Chapter Three- Becoming Friends and Finding the Heart

Alex walked into the room Liza had taken Mandie to with a dress and clean underclothes for her cousin to wear as Aunt Lou washed her dress. Mandie was seated at a vanity, wearing a robe of Aunt Lou's, while Liza brushed her blonde hair.

"You smell better, Cousin. How do you feel?" Alex asked, sitting on a chair that was next to Mandie's vanity.

"All right, I guess. Are those for me?" Mandie asked, looking at the cinnamon-colored dress and underclothes in Alex's arms.

"Yep. I hope they fit. You're only a little taller than me so they probably should," Alex said as Liza took the clothes from her.

"So, are you really my cousin?" Mandie asked as she dressed and Liza put a ribbon Alex had provided into Mandie's hair.

"My last name is Shaw and you called my father Uncle John," Alex said as a huge white cat ambled up to Mandie, meowing loudly. Mandie picked up the cat and he nudged her face with his furry head.

"What was Uncle John like?" Mandie asked as Alex and Liza pulled Mandie up by the arms, causing her to drop the cat as they led her downstairs.

"I don't know. I have just recently come back here. I never knew him or my mother. Aunt Lou said she died in childbirth," Alex said, feeling tears come to her eyes. It made her sad to think that she'd lost her parents before she could even know them.

"How is that possible?" Mandie asked perplexed.

"I was kidnapped. My father hired a detective before he left for Europe and he found me living in Tennessee. He brought me here two days after my father left. And I found out he died the next day. So I'm in the same boat as you, but we're cousins and you never have to go back to your mother ever again if you don't want to. You can stay here with me and be my best friend ever," Alex said her sadness giving way to the fact that she now had a family member close to her age living with her. This was better than Christmas and shooting off firecrackers on the Fourth of July combined.

They led Mandie into the large dining room where a place was set. Alex sat in a chair next to her cousin. "Ain't you eatin' too, Miss Alex?" Liza asked.

"Nope. I'm not hungry. Just bring me a cup of tea, Liza," Alex said as her cousin started to shovel in food as if she was half starved. Apparently it had been awhile since she had last eaten.

"So do I call you Alex or Alexandra?" Mandie asked between bites.

"I prefer Alex. If you call me Alex, I'll call you Mandie," Alex said as Liza served the tea.

Mandie smiled. "Okay. Alex it is then," Mandie said as Liza gave her the bread pudding that had been served for breakfast.

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Aunt Lou opened the door gently to Miss Mandie's room. Miss Mandie was asleep in one bed while Miss Alexandra slept on a cot next to the bed; Miss Mandie's white cat, Snowball, asleep on Miss Alexandra's feet.

"May the good Lord bless your dreams, Children," Aunt Lou whispered, waking both children. Miss Alexandra sat up, disrupting the cat.

"Aunt Lou, do you have any family, children?" Miss Mandie asked, laying on her back.

"I have four and I suspect they's all getting reacquainted with your fathers right about now," Aunt Lou said as she and Miss Alexandra sat on the bed next to Miss Mandie.

"All four?" Miss Mandie asked in a small voice. Aunt Lou nodded.

"We're so sorry, Aunt Lou," Miss Alexandra said, taking the housekeeper's rough hand in hers. With her other hand Aunt Lou smoothed Miss Mandie's face gently and then Miss Alexandra's face.

"I ran away the night of the funeral. The running was good, kept me busy. But tomorrow, when I wake up and my Daddy and Uncle are gone, what will I do all day?" Miss Mandie asked dejectedly.

"What you and Miss Alexandra do is you don't fight the pain of losin' your Daddies or losin' the only home you thought you had. You feel it. And I'll feel it with you and Mr. Jason Bond too. And the two of you are cousins. You can both cry together. And both of you ask the good Lord to hurt with you. He suffered as much as everybody in the whole world combined which means He'll comfort you better than any of us," Aunt Lou said gently.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not asking God for anything. I'm too mad at Him. Is that wrong?" Miss Mandie asked in a bitter tone.

"No, Child. Fact is, if you're both mad, you oughta tell Him you're mad. And keep telling Him as long as you are. And one day you might find that you ask Him to help you stop being mad," Aunt Lou said as Miss Alexandra got back into her bed and Aunt Lou tucked the blankets up to their chins.

"I'll think about it," Miss Mandie said sleepily. Aunt Lou kissed both girls foreheads and left. She heard the sounds of soft breathing as she closed the door.

Aunt Lou made her way downstairs to the library. She was going to find all of Miss Alexandra's mother's books. Miss Mandie would enjoy then as much as Miss Alexandra did.

Aunt Lou started in surprise as she saw Jason Bond standing there and flipping through a couple of books. "How in heaven's name did that child get here?" Aunt Lou asked the question that had been on her mind since Miss Mandie had come through the door.

"I have no idea," Jason said distractedly.

"I wonder how much she knows," Aunt Lou said.

"Well, as private as that family is, probably not much. And I'll tell you something, Lou, we're gonna keep our mouths shut too," Jason said, putting a book back. "I cannot find Mr. John's will."

"Can't find the will? What in tarnation are you doing wasting precious time down here for?" Aunt Lou asked in exasperated confusion.

"Because it could be anywhere," Jason said.

Aunt Loy huffed. "Mr. Jason, where do you find a man's heart?" Aunt Lou asked as if Jason were a child.

"In Miss Alexandra and her mother before her. He loved those two with all the strength and love that a father and husband had," Jason said sadly.

"But you find his heart in the same place you find his treasure. Am I right? Well, just flip it around. Because we know where his heart was after Miss Alexandra was taken and her mother died. Third floor. And the hidden places," Aunt Lou said.

"Why don't you just run right up there, Lou, and start searching?" Jason asked in amusement.

Aunt Lou shook her head. "No Sir."

"Precisely," Jason said, turning back to the books.

A flash of inspiration then hit her. "I know! Let's get Miss Mandie and Miss Alexandra to help you. What better way for Miss Alexandra to know who her father was. She might discover her father's love for her up there. And Miss Mandie needs something to do and if she knew her Daddy might be included in the will-"Aunt Lou started to say.

Jason shook his head. "No, no, no. I won't get their hopes up like that. Not until I know exactly who's in that will," Jason said, putting a book back.

"Well, there's much more possibilities when the hopes is raised," Aunt Lou said. Some how Aunt Lou knew that only Miss Alexandra and Miss Mandie could find the will. If they were anything like Mr. John and Mr. Jim they would.