***
By the time Daniel called to say he’d proposed, I felt like I already knew her.
When he said he was bringing her home to meet me, I spent a week scrubbing the baseboards and polishing the silver. I wanted everything to be perfect.
I never imagined she was connected to a dark part of our family’s history.
If this woman was the one who finally anchored my son, she deserved the best welcome I could provide.
I spent the whole day cooking.
The doorbell rang at exactly six o’clock. When I opened the door, Daniel stood there with a smile that reached all the way to his ears. Beside him stood Grace. She had a soft smile and kind eyes, just like Daniel had described her.
“It’s so wonderful to finally meet you,” Grace said when Daniel introduced us.
I felt a genuine surge of warmth. “Please, call me Clara. Come in, get out of this damp air.”
“It’s so wonderful to finally meet you.”
Daniel helped her with her coat. As the fabric slid off her shoulders, the hallway light caught something bright at her throat.
