Page 261 of Hidden Depths

Nobody noticed the tears until Calle quietly wiped her cheeks.

"I miss him."

Thomas smiled.

"So do I."

"I still expect him to walk through that door carrying a tackle box and complaining that I make terrible coffee."

Frank's voice drifted up from the dock.

"I heard that!"

Rose laughed. We aren’t talking about you,” she yelled.

"Thomas, after fifty years, my Frank still makes terrible coffee."

Thomas laughed so hard he had to steady himself on the workbench.

"Well..."

"...it's nice to know I’m not the only one."

The tension in the room eased.

Just a little.

Exactly what Grandpa would have wanted.

Then Thomas grew serious again.

"There was one more promise."

Everyone looked at him.

"James made me swear..."

"...that if this day ever came..."

"...I'd tell his granddaughters something he'd never found the courage to say himself."

My heart began pounding.

"What?"

Thomas looked directly at me.

"He blamed himself."

Silence.

"For what?"

"For bringing danger home. For your father, he could never prove anything, but he always said it was Ashford."

I stared at him.

"No."