Susannah's Garden (Blossom Street #3)(66)

“I’m hoping she does.”

“If she has found him, what will you do?”

Susannah hadn’t decided. Yes, she wanted to talk to Jake and apologize for her father’s actions. But that could be done over the phone. Seeing him again was something else entirely. Despite herself, her heart raced with excitement at the prospect.

This was wrong, so wrong. She reminded herself forcefully that she was married. Joe was her husband and he was a good man who deserved better than to have his wife hungering after some high school boyfriend.

Yet Susannah no longer felt in control of what she’d set in motion. She couldn’t stop the search for Jake now, even if she wanted to. And she didn’t….

“Susannah?” Carolyn’s voice broke into her reverie.

“What will I do?” Susannah repeated. “I’m not sure.” She took another sip of her merlot. “Chrissie, Jake, Sharon, Joe—that’s not the end of my hellish day, either.”

“You mean there’s more?”

“Yup,” Susannah said, trying to sound lighthearted without much success.

“Go on. You might as well tell me.”

“I found out something about my brother.”

Carolyn straightened and leaned toward her. “Doug? What did you learn?”

“I went out to see Patricia Carney. Her name’s Anderson now. You remember her, don’t you? She and Doug were seeing each other.”

Carolyn nodded, setting her wineglass aside. “I remember the two of them were dating, yes.”

“Right, but Patricia seemed to think there might’ve been someone else in his life.” She stared down at her wine. “In fact, the night he was killed, Patricia was going to confront him and then at the last minute he broke their date.”

“The night he was killed?”

“Yes,” Susannah said. “If he hadn’t cancelled, Patricia would’ve been with him.”

Carolyn’s eyes widened at the implication and when she spoke her voice was soft. “She might have died that night, too.”

Susannah nodded. “We talked about the twists and turns life takes. I promised I’d let her know when I find out who it might’ve been.”

“Hold on, you just lost me. Who might’ve been what? Are you talking about this other girl he was supposedly seeing?”

“Yes, but in addition to that, someone’s been putting flowers on Doug’s grave. I thought it was Patricia, but she swears it isn’t, so I assume it’s whoever else he was involved with.”

“She’s telling you the truth,” Carolyn whispered. She reached for her wineglass again and got to her feet. Walking back into the kitchen, she replenished her drink.

Susannah followed. “How would you know that?” she asked.

Carolyn stood on the other side of the counter, eyes downcast. “Because it’s me.”

“You?” Susannah asked numbly.

“Doug and I were writing to each other.”

“What?” Susannah said, stunned by this revelation. “While we were in France?”

Carolyn nodded apologetically. “Soon after you arrived in France, Doug wrote to ask me how you were doing. He knew how upset you were with your father, and he was worried. I wrote back and he answered. Pretty soon we were writing regularly.”

“And you never bothered to mention this to me?” Susannah asked, angry that the woman she’d considered her best friend had kept something so important from her. She’d told Carolyn all about her feelings for Jake; Carolyn obviously hadn’t returned the favor. Now that she thought about it, Susannah remembered how eagerly Carolyn had waited for the mail. She had, too. It was what she’d lived for those months in France.

“I’m sorry.” Carolyn shifted awkwardly. She didn’t meet Susannah’s eyes. “I never meant to keep it from you. But the first time he wrote, Doug asked me not to tell you, so I didn’t and then, well…well, one thing led to another and I just never did.”

“The two of you fell in love through the mail? Is that what you’re saying?”

“I guess I am.” Carolyn looked directly at her. “Don’t you remember how frantic I was when Doug was killed?”

Susannah shook her head. She’d been so caught up in her own pain she hadn’t noticed.

“In the last letter I got from him, Doug said he was going to tell Patricia about us. He planned to break up with her that night, I think.”

“You still put flowers on his grave?”

They walked back and sat on the sofa again. “Every few weeks I put flowers on my parents’ graves and Lily’s. I leave some at Doug’s, too. I didn’t realize you’d see them.”

“When you were writing,” Susannah asked, “did Doug—did he say Jake had gone back to Sharon?”

“No. But then, he didn’t write much about Jake.”

Susannah studied her friend. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“I do know that Doug was mad at him about something—he just never said what it was.”

CHAPTER 27

Vivian had her good days and her bad ones, and today was good. Many of the bad days were before Susannah and Chrissie had come. Vivian had done her best to hide how defeated she’d felt. In fact, she hadn’t realized how badly she was coping at home until she came to live at this prison place—or hospital or whatever it was.