Return to Ternberry (Next Generation Book 2)

Chapter 1

LouJean Bailey slipped out the cathedral door as the strains of organ music began to fill the majestic chamber. She stepped to the side of the large, marble columns flanking the front of the building and lit a cigarette. Moments later, a white limousine pulled up to the front of the church. Stubbing the cigarette out on the brick wall, she flipped it to the porch floor, then picked it up and looked around for some place to put it. Lou Jean shrugged and stuck the cigarette butt into her purse.

The chauffeur stepped from the car and opened the rear door. Colleen Holloway lowered her head as billows of white satin surrounded her. LouJean watched as Colleen gently gathered the dress into her arms and started toward the church. LouJean stepped out from behind the pillar. Surprise! she said.

Aunt LouJean! Colleen said in a surprised voice. It’s so good to see you. Can you believe it? I’m actually getting married. Mom is going to be so surprised to see you. She kept saying all day that she just knew you wouldn’t make it.

LouJean smiled. Well, honey, I’m here and it’s about time your getting hitched. You look gorgeous. By the way, where is your mother? I can’t believe I got here before her.

She’ll be along any minute now. She was still helping Angela and Addie with their dresses when I left. Colleen made her way to the top of the steps and blew a kiss to LouJean. I’ll see you inside. An usher opened the door and she disappeared inside the church.

LouJean turned to see Angela Braden’s red convertible glide to a stop behind the limousine. Addie stepped out and started toward the church. Watch your dress, Addie, you’re dragging it on the ground, Angela yelled after her fourteen-year-old daughter.

Oh, yeah, I wouldn’t want to mess up this stupid dress, Addie smirked. She grabbed the hem of the dress and stomped down the sidewalk. As she passed LouJean she gave her a limp wave and said Hi, Aunt LouJean.

LouJean walked up next to the car, anxious to see her old friend, Anna Holloway. Angela leaned inside to help her mother with the large box of flowers sitting on the back seat. Angela was still grumbling about Addie. She could have at least waited and helped us with the flowers. I swear if she keeps tugging on that dress it will be ripped before the ceremony.

Anna let out a sigh. Once again she was annoyed with the familiar bickering that went on between her daughter and granddaughter. Let’s just try to have a nice day, okay, Anna said. This is Colleen’s special day and she doesn’t need any more confusion. She seemed really nervous this morning. Anna handed the flowers to Angela and stepped onto the sidewalk. She turned to see LouJean. Oh, my goodness, you made it. I was so worried you wouldn’t be here. How was your trip? I hope the airlines didn’t lose your luggage this time. The two old friends hugged each other.

Their reunion was cut short by Angela’s laughter. Hey, Auntie LouJean, I hate to tell you this, but your purse is on fire.

Oh, dammit, yelled LouJean as she threw the purse to the ground and began to stomp on it. Anna shook her head as the procession of guests entering the church stopped to see what was going on.

Inside the church the stained-glassed windows reflected translucent colors onto the white pillars as the pews began to fill with friends and relatives. They smiled and nodded to each other as they took their places waiting for the wedding of David and Colleen to begin. Anna stood in the back of the church admiring the flowers and candles that Colleen had so tastefully selected for the church. Colleen insisted on having Grandma Grace’s white lace tablecloth cover the altar. She knew that Colleen had a close bond with her grandmother, but Anna often wondered why her mother had given the family heirloom to Colleen instead of to her. It was the only thing that remained from her mother’s early days in Wales. Anna had always admired it and assumed it would be hers when her mother passed away, but Grandma Grace had given it to Colleen.

Anna felt uneasy about Colleen. Was she having second thoughts about marrying David? Anna hoped not, but Colleen had been so sharp with her earlier when Anna was trying to help her get ready. Colleen had been sitting at a small table in the dressing room of the rectory listening to Addie complaining about what she called her dorky bridesmaid dress, as Angela tried to straighten the straps. Anna watched as her oldest daughter fumbled with the curls on the back of her head. Anna had picked up a brush and said, Here, Colleen, let me fix the back of your hair.

Colleen put her hand up to her head. It’s fine, Mom, it’s fine. You know I would really like to have about five minutes alone. It’s so crowded in here and I’m really getting warm. Do you think you could all leave me alone for a few minutes?

Anna had seemed surprised. Of course, dear, we’ll leave. Are you all right?

