Chapter 24

I wokewith Dean spooning me tightly from behind, his arm around my waist and a large hand cupped my breast. I felt overwhelmed with contentment.

I can’t believe I fell asleep on him last night after the best sex of my life. I hadn’t even woken up when he’d obviously carried me upstairs.

“Morning,” Dean whispers into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. He smooths his hand down the curve of my waist and hip, then over the top of my thighs.

“Morning.” I turn my head for his kiss, and softly smile. “I wish we could stay here all day.”

Dean returns my smile. “I do too, but I guess Lucas is going to be awake soon, so we need to make a move.”

“He will be.”

Ten minutes later, I towel-dried in the bathroom before I walk back into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around my body. I stop short when I meet Dean’s heavy-lidded gaze.

“You’re wicked. Look what you’ve done to me.” He lifts the quilt from the top of his hips to show me how affected he is by me.

With a lick of my lips, I look up at the clock and realize Lucas will be up any minute. “Lucas is about to get up, but all I want to do is lick you like a popsicle.” I give him a wicked grin.

Dean arches off the bed. “I’m going to have a very cold shower. Please be dressed by the time I get out.”

I say, “I’ll start breakfast,” and grin while watching Dean climb from the bed.

“Even better.” He walks past me with a swat on my bottom.

I move downstairs and whistle away while making breakfast. I can’t remember ever feeling this way. I’ve fallen hard for Dean Evans. He always seems to know the right thing to say, or what I need, without me having to say anything. He’s easy on the eyes as well, which is an added bonus, and when naked… Oh boy!

Thomas walks through the kitchen door, which pulls me from my thoughts of a very naked Dean. “Morning, Mack,” he says, but not with his usual flare.

As I look closely at him, I notice how pale he is. “Thomas, are you all right?” I wrap my arms around him. “Come, sit down, and tell me what’s wrong. You don’t look well. Do you need to go to the doctor?”

“It’s not that, Mack,” Thomas explains, as Dean comes downstairs.

“Morning, Thomas.” Then he sees my concerned expression and pauses. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s been a very long time since anyone was worried about me. But I’m not sick, just in a little bit of a shock, I guess.”

Thomas looks at me. “I found this last night, right where you said it would be.” He takes the photograph of Rose and Jacob out of his pocket. He hands it to me, his hands unsteady. I place it face down on the table and sitting down next to him, I take hold of his hands.

“Thank you, Thomas.”

“Look at it, Mack, and read what she wrote to me.” He has tears in his eyes.

“Auntie Mack, I’m up,” Lucas shouts as he comes bouncing into the kitchen. “Thomas… Dean… You’re both here… Really early.” He pulls up short.

Not knowing what to say, Dean places one of his hands on my shoulder and squeezes. “I’ll go and distract him while you talk to Thomas,” he whispers.

I press a quick kiss to his palm before letting go. “Thank you.”

I watch Dean and Lucas retreat to the living room, no doubt to play some more Super Mario Brothers, which they are both addicted to.

I turn my attention back to Thomas and reach out to pick the photograph up. Turning it over, I take my first look at Rose.

The photograph shows a young couple who are obviously in love with each other. Jacob is taller than Rose, the top of her head only comes to around his shoulders. They are both slim built, although Jacob looks to have some muscle on him, and he has broad shoulders. Rose looks slim and delicate with a ribbon tied around her long blond hair. At least, it looks blond in the black and white photo.

I fight back tears as I look at the photograph. These two were so much in love, and the relationship ended so tragically. It breaks my heart.

I don’t feel ready to read what Rose has written, but know I must, for Thomas, and because it will only play on my mind if I don’t. I turn the photograph over and finally read what Rose has written to her brother all those years ago.

“Oh, Thomas.” I cover my mouth, tears rolling down my face.

“I know, Mack. She really did love me, and if she had made it to Boston, she said she would have come back to see me eventually. Probably when she could stand up to Mother and Father.”

I dry my eyes. “Thomas, would you mind if I take a picture with my phone of this photograph?”

“No, that’s fine. We’ll have to get you a copy made.”

“That would be great.”

About to snap a copy of the picture, Lucas comes running into the room. Thomas quickly picks the photograph up off the table and puts it back into his pocket.

I pull myself together. “Come on, time for breakfast,” I announce, as Dean enters into the kitchen.

