Journals of the Secret Keeper by Jennifer L Ray Page B

little boy Andrik used to be, wept with
renewed pain.
CHAPTER 18
Volume 18, pg. 5 (June 1915):
"She done
brought another baby home. This baby white
with red hair like the woman on that picture.
She say we gone call her Olivia."
#
The discussion during dinner centered on the
journals. They were on everyone's mind and no
one's more than Willetta's. Andrik asked her to join
him on the back porch again and she refused stating
she had a headache. The real reason was that it was
past time for her to begin reading.
As soon as she entered her room she locked
the door, carefully checking to see if it was indeed
locked. The curtains were swaying from the
nighttime breeze. Willetta crossed the room and
slid the new windows closed until they clicked. She
pulled the curtain panels together.
Next, she lit one
of the gold candelabrums she'd brought from Mama
Jean's house. She turned off the lights, changed into
a gown and climbed into bed with the journal. The
clock read nine-thirty.
She opened the aged journal with
trepidation. It wasn't the first journal. She was
disappointed, but began reading anyway. The
masculine handwriting was square in character and
painfully consistent. Each letter was the same
height and as neatly written as any typewritten
symbol. The message was just as clear as the
handwriting. Mr. William Thompson was afraid of
his wife, Mrs. Etta Williams, and declared her
insane.
#
It was two o'clock in the morning when
Willetta opened the door to her room and crept into
the hallway. The keys to her car were held tightly
in her hand. She had no wish to jingle them and
awaken any light sleepers, namely Andrik or Olivia.
Her intent was to get to her car and get as many of
the journals out of the trunk as she could.
She tiptoed down the staircase biting her
lower lip the whole way. She could taste the blood
of her split lip. She heard a sound above her head at
the top of the staircase and froze in place. There
were no lights on, but moonlight filtered through
from the back porch and shrouded the living room
and foyer in pale green light. Willetta waited.
There was no other sound.
She reached for the doorknob and turned the
lock up.
"Don't open the door, Lettie. You'll trigger
the alarm," Andrik said. His voice came from the
top of the staircase.
Willetta stood still with her hands at her
sides. "I..I'm sorry if I woke you up. I need to get
something out of my car," she stammered.
"Okay. Let me turn the alarm off. I'll walk
you out," he said mildly. As he descended the
stairs, Willetta noted that he was still fully dressed
in jeans and a white undershirt.
He held a mug in
his hand and his feet were bare. "You missed some
really good hot cocoa tonight and my chocolate
oatmeal cookies." he said teasingly.
Willetta smiled tightly as he set the mug on
the wide rail of the staircase. Her mind raced to
figure out what she would get out of the car.
Everything was in her room. The car was
completely emptied of her things except for the
journals.
Andrik opened a small box on the side of the
wall and punched a few keys. He then opened the
door and gestured for Willetta to go ahead of him
out the door. Willetta felt like a mischievous child
as she walked through the door and onto the porch.
What could she do? Andrik must know that the car
was empty. He emptied it. He had patiently
brought in all her things. Then she remembered.
Her laptop was underneath the passenger seat. She
barely controlled a sigh of relief.
"Give me the keys. I'll open the door for
you," Andrik said.
Willetta handed him the keys and was
surprised when he took her hand and pulled her into
his arms. He lifted her completely off the ground
and settled her onto the trunk of her car. His hands
stayed at her waist as he bent his head and settled
his lips on hers.
She could smell the hot chocolate he'd been
drinking, the soap he had showered with and
something else. She decided it was his essence and
she liked it. His lips opened over hers hungrily and