[Desert Roses 02] - Across the Years

by Tracie Peterson

  He could hardly see out of his right eye; blood and debris barred his sight and made his depth perception questionable at best. But it didn’t matter. Staggering as his foot hit a hole, Ethan still refused to stop. Pain shot up his leg and he didn’t know if it was from the misstep or a bullet. It didn’t matter. Either way, he had a mission to complete.

  Pushing past the barrier of sandbags and logs, he fired as he jumped into the enemy trench. The stunned faces of the German soldiers would always haunt him. He shot the gunners first, then bayoneted them even as they cried out in their misery. One man took off down the line and Ethan, in a blood haze that overcame common sense, followed the man.

  He couldn’t say how many men he killed that day, but he could remember the looks on their faces and the feel of his bayonet stealing the life from them. A dozen or more men dropped their weapons and raised their arms in surrender. Yelling, “Kamerad! Kamerad!” But Ethan didn’t care that they now wanted to be his friend—that they were willing to give themselves up. He wanted them all dead. He raised his Springfield once again and fired into their pleading expressions.

  “Ethan!”

  He looked up through the haze and saw John, along with several other men he didn’t know. A dizzying sensation overcame him. John and the others pointed their rifles at the enemy just as Ethan felt himself beginning to fall. Helpless, he reached for the open air as if to find something to hold on to, but there was nothing.

  E. J. awoke with a start and a cry as he always did. Looking around the darkened room, his mind refused to accept the safety offered there. He got to his feet and turned on a light. The rapid pounding of his heart left him lightheaded and breathless.

  “It’s all right. It’s over,” he said aloud.

  But would it ever really be over?

  He sat down on the edge of the bed, panting for breath. “Oh, God, where are you? Why do you hide yourself from me? Why must this torment go on and on?”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Ashley sat crocheting a sweater for Natalie, marveling at how much her daughter had grown over the last year. The sweaters she’d made last fall no longer fit and had been given away to friends in the neighborhood. Hooking the red yarn in and out of the loops, Ashley knew in the blink of an eye Natalie would be grown. And then what?

  She had tried to save money in order to send Natalie to college, if she desired to go. Right now Natalie wanted very much to train as an architect, but Ashley had no way of knowing if that passion would follow her into adulthood. Natalie would most likely marry, whether or not she went to school. It was just the way of most women. A girl would be frowned upon if she remained single for too long. Even a widow became the object of ridicule if she refused to remarry. Many fellow Harvey workers urged Ashley to consider settling down with one of the railroad men. But Ashley couldn’t bring herself to do such a thing. The men, while kind and attentive and often very handsome, were simply not appealing. She’d given her heart to Ethan, and everyone else paled in comparison.

  Still, one day Natalie would make a life for herself. Once Natalie did marry, she would probably move away—maybe far away. She’d have a family of her own.

  Ashley shuddered at the thought of being alone. Maybe I should remarry, she thought. I could never love anyone as much as I loved Ethan, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have a good companion. A lot of people marry without love, she told herself. But what kind of life was that? Would there ever be satisfaction, contentment in such an arrangement?

  She was still considering this when the lawyer, Simon Watson, showed up to finalize all of Grandpa’s final requests. Ashley put aside her crocheting and opened the door to admit the man.

  “Good morning, Mr. Watson,” she greeted, reaching out to take his gray fedora.

  “Good morning.” He smiled ever so slightly and nodded. “Is your grandfather awake?”

  “I’m not sure, but I know he’ll want to see you. He’s weakened considerably since you saw him last week. I’m glad you could make these arrangements quickly because, frankly, he needs the pain medication and he won’t take it until his affairs are in order.”

  The middle-aged lawyer nodded. “He’s said as much to me.”

  Ashley knew there was nothing else to be said. She’d wanted to make certain the lawyer understood Grandpa’s plight and apparently he did. “I’ll go make sure he’s awake,” she finally said. “Why don’t you have a seat in the living room?”

  “Thank you. I’ll do just that.”