Yes, Mother, please. I just need some time to collect my thoughts, Colleen replied.

What’s gotten into her all of a sudden? Angela asked as she stomped out of the room, taking Addie with her. Anna put her finger to her lips and quietly closed the door behind her.

She’s just nervous, that’s all.

Anna had returned to the rear of the church and stood next to her husband, Earl. She ran her hands down the lapel of his tuxedo and straightened his boutonniere.

Are you okay? Earl asked.

I’m fine dear. I will just be glad when this wedding is over. I just want to get back to the farm and into my overalls. He smiled at his wife. You sure do look pretty today.

After everyone had left, Colleen reached into the blue velvet bag sitting on the table. Colleen pulled out a bottle of champagne she bought for her wedding toast. She pealed off the gold paper and twisted the wire. Opening the box that held the monogrammed corkscrew, Colleen picked it up and pushed it into the bottle. A few moments later the cork let go with a loud POP! The white liquid bubbled over her hand as she searched around the room for a glass. Finding an empty flower vase, Colleen filled it with the champagne. Here’s to me, she whispered and downed the warm liquid. Making a face, she shivered. She refilled the vase again. Why am I so nervous? She knew in her heart she loved David, but could she ever care for him as much as he loved her? David had loved her for what seemed like forever, yet it seemed like only yesterday since they first met.

They met her senior year in college. She was home for the summer with no job. It was Angela who suggested she go to work for David in his veterinarian practice. It was just one summer, but David could not get Colleen out of his mind. She knew he was in love with her, but she had plotted out her future and it didn’t include getting married for quite awhile. She would finish college and find a position in the publishing world.

She had followed her plan, graduated with honors and then took a job in New York rather than returning to Stockbridge. She had no idea that David was waiting for her to return. Colleen was sure he had gone on with his life and that they would always remain friends.

Then the unexpected happened to her. She fell madly in love with another man, Jeff Fisher, and they married. Colleen got caught up in Jeff’s ball of lies and the marriage fell apart in less than two years. Colleen was devastated and David came to her side. When she went off to England with LouJean, it was David who came to take care of her when she became ill. Her grandmother’s death brought her back to Stockbridge and into his waiting arms. Spending time together at Ternberry, that vulnerable place in her heart, Colleen accepted David’s proposal of marriage.

That was three years ago. Time seemed to slip away from them. Colleen had commitments with her job in New York that took her away for weeks at a time. David was busy with his veterinary practice, spending most of his time at the Braden Dairy. But their love grew stronger each passing month. It scared Colleen to death.

She seemed to be constantly testing him. When she said that she really needed to live in New York so she could be closer to her work, he readily agreed to give up his practice. They talked about children. She wasn’t really sure if she wanted to be a mother, at least not for now. David said that was fine with him. He was willing to give up his friends, sell his house and business just to be with her. Yet Colleen knew how much David loved the outdoors. He could spend weeks hiking in the mountains of Wyoming or fishing in the cold streams of Minnesota. How would he become accustom to living in New York? He wasn’t a big city boy. She had given him so many chances to back out of the relationship, telling him it wasn’t fair to ask so much of him. He never wavered. Would he end up resenting her?

There was a soft knock on the door. Sweetheart, you really need to come out now. It’s time, her mother said softly. She swallowed the last of the champagne in the vase and straightened her veil. Opening the door, her mother almost tumbled in. Are you ready now, dear? Anna asked.

Yes, I’m ready. Please get dad. I need his arm.

Chapter 2

Well, that’s the last of the presents. Earl groaned as he placed a large stack of boxes wrapped in white paper, in the corner of the living room. He pulled off the black tie from his tuxedo shirt. If you ladies will excuse me I think I’m going to get out of this monkey suit and go to bed. He bent down and kissed Anna on the cheek.

How about me, don’t I get a kiss? LouJean asked, turning her face toward him. LouJean puckered up her lips.

Earl grinned, his face turning red. Not with my wife in the room. He turned and hurried up the steps.

I swear, LouJean, after all these years you can still make Earl blush. He never knows whether to take you seriously or not, Anna said laughing.

Good, at least my efforts aren’t wasted, LouJean said. It was a nice wedding, Anna. I hope they will be happy. David couldn’t stop grinning all day. She ran her hands over the worn, brown material on the arm of the living room chair. Don’t you ever look at the furniture ads in the paper and wish you had some new stuff?

