and walked into the diner.
Inside, seated in a booth with red vinyl-covered benches, Aggie quickly decided on scrambled eggs and a biscuit and waited while Blythe perused the menu.
The waitress poured cups of coffee for them and took their orders. When she placed their meals in front of them, Aggie realized how hungry she was and eagerly dug in.
“Who are we going to visit in Durham, North Carolina?” Blythe asked between taking bites of her eggs.
Aggie felt her face soften and said, “Mack Townsend, an old friend who was part of the college gang. He was considered quite the catch—handsome, bright, and very kind. He became a professor at the University of North Carolina. I think he married, but there’s no mention of a wife. He was a good friend to me.”
“And where are we staying?” Blythe asked, an amused expression on her face. “This whole trip is a bit of a surprise.”
Aggie couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Yes, it took quite some doing to make it all come together. Mack has invited us to stay at his place. He told me he has enough room to spare. He sounded excited by the idea.”
Blythe gave her a sly look. “What are his intentions?”
Aggie laughed and waved away any sense of impropriety.
###
As Blythe slid behind the wheel of the car, she grinned. “Almost warm enough to put the top down.” The sound of her cell caught her attention. She checked her screen and groaned.
“Chad is texting me. Again. I told him it was over between us, but he’s suddenly decided the girl he’s been with isn’t right for him.”
“I’ll be glad to answer for you,” Aggie said with a little more disgust than she’d planned.
Blythe laughed. “No need. I’m going to ignore it. Oh, it looks like I missed a text from Constance.” She read it and turned to Aggie. “She says she misses me and hopes I’m doing well in Ithaca getting caught up on my work.”
“Good thing she doesn’t know about our road trip,” Aggie commented. She’d hate for a family fight to break out because Blythe was helping her.
“I’m going to enjoy every moment of this trip,” Blythe said with a sound of defiance in her voice Aggie liked.
She reached over and gave Blythe’s shoulder a loving pat. Blythe wasn’t perfect, but pretty close to it. “Durham should be an easy trip from here. I told Mack we’d arrive by mid-afternoon, in time for dinner.”
“Lean back and enjoy the ride,” Blythe said with a fresh sparkle to her eye, making Aggie love her even more.
###
When they finally pulled into Mack’s driveway, Aggie was ready to get out of the car for a long break. She climbed out of the passenger’s seat, stretched her legs, and stared at Mack’s house. A Colonial, the exterior was painted gray with crisp white trim, including the balustrade bordering a narrow front porch that stretched across most of the front of the house. A table sat between two rockers on one side of the front entry. The other side contained a hanging, bench-style swing with plenty of room to move back and forth. Charmed already, Aggie gazed at the handsome, gray-haired man emerging from the house.
“Hi, Aggie! It’s so good to see you,” he said, moving toward her with a smile that lit his blue eyes. She moved easily into his outspread arms. He hugged her and turned to Blythe. “And this must be your granddaughter, Blythe. Hi, I’m Mack Townsend. We’re so glad you and your grandmother could spend some time here.”
“Thanks,” said Blythe.
“Yes, thank you for having us,” said Aggie. She’d forgotten how good-looking, how charming Mack could be.
“No problem at all. My husband loves to entertain. He’ll be joining us shortly. He’s just changing out of his lawyering clothes, as we like to say.” A noise behind Mack made him turn. “Ah, here he is now.”
A heavy-set man with dark hair graying at the temples walked onto the porch and down the front steps, wearing a smile. “Is this Aggie and Blythe? Welcome. I’m Simon Perkins. Mack was very excited when you agreed to spend the night with us.” He shook hands with each of them. “Any friend of Mack’s is a friend of mine.”
“The pleasure is ours. We appreciate the opportunity to meet you and for me to see Mack after too many years,” said Aggie, hiding her surprise at the circumstances. In college, Mack had dated a lot of girls who were crazy about him.
Mack put his arm