Page 77 of Hibiscus Heights

“We argued, but he stood firm in his decision. Maybe I should have stayed and kept Grant and Jen with me. Yet, as charming and charismatic as my husband was, he also had a thundering temper he rarely showed. If I had stood up to Jock, your lives would have been different. I also thought his mother was truly ill, but he’d concocted that story so that I would leave right away with him.”

Deb considered this new information. “Thanks for telling me. But I’m over all that.”

Kitty patted her hand. “I also want you to know that Nicole was a sweet girl. She and Grant were friends for years before they married, and those little boys are like sunshine in my life. Grant is a good man, a good father, and he means well.” Kitty hesitated. “I suspect he never stopped loving you.”

“Kitty, I don’t mean any disrespect, but I don’t need to resurrect the past. Why do you feel the need to share this with me? It’s not as if Grant went out of his way to come here. His sister had already brought Mason and Teddy with her.”

A sheepish look filled Kitty’s face. “I suggested that. And I also booked our flights when I saw the article about you in that magazine. The boys aren’t happy in their school, and I thought about how much Grant loved coming here. I did, too. Maybe I meddled a little, but I only want to see my family happy. I hoped you and Grant might meet again and have a second chance at happiness.”

“Did you suggest this hotel, rather than a beach house, to Jen?”

Kitty nodded. “This was my favorite hotel, and the trip was my gift to them for helping me sort out my home.”

Deb tried to piece together Kitty’s actions in order. “So you didn’t entirely orchestrate the coincidences.”

“No, not until I saw the article. The moment I read it, I felt compelled to give providence a little push so the two of you might have another chance. For Grant, because I want to see him happy, and for you, because you were wronged without even knowing it. I thought you should know the whole story, even after all these years.”

Deb drew a breath, not sure what to think about the extent to which Kitty had gone. “Did Grant know this?”

“Not at the time, of course. I called Bitsy, and I told Grant, but then he told me you didn’t want to see him. Now, we know why that happened. After all that, it seemed too late.”

“I’ll have to think about this,” Deb said.

“I hope we can still work together on the house, but I will understand if it’s uncomfortable for you,” Kitty said, placing a hand on Deb’s arm.

Deb rose from the chair, feeling the underpinnings of her world shaken. Or rather, the truth as she had known it. Isn’t that ultimately what she valued?

“I imagine it took a lot for you to share these details, and I appreciate that.” The other woman had always been kind to her.

On impulse, Deb reached out to Kitty and hugged her. “I hope you’ll be happy here on Crown Island. I’ll think about what you’ve said.”

Deb left Kitty and took the stairs down, pausing on a side terrace to drink in the fresh air. She was feeling better now.

When she returned to the ballroom, April joined her before Deb could return to the table.

April frowned with concern. “You’ve been gone a while. Is everything okay?”

“I’m not sure.” Deb told her about Kitty and their talk.

After listening, April nodded. “I won’t tell you what to do, but what she said makes a lot of sense.”

“I thought so, too. I never felt like I had the whole story.”

“What will you do?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

For a moment, April stared at her, and then her expression shifted. “Wait a minute. In this light…”

“What?” Deb asked, perplexed at April’s reaction.

“I’ve seen those earrings before. I’m sure of it now.” April held up her phone and snapped a close-up of one.

“Where?” Deb asked.

“Remember that old photograph of Princess Noelle on the other side of the ballroom? Junie found the pendant necklace she wore in that painting in the gift shop storeroom. I suspect these might be the earrings. I read once that the princess wore certain pieces for luck and strength, and I seem to recall that she once gave or lent her favorite earrings to a dear friend who’d helped her. There was more that I can’t remember, but I’ll comb through my historical research. Did you find out who gave them to you?”

“No one knows anything about them. Except you, it seems.” As Deb touched the earrings, a renewed sense of certainty surged within her.

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