  Ashley hurried to Grandpa’s room and knocked lightly. “Grandpa? Are you awake?”

  “I’m awake. I was just reading.” His voice sounded weak and worn.

  Ashley came into the room and gave it a cursory examination. Grandpa lay with his Bible in hand. He had asked for several of his favorite books, and they now were stacked beside the iron-framed bed. Beside this, a nightstand of intricately carved oak bore a pitcher of water, a glass, and his pocket watch. Grandpa always liked to keep track of the time.

  Ashley went to him and straightened his covers. “Mr. Watson is here to see you.”

  “Oh, good.” Grandpa struggled to sit up.

  “Here, let me help you,” Ashley said, taking hold of his arm. She carefully helped him to sit, although she could tell his pain was excruciating. Plumping the pillows behind him, she eased him back against them. “How’s that?”

  “As good as it’s going to get,” he declared. “Go ahead now and show Simon in.”

  Ashley fussed with the covers for another moment, then smiled. “Would you like me to bring you something to eat? I could set a tray for you both—a little midmorning brunch.”

  “No, nothing. I don’t think this will take long. In fact, I need you to stay and hear what Simon has to say.”

  Ashley had never been included in any of Grandpa’s discussions with the lawyer. She nodded slowly. “If that’s what you want me to do.”

  “It is. I have instructions for you, and they need to be carried out immediately.”

  “Let me go fetch Mr. Watson, then,” she said, curious now as to what Grandpa needed her to accomplish.

  Ashley bit at her lower lip as she made her way to the living room. The stocky lawyer sat at attention on the sofa. He appeared to be lost in thought momentarily. Ashley stopped and cleared her throat. “Grandpa said he’d see you now. He wants me to come as well.”

  Watson nodded. “I presumed he would.” He picked up his satchel and nodded. “I’ll follow you.”

  Once they were settled back in Grandpa’s room, the lawyer turned to open the briefcase he’d brought. “Russell, I believe I’ve handled everything you asked me to take care of. You’ll see that I’ve sold off the stocks you held and have put the money into a bank account in your granddaughter’s name. Here are the figures on these statements.” He handed the old man several pieces of paper.

  Ashley felt her eyes widen at this news. She had no idea Grandpa even had stocks. She looked to her grandfather for some sign of confirmation, but the old man was intent on studying the papers given him.

  “What about the house?” he asked.

  Watson nodded. “I’ve arranged it all. The deed is now in Mrs. Reynolds’s name. She owns the house free and clear.”

  “What’s this all about, Grandpa?” Ashley questioned, feeling mild shock at the lawyer’s words.

  “I’ve put my affairs in order,” Russell Whitman stated simply. He lowered the papers and looked at Ashley with a serious expression. “I paid cash for this house; there are no bank liens on it, so now it’s yours without restriction. I don’t have long, child. We both know that. The last thing I want to do is have you fretting and stewing over how you’ll manage once I’m gone.”

  Ashley felt her cheeks grow hot. She had been fretting over that very thing, but not because of the money or her home. She knew she’d get good wages at the Harvey House and besides, she’d already set aside a good portion in savings. She had hoped to make it a college fund for Natalie but knew they coul
d easily use the money to live on if necessary.

  “There are conditions, however,” Mr. Watson stated in his lawyerly way. He looked to Grandpa to take it from there.

  “That’s right,” Grandpa said. His gaze never left her. “I want to see your mother and her sister Lavelle before I die.” Ashley stiffened but said nothing. He continued. “All these years I’ve abided by your wish that we have no contact with them, but now I need to break that agreement. And I need your help.”

  Grandpa looked at her with an expression of mixed emotions. “Your job is to contact them both and bring them here. If they need money to make the trip, then tell them it will be provided.”

  Ashley swallowed hard. The thought of having to deal with her mother at a time like this was more than she wanted to endure. She twisted her hands together. “But what if they don’t want to come?”

  “That’s a chance I must take.” Grandpa’s voice took on a saddened tone. “I must account for that possibility, but if we don’t at least try, we won’t know. After all, we’ve been here for all this time without letting anyone know where we’d disappeared to. Your mother and aunt could be half sick wondering where we are.”