Anna frowned. Yes, I do, but every time I think about getting new things I realize that I would have to get rid of the old things. This living room set was the first pieces of furniture Earl and I bought after we got married.

Damn, Anna, that was almost forty years ago. That’s beyond sentimental. Let’s go outside. I need a smoke.

LouJean sat on the front porch railing just as she always did when she came to visit at the farm. Anna positioned herself in the swing. It was nice of you to let Colleen and David stay at your place for a week. They were really looking forward to going back to Ternberry, Anna said.

It just seemed like the thing to do since that’s where Colleen finally let herself fall in love with David. I didn’t think it would take them another three years to decide to get married.

LouJean jumped down from the railing and sat down next to Anna. I just can’t get used to all the traffic on this road. I remember when we used to sit out here and it was so dark you could count every star in the sky. Now all I can see is the reflection from the lights across the road.

Anna sighed. I know. Sometimes Earl and I sit on the back porch just so we don’t have to look at cars and hear all the traffic noise.

Have you ever thought of moving? LouJean asked.

My heavens, no. I don’t think I could ever get Earl to leave this place. This is the only home he has ever known. His grandparents bought this land and built the house more than a hundred years ago. He was born upstairs in the room we now share and, of course, it has been my home since the day we got married. How could we possibly move and where in the world would we go?

Anna, the world is full of places to live. You and Earl can go anywhere your heart’s desire. Besides, this place isn’t really the same anymore. Maybe a change would be good for both of you. I don’t know how you can stand all the traffic and all those cows from Jared’s dairy almost looking in your back window, LouJean said.

We’re not like you, LouJean. You’re like a turtle with your house on your back. How many places have you lived, ten...fifteen? How long will you stay at Ternberry before you get tired of it and move somewhere else?

I love Ternberry. I plan on staying a long time. What’s wrong with you? Every time the subject of Ternberry comes up, you get so defensive. After all it belonged to your grandparents. Your mother always talked about how she loved that place. I would think that you would be happy that it belongs to me now and you can come visit whenever you feel like it.

LouJean, you know my grandparents died before I was born and my mother only spent a few years there. I just don’t know why she always said it was the happiest time of her life. Goodness, she lived with me for more than thirty years. I would have thought that living here was the happiest time for her. And since you’ve owned Ternberry you haven’t spent more than a couple of weeks there yourself. I don’t think you have even considered what the winters will be like in Massachusetts, and how are you going to handle all the isolation? And the repairs, that place will empty your bank account with all the upkeep it has to have every year.

You knew that I had a lot of commitments when I bought the place. I had open cases and contracts with overseas law firms that I had to take care of. I also had to sell my flat in London and close up my apartment in New York. Those things don’t happen overnight. As soon as David and Colleen leave, I’m taking up residence. And that’s a fact. Besides, I enjoy being alone, LouJean said in an aggravated voice.

Anna got up from the swing. I’m tired, I think I’m going to bed and you can be alone. Goodnight. She disappeared into the house before LouJean could say another word. It had been a long day. She was too tired to argue with LouJean.

LouJean sat on the porch and finished her cigarette. The house was dark when she opened the door and quietly ascended the stairs to her bedroom. LouJean changed into pajamas and put on her robe. She pulled up the shade and sat down on the window seat. This was the room she always slept in when she visited Anna. She had no right to criticize Earl and Anna’s lifestyle. Goodness knows Anna was right. She was always making snap decisions about her own life. Maybe she shouldn’t have bought Ternberry. What did she need with such a big house? But it meant so much to Anna’s mother, Grace. She just couldn’t resist purchasing it. She had been closer to Grace than her own mother. She thought it would make Anna happy.

LouJean knew that Anna still loved this farm, but who would have ever guessed that Stockbridge would be the new home of several large industries and Pike Road would become a four-lane interchange. The once gravel lane that led to their house had been turned into a paved road to accommodate the new subdivisions that sprung up behind the tree line. Yet, this house had always been LouJean’s second home and somewhere to run to when the rest of the world got on her nerves. It was the kind of house she dreamed about when she was a kid. A home that was full of love and security. She never really felt that sense of security until she met Anna. But now the outside world was forcing itself on the farm’s existence as if to tell the little piece of land on Pike Road it no longer had a place in the greater plan. The rest of the world did not care that Anna and Earl Holloway were two of the most important people in her life.

