Redemption
By: Francette Phal
Copyright 2012 Francette Phal
Smashwords Edition
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Dedicated,
To the love of my life. Thank you so much for your patience, love and everlasting support.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Ten years later...
Dina Holbrook was contentment itself. This, she realized, could arguably be one of the best days of her life and it was all thanks to God. There’d never been a day in the last ten years that she hadn’t thanked the good Lord for bringing her Eleanor back to her. It’d taken them a very long time to get to this point, but here they were. She and Phillip were completely immersed in every aspect of Ellie’s life.
And to think they would’ve missed out on so much more had they allowed their stubborn pride to interfere a second longer. There’d been precious time lost already, precious moments she would never regain, but Dina took heart in the fact that she was here now. After so many years of estrangement, Ellie had finally forgiven them.
Dina's remorse was plentiful, her sorrow great, her shame she wore like a brooch, a constant reminder of her stupidity all those years ago. The pain she'd caused continued to eat away at her till this day. And despite that Ellie had forgiven her, despite that they now shared that precious mother/daughter connection she’d always wanted, Dina knew she'd failed Ellie. The cross was cumbersome, but it was hers all the same and she would bear it for eternity if that's all how long it took to forgive herself.
"Nana, look at me!" Dina raised her head from the paper plate she'd stacked with various snacks and smiled at her granddaughter. Life was good and so much more than she could've ever asked for. Now, Dina happily thought, she could contend to be the greatest Nana that ever lived.
"No Nana, look at me!" Her gaze shifted to the jumping little boy that was her only grandson. "Look how high I can jump, Nana!" And he did jump, his small body hurtling against the cloudless sky. His laughter rang loud and clear, cutting through the subdued chatter of adults milling about the backyard.
"Dylan Christopher Holbrook! How many times do I have to tell you not to jump so high?" Dina abandoned her plate on the long picnic table and trailed behind her fuming daughter.
She had the ‘look’ plastered on her too pretty face. The very same look of annoyance known and practiced by all mothers and Dina knew her grandbabies were in for it now.
Deciding to help without interfering, she reached over the iron ring of the trampoline and grabbed her granddaughter. It was too late to save Dylan, but Isabella she could take away from the line of fire.
"But Moooom…"he whined.
"Don't but Mom me. Get down here now!" Annoyance belied the tremor of apprehension tainting Ellie's voice, Dina instantly empathized. The minute to minute job of worrying about a child were limitless, one prolonged blink could have devastating effects.
"But.."
"Dylan!"
Contrite as any nine year old could be, knowing they'd disappointed their parent Dylan's head wilted to his chest. He walked to the trampoline's edge each bouncing step bringing him closer to his supposed doom. Socked feet came at a standstill as Dylan waited his punishment.
Ellie hooked a finger beneath Dylan's chin raising her son's head to meet her gaze. "Look at me," Hazel eyes, darker in shade than her own mirrored back at her and as distraught as they seemed, Ellie knew the same episode would be repeated, if not immediately nipped in the bud. "Why do I always have to tell you things at least a hundred times before you listen to me?" Her voice had gentled now, annoyance no longer evident.
Blue polo adorned shoulders lifted and dropped down. "I just wanted to show Nana how high I could jump." He mumbled in his defense.
"That's all well and good trying to impress your Nan but disobeying me to do something you know I've specifically asked you not do isn't. And you know this isn't the first time either."
"I'm sorry…” He murmured.
With a sigh, Ellie took his hand and helped him to the ground. "I know you are." She said. "You know I yell because I love you right?" At his nod, Ellie continued. "You and your sisters are my life. If anything were to happen to any of you, I'd be so lost." her children were her beacon of light, without them, Ellie's world was cast in interminable darkness.
Disaster evaded, Dina knew it was safe to approach her own daughter. "Hey, Mom," She hadn't had the chance of properly greeting her parents when they'd arrive a half hour ago. She’d been preoccupied with the overflow of guests and taking birthday presents to the long table they had set up in the backyard for exactly that purpose. Ellie barely had enough time to make her way through the throngs of giggling children and their well-wishing parents, before spotting her son doing something he had been warned against doing.
"Where's dad?" She leaned over to drop a kiss on her mother’s cheek.
"With the birthday girl, amusing themselves with Sophie's present." Ellie saw the sparkle in Dina's eyes and she groaned.
"Oh Mom, you didn't!"
"Well actually your father did."
Ellie rolled her eyes as they made their way back to the picnic table. "Yeah and I'm sure you tried really hard to stop him." She said wryly, seating Dylan down on the bench.
"You know how your father gets when he sets his eyes on something--- me saying 'no' wouldn't have made a difference."
Ellie snorted, turning her attention to her son. "Liam and Eric are inside; you can go play with them until it's time to cut the cake." He looked at her with eyes that rivaled Christmas lights.
"Really?" he asked, sure that he'd heard wrong.
"Yes." Ellie replied, and then watched as he took a careful look behind her shoulder.
