Letters From Al (23 page)

Visits from friends helped while away the hours. Tommy stopped by regularly, and every visit he brought her something, a book of poetry, flowers and card games. Bubba and the others stopped by too, and with Alec they'd watch video's or played cards.

One afternoon Alec saw a strange car in the driveway and hurried inside. Maddy and Dr. Richards were enjoying a good laugh and when he walked in they seemed to sober up quickly. The doctor didn't leave for over an hour, and afterwards Alec actually acted a little jealous of the doctor's close attention to his patient.

"What did he want?" Alec finally asked, "I mean the hospital released you. I didn't know doctors made house calls anymore, and out-of-town house calls at that?"

"He was on his way home from a seminar and he just stopped by to see how I was." Maddy explained in amusement.

"You realize I hardly get any alone time with you anymore. I admit it, I'm envious."

"Oh, come on, jealous of a teenager who keeps me from being bored to tears when you're not here, and now, the poor, devoted doctor who healed me. Actually I think Aunt Polly called him, she's worried about my headaches." Alec looked relieved.

"Well, that’s different. Between your recovery and my running all over on this case, we haven't had much time alone together lately, and I miss it. Guess I'm being silly, huh?" He sat down on the bed beside her, looking contrite. "How are the headaches?"

"They're better, really. Dr. Richard said they'll be less and less. So, I'm fine." She leaned over and kissed him. "But thanks for worrying. By the way, do you know I simply adore a man in a uniform?"

"Great. That means I have to worry about every soldier, sailor or patrolman that stops you."

"Nope, only a cocky, deputy sheriff, and one I know in particular." Putting her arms around his neck, she drew him close. The curve of his shoulder fit her head comfortably.

"I sure wish I didn't have to go on this stupid trip tomorrow." He tucked the sheets around her, looking concerned.

"I'll be fine. The doctor said I'll finally be able to get out of bed now. Besides, Aunt Polly will be here. Just go so you can get back."

"Oh, I'll be back, it's not an overnight trip so you can count on that, just a long day. I know you're disappointed about losing the letters and diary and things. We might still find them."

"I doubt it. At least I have the copies I made, but you know one thing I really wish? That we could have found those stocks, it sure would have made life better for the whole town."

"What do you mean?" Alec held her carefully.

"Well, I'd like to fix this place up for a bed and breakfast. It's huge, the whole upstairs is bedrooms, but we'd need to add on more bathrooms and, well, I have a lot of other ideas. What do you think? Isn't that a good idea?"

"It’s a great idea.”

“
We wouldn't have had to worry about money if we could have found Aunt Madeline's bonds. I was even thinking if they had been worth as much as Leland thought, it would have been enough to start a small library in town. But, it's only wishful thinking now. Someone's got those bonds and they’re just waiting to cash them in. That's what makes me so mad."

"That's awfully generous of you, Maddy, but then, it's one more reason I love you so much."

"Well, thank you for that. I can be generous with pretend money. But, it's only a pipe dream now. No money. No library, maybe no bed and breakfast inn if I don't get things figured out."

"Just don't worry so much, I said I'd help you. Promise me, or I won't leave." Her kiss reassured him.

While he was gone, Maddy had a lot of time to think and plan. The constant worry of having no money faded with the generosity of her aunt. To make it last, she had to manage her money sensibly. An earnest search for solvency grew and the bed and breakfast seemed the best idea.

A call to the local printer gave her some ideas on advertising. But she'd have to go over the status of the house with Alec next. It might not even be possible if the house wasn't in good shape.

"Maddy, your idea has sure got folks in town excited." Aunt Polly exclaimed as she sat down next to her in the kitchen the next day.

"Well, it's all in the planning stages yet so it's not a done deal. But Alec agrees it's a perfect answer to the problem of keeping a big house going." Maddy agreed excitedly. "There's so much that needs to be done yet. Alec said it might be a workable plan. He's got someone to check the water pipes and the wiring later next week. His friend Bubba already fixed that leak in the roof so Tommy and I can get at that damaged wall in the extra bedroom. We can at least do that. Tommy's coming over tomorrow, in fact."