LouJean remembered herself as the little girl in the tattered dress hiding behind the kitchen wood stove with her hands over her ears. She would bite deep into her lip to keep from crying out. She had to be quiet or the stinging blows that were now landing on her mother would stop and she would be next. He would pull his belt off of his dirty pants and swing it into the air. The hissing noise of the leather strap was an indication that her father’s drunken rage had just begun.

She’d been so scared the night her mother put their clothes into two brown paper bags took her by the hand and left that backwoods hovel. They’d walked three miles to the train station in the dark and cold night. Her mother shook with fear as she constantly looked over her shoulder expecting any moment for her crazy husband to jump out from behind a tree and interrupt their flight to freedom. With the few dollars she had taken from his wallet while he slept off his drunken stupor, her mother bought two tickets to the city. LouJean remembered living in a rat-infested apartment that came alive at night with the sound of crying babies and men who took their vengeance out on innocent victims.

Moving to Stockbridge made life a little more pleasant. Yet, LouJean’s mother had to work long hours as a cleaning woman for very little wages. At the age of twelve, LouJean was forced to help her mother so they could have enough money to pay the rent and put meager food on the table. They would return home at night with red and blistered hands from scrubbing floors.

LouJean’s weekends and evenings belonged to the wealthy people of Stockbridge. She met Anna when she was fourteen while working in one of those houses and her whole life changed. If it wasn’t for Anna, she would probably still be cleaning houses or working as a waitress in some downtown café. It was Anna who convinced LouJean’s mother that LouJean needed to go to high school. And it was Anna who gave LouJean clothes to wear and shared her lunch with her almost every day. Years later when LouJean told Anna about her stupid dream of going to law school, Anna had told her it was a wonderful idea. Anna’s family had become her own. She loved them and they loved her. How could she have been so mean to criticize Anna’s lifestyle Yes, she would apologize to her friend in the morning.

When Anna went upstairs to her bedroom, she could see the yellow glow of the neon signs that lined Pike Road from her window. She pulled down the shade and quietly slipped into her nightgown in the darkness of the room. Anna gently turned back the covers and slid into bed next to Earl. He was snoring softly, just as he did every night. What was she thinking, talking to her friend in such a harsh manner?

Anna turned over in bed, pushing her hand into her pillow. Sleep would not come easy tonight. She knew that LouJean’s profession forced her to move around the country. Besides, LouJean had always been an adventurer. LouJean hadn’t lived in one place long enough to understand why the familiar sounds and smells of this house were a comfort to Anna. She knew every creak in the floors, the twenty-two steps to the bathroom from her bed and the sound the light switch in the hall made when you turned if off. There was still the song of the cicadas outside her window, even though it was interrupted at times by the hum of traffic. Almost everything that had been good in her life had happened in this house. There were all those holidays, when they were at the dining room table, surrounded by family. Each year the anticipation of each new spring would raise Anna’s spirits. She raised her two daughters here and, sadly, buried her own mother in the little cemetery on the hill. Had LouJean forgotten how she hated her father’s obsession with material possessions? Nothing was ever good enough for him. Anna vowed never to be like her father.

It didn’t matter to Anna that Earl had made the decision to give up farming. He leased the bulk of his property to Angela and Jared to expand their dairy operations. They were left with only a pie shaped piece of land that ended just beyond the family cemetery. Yes, the house was old and their furniture was old, but as long as Earl could work in his small appliance business in his workshop and Anna could have her flower garden, they were happy.

Stockbridge had always been Earl and Anna’s home. It was a nice place to live. There were good schools, good parks, and good people. You could go to church on Sunday and know almost the entire congregation. It wasn’t until five years ago that everything began to change dramatically when a subsidiary of a large computer software company moved into town. New subdivisions were built on the once fertile farmland to house the many employees of the company and the retailers who wanted to cash in on the new upsurge, moved in right behind them. The new mall and super stores slowly consumed the independent owners in town. When the article appeared in the paper two years ago that the Braden’s and Holloway’s were the last two farms of any size inside the county line, Earl was livid. Doesn’t that paper have anything else to write about? You just wait and see what happens now, he said. Earl was right. It was only a few days later that they were deluged with letters and calls from developers who wanted to buy their farm. Jared and Angela only received a few calls because the Braden Dairy was entrenched in the community. Braden trucks