His eyes strayed back to Ellie's smiling face and conspiratorially asked, "Do I have to take Belle with me?" It wasn't cool to have your sister tag along when you just wanted to play with the boys.
Dylan had never appreciated his twin being foisted on him when he’d just wanted to play boy games and today was no different.
Understanding where her son was coming from, Ellie took pity. "Not if you don't want to."
"I want to play with Liam and Eric too, Mommy!" Bella piped in wiggling free of her grandmother's arms she stomped over to where her mother sat with her brother.
Dylan glared down at her. "No." he said firmly, then stuck his tongue out at her.
Quick to curb the fight she knew would ensue, Ellie sp
oke to her daughter. "I want you to stay with me sweetheart so you, me and Nan can help bring out the cake for Soph.”
"Can I lick the frosting?"
“We’ll see.”
Ellie set Dylan down and Bella was quick to claim his spot. "I don't want to catch you jumping too high on the trampoline again, Dylan, I mean it. If I do, it's curtains to it. Got it?"
"Got it." With a firm nod, he spun on his heel and took off across the yard, making a beeline for Gabe and Ronnie's little tykes.
Dina had to admit that Ellie had the parenting thing down to an art form. Watching her was like observing an artisan at work as she manipulated and molded the daily problems of her children into oblivion. She had the firm hand that kept tantrums, tears and pouts at bay and the gentle smiles that brought joy, understanding, and contentment. At only twenty eight Ellie seemed far too mature for her age, but then one had to be when faced with at the adversity of raising three children alone.
She sighed, that was a subject for another time. Today was a day of celebration and so they would celebrate.
"I can't believe you got Soph a puppy, Mom." Of course Sophie had been going on and on about wanting one for the past year, but Ellie had stayed firm in her decision in adopting one.
Twelve year olds had no business owning dogs. The responsibility was far too much and Ellie had her hands full enough with her three hellions without needing to worry about a fourth. Because no matter how many chores Sophie did to show her mother that she was responsible enough, Ellie knew taking care of the dog would ultimately become her responsibility once Sophie lost interest.
Sophie always lost interest. Three dead goldfishes and the neglected gerbil in the den were proof enough.
"It'll be good for her, teach her responsibility."
Ellie stared at mother, before sighing resignedly. "I hope so." It wasn't like she could demand they take the puppy back, doing so would only bring about weeks of silent treatments. Ellie had never been able to withstand those treatments from her eldest and always caved in after a few days. It wouldn't be different this time around.
"It'll be okay sweetheart, you'll see." Dina patted Ellie's shoulder reassuringly. "How've you been?" they rarely had a chance to see each, except on holidays or special occasions, due in great parts to geographical location of their homes. The phone was all well and good for getting updates on her grandbabies and such, but every now and then Dina just wanted to know how her daughter was doing.
Ellie shrugged, distracted by the mess Bella was making. "To tell you the truth Mom, I've been a little stressed out with planning this party for Sophie." she raised her head, looked at Dina and fleetingly smiled. "But it's been worth it. I'm glad you and Dad made it." The sincerity on her face almost brought tears to Dina's eyes.
It had taken them years to rebuild broken trusts and regain this level of sweet familial comfort that sometimes Dina was astounded by the reality of it all. So fortunate to have a daughter whose benevolence knew absolutely no bounds. Ellie was one in a million. Many mothers could boast that about their own children, but for Dina it was a simple matter of undisputed truth. Anyone who's ever met Ellie could attest to that.
"Are you crying, Nana?" Brown eyes with flecks of gold regarded Dina with curiosity, wisdom far beyond her tender years gleaming through.
When she’d been born at six pounds five ounces, Isabella had been wide-eyed and aware of everything around her. She’d been a sweet child, rarely cried for anything. Dina had been present at the hospital and had been one of the first to hold the twins. The very moment she’d placed Bella in her mother’s arms, Ellie had silently wept. Her gaze never leaving Bella's perfect little face, she'd pressed a kiss to her little head and christened her Isabella.
"No, sweetheart," she ran a hand beneath her eyes before turning a smile to her worried daughter and granddaughter. "I'm fine. More than fine. We are so pleased that you've invited us."
"Mom! Mom! Look what Grandpa got me!" The birthday girl herself, barefooted and grinning from ear to ear hurried towards them, a ball of copper red fur in her arms. Liam and Eric, Gabe and Ronnie’s children trailed after her with Dylan at their side.
Liam was older than his brother by a year. With a mop of chestnut brown hair and mischievous dark brown eyes, he was a livewire with the curious nature of a cat. That curiosity always landed him in trouble and poor Eric was always there to take the fall, although their parents knew who the mastermind was.
Seven year old Eric was the complete opposite of his brother. Where Liam was loud and rambunctious, Eric was more subdued, calm, with a ready smile for everyone. His hair, a lighter shade than his brother's, was cropped short to his head. He had Ronnie's eyes, light brown, caramel in the right lighting.