He moves over to me and runs his hand down my back in a loving caress. “Are you okay?” he whisper before placing a sweet kiss to my lips.

“I am now,” I reply, grinning. “Come on, Dean. Let’s eat.”

Breakfast is a silent affair, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

“You’re looking mighty happy with yourself, young man,” Thomas says, pointing his fork at Dean, which draws my attention to his handsome face.

“Um, yes I am,” he replies while eating his breakfast.

“Are you going to share?” Thomas looks back and forth between Dean and myself.

“I might share my thoughts, but I’m not sharing my woman,” Dean says to a laughing Thomas across the table.

“Who’s your woman?” Lucas pipes up.

Dean pauses with the last of his breakfast about to disappear into his mouth. “Your Auntie Mack. Is that all right with you, Lucas?”

“If you make her cry, I’m going to beat you up,” Lucas growls.

Dean’s expression turns serious as he says, “If I make her cry, I’ll let you beat me up. Is that a deal?” He holds out his hand to Lucas, who looks at it then shakes it with sticky fingers.

“Deal.”

“Don’t I get a say in any of this?” I ask.

Lucas and Dean both look my way. “No!” they say together.

I laugh. “Okay, if all the macho stuff is out of the way, what’s everyone doing today?”

“I’m going drinking with Thomas,” Lucas informs us with glee.

“Oh, you are, are you?” I raise an eyebrow in Thomas’s direction and wait for an explanation, which isn’t long in coming.

“Well now, I usually meet a couple of old friends every week, and today is the day. We play cards, and people watch. They want me to bring Lucas as I mentioned him a time or two the other night.”

I frown, not sure it wise to give Lucas freedom around three elder men. “Are you sure Lucas will be okay there?”

“Don’t be worrying. You have enough on your plate right now. Lucas will be fine. If I didn’t think he would be, I wouldn’t take him.”

“Okay, but I’ll pick him up just after lunch.”

Lucas starts jumping up and down. “Yes, yes, yes, I’m going drinking. I’m going drinking.” He dances around the kitchen.

I drop my head into my hands, groaning. Dean and Thomas roar with laughter.

“Lucas. Do not, under any condition, tell your father.”

“Why, Auntie Mack? Daddy always says you have to at least do everything once.”

I glance at Thomas and Dean then give them a dirty look because they are still laughing. “Lucas, I don’t think your daddy meant for you to do it all while you’re still six.”

“Okay, scout’s honor, this is our secret. I’m going up to wash my hands. Back in a minute, Thomas.” Lucas rushes off.

“You do realize as soon as he sees his father that this adventure will be the first thing, he tells him?” I pick up my coffee and take a sip while thinking about Lucas’s trip with Thomas. Hopefully, he won’t get into too much trouble.

“Spend today with me again?” Dean asks, breaking into my thoughts.

“I’d love to.”

* * *

“Well,who do we have here, Thomas?”

“This is my good friend, Lucas Cartwright. Lucas, meet a couple of friends of mine, Levi, and Walt. We’ve been friends for seventy-seven years.”

Lucas’s jaw dropped and Levi smiled. “Well, come on over here and tell us some gossip, kid.”

He took a seat between Levi and Thomas. “What do you want to know?”

“Well now, let me think. What’s going on up at that cottage of Thomas’s that you’re staying in?”

“Oh, that’s easy. My auntie has a secret about something she found about someone named Rose, and Dean slept in her bed last night, but she doesn’t know I know that. Is that what you mean?” Lucas looked at the stunned faces looking back at him. “What did I say?”

Thomas came back to his wits first. “You did fine, Lucas. Why don’t I teach you how to play poker so you can fleece your father,” he replied, trying to change the subject.

“That would be cool.” Lucas grinned.

Thomas hadn’t expected that kind of gossip to come out of Lucas’s mouth. He was a handful all right. He chuckled to himself.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, he would talk to Mack about the night Rose died. Maybe. Maybe not.

Thomas glanced quickly over at Levi and Walt, who still seemed a little bit preoccupied. He guessed they were thinking back to the time Rose died.

“Let’s shuffle the cards.”

* * *

“Dean,do you think the library here in town will have newspaper archives from 1947?” I move to sit beside him on the sofa.

