Susannah's Garden (Blossom Street #3)(99)

“You never married, never had a family?”

Doug shook his head. “No. I couldn’t drag innocent people into this mess.”

“Oh, Doug.”

“Eventually I came back to the States and worked at different places around the country. I drifted from city to city, state to state, never staying in any one place for long. I did what I could to make a decent life for myself.”

“Why did you come back to Colville?”

Doug cupped his hands around his mug. “It was probably a crazy risk to take, but after all these years I figured everyone had forgotten about me. My appearance had changed quite a bit—as you can tell. Anyway…Dad and I had a complicated communications system and when he didn’t respond last spring, I was afraid of what might have happened. I came to find out.” His voice dropped. “I’m tired of running, tired of looking over my shoulder.”

“Where have you been hiding all this time?”

“I haven’t, actually. I’ve been working at Kettle Falls Landscaping.”

Susannah stared at him. “David—what did you say? Langevin? Do you call yourself Dave?”

“Yeah.” He gave her a puzzled look.

“You’re Dave! Carolyn’s Dave!” Susannah was hit with yet another shock. She gasped and leaned back in her chair to absorb this revelation.

Doug grinned, rubbing the side of his face. “When Carolyn didn’t recognize me, I knew I was probably safe.”

“Oh, my goodness—does Carolyn know?”

“No. I couldn’t tell her before I told you.”

“How long have you been in Colville?” Joe asked.

“About four months. Carolyn and I started seeing each other recently…. It probably wasn’t a good idea for either of us.”

“I disagree,” Susannah cut in. “She’s crazy about you.”

“I love her,” Doug said simply. “All these years, I haven’t allowed myself to feel about a woman the way I feel about her. She deserves far better than me, but she’s hard to walk away from. I gave my notice and didn’t intend on seeing her again, but…I’m not sure what to do.”

“Why are you identifying yourself now?” Joe asked.

“Because of Carolyn and because of what was happening with you.” He looked at Susannah as he said this. “She told me about your search for Jake and I was afraid you’d stumble upon the truth. I decided it was best to confront it now and be done with it. I have to trust you and Carolyn and make some decisions about the future.”

“It’s time she knew, don’t you think?” Susannah said, eager for her friend to discover the truth. Before Doug could protest, she walked over to the wall phone and dialed the mill. In the past two weeks she’d called Carolyn so often, she’d memorized the number.

“Can you come to the house right away?” Susannah asked when Carolyn answered.

“Is everything all right?”

“You’ll know when you get here.” She could barely keep the excitement from her voice. “Just hurry.”

Without hesitation, proving again what a good friend she was, Carolyn said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

For the first time since he’d disclosed his identity, Doug looked nervous. He stood up and walked around the table. “Are you sure this is the right thing to do?”

“Very sure. I’d trust Carolyn with my life. Besides, she loves you.”

Doug’s head came up. “She told you that?”

“She didn’t need to. It’s obvious.”

“You never did explain why you broke into the house,” Joe said, distracting Doug with his question. “I can understand why you wanted to get the journal your dad kept of his visits but what about the other stuff?”

“It was stupid,” Doug said. “But I’d given up so much, I was trying to collect small pieces of my former life—when I was still Doug Leary, when I still lived in this house. I took the ribbons I won in track and my letterman jacket, along with some of Dad’s things. He had a ring I always wanted. I was looking for that.”

“Oh, my goodness, Chrissie’s got it! She asked if she could wear it around her neck and I said okay.”

“No wonder I couldn’t find it.” Doug smiled, shaking his head. “Actually, I enjoyed going through the boxes of stuff you’d packed. You have no idea how good it was to look over the memories of my childhood. It gave me the connection I’ve been lacking all these years. I knew I was risking discovery every time I ventured close to the house, but even that wasn’t enough to keep me away.”

Susannah could only imagine what might have happened if she’d come across him. “Oh! You were the one tending Mom’s garden, too.”

Doug nodded sheepishly.

“What if I’d seen you? Or if Rachel next door had?”

“It was close the night you phoned the police,” Doug admitted. “But I just couldn’t stay away. Even when you installed the alarm, I returned.”

They talked a few minutes more while waiting for Carolyn. Joe brought out the pictures he carried in his wallet, using them to update Doug on the family. Her brother was getting more nervous by the minute, and when the doorbell rang, he jerked to his feet.