Rory looked down at the card and up at her sister, surprise written all over her face. ‘How?’
‘Long story. Try the number. If he’s there I’m certain he would love to hear from you.’
‘What would I say?’
‘Start with “Hi, it’s Rory Brown. Remember me?”’
The door to the hospital waiting room swung open, startling all three women out of their reverie.
‘Aurora Brown?’ The nurse said.
‘That’s me.’ Rory stood.
‘Time to get you sorted.’
Alice and Paige stood either side of Rory to hold a hand each.
‘Just one patient for now,’ the nurse said.
‘Nope! No way,’ Rory replied. ‘We have no secrets. We’re family.’
Epilogue
There were lessons learned about secrets and lies, trust and betrayal, family, friendship and forgiveness. Weathered by storms from their past, all trust washed away over time, a family had learned to trust, to confide, to heal. They might have chosen a new direction, taken another detour, tried a different path and started again. Instead, they chose to patch the potholes and travel the same open roads with open hearts and minds.
Sometimes the truth is like a headlight, shining into the darkest corners and washing away the darkest shadows. Light can illuminate truth, let us see things we might otherwise unknowingly pass by in the dark. It can also illuminate the signs that will allow each of us to find the road to forgiveness, to trust, to hope, to belief and to the future.
Alice let herself love and be loved. Her selfless act of gifting a kidney to a stranger had led her to Veronica, and Alice’s gift had been the promise of a new life and hope for Rory.
Aiden reconnected with Eamon, a young man desperate for his older brother to need him, but too proud to ask.
Paige learned to trust herself and find the healing power in love.
And all it took was a season.
Two women—once strangers, now so much more than friends—and as dependent on each other as shadow is to light.
I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.
Og Mandino
Acknowledgements
To my readers . . . I thank you for reading Season of Shadow and Light and hope you enjoyed Paige and Alice’s stories. While sometimes my characters may raise a few eyebrows, fiction is a powerful way to start a conversation. Acceptance comes from understanding and it is often through our stories that authors can provide readers with a safe place to explore and appreciate social differences. I hope Alice’s story has achieved that in some small way.
Another thing I enjoy about writing is the camaraderie of the Australian author network. If you enjoy my small town stories, why not make it a point to read more Aussie authors? Apart from writing fabulous stories themselves, my network of writer friends keeps me in check, lets me try out ideas, and inspires me. Whatever the contribution (large or small), my thanks go to you all, especially Nicole Alexander, Fiona Gregory, Shannon Garner, and my Musketeers—Karen M. Davis and Anna Romer. A shout-out, too, to Kate Belle’s daughter (who comes up with some amazing Little Miss conversations), and Helen Lacey for sharing Santo, the wall-eyed Pinto.
You will have noticed that my novels sometimes draw on the works and sayings of the wise and wonderful, quoting some while being inspired by others: A.B. (Banjo) Patterson, Elyne Mitchell (The Silver Brumby), Anna Sewell (Black Beauty). Thank you also to Vivienne Green, whose saying I try to live by: ‘Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.’ And to L. Frank Baum for: ‘We’re not in Kansas city any more, Toto.’
To Daniel Ruffino and the team at Simon and Schuster Australia, you are the best publishers on the planet. (A million times thank-you to Larissa Edwards, Roberta Ivers and Anna O’Grady.) Hugs to my editor, Belinda Castles (I will miss you!), Lou Johnson, and to my agent, Clare Forster.
Finally, thank you to the following regional New South Wales entrepreneurs for inspiring parts of this story: Myrtle Creek’s Aranyani (Bison) Adventure Tourist Park (www.aranyanibison.com), Dorrigo’s Booma Boer Goat Stud (www.choosegoatmeat.com.au) and Duncan Elliot (my Aiden!) at Hello Sawtell Café. And to United Productions of America, the creators of the Mr Magoo cartoon character—although my Banjo is a complete opposite to the near-sighted, bumbling retiree, it was fun reliving my childhood while reimagining a real life Mr Magoo.
This is important . . .
Please donate life. Consider organ donation and discuss with loved ones your wishes. Maybe do it now: www.donatelife.gov.au. Speaking of organ donation . . . Thank you to the families of donors and those who give people the gift of life every day. My personal thanks go to the renal and donation specialist staff from Coffs Harbour Base Hospital who also gave me their precious time. (Any errors in regard to medical procedures will be mine, mostly because I am a fiction writer and that means I’m allowed to make things up! Isn’t that right, A.J.?)
Jenn J McLeod
Book club questions
Reading groups can use these discussion points to explore the various themes throughout the story.
1. Season of Shadow and Light starts out as Paige’s story, but perhaps Alice’s is the most powerful. Whose story do you feel is the most predominant and why?
2. In the story, Alice asks whether she is obligated to protect the deceptions of the dead when the truth might somehow help the living. Do you agree that some secrets are best left buried?
3. Alice poses a question to her book club. She asks, ‘Would the book have been so readily embraced by readers with a different title?’ How would your book club answer this question?
4. How did Alice’s relationship with her parents shape her life?
5. Which character did you feel most sorry for and why?
6. Alice has her reasons for keeping the secret. What are they and do you feel her reasons are strong enough to warrant keeping it?
7. Did the ending satisfy you? If not, what would you, as the author, have done differently?
I hope you’ve found these discussion points useful. If you or your book club have a burning question you’d like me to answer, or if you’d like to share any of the above, I love receiving emails and feedback from readers.
Connect with me:
JennJMcLeod.Books on Facebook
www.jennjmcleod.com
or email [email protected]
Moving to the country in 2004 to escape the hectic world of corporate communications was like coming home for Jenn J McLeod. These days she lives the gypsy life in a fifth-wheeler caravan, travelling this beautiful country, her days spent writing heart-warming tales of the Australian country that weave intricate tapestries of friendship, family and love, contemporary human issues and small-town life.
Readers and reviewers alike enthusiastically received Jenn’s debut, House for all Seasons, placing it at Number #5 on the 2013 Nielsen’s Best Selling Debut Novel list. Simmering Season is book two, followed by Season of Shadow and Light, and her fourth book, The Other Side of the Season, will be published by Simon and Schuster Australia in 2016.
Come home to the country at: www.jennjmcleod.com
Small town stories from the country to the coast
Twitter: @jennjmcleod
Facebook page: Jenn J McLeod.Books
Author photograph by Marie Miller
Also by Jenn J McLeod
House for all Seasons
Simmering Season
SEASON OF SHADOW AND LIGHT
First published in Australia in 2015 by
Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Limited
Suite 19A, Level 1, 450 Miller Street, Cammeray, NSW 2062
This edition published in 2016
A CBS Company
Sydney New York London Toronto New Delhi
Visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.au
© Jenn J McLeod 2015
All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry (pbk)
Creator: McLeod, Jenn J., author.
Title: Season of shadow and light/Jenn J. McLeod.
ISBN: 9781925030297 (paperback)
9781925030303 (ebook)
Subjects: Secrecy – Fiction.
Dewey Number: A823.4
Cover design: Christabella Designs
Cover image: Susan Fox/Trevillion Images
Typeset by Midland Typesetters, Australia
Author photograph by Marie Miller
Season of Shadow and Light Page 45