A Lost Memory

by Lizzy Stevens

  “Not much longer, little one,” she said. She swiped at the tear that slid down her cheek. “You will arrive into this crazy world and then shortly thereafter we can bring your daddy home.”

  After readying herself for the day, Alley joined her mother in the nursery. They’d worked hard to prepare the room for the baby’s arrival.

  As they painted the walls a pale yellow, Alley turned to her mother. “Thanks for all your help with the baby stuff. I know how hard it is for you to be without Dad. I miss Evan more than words can say.”

  “Oh, Alley.” Catherine put her arms around her daughter. “It will be okay. We only have a few more days to go, honey.”

  “Oh!” Alley grabbed her stomach.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Oh. That hurts. I think it’s time, Mother. You better get the doctor. I think your new grandbaby is ready to make an appearance.”

  Catherine ran to get the doctor. Alley smiled and rubbed her belly. She pulled a cord and one of the house servants helped her to her room.

  For hours Alley labored to bring her child into the world with her mother by her side. With every push she cried out for her husband and longed for him to be with her. At last she heard the cry of her child as her baby was born.

  The doctor handed Alley her beautiful baby boy.

  Alley pulled him in close to her. “It’s okay Evan Mathew. Your daddy will be home soon.”

  Alley saw Catherine wipe the tears away from her eyes. She knew her mother missed Mathew as much as she missed Evan.

  Chapter Eight

  At last the Winter Solstice was upon them and Alley prepared herself for Evan’s return. She dressed baby Evan in the cutest outfit she had and covered him in a warm blanket. As she sent for the horse and carriage she called for Catherine.

  When her mother arrived, Alley said, “Are you ready to go get your husband now?”

  Catherine smiled. “Oh yes. Let’s go.”

  “I have sent for Parker. He will meet us there to open the portal.”

  The driver helped them into the carriage and drove them to the meadow.

  As the horses came to a stop she saw Parker standing in the meadow and a blue glowing light forming in front of him. She stepped down from the carriage and turned to get baby Evan as Catherine handed him down to her.

  Alley held her baby close to her chest as she walked over to the portal to wait for Evan.

  The glow of the light disappeared in front of her.

  “What’s going on Parker? Where did it go?”

  “Queen Alley, please don’t worry. These things take a few minutes. There is nothing wrong.”

  Alley’s heart was rapidly beating. She felt as if it was going to jump out of her chest at any moment. She watched as another glowing light formed. This time it was bigger and it continued to get brighter every second it burned.

  Within minutes Evan and Mathew walked through the portal.

  Evan saw Alley standing there holding their child and tears flooded his face. He dashed through the portal to reach his wife and son. He swept them both into a warm hug. “Alley, he’s beautiful. I love you more than words can say.”

  “I love you too, Evan.” She glanced down at their son. “Meet Evan Mathew, your son.”

  Evan kissed Alley gently on the lips. “I will never leave you again.”

  The End

  Other books by Lizzy Stevens and Steve Miller:

  Blackbeard’s Hidden Treasure:

  Excerpt:

  Prologue

  Edward Teach, better known as the pirate Blackbeard, was killed November 22, 1718. Two months before, he purposely ran his ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, aground at what is now called Beaufort Inlet.

  He emptied the ship of all treasures into his other ship, The Tender, and fled to where nobody knows. Two months later, when he reappeared, he was killed in battle, and his body was tossed into the ocean. To this day, nobody knows where the treasure went.

  Legend has it his headless body swam around the boat several times before stopping. Legends also say that his headless ghost roams the beaches looking for his head , always with the same result. No treasure ghost roams the beaches looking for his head.

  For years, people have searched high and low for his treasure. It has been said that Blackbeard said nobody but he and the devil knew where it was located.

  Chapter One

  Cassie Andrews packed her green 2011 convertible Camaro and left her beloved beach house in San Diego to go to Branson, Missouri to empty out her grandfather’s house. Sadly, he had recently passed away. She was the only living family member so it was all left up to her. Not that she hadn’t loved her grandfather, but she wasn’t looking forward to spending months in Branson. She loved the beach.

  The drive was going to be long and boring but there was no alternative as she would need her car when she arrived. Besides, she loved hearing those ponies roar from her v8 engine and feel the wind in her hair. Cassie drove for days, stopping over at little motels, until she pulled into her grandfather’s house late that Saturday night.

  Cassie got out of her car, popped the trunk and grabbed her bags. I am going straight to bed, she thought. The house was dark but when she unlocked the door and walked in and flipped the switches, the lights came on. That was a relief. The electric hadn’t been disconnected. She took a quick look around. Everything was a bit dusty since it had been a month since her grandfather passed away. It took time to get things in order for her to be able to come out and take care of everything.

  She hurriedly undressed and stepped in the shower for a quick rinse off and then went to bed. She had a lot to do in the morning.

  ***

  Cassie was in the kitchen making coffee when a knock came at the back door. She walked over and opened the door to a dark haired muscular man wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt, holding a file full of papers. He looked to be around thirty. His gray eyes shone.

  “Can I help you?” Cassie said.

  “Hi. You must be Cassie,” he said as he held out his hand.

  “Yes and you are?”

  “Levi Williams. My father asked me to bring by these papers. He got caught up in meetings. It’s the deed to the house and the copy of your grandfather’s will. Everything you need should be here.”

  “Thanks. Come on in and I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

  He walked in behind her. “So what’s your plan? Are you moving here?”

  Cassie turned around and tried not to laugh. “Oh no. I can’t live here. I have a beach house back in San Diego calling my name. I’m going to go through everything in the house and sell what I can then donate the rest. Anything that doesn’t fit into those groups I’ll take to the local dump. I hope to have it all tied up within a month or two.”

  “Well if you need help with anything just let me know. I work for my father and he told me to help you out with whatever you need. He was friends with your grandfather.”

  “That’s great. I’m going to take you up on that offer. Would you like some breakfast?”

  Levi rubbed his midriff. “I just felt my stomach grumble. I left before breakfast, so, yeah. If you don’t mind.”

  She opened the refrigerator door. “Well, I’m surprised. I was a mite hasty, inviting you for breakfast – I really didn’t know what…”

  “Oh, my father made sure the house was fully stocked for when you arrived.”

  Cassie made eggs, bacon and bagels. She didn’t always get a chance to have lunch in her busy schedule so she usually made sure to have a good breakfast. While everything cooked she poured them both a glass of orange juice.

  As they sat down to eat, Levi asked, “So what do you do back in San Diego?”

  “I’m a diving instructor. I teach three classes a day in the ocean.”

  “Wow. Really? I love to dive. Around here we only get to dive in lakes though. I would love to go diving in the Pacific. I plan to take a vacation one of these days and try it out.”

  “You would lo
ve it and if you’re ever in San Diego, look me up. I’ll show you all the great spots.” She stood up. “I need to get started on this place.”

  After Levi left Cassie walked around the house, making a list of what would be auctioned off and what would be given away. Her grandfather owned the house for years and it was full of stuff when he bought it from an estate sale. He never took the time to go through the previous owner’s belongings. He always said it gave the house character. Cassie sighed. She had no idea how many generations of character would be up in the attic.

  She walked up the stairs to the attic and when she opened the door the sight almost made her want to hurry back to San Diego immediately.

  Boxes were stacked from the floor to the ceiling and the entire room was covered in dust. She was going to need a lot of trash bags for this job.

  Blackbeard’s Treasure is available at:

  Solstice Publishing

  And

  Amazon