“There’s more,” he said with a grin as he beckoned her over to the desk. “This attic used to be storage. I was under the impression that it was all my mother’s old equestrian things—she used to be quite the rider, and all her old saddles and trophies and the like were stored up here. And indeed, when I started clearing the place out, that’s mostly what I found. But . . .” He pointed to a stack of wrinkled, yellowed papers.

“Oh my god!” She knew, without him saying anything. “Oh my god!”

He produced a pair of white cotton gloves from his pocket, the kind you’d use to handle fragile artifacts, and handed them to her. “These are going to the exhibition design firm tomorrow, but I wanted to show them to you first.”

She pulled the gloves on, her hands shaking with vicarious excitement. “I don’t read German.”

“Look at the names, the opening and closing salutations.”

“‘Liebe Karlotta,’” she read.

“Karlotta was my grandmother’s name.”

Dani’s excitement notched even higher as she flipped the paper over and read the name of the writer. “Karina.” She gasped, even though she’d known that was what she’d find. “Max! And they were on a first-name basis, it seems!”

“There are half a dozen letters there. It looks as though my grandmother did give over the mine to the resistance, and she funneled money to them as well. She didn’t want her husband—my grandfather—to know. The letters were hidden under a floorboard that had been covered with boxes for who knows how many years.”

She set the letter down carefully. “This is going to be huge, isn’t it?”

“It is.” He smiled like the cat that ate the canary. “I wish I could find Oma’s letters to Karina. I’m following a few leads on that front, but even without them, yes, this will be major news.”

She was so thrilled for him. She peeled the glove off her right hand and held it up for a high-five. He slapped her hand but then grabbed it. Used it to reel her in. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said into her hair as he hugged her tight.

She was, too. It felt so good to leave all her Vince junk behind, to be off the teaching treadmill for a while.

But that wasn’t all. This feeling of relief and rightness wasn’t just about what she had left behind. It was about Max. Smart, kind Max. They were going to have so much fun, and she was so happy to be here with him.

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, Dani awoke in bed alone. There was no Max.