Page 10 of Grounded (May Hollow Trilogy #1)

Annie opened her eyes and looked about the room, confused for a moment about where she was.

Then she remembered the hours of driving, the midnight arrival, and finally climbing into bed in her old room.

Sunlight slipped in, muted by lace curtains.

Yellow- and white-flowered paper covered the walls.

She had selected the pattern when she came to live with her grandparents after her mother died.

Between two windows, an antique chest of drawers stood.

On the other wall, a dressing table with a chair covered in pale pink chenille balanced the room.

In the corner next to her bed was a round bedside table painted white.

Nothing in the room had changed since she left for New York City, ten years before.

The long drive was tiring, but it was how she had wanted it.

“Why don’t you call Bob and see if he can get you on a flight? That’s the least he can do,” Janice had suggested.

“No, I don’t want to fly. I want to drive home and enjoy the scenery. It should take around twelve hours, not including stops, and if I get home late, so what?”

On Saturday morning, Annie had felt like a child leaving for school under Janice’s mothering attention.

“Here’s coffee in a thermos with cream, exactly how you like it.

I don’t have any muffins, but I put a banana in there.

There’s also a turkey sandwich packed with some carrot sticks and three bottles of water.

Are you sure you want to do this? You’ve barely driven yourself in the last ten years.

Is your driver’s license up-to-date? I wish I had more to give you.

I have to go to the store today, and I’m low on everything. ”

“Don’t worry. I’ll call you. Give the kids a kiss for me when they wake up and tell Jimmy thanks.”

That was yesterday morning. Since then, she had driven miles of endless gray road, calling her grandmother’s number with no answer, forgetting all about the area code change, and finally getting to the farm late at night in the middle of a rainstorm.

Annie had parked out front because the back porch didn’t have a roof and she wanted to get as close as she could to unload her things without getting soaked.

After the shotgun scare, Annie was too exhausted to go into more detail other than to tell her grandmother she had lost her job and was home for a visit. The rest of the story could wait. When they said goodnight after tea, Annie fell into the deepest sleep.

She awoke refreshed and relaxed. She folded her arms behind her head and stretched, enjoying the softness of the ragged quilt that had been on her bed as long as she remembered. Then she snuggled back into the aged and frayed cotton, not wanting to leave its comfort.

A few moments later, a savory smell seeped through the quilt, stirring up growls from her stomach.

Voices and laughter filtered through the cracks in the hardwood floor.

Stomach rumbling even louder, Annie forced herself to leave the warm nest. She dressed in dark jeans and a black cotton shirt.

In the mirror, dark circles shadowed her brown eyes.

Her hair needed a wash, but that could wait.

The clatter of silverware and plates masked the creaking stairs as Annie made her way down the steps and through the dining room. She stood outside the kitchen door, listening to the conversation, not wanting to disturb the pleasant din.

“Did y’all hear about the Gooches getting robbed?” a man said with a heavy country accent.

A female voice replied, “Detective Harris said the drug problem is the cause of the robberies lately.”

“Is that Will Harris, Brian’s son?” Evelyn asked.

“No, Will is Buddy’s boy. Jeb is Brian’s son,” Beulah said.

“Oh yes, he’s the one that works for the state police,” Evelyn said.

“He’s married to the girl from up North.”

Annie couldn’t bring herself to break the flow of conversation.

“Not married anymore,” a girl said. “She left six months ago. In fact, the divorce is almost final. Jeb said she never liked it down here. When they couldn’t have kids, she took it as a sign they should never have married and left. I think they’ve had trouble from day one.”

“When I first got married, I thought it was the worst mistake of my life,” Evelyn said.

“I grew up in Lexington, and when Charlie wanted to bring me down here, I thought I had fallen off the edge of the earth into a terrible sinkhole. I didn’t know the first thing about keeping house, much less anything to do with the farm.

My parents were against the marriage and did everything they could to get me back home.

If it hadn’t been for Beulah helping me through that time and teaching me how to make a home and life on the farm, I wouldn’t be here today.

I’ve been without Charlie for five years now, but I couldn’t imagine going back to Lexington. ”

Tears sprung to Annie’s eyes, surprising her. She gathered herself and decided this was as good a time as any to make her entrance.

“Annie!” Evelyn’s arms wrapped around Annie before she made it three feet into the kitchen.

