Felicity and Gran were in the sitting room knitting when the door opened and Brent walked in with another man. Felicity put her knitting down and walked over to them. “Brent, you’re back,” she stated the obvious.
“I am.”
Gran crossed over to them and stared intently at the man for a moment. She reached out and grabbed Felicity’s arm, steadying herself, and gasped as she continued to focus on the man’s face. Finally, she said, “Jonah?”
“Darlene, good to see you,” the man said quietly.
“But… I thought…”
Gran looked like she’d seen a ghost. Felicity looked from Gran to the man, and back to Gran.
“The facts of my death were greatly exaggerated.” He smiled softly.
“But why didn’t you tell us?” Gran’s forehead creased.
“It was better for people to think I was gone.”
“You mean, Eleanor?”
The man’s eyes widened. “You… knew?”
“I knew. But Eleanor didn’t know I knew. She thought it was her secret.” Gran frowned. “You know, it broke her heart when she heard you died.”
“It was best for her. Made things easier.” He shrugged. “And my family sure didn’t want to tangle with the Whitmores. Mr. Whitmore would have made it impossible for my parents to find work if I crossed him. I couldn’t do that to them. Besides, Theodore was a good match for Ellie.”
Gran snorted. Felicity looked at her grandmother in surprise. “Gran?”
“Theodore was a horrible match for Eleanor. There was no love between them their whole marriage. She just went through the motions for so many years. When he died, I almost think she was relieved. She could just live her life on her own terms then.”
“I… didn’t know. I thought she’d be happy with him. They were… similar. Came from similar backgrounds.”
“Theodore Griffin was a cold…”
Felicity was almost sure Gran was going to curse—which she never did—but caught herself.
Gran continued, “Ah… a cold man. He controlled everything about what Eleanor could say or do. It was disheartening to watch. But I do feel like she’s found some peace now.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I’m not understanding all of this,” she finally said. “Gran? Brent?”
Brent turned to her. “Felicity, meet my uncle, Jonah Burton. Jonah, this is Felicity, Darlene’s granddaughter. Darlene owns the B&B.”
Jonah held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
She shook his hand as if it was completely normal to shake the hand of a dead man.
Brent turned to Gran. “Darlene, I was hoping you had a room for Jonah. He’s going to stay for a few days.”
“Of course. Yes. Jonah, please stay. Come, and let me get you checked in.” Gran turned to her. “Why don’t you and Brent go sit out on the porch for a bit? I think you have some catching up to do.”
Felicity led Brent out to the porch. They took seats side by side as she tried to process everything she’d heard. “So… Jonah is your uncle?”
“He is. I can’t believe I have family. It’s like a miracle.”
“I’m happy for you, Brent. I am. But how did you find him?”
“I found an obituary for my mother. It said she had a living daughter and son. So I started doing some digging.”
