Around the Bend (Sandy Cove Series Book 4) Read online

  Around the Bend

  Sandy Cove Series Book Four

  Rosemary Hines

  Copyright © 2014 Rosemary Wesley Hines

  www.rosemaryhines.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

  Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

  Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is coincidental and not the intent of either the author or publisher.

  Formatting by 40 Day Publishing

  www.40daypublishing.com

  Cover photography by Benjamin Hines

  www.benjaminhines.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  To my grandparents

  Fred and Mary Hughes

  Who lived life well to the very end

  "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

  ~ Jesus (John 16:33)

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  From the Heart

  Sandy Cove Series Book 5 Sample

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  BOOKS BY ROSEMARY HINES

  CHAPTER ONE

  Phil Walker glanced around the circle at the faces before him. Gray hair and softly wrinkled expressions told tales of long lives now experiencing their sunset years. Tranquil Living Residential Home had welcomed Pastor Phil as their chaplain and Bible teacher several years back when he made his retirement from full-time ministry official. Thanking God daily for this opportunity, he carried on a calling he’d felt since his youth.

  Although he’d served as pastor and shepherd to far larger flocks over his nearly seventy years behind a pulpit, there was no group of people he loved any more than these seniors. Surveying their faces, he noticed several had dozed off, their heads bowed as if in prayer. Margaret, the oldest of the group, stared into space, her eyes seeing a world long passed as Alzheimer’s transported her to a younger day and time. Studying her face, he wondered where she was this morning. Was she caring for her household of seven children? Or perhaps still being courted by her would-be husband?

  Phil had seen the ravages of this disease as it robbed his parishioners of the present, but he’d also discovered an unexpected element of God’s grace and mercy in the midst of the confusion. While a mental fog clouded occasional family visits, he knew some treasured memories were still very much alive in the hearts and minds of those who were lost to today.

  He’d watched frail old women rock their baby dolls with tender love and fiercely protective maternal instincts. He’d witnessed others introduce their daughters as sisters or even mothers. And one of the much scarcer men residing here would repeatedly retell of his latest homerun on a high school all stars team. Those snapshots from the past provided meaning and purpose to their otherwise empty lives.

  Perhaps the present lacked the magic of the past. Maybe they were living in a better time and place in the confines of their deteriorating minds. Might there be an element of mercy in that?

  Phil turned his attention to the final prayer of their morning service. Closing the Bible resting in his lap, he nodded to the group, “Let’s pray.” Then he bowed his head and lovingly lifted his little flock to the Lord.

  As he began walking out to the curb to await the senior transport van for his ride home, he remembered to turn his phone back on. A beep alerted him to a voice message. Sinking onto a shaded bench flanking the parking lot, he listened to his granddaughter Michelle’s voice.

  “Hi Gramps! You’re probably at your Bible study right now. Just wanted to make sure everything’s set for your trip here for Caleb’s birthday party. Grandma’s not picking up, so she must be running errands or out in the garden. Give me a call with your flight number when you get a chance. We’re looking forward to seeing you guys. Love you!”

  He smiled and sighed. Sometimes it was still hard to believe that his precious granddaughter was a mom. Where had the years gone? A wave of fatigue anchored him to the bench. Lately it seemed like he never could find his energy.

  He closed his eyes for a few minutes, allowing the gentle breezes to caress his face. Feeling himself starting to drift off, he forced his eyes open and took a deep breath. Searching the parking lot, he spotted the van pulling into the driveway.

  It had been almost a year since he turned in his license at the DMV. Although he missed the convenience and independence of driving, he knew his reflexes were not as sharp as they used to be. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause injury to his precious wife or someone they encountered on the road. Besides, thanks to the baby boomers, services like Senior Rides made it easy to get from one place to another.

  Pushing himself off the bench, a slight sensation of dizziness caused him to struggle for balance before heading to meet the van.

  Michelle Baron stashed her students’ term papers in a canvas bag and propped her feet on the coffee table. Finally! The last paper had been scored and recorded. Summer vacation was just around the corner.

  Every fall, she eagerly welcomed a new batch of students to her English classes at Magnolia Middle School, and each spring she prepared herself and her students to move on to new teachers and classes the following year. Some groups were easier to send off than others. This year, she’d had an exceptional batch of students – bright and eager to learn, with very few struggles over major life issues.

  What a contrast to her first year!

