Read Online Mirror of Shadows by T. Lynne Tolles - Free Book Online

completely honest with me, so I’m willing to give him a chance.”
    “Are you sure about this? I don’t want you to find out the hard way that you were wrong about him.”
    “I am sure and your concern is duly noted,” she said with a smile and a tinge of stubbornness.
    “I almost forgot,” he said, pulling out a white envelope from his jacket pocket. “These are for you. They were Rose’s personal items,” he said sadly.
    Ella poured the contents into her hand. A slender band of platinum, a matching engagement ring, and a silver locket with a long chain attached. These items were familiar to Ella. She’d never seen her grandmother without them.
    A tear rolled down Ella’s cheek and landed in her hand on the locket. Her grandmother had told a small Ella many times what these tokens of her life meant to her. The engagement ring and wedding band were from the only man she would ever love. The locket held a picture of Ella on one side and Ella’s father on the other, to keep her family close to her heart—always. The locket had been a gift from her grandfather. It was adorned with an engraved lily. Like a coat of arms, the lily had been associated with the Grey family for many years, her grandmother had told her.
    She slipped the rings onto her bare hands and slipped the locket pendant over her head and round her neck. Her tear-stained face was red as Marlin reached out and pulled her to him in a big bear hug. There were no words, just silence for a well-loved woman they both cared deeply for.
    Boo broke up the gloomy mood as she walked back and forth on the chaise, rubbing her face on both of them until they pulled away and gave her some attention.
    Ella said her goodbyes to Marlin and waved as he drove away in the gray, drizzling weather. She stood at the door until she could no longer see Marlin’s car, holding the locket in one hand and Boo in the other. The finality of her grandmother’s death sank in and consumed her while she wept in bed the rest of that day and night with Boo at her side.
     
    *****
     
    The next few days Ella had no stamina for life. Crippled by the weight of the depression that had hit her hard, she spent those days in three modes of crying, sleeping, and somewhere in between, each of which melded into one another. Boo only left her side to eat and do her business, but quickly returned to cuddle in under her chin against her chest or in the crook of one of her arms.
    Jeremy was wonderful during this sad time and though she did not eat much of what he brought up to her, his kindness did not go unnoticed. He didn’t pester her to get out of bed and on with her life; he didn’t insist on her talking about what she was feeling or tell her what she should be feeling; he just let her grieve in her own way. It was as if he knew what she needed and let her heal. He was there if she needed him but otherwise, he let her be.
    With each day she grew a little more interested in what was going on outside her room and finally she started to venture out back into the world. Her first outing away from the house was to town just after the sun had gone down. She had lost a coin toss with Jeremy and was to pick up Chinese food at Chopsticks on Main Street. Main Street was blocked off for some parade the following morning so she had to park quite a ways away.
    As with any small town, things get pretty quiet at night and Ella felt as if she were the only one out and about this evening, until a strange feeling came over her and made her shiver. She heard footsteps behind her in the distance. She turned onto another side street, seeing the street light of Main just ahead, when the footsteps behind her sounded much closer. Were they gaining on her? She wasn’t sure. She picked up her pace as she turned the corner onto Main. She thought she would feel safer on Main with all the lighting from the storefronts, but she quickly realized that the town was practically shut down. The store owners knew the street