He reaches out and pulls me toward him. “Probably, why? What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that if Thomas can’t talk, then surely there would have been something about a young woman going off the cliffs written up in the newspaper. If there was, why didn’t Jacob read about it? Most people read newspapers, more so back then, I would have thought.”

“You’ve got a point. Do you want to go?”

I sit up to look closely at him. “Are you sure you don’t mind spending time at the library?”

“As long as I’m with you, I don’t mind.” He caresses my face then leans in to kiss me.

As he pulls away, I lay my palms against his face and pull him down so that I can reach his lips for a quick kiss. “Mmm.” I lick my lips. “Thank you for being understanding. I really appreciate it. We could go somewhere after the library if you’d like.”

“I’d like.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. I took a picture of the photograph Thomas found. Let me show you.”

Reaching for my phone, I open the photograph app and click on the image I took. Unfortunately, it’s a really bad copy and doesn’t really show the faces. I must have taken the picture as Thomas removed it from the table when Lucas appeared.

“Damn, this is totally rubbish. Look.” I pass my phone to Dean.

“You can take another one, Mack. In fact, when we go to visit my grandfather, I’ll bring my laptop and portable scanner back here, and we can get a better copy for you.” Dean stands and grabs his jacket from the back of the kitchen chair.

I follow him out of the cottage. “That would be great. Thanks.”

He puts his arm around my neck and brings me in close before he places a soft kiss on the top of my head. “Come on, the library awaits,” he says.

It only takes ten minutes before Dean pulls his bike into a parking space outside of the library while I wonder if it’s the same library where Rose had worked all those years ago. Parts of it certainly look old enough, although it look like new sections have been added over time.

We climb off Dean’s bike and remove our helmets. I reach up and pull his head down to mine for a slow kiss, and then once I pull away, I give him a flirtatious look.

“What was that for?” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me even closer to nuzzle into my neck.

“I can’t resist you.” I groan.

A car suddenly backfires, which brings us back to our senses. I take a deep breath and move away. “We’d better head inside.”

I giggle when I catch the look on Dean’s face. We are acting like lovesick teenagers. I open the door to the library and stand with my hands on my hips, waiting for him to catch up.

He ushers me inside, laughing.

The library is large as I glance around the sturdy bookshelves that line the walls, marching across the floor in rows, curling around reading nooks and study areas. A long front desk manned by librarians and their assistants looks busy for a small town.

An assistant directs us to the relevant section, telling us to come find him if we need any help.

Dean joins me and reaching for me, pulls me in for a quick kiss. “He wanted you,” he mutters.

I frown. “Who? The assistant?”

Dean glares.

“Well, I’m taken.” I move away. “The newspapers we want are over here. Apparently, each page is laminated for protection, so he didn’t have any problem leaving us alone in here.” I look back at Dean.

“Alone? For how long?”

I laugh. “Come over here and help. You’re taller than me.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He saunters over, laughing.

He lifts the volume down that covers the week of April 14, 1947, and sets it down on the table, while I take my jacket off and place it on top of his on the chair.

I’m really excited, hoping there is something in these papers about what happened to Rose. It appears to have been awhile since anyone has looked through them because they are caked in a few layers of dust. I blow it off the best I can, then turn the page to April 15th. We eagerly scan each page closely to try to find something.

As we carefully look through the 19th, I start to lose hope of finding anything. It’s five days after the event, and surely, it will have been covered before then.

As I start to turn the page, something catches Dean’s eye. He places his hand out and stops the page from turning. “Mack, look. Read this.”

April 19, 1947

Today the Coast Guard called off the search for the missing person who was witnessed falling to their death over the cliffs on the evening of the 14th. Female clothing has come ashore on the beach, but as of yet, there is still no sign of a body.

If anyone has any information about the identity of the missing person, presumed female, please contact . . .

“Could this be Rose?” I lift my eyes to look at Dean, excitement filling me gaze.

He pulls me out of the chair and onto his lap. “I don’t know. It sounds like it. But why isn’t her name in the article? It’s as though no one knows it’s Rose.”

I snuggle into him. “I’m going to have to ask Thomas. It doesn’t make sense. Her family obviously had money. If her father was trying to marry her off to a wealthy guy, her drowning should have been bigger news.”

“Come on, let’s go and get something to eat, then head back and see if there’s anything out there on the internet about Rose. There should at least be a death certificate we can view.”

* * *

“It’s Auntie Mack and Dean.”Lucas shoots up out of his chair and runs straight into my arms.

