Twice in a Lifetime Read Online Free PDF

various governmental regulations.”
    “You’re doing fine.” Miz Callie waved away the issue. “It’ll be exactly the way I want it.”
    This was a tempest in a teapot, as far as she could tell. “Miz Callie, whatever has all the secrecy been about? You must know that no one in the family will object to turning the land into a nature preserve.”
    “Yes, child, I know that.” Miz Callie’s face seemed to tighten, as if the skin were drawing close against the bones. “They won’t object to the preserve. They’ll object to what I’m going to call it.”
    “Call it?” Georgia echoed. This was like swimming in a fog.
    Her grandmother continued to clasp her hands tightly together. “It’s to be named the Edward Austin Bodine Memorial Preserve.”
    For a moment the name didn’t register. Then memories filtered through—of pictures quickly flipped past in the family album, of questions unanswered, of conversations broken off when a child entered the room.
    “You mean Great-uncle Ned? Grandfather’s older brother? The one who—” She stopped, not sure how much of what she thought she knew was true and how much was a child’s imagining.
    “They said he was a coward. They said he ran away rather
    than defend his country in the war.” Her grandmother’s cheeks flushed. “It wasn’t true. It couldn’t have been.”
    Georgia caught the confusion in Matt’s eyes. “The Second World War, she means. Supposedly Ned Bodine disappeared instead of enlisting when he was old enough to fight.” She tried to think this through, but her instinctive reaction was strong. “Miz Callie, you must know it’s not only the family who will be upset about this idea. Other folks have long memories, too. Why don’t you dedicate it to Grandfather?”
    “To Ned.” Her voice was firm. “He’s been the family secret for too long.”
    “Will people really be upset after all this time?” Matt asked. “Would anyone even remember?”
    The fact that Matt could ask the question showed how far he had to go in understanding his adopted home.
    “They remember. Charleston society is like one big family with lots of branches. Everyone knows everyone else’s heritage nearly as well as they know their own.” She ran her fingers through her hair, tugging a little, as if that would clear her thoughts. “And it’s not just that. This is a military town, always has been. Bodines have served proudly.” Her mind flickered to her brothers. “Miz Callie, please rethink this.”
    Her grandmother shook her head firmly. Tears shone in her eyes.
    Georgia’s heart clenched. Miz Callie was the rock of the family. She didn’t cry. She didn’t show weakness. And she certainly didn’t do things that would put half the county in an uproar.
    Except…now she did.
    She reached across to grasp her grandmother’s trembling hands. “It’s going to cause a lot of hard feelings, you know.” Miz Callie clutched her hand, her gaze seeking Georgia’s face. “Not if it’s proved that he didn’t run away.”
    “After all this time? Miz Callie, if people have believed that all these years, surely it must be true. I know you were fond of him, but—”
    “I knew him.” The words came out firmly. “He wasn’t a coward, whatever people say.”
    “Please, think about what will happen if you do this.” Her grandmother was set on a course that would hurt her immeasurably. “Even if you’re right, how can you prove it after all these years?”
    “Maybe I can’t, not alone.” Her fingers tightened on Georgia’s. “I want you to help me.”
    “Me?” The word came out in an uncertain squeak.
    “I can’t die without making this right. I should have done it long ago.”
    The echo of something lost reverberated in her words, twisting Georgia’s heart. So this was the wrong she’d talked about—the one that needed righting.
    “Miz Callie, you know I’d do anything for you. But I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
    “Matthew will help you.