Whirlwind - Janet Dailey Page 0,89

Val took a deep swig of her Coke and crushed the can in her fist. “He left all of her things in the closet and in the drawers, even her makeup on the dresser and her slippers under the bed. Then he married Callie and brought her home. I think you can see the problem.”

Lexie nodded, pulled into the story in spite of her misgivings.

“Callie wanted to throw everything out, or at least donate the clothes and shoes,” Val said. “But Dad would have none of that. They had some rip-roaring fights over it. But finally he agreed to let her box up everything and store it away.”

“So it was Callie who packed these boxes?”

“That’s right. And she used plenty of tape to seal away the memory of her new husband’s first wife.”

Val sighed. “Our mother had lovely things . . . silk slips, nightgowns trimmed with lace, and negligees to match. Even her underwear was beautiful. I used to sneak into this room just to touch it, and to smell her perfume. Arpège. It was heavenly. Even after she died, I used to come in and smell it—before Callie packed everything away.”

Mischief twinkled in Val’s emerald eyes. “Haven’t you ever wondered about what was in those boxes?”

“Maybe a little. But I knew I’d get caught and be in trouble if I looked, so I never did.”

“You’re a big girl. You won’t be in trouble now.” Val picked up a pair of Callie’s sewing scissors that had been left on the empty bureau. “Here.” She held them out to Lexie. “Go for it. Pick a box and cut it open.”

“I really don’t think—”

“Aw, come on. I want to see you do it.”

“This isn’t getting your room cleared out, Val.”

“It won’t take a minute to open a box and look inside. I triple-dog dare you!”

“Oh, all right, if it’ll make you happy!” Lexie took the scissors, grabbed the nearest box, and began cutting away the tough layers of tape. Val had always been the instigator in the family. At least some things never changed.

Val watched, an impish grin on her face, as the last of the tape parted and Lexie raised the flaps. “Well, what’s inside?” she asked.

“Shoes. Lots of shoes. Take a look for yourself.” Lexie passed the box to her sister.

Laughing, Val began lifting out the pretty little size four slippers, pumps, and sandals. The shoes weren’t sorted into pairs. It appeared they’d been tossed at random into the cardboard box, most likely by an angry hand.

“Look at these! Most of them are still in style!” Val began pairing the shoes and arranging them in a line along the floor. “Too bad nobody in the family has tiny feet like hers, not even me.”

“Put them away, Val,” Lexie said. “We’ve got work to do.”

“In a minute.” Val pulled more shoes out of the box. “I remember some of these. I used to sneak into the closet and try them on when she wasn’t around. Of course, I was little then, and—Whoa! What’s this?”

She lifted out what looked like a fancy candy box, decorated in gold swirls and tied with a blue ribbon, wrapped and knotted to hold the lid closed. Lifting it to her ear, she gave it a shake. “What do you suppose is inside? It certainly isn’t shoes.”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Lexie began gathering up the shoes and tossing them back into the cardboard box. “No more distractions, Val Champion. We need to finish this job so we can get you settled in your old room. Besides, you don’t want Tess to come back inside and catch us playing around. She’s been in a bad mood all afternoon.”

As if the words were prophetic, the slamming of the front door reverberated through the house. Tess had been in a funk since Alma Jensen had told her about selling the prized yearling bull to Brock Tolman. Tess’s decision to borrow the Jensen bull had gone just as Lexie had predicted, but she knew better than to mention that. Maybe next year, before breeding time, Tess would listen to her ideas.

Val stood and tucked a stray lock of hair behind one ear. “All right, I get the message. It’s back to work. But I’m hanging on to this.” She slipped the candy box out of sight, into an empty bureau drawer. “I want to see what’s inside.”

They finished moving the boxes in time to cook a pot of spaghetti for supper. Ruben and the two boys were invited, as well