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Clasping a hand over my mouth, I gasped. “I can’t believe this.” Tears filled my eyes as I passed it to Jensen. “I’ll be right back.”
I raced inside to what used to be the old library. There were hundreds of books lined on the built-in bookshelves. My fingers skimmed quickly over the titles, and when I finally found the one I was looking for, I hastily pulled it off the shelf. It felt like my heart was about to burst out of my chest.
Ellen Thomas was my grandmother’s pseudonym; it made perfect sense. Ellen was her middle name and Thomas was the man she loved.
With trembling fingers, I opened the book to a page in the middle just as a wave of tears fell down my cheeks. I only read a few words, but the main characters were Rachel and Thomas. It was their love story.
Clutching the book to my chest, I hurried back outside. “Look,” I said, handing it to Jensen. “My grandmother wrote the story and had it published. Nyla found that blurry picture inside of it. I can’t believe I didn’t think to read the book.”
Jensen flipped through the pages, his eyes lit with awe. “Your grandmother had a ton of secrets, but I never would’ve guessed they’d have been as extravagant as this.” He handed the book back to me, and I held it to my heart. “If you want all the answers, I bet you’ll find them in there,” he said, nodding at the book.
Excitement coursed through my body. “Oh, I have no doubt. I plan on reading it, starting right now.”
Jensen chuckled and got to his feet. “I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
He kissed the top of my head and went inside, leaving me with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. I climbed into my grandmother’s favorite rocking chair and opened the book to page one.
Was there going to be a happy ending, one that was different to how their real-life love affair ended?
I was about to find out.
34
EVERLEIGH
TWO WEEKS LATER
Today was the day.
As I stared out the glass door toward the ocean, I could see everyone gathered on the sand, waiting for me. Jensen was already out there with Seth by his side.
Nyla walked up to me, dressed in the crimson bridesmaid’s gown I’d picked out for her; her gaze was transfixed on the picture-perfect view. The sky was the prettiest shade of bluish-purple, and the clouds in the distance were cast in a pink and orange glow thanks to the setting sun. I couldn’t have asked for better weather on my wedding day.
“How are you feeling?” Nyla asked.
A smile spread across my face. “Good.” I turned to her and winked. “Maybe just a bit nauseous.”
She giggled. “When are you going to tell everyone?”
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. My grandmother wasn’t the only one who could keep secrets; I had one of my own.
“Today,” I promised, grinning wide. “I don’t think I can wait any longer.”
Movement outside caught my attention, and I watched as my father started up the walkway toward the house; it was almost time.
Nyla gasped and grabbed my hands. “You never got the chance to tell me what happened in your grandmother’s book. I want to know what happened.”
When I first started reading it, I was so engrossed in the story that I barely ate until I finished it. I’d never laughed and cried so hard in my life. The love story between my grandmother and Thomas was tragic and full of passion, but the storydidhave a happy ending.
I thought maybe my grandmother would’ve had her characters end up together, but the book turned out to be the exact same as her real life. Thomas married another woman, and Rachel found love again with the man her parents wanted her to marry.
It was nice to see that she had no regrets and was happy with her life.
However, the part in the book where Thomas died at sea was the most heart-wrenching chapter I’d ever read in any book. I could feel my grandmother’s pain and agony over his loss. I firmly believe that writing the book was my grandmother’s way of healing.
In the end, everything turned out the way it was supposed to. I explained all of that to Nyla and she clutched her chest.
“Do you mind if I read it?”
