Page 47 of Grounded (May Hollow Trilogy #1)
Annie couldn’t believe how wrong she was about Stella. And to think she had simply walked away when Stella was about to end her life inside that stone house. Thank God nothing happened.
She stared up at the ceiling of her room, plaster peeled in the corner and the old Victorian light fixture hung just as it had when she was a teenager.
Time and time again, she had rested on this very bed and stared at that same light fixture, the gold shade decorated with pink flowers and the ornate brass curlicues holding the lightbulb under the shade.
She had always walked away. It was how she handled the difficult things of life.
Like walking away from Jake those many years ago …
he was right. Deep down, she had known he wanted more, but it had scared her.
She was afraid it would keep her from leaving this place, and she had to get out and see the world.
Brett was never someone she could have married, not like Jake.
Marriage and a baby had kept her mother here, and she had died before ever seeing a single thing outside of Kentucky.
Annie had walked away so she could get away.
But for every action, there is a consequence. Doesn’t the Bible say something about reaping what you sow? There was a price to be paid for freedom, and now it was time to pay. As her grandfather always said, “If you make your bed, you have to lay in it.”
Annie knew in her soul she didn’t want to walk away anymore. Courage mounted and she pulled out her cell phone and made the call.
Annie had to hold the phone away from her ear while Bob Vichy let out a tirade of curses.
“I’m sorry, Bob. But remember, the airline fired me.”
“I know, but you don’t know what I’ve gone through to get you back on!” He screamed the words in her ear.
“Calm down, Bob, you’re going to have a heart attack. Listen, you find a week when you can bring your wife down here, and we’ll treat you to some home cooking and a soft bed. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Boy, I need it, but if I keep having to deal with people like you, I don’t know when I’ll get a week off!” He was softening, she could tell.
“You’ve got my number, and the invitation stands. Call whenever you’re ready.” She hung up the phone, feeling a smile spread across her face. Free! She was free! She threw her hands in the air and shouted, “Hallelujah!”
Two more phone calls.
“Annie, where’ve you been?”
Annie spent the next thirty minutes filling Janice in on the play-by-play.
Finally, she told her the news. “I’m staying here, Janice, for good. I wonder if you would mind having a moving service pick up my stuff from the storage building. I’ll pay you for your time.”
“What? You’re not coming back at all? Annie, are you sure?”
“I’ve never been surer of a thing. It’s where I want to be.
But you have to promise to come for a visit, and bring Jimmy and the kids and even Mrs. DeVechio if she wants to come.
She will love my grandmother. We’ll stick them both in the kitchen and see what comes out!
” Annie laughed at the picture of her grandmother and Janice’s ‘pasta mama’ fighting for control of the kitchen.
“That could start World War Three,” Janice laughed with her. “But we’ll come. I promise! The kids would love to spend time on a real farm.”
Annie dialed Prema’s number, hoping she wasn’t traveling today. When she answered, it was the same as with Janice. Prema wanted to hear every detail of the story.
“I’m so happy for you!” Prema said. “You should be home with your grandmother. That is as it should be.”
Annie took a deep breath, relief spreading over her like a healing balm now that the decision was made. She had one last piece of business and then she would tell her grandmother.
Taking out pen and paper, she wrote:
Jake,
I am deeply sorry for how I treated Camille.
The truth is, I was jealous. You were right.
I did walk away from you all those years ago because I was afraid of never getting out of Somerville.
I did know you cared for me. I cared for you, but I was afraid of staying here for the rest of my life, of not seeing what was out there, not experiencing the world.
I didn’t realize what I gave up all those years ago until these last several weeks.
It came as a surprise to me, these feelings for you, and I took it all out on Camille. I’m staying home. It’s where I need to be. But I promise, if you decide to come back as well, I will be the best friend and neighbor to you both and will never speak of this again.”
Annie
Annie went downstairs to tell her grandmother the news and to deliver the letter. Her grandmother’s voice was coming from the kitchen.
“Evelyn, that is wonderful news! A wedding at your house will be beautiful.”
Annie stopped on the stairs and listened.
“October is such a pretty time with your mums in full bloom. Who will marry them? I see. Won’t that be lovely?”
The feeling of lightness left her, floating away like a helium balloon. A heavy dread replaced it; the thing she had feared was actually happening. Now it was more important than ever to deliver the letter.
Quietly, she slipped out the front door and around the side of the house. The tears were stinging her eyes, and she blinked hard trying to push them back. Walking at first, and then running, she made her way through blurred vision to the crossover place.
Annie sat down hard on the weeds and ivy-covered stone. She wedged the letter into a stone then texted Jake to tell him she had left something for him. Maybe she should congratulate him, but there would be time for that later.
Annie pulled a weed out of the stone and fingered it while she looked in the direction of the stone house.
Even with losing Jake, by coming home she had found so much more.
Her grandmother’s love and her faith in God, pushed aside for so many years.
It was enough to start a new life in this blessed place where her family had been for so many generations.
She was brought back here for a reason, and there was deep comfort in that, no matter what the future held.
Annie pushed herself up and walked toward the burned house. She didn’t want to be at the crossover when Jake came to get the letter. And, like always, she was drawn to the home of her childhood.
Stones jutted up into the sky like a castle wall where the fire burned out the second-floor room.
The fireplace was still stacked, supported by the wall, but went into open sky without a roof nearby.
It was hard seeing the old house in such a shape, but thinking about how Stella’s life was saved by coming here helped.
After supper, Beulah had offered for Stella to stay with them, but she refused.
“I will be fine at the hotel for the night. Then I need to go back to Chicago and sort a few things out.” Beulah wouldn’t let her leave without giving her the two thousand dollars back in a check.
“But I burned your house down,” Stella had said.
“It’s only stuff. You need to work on paying your debts. And we know a banker who might give you counsel if you want it.”
A voice interrupted her memory. “It can be fixed,” he said. Annie turned to see Jake, a gentle expression on his face, the open letter in his hand.
“I know, it just hurts to see it like this,” she said.
“Not the house,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I mean us,” he lifted the letter.
“I hope so. I don’t want you or Camille to be uncomfortable after you get married.”
“I’m not marrying Camille. I broke it off the day I took her back to Cincinnati. I think I always knew it wasn’t going to work deep down, but I was so close to her family. That was also the day I decided to come back home and make a go of the farm. But there was one thing I couldn’t figure out.”
“What’s that?” Her voice sounded breathless, as if she had the wind knocked out of her.
“Where to go from here with my feelings for you,” Jake said, his blue eyes intense and searching. “And then I got this.” He held up the letter.
“Yes?” Annie said, stepping closer to him.
“So, now I need to ask you a question,” he said, moving close to her.
“Yes?” Annie said, the distance between them now only inches.
He cradled her face in his hands. “Would you go on a date with me? Not as a friend or a brother, but as someone you might fall in love with?”
“Yes,” Annie said, and leaned in as he kissed her gently.