of your family and couldn’t say what had happened to Nellie or the boys. The one exception was Caldonia Mar—”
Margaret gasped. “Aunt Caldonia’s still alive?”
“You remember her?”
“Of course I do; she was like a second mother to me. To all of us. She and Mama were like sisters.” Margaret paused a moment letting her thoughts roll back over the hundreds of times her mama had said, If anything happens to me, you and your brothers go to Caldonia. She and Jeb will…
“Uncle Jeb. What about Jeb?” she asked. “Is he still alive?”
“As far as I could tell, it was just Caldonia, her son, and daughter-in-law.”
“Oh.” The disappointment in Margaret’s voice was obvious.
“Caldonia told me Nellie and Edward went to the same family in Huntington, but she didn’t say the name. I think she knows but isn’t telling. My bet is Eliza told her to keep certain things a secret, and that’s what she’s doing.”
Margaret gave a soft chuckle. “I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. There’s nothing she and Mama wouldn’t have done for one another.”
“That would explain it, because when Rowena came into the room she just stopped talking, and—”
“Rowena?”
“Her daughter-in-law. I got the impression there’s a bit of hostility there, and Caldonia doesn’t want Rowena knowing any of what she called Eliza’s secrets.”
“What secrets?”
“There wasn’t time enough to find out. I went back today, but Rowena wouldn’t let me in. Claimed her mother-in-law was napping. Maybe if you could talk to her…”
“Great idea. Caldonia will remember me, I’m positive of it. I could telephone her and—”
“I think she’d be a lot more forthcoming if you spoke with her face to face.”
All of a sudden, Margaret’s enthusiasm was gone. “That may be, but I don’t see how—”
“Fly down tomorrow. I’ll meet you in Charleston, and we’ll drive out together.”
A lengthy silence followed.
“Margaret, are you still there?”
“I’m here, but I’m not sure I want to go back to Coal Creek. The last time was for Louella’s burial, and I’m afraid that…”
“Afraid? What is there to be afraid of? There’s been a lot of changes in those years; not in Coal Creek but in you. Back then you were a young girl with no family and an uncertain future. Now you’re a woman taking control of your life. Coming back to Coal Creek can’t hurt you, Margaret. It can only help you.”
Tom was about to say seeing Coal Creek again might make her realize how lucky she was to have left the place, but before he had the chance she spoke.
“Thank you. That may not have been meant as a compliment, but to me it was.” She drew a long breath. “Albert and I never talked of Coal Creek. He knew how devastated I was when Mama sent me to live with Aunt Rose, so he tried to protect me from any memory of the past. He did it because he loved me, and I can’t fault him for that. But memories come bundled together, the good with the bad. It’s sad to say, but in shielding me from the bad memories, he robbed me of the good ones. The memories of people like Caldonia and Jeb.”
“Is that a yes?”
She laughed. “It’s definitely a yes.”
They spent the next two hours with telephone calls to check airline schedules and make plans. The morning flight was full so Margaret was booked on the afternoon flight, which didn’t land at Kanawha Airport until 6:37 pm.
“That’s probably too late for us to start out to the Markey place,” he said. “We’ll grab dinner, then head back to the hotel. I’d like to get an early start the next morning so we’re there before Caldonia takes her afternoon nap.”
“Hotel?” Margaret said nervously.
“Yes, I’m staying at the Daniel Boone. I figure it’s more convenient if we’re in the same hotel, so I reserved a room for you.”
“My own room. That’s good.”
“Hold on there,” Tom said with a laugh. “You didn’t think…”
“Of course I didn’t. Not for a minute.”
——————
WHEN MARGARET HUNG UP THE telephone, an excitement she hadn’t felt in years began to swell in her chest. She could feel the blood racing through her veins and her heart growing lighter. Seeing Caldonia again was something she’d never imagined possible. Caldonia was not blood family, but she was family all the same.
Thinking of family made her remember Josie. Margaret snatched up the telephone and dialed Josie’s number. After three rings, Josie answered and Margaret spoke with excitement about the plan that had come together to go back to