“Are you okay, Lucas?” I ask as Dean walks in, ruffling Lucas’ hair.

“Yes.” He moves and sits down to finish his lunch.

Thomas wipes his mouth with a napkin with a soft smile on his face as he gazes at Lucas, who is busy arranging his remaining fries into a row of soldiers on this place. Lucas then shovels more ketchup-covered fries into his mouth. “I can play poker,” Lucas adds with great pride.

“Oh, you can, can you?” I grin at Dean.

“Mack, Dean,” Thomas says, “I’d like you to meet Levi.”

“What? You’re Levi. I mean, Levi?” I laugh. “Sorry, I’m not usually an idiot. I mean Levi as in the childhood friend of Thomas?” I find it unbelievable that Levi and Thomas are still best friends after all these years.

Dean hands me an ice-cold Pepsi and puts his down on the table. He carries a couple of chairs over for us. Placing both chairs close together, he eases me down into one. He gives my shoulder a squeeze and whispers in my ear, “What’s wrong?”

I turn to reply and stop when I realize how close to Dean’s face I am. Looking into his eyes, I lean forward slightly. “I’m okay.” Then I kiss him.

I move slightly away and notice a twinkle in Thomas’s eye. He probably has us married already, I think.After I’ve taken a long drink of the Pepsi, I look over at Thomas. “How long have you known Levi?”

“Seventy-seven years, or thereabouts.”

“Damn, that’s a long time,” Dean mutters.

“In Rose’s diary, she mentioned you a couple of times. In fact, the description that really made me laugh was about you and Thomas running off with an apple pie, and that you both got caught returning the plate.”

“I remember that as though it was yesterday,” Levi replies laughing.

“Levi, can I ask you something?”

He pauses, and taking a sip of his drink, he quickly glances at Thomas. “Yes, I guess. As long as it isn’t going to get me into trouble.”

Dean reaches down and removes my hand from his thigh. He laced our fingers together.

“Do you remember Rose? What she was like?”

“I do.” He has a slight blush. “She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, and I had a crush on her. I didn’t tell Thomas, but I had planned on marrying her when I was ten.”

“I knew.” Thomas laughs.

“What’s a crush?” Lucas asks, having finished his huge, ice cream sundae.

“A crush is when you really like someone, and you can’t think about anyone else,” I reply to Lucas, who still looks confused.

“So, you mean like you and Dean?”

“Yes, like me and your Auntie Mack,” Dean answers, grinning at me.

Dean’s phone starts to ring. “Excuse me a minute. It’s my mother.” He stands, and before he walks outside to answer the call, places a quick kiss on the top of my head.

My sandwich arrives but I keep glancing outside to catch a glimpse of Dean. Wherever he is, my eyes are always drawn to him. Is this how Rose felt when she was with Jacob?

Dean comes back inside and appears rather distracted as he sits back down. “Is everything okay? You look bothered.”

He sighs in frustration. “I’m fine.” Then he holds my gaze. “I have to go to Boston tomorrow for a garden party at my folks’ place. Do you and Lucas want to go with me? We would, of course, have to go in your car, but we could share the driving. We could also bring my laptop and scanner back as well.”

I stay silent, not sure whether it’s a good idea to meet his family after only knowing each other for a short time.

“Mack?” he asks nervously.

“Are you sure you want me to meet your family?” I whisper.

Dean takes hold of my hands. “Yes, I do. I need to warn you, though, Cynthia, who I mentioned before, will be there trying to get her claws into me…you know…maybe this isn’t a good idea, after all.”

I hear Dean say Cynthia is going to be there and feel my hackles rise at the woman’s name. There is no way my man is going to a party without me when another woman wants him. No way in hell.

“Yes, we would love to go,” I reply and notice a mixture of relief and fright cross Dean’s face. I giggle. “I’ll sharpen my knives. No one messes with my guy.”

“You’re hot when you’re being protective, and honey, I’m all yours,” Dean whispers into my ear.

Thomas stands, and taking hold of Lucas’s hand, says, “We’re going to the beach for the afternoon, so I’ll have the boy back home for dinner.”

“Are you sure, Thomas?” I’m worried about leaving Lucas all day with him. I’m supposed to be the one spending all my time with him.

“I’m sure… I’m not about to miss dinner,” Thomas says while I grin at his cheek.