Annie wanted to speak but the words choked in her throat.

Instead, she enjoyed Evelyn’s motherly embrace.

When Evelyn released her, she turned to the others and said, “Annie is Beulah’s granddaughter, but I feel like I partly raised her.

She and Jake were together so much, it was like they were brother and sister. ” Evelyn squeezed Annie’s hand.

“Hi, everybody,” Annie said. She looked around the room and took in each person as Beulah made the introductions.

Woody Patterson reminded her of a gangly teenager in his overalls, with his red hair, wild and curly.

Mary Beth White was a pretty girl with a shy smile and Lindy had wide dancing eyes in a pixie face.

Woody stood. “Take my seat!”

“Woody, grab another chair there from the dining room,” Beulah instructed.

During the commotion, Evelyn poured her a glass of iced tea and Beulah filled a plate with roast beef, soft potatoes and carrots cooked in the juice of the meat, and tender green beans cooked for hours in fatback.

Annie’s mouth watered with the smell and sight of the food.

It was no time to be concerned with fat grams and cholesterol.

Lindy sliced the pie and passed the dessert to the others while Mary Beth poured coffee.

“How long will you be here?” Lindy asked, sliding into her seat, her eyes bright.

“Close to a month. I’m waiting to get rehired by the airline that bought mine out,” Annie said, shifting in her seat at the half-truth.

“I always thought flight attendants must have an exciting life,” Lindy said. “I’m a lawyer. Mary Beth teaches at Somerville Elementary and Woody is a farmer. And that about sums up every occupation in Lincoln County.”

Annie laughed with the rest of the group and then said, “Evelyn, how’s Jake? I heard he got another promotion.”

Evelyn delicately wiped her mouth. “He was offered another promotion a few weeks ago, but he turned it down. They wanted to groom him for the CEO position.”

“But that’s huge! Why would he say no to that?” Annie said, her fork in midair.

Evelyn glanced at Beulah, and Annie saw knowledge pass between them.

“Jake wants to pursue some other options. He’s learned so much, but enough to make him realize he doesn’t want to spend his life in banking. You can hear the rest from him. He’s taking quite a bit of vacation over the next couple of months to decide what’s next.”

Annie put her fork down, suddenly feeling full. Jake, home at the same time, after all these years.

Evelyn reached for the percolator. “Who wants more coffee?”

“Can I get started on the dishes? I need to pick up the kids at three, and I promised them cookies when we got home,” Mary Beth said, standing.

“I’ll do your part this week,” Lindy said. “You better get a move on if you have to be in Rutherford by three.”

“I’ll owe you one. Thank you both so much. Annie, it was nice to meet you,” Mary Beth said before waving goodbye.

“Annie, if you want to go riding, all my horses are shod and ready to go,” Woody’s loud voice reverberated through the kitchen.

“Thanks,” Annie said.

“Speakin’ of horses, I better get going.” He gulped down a swig of coffee, setting the mug hard on the wooden table. “I’m due over at the Barretts’ at two for my saddle club’s Sunday ride. Beulah, I’ll bring you over the tomato plants this week. I’ve got to get mine, so I’ll get yours too.”

“Wait. I’ll send you home with some meat,” Beulah called, but Evelyn was already hunting out a Tupperware container from the cabinet.

Lindy washed the dishes and Annie dried, while Beulah and Evelyn fixed up another meal for Woody to take home.

“Maybe we can go to a movie sometime,” Lindy said to Annie.

“That would be nice.”

“There’s also a coffee shop in Rutherford where they roast their own beans. You’ll feel like you’re back in New York,” Lindy said. “As long as you have a good imagination.”

After Lindy left, Annie folded the dish towel and draped it over the edge of the sink to dry. She filled her coffee cup and Beulah’s and sat down at the table with the two other women.

“Evelyn, how do you feel about Jake turning down that promotion?” Annie asked. “It seems like a big opportunity.”

“I think he made the right decision. He’s worked hard in the last ten years, taken little time off and saved most of what he made.

Now he wants to take a break and examine the possibilities of how to best use his skills and passions.

Taking that promotion would have set his life on a course he didn’t want. ”

“Not many young people think that hard about things,” Beulah said, both hands cradling her cup. “Most just take what’s doled out without a question of whether they should or not.”

“Jake always was a deep thinker,” Annie said.