"You sure you feel up to working like this?"

"Oh yes, Aunt Polly, I'm feeling fine. I haven't had any headaches now for a while. It's time I started doing a few things. I think I'll putter around outside, it's so nice out."

Later Aunt Polly found her weeding the corner flower garden when she brought her a glass of lemonade.

"Isn't it a little hot for you to be doing this?" There was disapproval in her voice.

"Oh, it's just so good to get out of the house. I'm taking it easy but that drink looks wonderful. Thank you. This is just what I needed." Maddy took off her gardening gloves and touched her forehead with the icy glass before taking a sip.

"I thought you said you weren't going to overdo it." Aunt Polly nodded towards the pile of weeds stacked beside her.

"That is a lot of weeds, isn't it?" Maddy looked a little sheepish. "But I was enjoying myself and I didn't realize how much time had gone by." She shrugged and sat on her knees.

"Well, I do. Too much time to be in this hot sun." Alec's voice boomed from the driveway.

"Alec, you're back. Welcome home." Maddy stood up and was greeted affectionately by Alec. "Wow, you are a sight for sore eyes. Hey, what are you doing?" Maddy said with a surprised laugh as he swept her up into his arms, heading towards the front porch.

"You are not supposed to be working so hard." He said in a firm but kind tone and deposited her in the wicker lounge chair.

Maddy was about to argue but when Aunt Polly came up behind him with her arms crossed, she sat back meekly.

"I guess I did enough today anyway, I can't fight you both. But, Alec, I've had some more ideas about the house, let me tell you about it."

"Okay, but I've got some news that will interest you too. Who goes first?" He sat in a chair next to her.

"You go first. The look on your face tells me it's important. Is it something we've been waiting to hear about the guy who attacked me?"

"Aunt Polly, there's news." She called out to her friend.

"What news? What's going on, Alec?" Hurriedly Aunt Polly sat down.

"I just checked in at the office and thought you'd like to know they found that van matching the description of the one outside the house, only thing was there was a body in it."

"A body?" Maddy sat forward, horrified, her hand covering her mouth. "Who was it? Anyone we know?"

"From the description, I'd say it was your dirty cowboy. A white male, about twenty-five, long, dark hair, cowboy shirt with torn sleeves. His name was Fred Simmons and he has a record."

"How awful, Alec. I won't have to identify him or anything, will I?" Maddy shuddered.

"No, he's already been identified. I'll take care of it. I saw him as well as you did that day. Don't worry."

"’Don't worry, he says’. A man who attacks Maddy is dead. Who killed him?" Aunt Polly snorted and leaned forward.

"That's awful. As bad as what he did to me, I'd never wish him dead." The thought made her shiver just thinking about it. She still had nightmares about being attacked in her own home. "I just want all that stuff behind us and not have to think about it any more. I think I understand now why my aunt didn't want to have anything to do with a gangster and that money. It's brought nothing but grief."

Alec thought for a moment then swiftly dropped to one knee, holding her hand tightly.

"I wasn't going to do this now, but maybe now is the time. Maddy, I love you and I'm asking you to marry me. I don't care if you want a long engagement, but I just have to ask now or bust wide open."

In shocked silence, Maddy covered his hand with hers; she was overcome and didn't hesitate for a moment. She could only nod. A million happy thoughts were racing through her mind. Slowly she pulled him up, kissed his strong hands and whispered, "Yes."

Fumbling in his pocket, with shaking hands he produced a jeweler's box and slowly opened it. A lovely diamond engagement ring sparkled from the black velvet nest. Trembling, she held out her hand and he slipped the ring on her finger. Tears slid down Maddy's cheeks. But they were tears of joy.

"We're going to have a wonderful life, Maddy. With lots of kids. No looking back."

