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Mindy had always had a fascination with attics and had never lived in a house with one. But she’d read so many books as a child, and all of them had painted attics as magical, dusty old places. As she took the final step and walked into the room above, she found that what she’d read in books was half true, at least. There was dust everywhere, making it clear that no one had been up here since long before Theresa had passed away.
Mindy poked around a little, and she was just about to leave when a box in the center of the room caught her attention. It was cleaner than the rest, as if it had been put up here more recently, and it was secured with a bright red satin ribbon, the only spot of color in the entire space—which was likely why it had grabbed Mindy’s attention.
Curious to know what was contained within the box, Mindy walked forward. The attic floorboards creaked beneath her weight, and she sank down onto her knees in front of the box, then reached out and tugged carefully at the ribbon.
Making sure not to damage anything, she undid the bow in the ribbon and lifted the edges of the box, revealing stacks and stacks of envelopes that had been stuffed with something. Mindy reached inside, plucking one of the envelopes from the top of the pile and turning it so that she could read the writing on the front.
It was addressed to Theresa, but the return address was what caught her attention the most. Because the name at the top of it was none other than Noah Henderson.
These letters were decidedly not her business, but she couldn’t stop herself. She carefully opened the envelope, which had already been torn open at the top, and tugged out the folded paper that was nestled inside.
It was definitely Noah’s familiar scrawl, and Mindy excitedly began to devour the words.
Noah was telling his aunt all about college, and how much he was liking it, despite the fact that he was studying business like his father demanded instead of literature like he had wanted. He told Theresa about how he missed Snowy Pine Ridge, and how he’d been missing it for some time. But he added that it was kind of okay because he’d met a girl named Mindy, who he really liked so far.
With a little thrill of shock, her eyes darted up to the date in the top right corner, immediately registering that he must’ve written this at the very beginning of their relationship.
She reached down and grabbed another one at random from the pile, this one from a little bit before they met. And as she read this letter, she began to learn even more about what Noah’s life had been like before she’d ever even known him. Letter after letter, Mindy kept reading, losing all sense of time. For a while, she even forgot where she was as she read Noah’s words from all those years ago.
She was beginning to see Noah’s life through his eyes more than ever before, and she learned quite a bit about him that she hadn’t previously known—or at least, not fully.
In more than one letter, he talked about his father and how he felt like he’d never live up to Brett’s expectations. Noah had often spoken to Mindy of wanting to please his father, expressing concern over his dad’s high standards, but he’d never truly discussed the stress that it put him under. In the letters, however, he was open and honest in a way that tugged at her heart.
The stairs creaked, the sound of it jostling her out of her reverie and reminding her that she wasn’t alone in the house.
She blinked, looking down at the papers in her hand. Feeling suddenly a bit guilty, she began putting the letters back in their envelopes and slipping them back into the box. But she hadn’t managed to put all of them away by the time Noah got to the top of the stairs.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted, moving as quickly and carefully as she could to put the rest of them back in the box. “I shouldn’t have looked at the letters. Curiosity got the better of me, and I just couldn’t not do it. You said to explore, and I—”
“Mindy.” Noah’s voice was soft as he walked over to her, dropping to his knees so that he was at eye level. “It’s okay. I told you to explore. I meant it. I don’t mind that you read these. In fact, I’m glad you did.”
Her eyes flicked up and met his, finding nothing but sincerity lingering there.
“Really?” she asked, chewing on her lower lip. “You’re not mad?”
“Not at all. I may not remember every single thing I wrote to my aunt, but I know I didn’t say anything I’m ashamed of. I’m actually pretty sure I gushed about you quite a bit.”
She blushed. “There might have beensomegushing.”
Noah chuckled as he helped her place the letters back in the box and secure it with the ribbon. When the box was back in its place, they stood, both of them taking the time to brush the dust off of their pants before walking back down the stairs.
She was burning to ask how the conversation with his father had gone, but she also didn’t want to end up on the topic of his plans for the town. Things had been going so well between them lately, and she didn’t want to get into an argument or sour the good feelings between them. So she opted for a little bit safer territory instead.
“I agree with what Edith said at the gingerbread competition,” she murmured as they stepped back out onto the second-floor hallway. “I think Theresa would have been proud of you.”
Noah paused, and as he turned to look over his shoulder at her, she could have sworn that his green eyes were tinged with regret. “I don’t know if that’s true. But it’s nice of you to say it.”
He glanced at the walls around them, a faraway look in his eyes, and she wondered what he was envisioning. When he looked at this house, the one that was filled with so many happy memories from his childhood, did he imagine the destruction that would need to be caused in order to build the industrial complex in this very spot?
She could see the way the thought of that hurt him. She would have had to be blind not to see it, in fact.
I don’t know if that’s true. But it’s nice of you to say it.
His words echoed in her mind. If he had said something like this when he’d first gotten to Snowy Pine Ridge, had hinted that maybe his aunt would have been disappointed in him for the decisions he was making in regard to his inheritance, Mindy probably would have agreed with him.
But now? After spending time with him over the course of the last week and a half, she wasn’t so sure anymore.
“No matter what you decide,” Mindy said suddenly, meeting and holding his gaze. “No matter what you do with the land she left you, I know that Theresa loved you, and that she would be proud of you. Don’t forget that.”
