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СКАЧАТЬ could see that she was troubled, but so was he. “That little girl comes as a big shock to me. I’m talking about Mellie,” he explained to her confused look. “She’s adorable.”

      Valetta was surprised. “You mean, you didn’t know? Alexis never told you?”

      “Valetta, I had no idea you were even married,” Lincoln said quietly. “Alexis never said a word.”

      “I…I’m…”

      “Okay, I’m back,” Mellie piped up as she returned from her errand. “Yellow promised to stay put,” she announced over her shoulder as she marched down the aisle and flung her backpack in a booth.

      “May I join you?” Lincoln asked politely.

      Valetta hesitated, unsure what to do. He hadn’t flown three thousand miles to sit down at a counter. Come to think of it, why had he come? “Is Alexis—”

      “Alexis is fine,” he assured her quickly.

      Relieved, Valetta’s reluctant nod was a forced concession. She led the way to the booth, glad that Mellie had chosen one at the back of the diner, just in case the conversation got out of hand. Not that she would ever allow that to happen, not with Mellie present. Not that the Lincoln Cameron she remembered would ever be so crass, but conversations had a way of getting out of control.

      Judging from the way Valetta’s eyes darted nervously about, Lincoln knew that she was upset. It was easy to read, too, in her stiff spine as he followed her down the narrow aisle, although she greeted everyone politely. He guessed that she and her daughter were regulars, that eating in the diner was a habit, maybe for the whole town, the way the booths had filled up. There wasn’t even a seat available at the counter. Jerome Crater served more than ten customers! Judging from the platters emerging from the kitchen, chunks of beef sitting in a thick steaming puddle of brown gravy, surrounded by potatoes and dotted with barley, Lincoln thought it was probably a wise choice. Very few people had time to cook like that anymore. The aroma alone made his mouth water, and he had just had lunch!

      Mellie was surprised when Lincoln slid into their booth, but Valetta covered her daughter’s hand and quickly introduced them. “Mellie, sweetie, this is Mr. Lincoln Cameron. He’s an old family friend.”

      Mellie’s assessment of the stranger was swift and concise. “We already met. And you don’t look that old—you look like a pirate.”

      “Mellie!”

      “No, don’t,” Lincoln stopped Valetta, stroking his five o’clock shadow. “You know what, Miss Mellie? So many people have told me that, I am beginning to wonder if maybe I was, in a past life.”

      “Hey, we learned all about that in school. Re-in-car-na- tion, my teacher called it. Do you really believe in that kind of stuff?” Mellie asked, squinting up at Lincoln.

      “Reincarnation? Not really, but like I said, sometimes I wonder. How about you?”

      Mellie thought about it. “No, I don’t think so, either. But maybe.”

      Lincoln nodded. “Smart girl. Always cover your bases.”

      Mellie shrugged as she began to dig through her backpack, apparently unconcerned that she didn’t get his meaning. Lincoln watched as all manner of things began to appear on the table: a battered pink Barbie pencil box; two nubby erasers; a pink pencil sharpener; dirty tissues; clean tissues; and a battered box of cherry cough drops. The tools of the trade, he mused. Amused to notice, too, that although Mellie was busy setting herself up for some serious coloring, she had not lost sight of their guest.

      “How come you know my mom?”

      “I live in California.”

      Mellie was impressed. “Mom, you knew Mr. Cameron when you lived in California?”

      Valetta sighed for the questions that were about to come fast and furious. “Yes, California,” she said vaguely.

      “Oh, Mr. Cameron, do you know my Aunt ’Lexis? She lives in California, too. Right, Mom?”

      Lincoln was relieved to hear that Valetta had not entirely hidden her past from her child. It made his job easier. “As a matter of fact, yes, I do know your aunt. Quite well, actually.”

      Valetta paled. So, she thought, things had not changed all that much. But Mellie gave her no time to think. “My mom told me that my aunt lives in a castle, so she must be rich. I’ve never met her, but if she lives in a castle, she must be rich as Crustus.”

      “As rich as Croesus, Mellie, not Crustus. And it’s not good manners to talk about someone else’s money.” Valetta’s swift warning glance told Lincoln that Mellie was ignorant of her mother’s share in that wealth. His faint nod told her that he understood.

      “Well, okay. But since Croesus was a king, does that make my aunt a queen? Because I would like to be a princess,” Mellie declared, as she opened a huge box of crayons. “Would that make me a princess?”

      Lincoln liked how Mellie ignored the correction for the importance of the idea. “She’s definitely not a queen!” His lips twitched, but outright laughter would not do, he knew. He was saved by a young man with purple hair and an earring arriving at their booth with a basket of rolls and silverware.

      “’Evening, Mrs. Faraday, Mellie. Sir.” Carefully, the boy set the bread on the table. “Look out, Mellie, here comes your knife and fork.”

      Valetta shifted her daughter’s coloring book although Mellie held fast to her precious box of crayons. “Good evening, Cory. This is Mr. Cameron, an old family friend. He’ll be joining us for dinner.”

      “I figured,” Cory said, as he laid the table for three. “Glad to meet you, sir.” Solemnly, he took their order, although since there was only one dinner special on any given night, the choice was only out of politeness. Everyone in Longacre knew this. The real choice lay in what to drink. Mellie asked for a cherry Coke and Valetta ordered an iced tea, no sugar. The young man waited patiently for Lincoln to decide, not surprised when he, too, opted for the iced tea.

      “Sorry for the invasion of your privacy,” Valetta said to Lincoln as Cory walked back toward the kitchen. “I thought I had better explain who you were before the rumors started. Everyone Cory serves tonight is going to ask.”

      Lincoln was amused. “Do you think that calling me an old family friend is sufficient to stop rumors from spreading?”

      “Not really.” Valetta smiled faintly. “It will be interesting to see who everyone decides you are, by the end of the night. It’s like that child’s game, Telephone.”

      “Oh, I love that game!” Mellie said, absorbing every word the adults spoke even as she colored a page of monkeys pink.

      “I know you do, sweetie. Do you remember how to play, Lincoln? You whisper a sentence in the first person’s ear and send it down the line until the last person repeats the sentence aloud—usually a totally garbled mess and complete corruption of the original.”

      “Something СКАЧАТЬ