Into Magnolia (Sandy Cove Series Book 3)
Page 28
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.
“Are you still up?” Sheila asked, interrupting Michelle’s thoughts.
She looked up at her mother. “Yeah. Just finished grading the last of the term papers,” she replied, placing the photo of her father and kids back on the table.
Sheila reached over and picked it up. “Your dad sure did love your kids,” she said wistfully.
Michelle nodded. Standing up, she put her hand on her mom’s shoulders. “I’m really glad he got the chance to know them.”
“Me, too,” she replied, returning the photo to its place.
“Are you feeling okay?” Michelle asked. “I thought you went to bed awhile ago.”
“I’m fine, honey. I just couldn’t fall asleep. I thought maybe some herbal tea would help.”
“Want me to fix you some?”
Sheila smiled. “No. I can do it. You’ve got to get up early for school. Go on to bed. I’ll be heading up in a few minutes.”
Michelle gave her a hug. “Okay, Mom. Sleep well.”
“You, too, dear.” Sheila replied, walking toward the kitchen.
Michelle picked up her bag of term papers and set them by the door so she’d remember to take them with her in the morning. Then she headed upstairs, peeking in on her sleeping children before easing open her bedroom door, hoping not to awaken Steve.
As she slipped into bed, he stirred slightly and turned to face her. Drawing her into his arms, he mumbled, “Love you.”
She smiled and snuggled into his embrace.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Although writing is often a solitary journey, God has brought alongside many wonderful people to assist and encourage me as I have labored to complete this story. My heart swells with gratitude for each and every one of them.
Giving freely of her time and medical knowledge, I want to thank pediatrician, Dr. Nivedita More of Kidiatrics Medical Group in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Without charge, she gave me two significant blocks of her valuable time, carefully reading through many pages of the manuscript of this book and lending accurate medical terminology and scenes to the story. Also deserving of recognition and thanks for medical consulting is Liz Drake, NICU nurse at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, who answered our NICU questions during one of those meetings.
Special thanks go to my editor and friend, Nancy Tumbas, who generously provides free content editorial suggestions and whose line-by-line technical editing hones and polishes the story before it ever reaches my readers’ eyes. I am so blessed by her talent, skill, and attention to detail. In addition, I’m grateful for the follow-up proofing by Julie Cowell and Bonnie Vand
erPlate.
For their profound encouragement in this writing journey, I want to express my gratitude to Kathy Gilbert and Carol Wild, whose reviews and recommendations took my stories to over 1,000 pastors’ wives at both the Calvary Chapel West Coast and East Coast Pastors’ Wives Conferences in 2011 and 2012. I’d also like to thank Carol Deckard, who reviewed and recommended Out of a Dream at the Calvary Chapel Living Word Christmas Tea, and the Calvary Chapel Living Word Ladies Book Club who selected Out of a Dream and Through the Tears for their books of the month in January of 2012 and 2013.
On a personal note, I’d like to thank my husband, my sister, my kids and their spouses, and my many ‘sisters’ and ‘brothers’ in-the-Lord who have believed in me as a writer and encouraged me in my voyage. Special thanks go to Benjamin Hines for the cover design of Into Magnolia. He truly possesses a skillful eye for photographic composition and design and worked tirelessly to assist me in developing the perfect image and layout. And I also want to thank Justin Schmauser for the captivating cover photo.
Last but not least, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my readers who make this journey worthwhile, and to all the students who gave me the chance to fulfill my dream of teaching.
BOOKS BY ROSEMARY HINES
Sandy Cove Series Book 1
Out of a Dream
Sandy Cove Series Book 2
Through the Tears
Sandy Cove Series Book 3
Into Magnolia
Sandy Cove Series Book 4
Around The Bend
Sandy Cove Series Book 5
From the Heart
Table of Contents
Into Magnolia
Copyright
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
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
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Excerpt
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BOOKS BY ROSEMARY HINES