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“Wait, I know that name.” Rose put her hand over the phone and called her aunt, but Maggie could hear every word yelled in her ear. “Liz, who’s Justin Chastain?”

She heard mumbling, the rise and fall of excited voices.

“Maggie, it’s Aunt. Justin Chastain is Doc Chastain’s son.”

“I don’t remember who he is, but I remember Justy.”

“Chastain? Remember taking Barney to the vet when he ate the fishhook?”

Barney had been Grandpa’s hound dog.

“I sort of remember going because Justy was there trying to pull my braids.”

“Yes! Rose, maybe you remember Vic’s son, Justin.”

“I do,” Rose’s voice yelled from the background.

“Your mother actually dated Victor Chastain.”

Maggie could hear her in the background: “Oh, for God’s sake, don’t tell the girl that.”

Maggie began to laugh. Her mother and aunt were like a bad comedy team.

“So she dated him. What became of it?”

“Nothing, so you’re free to flirt with his son. He’s not your half brother.”

Roaring laughing, Rose Angel was mortified at the suggestion that she’d try to pass Maggie off as someone else’s daughter.

“I never had sex with him,” Rose told Maggie after taking the phone away from Elizabeth. “Your poor father is probably rolling over in his grave right now.”

“Dad’s fine,” Maggie said, laughing. “Anyway, I’d better go. I have so much to do today, and I want to take the skiff into town and see about pie baking for Café Delphine.”

“Honey, I was just saying that. I’m not sure they’d really buy your pies. I got that idea from a movie somewhere.”

“Mildred Pierce,” Maggie said, laughing out loud. “With Joan Crawford. OrWaitress. I think there were several movies. Anyway, I’m just kidding. I don’t know how to turn the oven on in this place. I’d probably burn it down.”

“It’s just a regular stove, my love. No magic to it at all.”

“Well, whatever. I want to take the skiff into town, and that seemed like a good excuse.”

“Let me know how it goes. You taking that boat into town on your own is just another reason for me to be in awe of my own flesh and blood.”

“Tell Aunt Elizabeth,” she said. “And if you talk to Annie, tell her, too. They won’t believe it either.”

“I will, honey. Talk to you later.”

When they hung up, Maggie thought her mother had a touch of her old accent back that she’d worked so hard to get rid of.

Taking her coffee cup and phone back inside, she carefully locked the door behind her even though it was broad daylight, still not in tune to the rhythm of her life yet at the cove.

The next order of business was to strip her old bed in what was now the guest room and wash that bedding down. She worked methodically for an hour. Between running the washer and unpacking her boxes, she felt accomplished.

In the living room, adding her books to the shelves really made the room come alive for her. Methodically dusting and arranging the shelves, her books mixed with Grandfather Lonnie Langtry’s just completed that circle that Rose had been talking about. She’d come full circle.

After the sheets came out of the dryer, she made the bed up. The room was ready for guests. Who would come first? The only thing left to do in this room was wash the windows; she hoped it would allow some light in to brighten up the space.

She was free to take the skiff into town now. A little concern about her computer and a few other valuables being left behind made her come to the decision that she was going to buy a safe. It wasn’t giving in to fear, it was being smart. But just to be safe, she would stash her computer as far back into the cedar closet as she could.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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