  Sitting back in the embrace of their cozy sofa, she picked up a family photo that stood proudly on
the end table. Smiling, she traced her finger over the faces of her husband, Steve, and their two kids, Madison and Caleb.

  Steve still had his boyish charm and a smile that melted her heart. Madison’s blonde curls and blue eyes matched her dad’s as if painted with the same brush. She was tall and thin like Michelle, but lacked any other resemblance to her dark-haired, hazel-eyed mother. At eleven years of age, Maddie was almost a middle-schooler herself.

  And then there was Caleb—their sweet and unexpected addition to the family.

  Michelle’s mind drifted back to that first year at Magnolia and her troubled student, Amber Gamble, the biological mother of their son. From the very first day of school, Amber had challenged Michelle with her attitudes and behavior. It wasn’t until she perused Amber’s confidential file that she’d learned about the circumstances triggering this student’s hard shell and abrasive personality.

  A broken home and her mom’s mental collapse had left Amber and her brother Jack in the foster care system. Sadly, they’d been separated after Amber’s behavior led to her removal from their initial placement, resulting in a string of foster homes for the teen girl.

  Michelle had done her best to reach out to Amber, getting to know her foster mom and social worker and even volunteering to assist with supervised visits between Amber and her brother at the local park after school. Gradually, Amber had let her guard down with Michelle, confiding in her and even attending church with their family.

  Unfortunately, Amber also let her guard down with her older boyfriend, Adam. A high school junior, it seemed like he really loved her. And she needed to feel loved. Eventually that need evolved into a sexual relationship that led to something no eighth grade girl should have to face— an unexpected pregnancy.

  As soon as she realized how much trouble she was facing, Amber came to her trusted teacher for advice and assistance. Although Adam wanted her to abort the baby, Michelle felt Amber needed to know all her options.

  An ultrasound at the doctor’s appointment solidified in Amber’s mind the reality of the new life beginning to develop in her womb. Her decision not to abort resulted in Adam’s rejection, leaving Amber even more dependent on Michelle.

  Then one morning, Amber had asked her to become the baby’s adoptive mother. That moment was frozen in Michelle’s memory. The gamut of emotions still surfaced each time she recalled that encounter.

  Michelle glanced back down at the photo, gazing into Caleb’s eyes. Although he looked a little like Amber, he’d been a part of their family from the moment of his premature birth nearly six years ago. His sandy brown hair, spiked in a long buzz cut, and his round cherub face were so indelibly imprinted on her heart that it sometimes surprised her they did not share the same DNA.

  Looking away, she thought about Amber again. At this time six years ago, Amber was in her final trimester of pregnancy, and Michelle was preparing a nursery for Caleb as she tutored Amber after school to help her with her studies. Then came the late night call that Amber was in the hospital needing an emergency C-section. Michelle shuddered, remembering the dread she’d felt as she raced to the hospital, wondering if Amber would be all right and if the baby would survive.

  Michelle had taken a leave of absence from the final weeks of school to be at the hospital with tiny Caleb. The days blurred together into a series of visits and preparations for a baby that hadn’t been expected until later in the summer.

  Closing her eyes, she relived the day Caleb was released from the NICU. She’d known Amber would be there to say her last goodbye, so she and Steve had come to the hospital without Madison, not wanting their daughter to witness whatever would unfold in the process. Although Michelle had expected it to be difficult, nothing could have prepared her for the heart-wrenching scene that unfolded in the NICU that morning.

  Thankfully both Amber’s mother and her social worker had been there. After handing Caleb to Michelle, Amber collapsed into their arms, and it had taken both of those women to nearly carry her out of the unit. She never even looked back, Michelle recalled with a sigh. That was the very last time she’d seen her student.

  Although Caleb quickly became her focus and the attention of her maternal love, her feelings for Amber and the deep bond they had formed over that year still resided in a private place in Michelle’s heart. Grateful as she was that Amber had not tried to be a part of Caleb’s life, there was also a deep sorrow and yearning Michelle felt about this hurting girl who had become like one of the family.

  Was she okay? How was life unfolding for her in her new home and school in Arizona? And were her parents successful in reuniting and becoming a family again? So many of her questions would probably remain unanswered.

  As Michelle placed the framed photo back on the end table, she glanced at the one beside it. She smiled at her father’s face sporting a lopsided grin with six-year-old Madison and one-year-old Caleb perched on his lap.

