Lavender Morning (Edilean 1)

“Please tell me you aren’t going to dig and snoop until you find out what happened.”

“I’m afraid I am.”

Dr. Dave gave a sigh. “Young people always want to know family secrets.”

“From people who already know them,” Jocelyn said.

Dr. Dave chuckled. “I knew I was right in asking Mary Alice to get us a chocolate cake from The Trellis.”

“You mean one of those nine-layer Death by Chocolate things? They aren’t an urban legend?”

“They’re real, and I have one. Now what is it you most want to know?”

“Right now, I’m interested in 1944.”

“Edi’s story,” Dr. Dave said as he took the empty bowls off the table. He waved to Jocelyn to stay where she was. “So you read the story I gave Luke.”

“Sort of. Actually, he read it to me.”

Dr. Dave put the dishes down on the kitchen island, then turned to her slowly. “What do you mean? He read it to you?”

Joce stood up and wandered around a bit, looking at the pictures on the walls. Unless she missed her guess, they were original works gathered from around the United States. “Just that. I was baking cupcakes for that…that party and he read to me.” She said the word with so much anger that she had to take a couple of breaths. Where had Bell flown in from? Milan? London? Paris? All just to ruin Jocelyn’s first venture into society where she now lived. Between working that day and Bell’s hateful little stunt, Joce hadn’t talked to even one person about Miss Edi—which had been her main objective of the day. That and earning money.

“Who else was in the house?” Dr. Dave asked.

“Just us,” Joce said, then gave him a sharp look. “Have people been saying that Luke and I—”

“No, I’ve heard nothing, and thanks to e-mail, texting, and the telephone, my wife and I hear pretty much everything that goes on in that town. So you and my grandson were alone in your house, you were baking cupcakes, and he was reading to you?”

“Yes,” she said, giving him a puzzled look. “Am I missing something here? Did I commit some Southern taboo? Sara keeps telling me I’m a Yankee, and Tess…Well, who knows what Tess thinks?”

“No,” Dr. Dave said softly, “you did nothing wrong. It’s just not a way I’ve seen my grandson before. He’s pretty much of a loner.”

“Loner?” Joce said. “He’s married. Did you forget that?”

Dr. Dave took his time as he removed the cover off a big cake holder, and under it was the wonderful chocola

te cake. “You wouldn’t like to hear the truth about Luke’s marriage, would you?”

“It’s not any of my business,” Joce said tightly. “I know that I overreacted when I found out, and by the state of my garden now I should have kept my mouth shut, but in the last few months of my life I’ve had more betrayal than I can handle. Even if they aren’t interested in you as other than a friend, married men don’t usually sit in your kitchen night after night and—” She took a breath. “Whatever. You don’t by chance need a job mowing lawns, do you? We pay in cupcakes.”

“No,” Dr. Dave said, smiling. “Night after night, huh?” He handed her a plate with a three-inch-thick piece of cake on it. “Maybe this will last you while I tell you about my grandson’s marriage.”

“Does he know you tell people this?”

“Luke doesn’t even know some of what I’m about to tell you.”

“Ah, well, then,” she said as she took her first bite of the divine cake. “I’m all ears.”

“Luke was living and working in…” Dr. Dave waved his hand. “Up north. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that he met a tall, skinny, pretty waitress and one thing led to another. Six weeks later, she told him she was pregnant. Old story, huh?”

“The oldest,” Jocelyn said.

“The difference is that my grandson was involved. Luke the Good. Luke the Honorable. He married her. He told me that he liked her and he figured that love would come. More importantly, he said he wasn’t going to desert the child she carried.”

Dr. Dave looked down at his cake. “I was the only one who had the nerve to suggest that he wait and get a paternity test.” He looked back at Jocelyn. “Luke almost kicked me out of his life after that. I make jokes about it, but it hurt.”

He took a breath. “Anyway, after the wedding, they honeymooned in New York. It’s where Ingrid wanted to go, and Luke would have done anything for the woman carrying his child. They were there only a day when a photographer handed her his card and asked her to come by to have some pictures made. Ingrid thought it was a joke, but Luke had heard of the man, so he encouraged her to go. Of course Luke went with her to the photo session.”