"And a hunting dog for you." They both laughed and held onto each other tightly, "What a deal." She said happily.

Maddy and Alec joyfully prepared for their wedding. After much discussion they decided to go for the bed and breakfast plan. They wanted to wait until they got it going first, but Aunt Polly decided to make plans for both the wedding and the inn and blatantly took responsibility for them.

The whole town of Nielsen seemed caught up in the young couple's life, and Maddy couldn't have been happier to share their joy with the town. Things never seemed so good. In honor of her aunt, Maddy decided to wear Aunt Madeline's wedding gown she had found carefully saved in one of the trunks. The satin dress had turned a soft golden color from being in storage. The simple line suited Maddy and would be her 'something old' and 'something borrowed'.

Preparing the rooms for the guests took a lot more work. The one bedroom with water damage on the wall needed to be fixed immediately, the wallpaper hung in tatters. With Tommy's help it was the last room to need major repair.

"Well Tommy, this is the last and worst of it. When we're done, we'll tackle the fence and garden outside. Isn't this a mess?" Maddy curled up her nose at the mustiness.

"No sweat, Miss Maddy." Tommy's happy-go-lucky attitude brightened up the nasty chore.

"Yeah, Miss Madeline and I fixed this very wall a long time ago. I was just a little kid then." Maddy smiled to herself at his description. "She didn't have anything to stuff in the hole so we went up to the attic and got a bunch of papers she said weren't any good for nothing anymore, and stuffed them in there. Then she used paste and covered it with wallpaper, and it was good as new. She paid me for that too."

Maddy, working hard, only half-listened to his story. The old fashioned glue was brittle and lumpy and fell in dry clumps, making the clean up a little easier.

"Aunt Madeline certainly stuffed enough of this paper in there, didn't she?" Maddy commented to Tommy as they worked.

"Yeah, she sure did get mad when the roof leaked, said she'd fix this hole good and proper." Tommy chuckled at his memory.

About the same time Maddy noticed the printing on the papers, the words Tommy spoke caught her attention. "’We got these papers from the attic she said weren't worth nothing.’" Jerking her head up, she looked at Tommy seriously, her heart pounding.

"What did you say, Tommy? About the papers you used?"

“
What about the papers?”

"About the papers you stuffed in the wall. You said you and Miss Madeline got them from the attic. What kind of papers were they? What did they say on them? Do you recall?"

He shrugged again and kept on working.

"Tommy, this is really important. Very important. Please try and remember, you said Aunt Madeline said they weren't worth anything?" Tommy thought a moment and then nodded. Maddy looked from the crumbling wall to Tommy and back again.

"Yeah, they looked like giant money, paper money. But she just stuffed them inside the wall and plugged the hole and pasted them all over to make it smooth for the wallpaper. It looked real neat, too."

Maddy sat back on her heels, staring at the wall and grinning. The corner of a piece of paper caught her eye. Carefully she pulled the old wallpaper away, the glue cracked and dropped at her feet. Finally a large piece pulled away to reveal an entire section of wall neatly papered with the missing bonds!

"See, that's what I told you. Yep, that's them all right, the old papers. Gee, they look pretty good yet, don't they?"

"Yes, Tommy." She hugged him tightly, "They look real good. You are a genius. We found them. We found the missing bonds, Tommy. They were here all the time, and we didn't even realize it."

She jumped up and down and hugged him again, and doing a little jig in the midst of the mess.

Tommy looked at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"I've got to tell Alec and Aunt Polly. Now Tommy, this is very important. Don't touch the wall. Don't do any more work on the wall until we show Aunt Polly and Alec, okay?"

He squinted up at the wall and shrugged, nodding. "Gee, if they were worth something, I sure wouldn't have used them."

"It wasn't your fault, Tommy. They probably weren't worth much when you used them. But they are now and I'm going to buy you something really special. Just don't go anywhere until I get back with Alec, okay?"