  “I miss you, Daddy,” she whispered, holding the photo close and gazing into her father’s twinkling eyes. Her heart ached. After all they’d gone through over the past decade and a half – her father’s embezzlement charges and the subsequent suicide attempt that had almost taken his life, the drawn out process of his rehabilitation and transformation from an independent, self-sufficient man to one of great compassion and faith—it was hard to believe that a stroke had taken him from them so suddenly just over a year ago.

  Michelle could still remember the call from her mother. “He’s gone,” she’d managed to squeeze out between her tears.

  “Who, Mom? Who’s gone? Is it Grandpa?” she’d asked her mother frantically.

  Then her brother Tim had come onto the line. “It’s Dad, Michelle. He had a massive stroke. He was dead before they could get him to the hospital.”

  Michelle and Steve had packed up the kids that August afternoon and headed straight for Seal Beach from their home in Sandy Cove, Oregon. They’d driven through the night, taking turns behind the wheel and stopping for occasional coffee and food breaks. She couldn’t recall how many times the kids had asked about their grandfather on that long drive.

  “But why, Mommy?” Caleb wanted to know.

  And his big sister’s reply, “He had a stroke. That’s why,” followed by a question of her own, “What’s a stroke, Dad?”

  By the time they arrived at Michelle’s childhood home, they were all exhausted and on edge. The kids were restless and had been bickering in the back seat for the last two hours of the ride.

  “Caleb’s throwing pretzels at me,” Maddie reported.

  “No, I’m not,” Caleb replied with a guilty expression. “Give me my game back!” he’d exclaimed to his sister, who had picked up the electronic device out of spite.

  “Both of you knock it off,” Steve warned, threatening to pull the car over until they settled down.

  Finally, they’d pulled into the driveway and found themselves greeted by neighbors and friends who were holding vigil with Sheila and Tim until they arrived.

  Michelle vaguely recalled exchanging pleasantries with these people she’d known all her life. Soon they all dispersed, and Michelle and Steve were able to get their little family settled in. Sheila seemed to perk up a little when the kids flocked to her, and Uncle Tim tried to be his usual playful self. But Michelle knew they were both masking broken hearts for the sake of her youngsters.

  Once the kids were in bed, the four adults sat around the dining room table, and Sheila explained how she had returned from errands to find John staring off into space, eyes glazed over and making garbled sounds. She’d immediately dialed 9-1-1 and called Tim, but by the time her son and the paramedics arrived, John’s eyes had rolled up into his head and he was silent.

  She and Tim had followed the ambulance to the hospital. After what they’d been through with John’s attempted suicide, they both somehow believed he’d be okay. However, the doctor soon came out to the waiting area and explained that the stroke had overcome John, and they’d been unable to
save him.

  “Sometimes this happens after a severe brain trauma,” he’d explained.

  And so they’d reached the end. Michelle’s father was gone. But now they knew he was safe in the arms of his heavenly Father, One he would never have known had he not walked the difficult path that had led him to try to take his own life a number of years back.

  As Michelle reflected on all these memories and studied the photo of her father with the kids, she knew she had much for which to be thankful. He’d become a man of great faith and had found peace with God, he’d lived to see the birth of their daughter and the adoption of their son, and he’d enjoyed a family he’d often brushed aside in the past.

  She also thought about the timing of his death and how it had impacted her mother. She’d watched Sheila bravely assume the role of caregiver to a man who had once been ruggedly self-sufficient – the strong provider of the family. At a time when she might have been caring for and enjoying her grandbabies, she’d found herself being a nursemaid and chauffeur to a disabled spouse.

  After the memorial service for her father, Michelle asked her mom to come back with them to Sandy Cove to spend some time and think about what she wanted to do with her life. Tim announced he’d landed a new job as a sales rep for a local surf shop and would be traveling for much of the year as the company promoted its new line of boards and apparel.

  So Sheila had come to Sandy Cove and decided to stay. Michelle and Steve found her an adorable cottage on the outskirts of town, close to Michelle’s school. They’d helped her find a tenant for the Seal Beach house and negotiated the purchase of her new home in Oregon. Now school was about to be out for summer, and they’d be helping her move from their house into her own.

  Although they’d enjoyed having her stay with them and she’d been a big help with the kids, it was a tight squeeze. Their three-bedroom house, which seemed so spacious when Steve and Michelle moved in as newlyweds, was now filled to overflowing. The kids were excited that their grandmother was moving permanently to Sandy Cove, but Madison was also eager to get Caleb out of her bedroom.