  Ashley folded her arms against her chest. “Like they would ever care. They didn’t care then; why should they care now?”

  Grandpa’s expression grew pained. Ashley felt terrible for destroying his hopes and immediately tried to turn the tables on her own question. “On the other hand,” she hurried to continue, “they could be sorry for the way they acted. They could possibly want to see us both.”

  The lawyer nodded. “Exactly. There’s a good chance that all has been forgiven and forgotten. You must at least give them the chance to refuse.”

  “I can telegram them at the last known addresses,” Ashley added. “Would that be sufficient for a start?”

  Grandpa smiled. “I think it would be a good way to begin.” He seemed to recover a bit of his positive spirit. “Ashley, I know you have been deeply hurt by your mother and father. I was hurt by them as well. But I want you to know that there is nothing to be gained in holding a grudge. There’s also Natalie to consider. Do you want to teach her the same kind of hatred and anger?”

  Ashley was rather startled by his words. She’d never wanted Natalie to feel the same hurt and anger she felt. In fact, she’d avoided telling Natalie much of anything about her grandma and grandpa Murphy in order to avoid speaking ill of them. Still, even while she’d tried hard not to show her animosity toward her mother and father, Natalie was no dummy. She knew there were problems, and true to her gentle and compassionate nature, she never pressed Ashley for answers.

  “You don’t want to teach Natalie to hate her family. If they reject her or cause her grief, then let her decide for herself. Either way, I need to see my daughters—and I need you to help me.”

  Ashley met his pleading eyes. “All right.”

  “Good. Now that we have that matter resolved,” Mr. Watson interjected, “I want to discuss the sale of your stocks. The result was quite lucrative. I’ve also been told that there is a buyer for your property east of town. That is, if you are of a mind to sell.”

  Grandpa looked at Ashley as if for an answer, but she felt she could be of no help. She didn’t even realize Grandpa owned stocks, much less property. “What property is Mr. Watson speaking of, Grandpa?”

  “Oh, it’s just some acreage I picked up a few years past. I was helping out a friend who needed the money,” Grandpa replied.

  Ashley realized she’d paid very little attention to her grandfather’s business dealings over the years. She supposed it shouldn’t be that surprising that Grandpa should have found a way to turn a dollar. Everyone was always saying he had a golden touch. Suddenly her curiosity got the better of her.

  “Grandpa, what kind of money are we talking about in regard to the sale of these stocks?”

  Russell looked to his lawyer for this information. The lawyer looked down at his own copy of notes. “It would appear once funeral expenses and transportation to Los Angeles are subtracted that you would realize the sum of around $82,370 and some odd change. Of course, that doesn’t include the sale of the land.”

  Ashley sat back feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her. Nearly one hundred thousand dollars! How could this be?

  “What’s wrong?” Grandpa asked. His tone revealed his concern for her.

  “I can’t believe . . . well . . . we’re rich.”

  Grandpa winced as he chuckled. “I’m full of surprises. I wanted you and Natalie to be provided for. It was important to me to see that you had what you needed after I was gone.”

  “But so much? I’m just . . . well . . .” She looked at the lawyer. “I’m shocked.”

  “Well, I hope it’s a pleasant shock. You deserve to be happy, Ashley. You’ve worked hard all these years to provide for your child. I let you work because it was easier than arguing with you. Besides, in the early days I feared your sorrow would overcome you. You had Natalie, but sometimes I feared she only added to your pain. Then, too, I wanted you to have a sense of self-worth. You know you’re capable of doing what needs to be done now. You know that God will provide in any circumstance.”

  Ashley shook her head. “I suppose if I didn’t know that before, I know that now.”

  Grandpa reached out his hand and Ashley quickly came to his side. Grasping his bony hand, Ashley leaned down to kiss his fingers. The man had once weighed just over two hundred pounds, but the cancer had reduced that number by at least fifty.

