, and her frown deepened.
Why was her father hiding pictures of her grandfather in full World War II regalia?
She was still peering at the photographs and trying to make sense of the smudged ink on some of the older letters when she heard a car outside. Emma’s breath hitched in her throat as she shoved everything back into the folder, slammed the drawer shut, and flicked off the lamp. Her hands were trembling as she hid the folder under her robe and darted out of the study. Then, she raced down the hallway and up the stairs to her room.
Once she was safely under the covers, the front door clicked open, and Jules’s voice drifted up. Emma pushed the folderunderneath the bed and flipped onto her back, praying her daughter wouldn’t be able to hear the tremor in her voice.
The door creaked open, and Jules stuck her head in, her cheeks flush with color and smelling like freshly fallen snow. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” Emma pushed herself up on her elbows and forced a smile to her lips. “How’s the decorating committee?”
Jules pushed the door open the rest of the way and made a face. “Everyone has a lot of strong opinions, but I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement. I just thought I’d check in.”
“I’m fine, sweetheart.” Emma adjusted the covers around her and sighed. “I think being back here is just catching up to me is all.”
Jules gave her a pointed look. “You can always talk to me, you know. Anyway, I thought I’d ask if you wanted to try taking a Christmas picture with Grandma and Grandpa later. We haven’t had one of those in ages.”
Emma bit down on her bottom lip and nodded. “Sure.”
Jules crossed over to hug her and lingered.
She waited for the car to drive away. Then, Emma threw the covers off and yanked on a pair of jeans and a heavy pullover. In her car, she turned up the heat and kept sneaking glances at the folder laid out on the passenger seat. She pulled up into an empty spot across the street from the library and raced out, hair whipping behind her. Her eyes were burning, and her teeth were chattering when she stepped in, the smell of sugar, cinnamon, and ginger slamming into her.
Had someone snuck some gingerbread cookies in, or were the librarians using some new air freshener?
She liked that it smelled different every time she walked in, but each scent, without fail, was warm and inviting, like a nice, cozy fireplace beckoning her forward.
Emma exhaled and spotted Marley in the back, organizing a few of the books while she tapped her feet to some unheard melody.
Marley’s eyes widened when Emma wrapped a hand around her wrist and tugged her toward a computer station in the back. “Whoa, there, where’s the fire?”
Emma stopped in front of a station in the back and glanced around. “I have to show you something I found.”
Marley motioned for her to continue.
Emma threw the folder onto the desk and ran a hand over her face. “I found these in my father’s study. I’m not even sure why he had them in a locked drawer. We all know Grandpa was in the war and that he was a cryptographer.”
Marley’s mouth fell open as she traced the edges of the papers slowly, reverently. “He used to decrypt things for the Army? That’s so cool.”
