Haunting Danielle 27 The Ghost and the Mountain Man Bobbi Holmes (best pdf ebook reader for android .TXT) 📖

Before Danielle could respond, Walt walked back into the museum.

“Did Brian say anything about Ginny?” Kelly asked Walt.

“Aside from the fact he wasn’t in the mood for matchmaking?” Walt asked.

Kelly groaned. “So he knew?”

“He’s not stupid,” Walt said.

“I just wanted them to meet, she’s so nice, and Brian’s had such rotten luck with women. He’s totally given up on dating.”

“Why do you say that?” Danielle asked.

“Spending Saturday night with Heather? What does that tell you?” Kelly asked.

Danielle and Walt exchanged quick glances. “Excuse me?” Danielle said.

Kelly waved a hand dismissively. “I don’t mean anything like that.” She laughed at the idea and then said, “But Joe and I drove by Heather’s yesterday on the way to my brother’s, and I saw Brian in the front window.”

“You’re certain it was Brian?” Walt asked.

“Sure, we saw his car. Anyway, my point being, he’s obviously given up on dating. After all, when I asked him to double date with us last night, he insisted he wasn’t interested. Instead, he would rather hang out with Heather. I know it’s because you all had that bonding moment up in the mountains, and he sees her as his new pal. But really, there’s no future in that, and I can’t imagine it thrills Heather, him hanging around,” Kelly said.

“You accomplished what you set out to do,” Walt said.

“What do you mean?” Kelly asked.

“You introduced Brian to your friend,” he explained.

“Yeah, right. That’s what your wife said,” Kelly grumbled.

“They have met each other, and if Brian is interested, then it is up to him to make the next move. If you think about it, with matchmaking, all you can really do is introduce the couple. There is nothing you can do beyond that,” Walt said.

“I suppose you’re right. If it’s meant to be, it will work out,” Kelly said. She glanced at her watch. “Well, I need to get going. Tell Ginny I’ll talk to her later.”

After Kelly left the museum, Danielle asked Walt, “Do you really believe that? That Brian might be interested and consider pursuing Ginny?”

Walt shook his head. “Not at all.”

“I’m just wondering, when did she see Brian’s car parked at Heather’s?” Danielle asked.

“Brian has been parking in the alley behind her house.”

“Which means Kelly must have seen Brian in her window and then had Joe drive down the alley,” Danielle suggested.

“Which means Joe saw Brian’s car parked there too. I wonder what he thinks about it.”

“I doubt Joe has a clue what’s really going on,” Danielle said.

“I agree.”

Danielle glanced toward the exhibit area and said, “While you were outside, Ginny told me she donated some old photographs to the museum that you might be interested in. The exhibit isn’t finished, but they have some photos up. Since we’re already here, want to check them out?”

Enlargements of vintage black-and-white photographs covered one side of a portable wall in the center walkway of the original exhibit section of the museum. According to the exhibit’s small placard, Ginny Thomas had donated the photographs from her family’s Frederickport collection.

Ginny stood on the far side of the museum with the couple who had entered while Walt had been outside with Brian. Walt and Danielle stood by the new exhibit, looking over the photographs.

“I don’t believe it,” Walt muttered, stepping closer to the largest photograph. Danielle moved closer; her attention focused on the people in the picture.

“That’s your father,” Danielle whispered when she recognized one man in the photograph. Had she not read the dates posted with the display, she might have assumed Walt was the man in the picture. But when taken, Walt had only been three years old, assuming they had the correct date.

“Yes. That was in front of the livery stable,” Walt said. He pointed to the two men with his father. “The one on the right is Bud. The other one is Teddy.”

Danielle pulled out her cellphone.

“What are you doing?” Walt asked.

“I’m taking a picture of it, of course. That photo of your dad is going in our album.” She snapped several shots. Just as she was putting the phone back in her purse, Ginny walked up to them, while the couple she had been showing around remained at another exhibit on the other side of the room.

“I was going to suggest you check out that photograph,” Ginny said. “I imagine you noticed the resemblance between one of the men in the picture and your husband.”

“Yes. By the date, I assume the picture is of Alexander Marlow, Frederick’s son, and Walt Marlow’s father,” Danielle said.

“It is.” Ginny now stood next to Walt and Danielle, looking up at the photograph. “When I first saw Walt Marlow’s portrait in the museum, it struck me how much he looked like his father in this picture. In fact, I double-checked the dates. At first, I wondered if they had been mislabeled, and it was Walt Marlow.” Ginny paused a moment and smiled at Walt. “The other Walt Marlow.”

Walt flashed her a grin.

“But since I knew that was Bud in the photograph, and considering he disappeared a few years later, then I knew he couldn’t have had his photograph taken with an adult Walt Marlow. And I have to say, I still can’t believe how much you look like them. That family resemblance is certainly strong with the Marlows,” Ginny said.

“What do you mean, he disappeared?” Walt asked.

Ginny turned from the photograph to face Walt. “The man to the right of Alexander Marlow was Bud Benson, my great-grandmother’s brother. According to the stories passed down in the family, he disappeared back in 1904. Just fell off the face of the earth.”

“That was the year Alex and Anna Marlow died,” Danielle noted.

“Yes. Ever since I moved back to Frederickport and started going through my cousin’s things, I’ve been sucked into family history and the history of Frederickport. In fact, that’s why I joined the Historical Society and volunteered to be a docent. I’ve visited Frederickport since I was a little girl.