Hidden Talents

from wear.”
    Serenity studied the slit in the faded blue satin. “Do you really think that tear is different?”
    “Yes.”
    Caleb took hold of one corner of the small mirror He ripped it off the inside of the lid with a single tug. A large scrap of thin blue satin came with it.
    A black and white photograph that had been hidden behind the satin fell out. It landed, faceup, on the ring drawer.
    Caleb found himself staring at a picture of three people. One of them was Crystal Brooke. She was dressed in a demure, high-necked dress that was three decades out of fashion. A wide-brimmed hat was tilted at a stylish angle on her platinum-blond hair. She was smiling down at the infant she held in her arms.
    Gordon Ventress stood behind her, his hand resting tenderly on her shoulder. He looked out at the camera with the unmistakable grin of a proud father.
    “ Caleb .” Serenity leaned close, her eyes alight with wonder. “It's a family portrait. Of you and your parents.”
    Caleb couldn't think of anything intelligent to say. Nor could he take his eyes off the photograph. “Looks like it.”
    “A real family portrait.” Serenity laughed with delight. “This is absolutely fabulous. How lucky you are to have a picture of all three of you together. Look how happy your parents are. They're both glowing. It's obvious they loved each other and you very much.”
    Caleb realized that his vision was blurring as he stared at the photo. Irritated, he blinked rapidly a few times and his normally excellent eyesight was restored. “I wonder why it was stuck behind the satin.”
    Serenity lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “I wouldn't be surprised if your mother put it there as a keepsake and then forgot about it.”
    “My grandfather must not have seen it when he put the clippings in the box. If he'd found it, he would have destroyed it.”
    “You don't know that for certain,” Serenity said gently. “In any event, there's no point rehashing what Roland might have done thirty-four years ago.”
    Caleb forced back the rush of indecipherable emotions that threatened to swamp him. This business of letting himself feel stuff again was all well and good once in a while, but it could be a damned nuisance at other times. His calm, methodical, logical approach to important things tended to get muddled up when he allowed the emotional side of his nature to take over.
    He schooled himself to think clearly and logically. “The picture is interesting, but it's not exactly a major clue.”
    “I suppose you're right.”
    “Serenity?” Caleb tucked the photo into the jewelry box and closed the lid.
    “Yes?”
    He took a deep breath and felt the blood pulse slowly, heavily, in his veins. “Will you marry me?”
    Her lips parted on a soundless exclamation. She seemed to be having trouble with her throat. “Marry you?” Her voice was higher than usual. “Why on earth do you want to marry me?”
    He looked at her. “Probably because I'm a conventional, straitlaced, old-fashioned kind of guy.”
    “Oh.”
    “What's the matter, Serenity?”
    “Nothing,” she said quickly. “You've just taken me by surprise, that's all. I hadn't realized you were thinking about…about marriage.”
    “No? What have you been thinking about?”
    “I don't know.” She swallowed. “I mean, why marriage at this point?”
    “I told you why.”
    “You're conventional, straitlaced, and old-fashioned.” Her anxious eyes searched his. “But I'm not. Conventional, straitlaced, and old-fashioned, that is. Here in Witt's End, we do things differently.”
    “Is that right?”
    “Yes, well, I mean, just look around.” She gestured wildly with one hand. “Julius and Bethanne just got married last month. They've been living together for years. Jessie and Ambrose never got married. My own parents weren't married.”
    “And neither were mine, remember? I'd just as soon not repeat that particular part of the past.”
    “Caleb, there's no rush. I'm not pregnant. We haven't really had a chance to get to know each other.”
    He felt himself grow cold inside. She was trying to edge away from him. Trying to put some distance between them. Maybe she didn't want him as much as he wanted her. He forced back the surge of despair.
    “I can guarantee you that you know me better than anyone else on the face of the planet.” He kept his voice calm with a supreme effort of will.
    She faced him with a strange, expectant expression in her peacock eyes.