“Works for me,” Melissa said. “Happy hunting.”

“Thank you,” Sully said.

Melissa shivered a bit as they disconnected.

“Oh, Andy…that just felt like I agreed to a date,” she whispered, and at that same moment she remembered her dream. Be happy, he’d said. Maybe this is what he’d been trying to say.

A couple of minutes later, Hope came back and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Dr. Quick says you’re cleared for simple tasks. No heavy lifting. No working big projects. He suggested you spend today just lying around or napping. And to order in any food you might want and don’t try to cook. Try to stay off your feet. If your headaches persist beyond the pain pills he gave you, he wants you to go see your regular doctor.”

Melissa breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s wonderful, Hope. Now you can go home. You still have most of your day off, and I don’t want you to wait on me to start enjoying it. I can’t thank you enough for all you and Ruby did for me yesterday, and the fact that you stayed over was going above and beyond.”

Hope leaned down and hugged her.

“Honey, this is what friends are for. I’m glad you’re better, too. I’ll go pack my bag. Jack will be happy, for sure.”

Chapter 5

Sully’s first stop had been to see if any marriage licenses had ever been issued to a woman named Jane Carter. He gave the clerk a search window from the current date going back thirty-five years, but the search had been futile.

He’d gone straight from there to property records and, with the help of one of the clerks, spent the next hour and a half looking to see if anyone named Jane Carter had ever owned property in Blessings.

It was nearing 11:00 a.m. when he walked out of the courthouse. He paused on the steps and looked out across the grounds, wondering if Janie had ever stood here. Would she have been scared? Would she have been sad, feeling defeated by the turn of events in her young life?

“Where did you go, Janie? I’m looking for you. Have you ever gone looking for me?”

A church bell began ringing somewhere, and he still had newspapers at the library to tackle, but that would take hours, maybe even a whole other day. He was in the mood for a break, and seeing Melissa again would be the break he needed.

He pulled out his phone and called her.

* * *

Melissa was in the kitchen making a fresh pot of coffee when her phone rang. She knew before she looked that it was likely to be Sully.

“Hello.”

“Hey, it’s me. Are you still in the mood for a visitor?”

“Yes,” she said. “I’m just making a fresh pot of coffee. Do you have my address?”

“No. Go ahead and give it to me.”

Melissa gave him the address and a brief description of the house, and as soon as they disconnected, she went straight to the bedroom to brush her hair and check herself out. There was no need putting on makeup, because it wouldn’t hide the obvious, but she did put on a little lipstick.