We finish our lunch in silence as we watch Thomas and Levi take Lucas across the road to the shady part of the beach. For the second time, I wonder what it would be like to live in Cape Elizabeth instead of the city.

“You finished?” Dean asks rather abruptly.

“I am, thanks. That was really good.” I wipe my mouth on a napkin while I watch Dean place the dishes onto the bar and let my mind wander back to last night and how he’d looked.

Dean starts to head back and notices the way my eyes rove over him. He hesitates. “What do you want to do now?”

I lick my lips and stand. “Mmm, how about going back to my place?” I wiggle my brows.

Dean tightens his hold on his jacket, picks the helmets up, and then practically drags me out of the door.

Not ten minutes later, I lead Dean into the cottage, enjoying watching him prowl toward me as I perch on the edge of the kitchen table and smirk while I slowly unfasten the top button of my shirt. “Love me,” I whisper.

The minute I unfasten my jeans, Dean rips his T-shirt over his head, and his lips meet mine in a fiery kiss that sends currents of desire racing through me. He grasps my bottom in his big hands and pulls me against his arousal that throbs behind his zipper.

Dean pushes me slightly away to unhook my bra, and as he eases the cups away, he hisses at the sight. He places a teasing kiss to one of my rose-colored nipples while my hands run along the planes of his back. The heat and lust between us drives my desire higher especially when his mouth latches around a nipple. He sucks and plays with the hardening bud with his delicious tongue.

“Dean,” I groan, frantic.

He pushes me back so that I’m lying on the table as he watches my breasts heave, my nipples red and swollen from his mouth. He makes quick work of my jeans and panties. As soon as I’m free of clothing, I wrap my legs around his hips and rub myself on him.

Dean pants. “You drive me totally crazy. You know that Mack?”

I moan. “Dean, now!” I grab hold of Dean’s arm and pull myself up. I unzip his jeans, push them down past his hips and take hold of his erection, which pulses and weeps in my hands.

“Christ, Mack.” He moves my hands away and crushes his lips against mine. He grabs my hips with his trembling hands, moves me to the edge of the table, and thrusts inside.

I gasp and watch his reaction as I clench around his shaft, smiling when his eyes roll back in pleasure.

* * *

Dean comesup behind me in the kitchen as I stir the sauce in a pan, wrapping his arms around my midriff, my heart flutters. He places kisses along my neck. “Mmm, you taste good.”

I smile up at him, quickly kiss him, and then push him slightly away. “Thomas and Lucas are here.”

“What have you been doing while we were at the beach?” Lucas asks, which makes me blush and I catch Dean smiling.

“I’ve been cooking, and Dean has been trying to beat his score on that game you both seem to like.”

“Cool.” Lucas heads into the living room to check out Dean’s latest score.

“Thomas, can I ask you something about Rose, please?” Dean asks, which draws both mine and Thomas’s attention.

“I guess.” Sitting down, Thomas looks apprehensive.

“Why isn’t Rose’s name in the newspapers about her disappearance?” Thomas raises his head, as Dean continues, “It says in the paper ‘missing person,’ and they also ask for anyone to come forward if they know the identity of that person. We visited the library archives this morning.”

Thomas lets out a long slow sigh. “It was Rose. Richard, who wanted to marry her, was the son of the paper’s owner at the time. My father had a word with him, and although something had to be printed, they made sure it was very small and with no names.”

I shoot a quick glance to Dean.

“Looking back now, I guess they could have done that so Jacob, if reading a paper, wouldn’t have a clue it was Rose. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps they blamed him and thought he would suffer more anguish thinking she didn’t love him and had chosen Richard instead of letting him know that she’d died,” Thomas says.

“That is sad. Did they ever find her?” I ask.

Tears sting Thomas’s eyes. “No.”

I take hold of Thomas’s hands while Dean puts his arm around my shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Thomas,” I say, crying with him and for him.

“Don’t worry. It was a long time ago. It’s hard reliving it.” He pats my hand.

“I’m not helping, am I?” I wipe my tears away.

“It’s time I got everything off my chest. I’m feeling weary tonight, but maybe tomorrow.” He smiles softly.

I squeeze Thomas’s hand in thanks and while I’m lost in my own thoughts, Dean is inviting Thomas to go with us to the garden party tomorrow, much to Lucas’s delight.