“Wow, that’s some time ago.” This could be his moment. The time to admit whom he was related to.
“I know. I’ve been reading it, and it’s a love story between Rose and a young man by the name of Jacob Evans.”
He went still and Mack gave him an odd look. “Carry on, it’s interesting,” he told her.
“Okay. It’s so sad, Dean. They didn’t even know each other more than two months when she died trying to run away with him to Boston.”
He didn’t know what to say so he stayed silent, lost in his own thoughts. He knew his grandfather had married in 1947. It was also the year his father had been born.
It seemed impossible that his grandfather, who had always seemed so in love with his grandmother, Eliza, could have wanted someone else. Whenever they passed each other, they always touched or shared a loving embrace.
For as long as he could remember, his grandparents always looked to be in love, always touching and kissing, whenever they passed each other. Whenever his grandfather had gone away on business, his grandmother had always accompanied him. They had five children; his father, James; his uncles Luke, Peter, and Derek; and his Aunt Rosalind. Could Aunt Rosalind have been named after his grandfather’s first love ‘Rose’ without his grandmother’s knowledge? It seemed so farfetched.
“Dean?”
“Yeah.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“The part that upsets me the most is that the night Rose died, Jacob had no idea she’d passed away. All these years, her family led him to believe she married someone else.”
“Seriously?”
“She was on her way to meet him when she died. A month later, apparently, Jacob called to ask about Rose and her father told Jacob that she had stayed and married this other man, who was interested in her, named Richard. He told Jacob that she didn’t want anything to do with him. So all these years, he’s believed she chose someone else.”
“That’s sad, Mack.”
“Exactly. I found him. Jacob Evans. He’s ninety and lives in Brookline, Boston. I left a message with his housekeeper, but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I know he’s married, but I need to tell him that Rose really did love him. I need to tell him that she died before meeting him that night.”
She lifted her head from Dean’s chest. “Thomas is Rose’s brother. She referred to him in her diary as JT. He told me what his father said to Jacob on the phone. Do you think that I’m right in wanting to tell Jacob about Rose? It really does break my heart.”
He looked down into Mack’s eyes, which were full of tears. “Come here.” He pulled her even closer and used his thumbs to wipe her tears away.
“Yes, I do.” He took a deep breath for courage. “I’ll help you see Jacob Evans because I’m—”
“Auntie Mack, look at the size of this fish,” Lucas shouted, running toward them on the beach.
Damn, just when he’d worked himself up to tell her the truth, they were interrupted.
Mack stood and started heading toward Lucas. She turned back to Dean. “Thanks, for listening.”
She ran over to Lucas. “Wow! That is huge!” Then stopped short. “Is it dead?”
“Don’t be silly. Of course, it’s dead!” Lucas replied in disgust.
“Do you both want a sandwich?” she offered.
She sat back down on the blanket as Dean started to wrestle on the sand with Lucas. Mack wished this were her family. She was really falling for Dean.
That was something she had never wished for before, with anyone else, until now. Reading Rose’s diary had made her long for that kind of love and commitment.
There was something real happening between her and Dean, although they didn’t know a great deal, if anything, about each other. Over the past week, she’d mentioned family, but for some reason he always changed the subject. Although, on one or two occasions, Lucas had interrupted.
“No thanks, Mack. We’ll leave you two alone. We’re going to put the fish in the fridge, have lunch, then more comic reading!” Taking hold of Lucas, Thomas pulled him along to leave the lovers alone.
“Bye, Auntie Mack. Bye, Dean.”
“See you later, rugrat.” Dean smiled at Lucas as he ruffled his hair.
“We’ll see you both later then,” Mack said.