Love Letters: A Rose Harbor Novel Read Free Page B

Ellie ignored. The problem was, Ellie fully understood her mother’s concerns. Taking off to meet a man she knew only through phone calls and emails and text messages was risky on any number of levels. The bottom line was her mother was right. Ellie really didn’t know Tom Lynch. He could be a serial rapist or a criminal or even a mass murderer. And as her mother said, Ellie could be walking into a nightmare that would haunt her for the rest of her life. She’d begged Ellie to let her travel with her for this initial meeting. For a time, Ellie had actually considered the offer. It didn’t take long for her to decide otherwise. This was something she wanted—no, needed—to do on her own. She was cautious and would meet Tom in a public place.
    If, after they met, they decided there was something to this relationship, then they would continue getting to know each other. He would come to Oregon next, and introduce himself to her mother. It made sense to Ellie, and while she was somewhat introverted, she wasn’t stupid. She had her own apprehensions about this. Even she had to admit her relationship with Tom was unconventional. She’d be the first to concede this wasn’t the way a woman generally met a man for the first time. And while she didn’t have a lot of dating experience, she trusted her gut and her heart, and both told her that Tom Lynch could be trusted.
    With her phone still in her hand, Ellie checked her email and saw that Tom had sent her a message, asking her to let him know when she arrived. Her fingers fairly flew across the tiny keyboard as she responded. Although reluctant, she did have to admit that Tom had seemed a tad bit secretive, something her mother had taken delight in pointing out at every opportunity. Ellie hadn’t tried to argue; allshe told her mother was that she trusted her instincts. Which, in retrospect, probably wasn’t the wisest of responses. That declaration had instantly sent her mother into a long tirade against Ellie’s father. At one time, Virginia, too, had trusted her heart, and look what it had gotten her. Ellie could almost mouth the words along with her mother.
    Going against her own parents’ wishes, Virginia had fallen in love with a young man she met while in college. They’d been crazy about each other. From the first, her mother’s parents had had questions about Scott Reynolds. They hadn’t liked or trusted him. After only one meeting, her father declared that Scott was too slick, too cocky, and, perhaps worst of all … superficial. Both her parents had warned Virginia against falling in love with a man who was overly confident of himself. They had someone else in mind for their only daughter, someone far more suitable. From the start, they were convinced Scott would break Virginia’s heart. And they were right.
    Because she was in love and ruled by hormones, Virginia hadn’t listened to her parents. Scott and Virginia had defied her family, and against their advice had continued to date. Love had blinded Virginia from the truth. To complicate matters, Virginia and Scott had eloped.
    For a short while, Virginia admitted, she’d been blissfully happy, especially when she learned she was pregnant with Ellie. Scott dropped out of school and took a job driving a taxi. He’d been thrilled with his baby girl, whom they named Eleanor after Virginia’s mother, in the hope that her parents would look past Virginia’s defiance and make Scott a part of the family. Right away Scott had called her Ellie, and the name had stuck. As first-time grandparents, Virginia’s family threw their loving arms around Virginia and Eleanor. They made an effort with Scott, Virginia claimed, but his dislike of her mother and father drove a wedge between them.
    It wasn’t long before Scott’s fascination with being a husband and father wore thin. They struggled financially, living on what Scott made driving a cab. Her parents offered them a loan, but Scottwouldn’t hear of it.