Page 2 of A Tempting Seduction

“Oh my stars,” the old woman breathed, pressing a hand to her chest. “That hair looks like Dubois hair. And those eyes… Honey, you're the spitting image of my granddaughter.”

“Rose?” I whispered.

“No, honey. Rose is blonde. Edith was my redhead. You must be one of Edith's daughters.”

“I'm Ruby.” That's when I completely lost it. Five days of fear and exhaustion came pouring out in great, gasping sobs.

“Oh, sweetheart.” She wrapped her arms around me. “Come inside, baby. Come inside right now.”

Another woman, even tinier than the first, appeared from the kitchen.

“Esperance, look who's here,” the first woman said. “This is Edith's daughter, my great-grandbaby.”

They settled me on a floral couch. “I'm Gladiola Dubois-Miller, but you can call me grandmama or Miss Gladiola like everyone else. This is my sister Esperance, but everybody calls her Little Grandma.”

“Little Grandma?” I hiccupped through my tears.

“Long story,” Little Grandma said with a grin. “But what matters right now is you, sweetheart. What brings you all the way to Jasper Creek?”

“Wait here,” Miss Gladiola said before I could answer. She stood up and disappeared into another room, returning with a shoebox tied with a faded blue ribbon. “Your mother wrote to my daughter Susan for years, after she moved to California. When Susan passed…” Gladiola paused and sniffed. I reached out and patted her hand. “When Susan passed, I saved these letters, and Esperance and I read through every one of them. Of course by then we knew that your mama had passed as well. We also realized that your daddy didn't really want anyone from our side of the family to get in contact, so we kept our distance.”

My hands shook as I accepted the box with awe.

“You must have been just a baby when Edith passed,” Gladiola whispered.

“I was eleven.”

“And your sisters?”

“They were twenty and twenty-four.”

“How did you fare with just your daddy?” Little Grandma asked.

“Things were good for a while. But he remarried when I was thirteen.” I told them everything. About Lance and the engagement I'd never wanted. About finding him in bed with Carla. About Dad's warnings and his sudden death. About the long drive from California with nothing but cash, the crappy car I’d purchased, and the tiniest flicker of hope.

When I finished, both women sat in silence.

“Well,” Miss Gladiola said finally, “it sounds like you need a fresh start.”

“More than that,” Little Grandma said, her blue eyes sharp with intelligence. “She needs to disappear completely. Ruby Banks needs to cease to exist.”

“Dad already gave me identification to become Ruby Miller,” I said.

“That's a start, but it's not enough.” Little Grandma stood up and began pacing. “You need a life here. A job, friends, a reason for being in Jasper Creek.”

“But I don't know anything about small town life. And I only have thirteen hundred dollars left.”

“You'll learn,” Miss Gladiola said firmly. “Won't she, Esperance?”

Little Grandma fixed me with a look that reminded me of a general planning a military campaign. “Here's what we're going to do. We’re going to say that your mama was a friend of Gladdy's granddaughter Rose.”

“Why yes, Esperance, that’s a grand idea. An old friend of the family is as good as family around these parts. Then we’ll say you've been living in Los Angeles, working in the restaurant industry,” Miss Gladiola jumped in. “You got tired of the big city and decided to come back to your roots.”

“I did work in my friend’s family restaurant for a while.” I perked up.

“Perfect. Java Jolt just lost their assistant manager last week,” Little Grandma added with satisfaction. “Ruby Miller with restaurant experience would be exactly what they need.”

“Shouldn’t she go to work with you at the Down Home Diner?” Miss Gladiola asked.