  All at once, Ashley began to feel very guilty. Did Grandpa feel he had to give her the money and house just to convince her to contact her mother and Lavelle? She felt very ashamed. I’ve kept him from his daughters all these years. What if he’s right? What if they’ve changed?

  “I’ll do what I can to please you, Grandpa. I’ll send the telegrams and encourage Mother and Aunt Lavelle to come, but you don’t have to give your money to me. I’d do it anyway—because it’s what you want. Besides, if I know Mother, at least, she’ll expect the money and house to go to her.”

  Russell frowned at this. “I gave her an inheritance long ago. Her sister too. They’ve had what’s coming to them. This is for you and Natalie. I took what I had left after settling on them both and came here to start a new life with you. I bought the house free and clear and took the remaining money and invested it. I did so only with the thought that you and Natalie might be provided for. And that’s why I’ve asked Simon to take care of all this business today. There will be no misunderstanding when my time comes. In fact, you needn’t even answer any of your mother’s or Aunt Lavelle’s questions regarding any money. Send them to Simon. There are issues and details that you needn’t worry yourself with, that Simon is fully knowledgeable of. He can handle them if they decide to get greedy.”

  The lawyer nodded. “I’ve dealt with harder cases than theirs,” he said. “You refer them to me if there is any question at all about the settlement of this estate.”

  “That’s the beauty of this arrangement,” Grandpa added. “There is no estate. As far as they’re to know, the place is yours and everything in it. Because now, thanks to Simon, that’s the truth of it. They don’t need to know where you came by it or how.”

  “It means more to me than you’ll ever know to have a home for Natalie. She loves it here. And I know the memories of our time here together will keep her from . . . from . . .” Ashley’s words halted as she tried to think of a way to say what she needed to without bringing up Grandpa’s death.

  He smiled as if knowing. “She’ll be fine, you know. When I’m gone, she’ll be sad for a time, but she’ll know where I am and that we’ll meet again.” He drew a breath that seemed to pain him more than ever.

  “You should rest now.”

  “No, there’s one more thing I want to say. Our Natalie wants you to remarry. She’s mentioned it in prayer so often that I’m beginning to expect an announcement most every time you come
into the room.”

  Ashley shook her head. “Natalie dreams big.”

  “You should too. God has a plan for each one of us. You have a child to raise, and I can hardly believe God wants you to do that alone. You need to at least think about remarrying so that Natalie can have a father.”

  Ashley straightened. She bit back a retort that Natalie had a father and although he was dead, he was nevertheless irreplaceable. “I’m thinking on it,” was all she could manage to say.

  “Well, if there is no further business, I must be getting back to my office,” Mr. Watson said, getting to his feet. He tucked his copy of the papers back into the satchel. “I know my way out, Mrs. Reynolds. There’s no need for you to accompany me. When you are ready for the details of the bank account and other information, feel free to come see me.”

  “I will,” Ashley replied. “Thank you.” She waited until she’d heard the front door close before turning to Grandpa. “I’m going to compose the telegrams for Mother and Lavelle. Is there anything in particular you want me to say to them?”

  Russell Whitman closed his eyes and grimaced. “Tell them to hurry.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  So your grandfather has provided for you?” a young blond-haired woman asked, leaning across the Fred Harvey lunch counter.

  Ashley nodded to her friend Glenda. “He has and he’s done so very generously. I won’t even have to come back to work here if I don’t want to.”

  “By the time you’re ready to come back to work,” Glenda said, straightening up to smooth the white apron of her Harvey uniform, “we’ll have moved to the new place.” She pushed a piece of pie in front of Ashley and smiled. “The resort is supposed to be the bee’s knees. All beautiful blue and yellow tile in the lunch room, and the dining room will be better than ever.”

  “I’ve heard all that too,” Ashley said, picking up a fork. She cut into the apple pie and took a bite. As always, Harvey food was sheer perfection. She smiled and leaned back to contemplate her future. “The new place sounds really nice. I’ve been watching them put it up as I walk by to come here. Of course, I don’t get out as much as I used to.” Ashley continued eating the pie.