"Yes, he said he had some business to take care of," Gwh typed. “Leonie, what''s the deal with that Patti Yale and your uncle...?"


    Seeing the ellipsis after Patti Yale''s name, Leonie quickly jumped to her uncle''s defense. “They never even had a thing! That woman gets around; she has tons of boyfriends. My uncle just had a bit of a crush at the time, but he didn''t know her reputation. They never dated or anything. Auntie, did someone feed you some nonsense again?"


    The only person Leonie could think of was Max. Could that dog have investigated her uncle just to win Gwh over, then twisted the story to make him look bad? "Was it Max? Don''t listen to him. I know he likes you, that you''re the one that got away for him, right?"


    The phrase "the one that got away" stung Gwh unexpectedly; her rtionship with Max was nothing like that. "It wasn''t Max. I''ve been busy with the wedding, and he''s been recovering from his injuries. He hasn''t had a chance to gossip."


    Leonie considered it. Gwh had a point. "Well, no matter where you heard it, you have to trust my uncle. Besides, he''s a real stickler for loyalty in rtionships. The moment he found out about her reputation, he lost all interest. He''d never go for someone like that." A man would lose all face marrying a woman like her.


    But Gwh wasn''t convinced. Hawthorne had ditched her more than once for Patti Yale. And when she''d asked him about Patti, all he offered were pleas to trust him, never giving a single believable reason. Gwh simply couldn''t believe there was nothing between them, especially with the messages from her colleagues confirming Patti had gotten a job at hispany. Hawthorne hadn''t seemed to care when Gwh left thepany, but the moment Patti called, he was ready to leave at a moment''s notice.


    She scoffed internally and decided not to press the issue. "It''s nothing. I just wanted to let you know he left."


    Leonie heard the despair in Gwh''s voice but didn''t know how tofort her. "Don''t worry, Auntie. I''ll keep an eye on him for you. If he makes a single move, I''ll tell you immediately."


    "Silly girl," Gwh said faintly. "I was just asking. Your uncle and kare fine." There was no point. If a man didn''t love you what was the use in clinging to him?


    "Oh."


    After Leonie hung up, Mrs. Everhart noticed her expression. "What''s wrong? Who were you on the phone with?"


    "My aunt-inw. Mom, do you think it''s possible Uncle would cheat?"


    Mrs. Everhart scoffed. "Absolutely not! Your uncle is not that kind


    person''d sooner believe your


    brother would love ''em and leave ''em than your uncle would


    Just then, Layne Everhart walked in, looking bewildered. "Mom, what are you talking about? When have kever done that?" He felt like he''d been hit by a stray bullet.


    "It''s nothing. And you, all you do is work day in and day out. Now that your uncle is married, isn''t it about time you brought a girlfriend home?"


    Layne instinctively nced at the red band on his wrist and smiled faintly. "It''s a possibility. Just have a gift ready."