"Mom, look!' Sophie's exuberance drew Ellie from her reverie. She blinked a few times trying to see beyond the ball of fur Sophie had shoved in her face. Bella squealed and reached for it, but Sophie pulled it back.
"It's a puppy!" she bounced on Ellie's lap, looked up at her mother's face and then back at Sophie and the puppy and squealed once more. "We have a puppy! We have a puppy!"
"Yes," she looked at Sophie's hopeful face and rolled her eyes. She was such a sucker. "We have a puppy."
And it was like Christmas again. Bella jumped from Ellie's lap and stood in front of her older sister. "Can I pet her, Sophie?"
"Okay Belle, but be careful." Sophie warned before falling to her knees, right at Bella's level so that she could touch the puppy. Liam, Eric, Dylan and the few other children who’d gathered around Sophie, profited from her generosity and petted the puppy.
"What are you going to name it, sweetheart?" Dina asked.
"Let's call her princess!"
Sophie grimaced, before glaring down at her hopeful sister. "We are not calling him princess. I'm going to call him Grayson." She looked up then, straight at her mother and it was all Ellie could do in trying to get her heart to peel itself off her ribcage, where it had slammed itself seconds ago. Sophie continued to stare at her, her look telling.
"Grayson...Grayson. I like that name." Bella nodded her approval, and Sophie smiled down at her.
"I like it too." She said quietly.
There'd been meaning behind that gaze. What the hell was her daughter playing at? For God Sakes, that part of her life was ancient history. Sophie shouldn't have even remembered anything!
"Honey, are you feeling okay?"
She just was overreacting! Finding meaning where there was none. Ellie told herself. Sophie had only looked at her for approval that was all, nothing more.
"I’m...I’m fine." Nothing more. "I'm fine, Mom." She said again much more convincingly this time.
There was a brief flash and then another. Ellie blinked a few times to rid her vision of the orangey white globs before focusing on Gabe's grinning face. In his arms he held the cutest little munchkin of them all, sweet little Sabrina Akers.
Rina redefined the word adorable, with her tufts of ginger blond hair, mountainous apple red cheeks, little button nose, cheery red lips that greedily hugged a pacifier, and perfectly round body, decked out in white and pink floral number that looked way too cute for words.
Ronnie whacked her husband's arm, and then stooped down to plant a kiss on both Ellie and Dina's cheeks, respectively. "Hey Ellie...Dina." She greeted. "They weren't too much trouble for you?" No matter how many times Liam and Eric spent the night over Ellie's home Ronnie always asked the same question. Ellie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. As if she didn't have her own hell-raisers to keep them distracted.
"They were perfect little angels." She said, taking Rina from Gabe's arms. "Hey there baby girl...aren't you just so cute in your little dress?" Ellie cooed.
"Yeah right and I'm Brad Pitt." Gabe said wryly, setting his camera down.
"Dream on lover, dream on." Ellie laughed as Gabe grabbed Ronnie around the waist and jostled her about, both their laughter ringing clear.
"She’s right Gabe; you're more like a
Johnny Depp type. Where's my dad?" Everyone seemed to have congregated to their little group, so Ellie figured her dad should've made an appearance right about now.
Knowing that this was the signal, Dina stood up. "I'll go get him." And the cake! Everyone nodded and watched her disappear. Ronnie claimed Dina's seat beside Ellie.
"Hey, squirt," Gabe said in greeting, tugging one of Sophie's pigtails. "I see your grandfather finally gave you the husky." He greeted Dylan and Bella with hugs and kisses.
Sophie grinned up at Gabe. "Yeah, isn't he cool?"
"His name's Grayson!" Bella added, mindless of the meaning behind that name.
And it shouldn't have had so much meaning behind it but it did.
Gabe's eyebrows flew to his hairline, eyes wide he chanced a look at his goddaughter, only Ellie refused to look at him. She didn't seem bothered but then again, appearances could be deceiving.
"Why Grayson, Soph? Why not buddy? Or Captain beefheart?"
Sophie shrugged. "Grayson sounded like a cool name for a dog."
"You sure you don't…"
"It's a good name, Gabe," Ellie interceded, giving a Gabe a look that indicated he should drop the subject. "Grayson's a good name for a dog."
Gabe grinned; there was double entendre if he'd ever heard one.
"So Ellie, where's Dev?" Ronnie asked.
Devlin Westport was Ellie’s boyfriend of three years. They'd met at a parent-teacher meeting. The physical attraction had been astounding, but it'd taken Devlin some four months of wooing before Ellie conceded to a date.
Devlin had been the epitome of a perfect gentleman and as guarded as Ellie had been during those first few months of dating him, Devlin eventually wore her down. She hadn't expected anything serious to come out of those dates, but to her surprise, they'd managed to make it last three years. Even after all this time, Devlin still made her stomach do flips.
Gabe, like herself, had been wary of Devlin at first, believing no one deserving of his goddaughter. But he'd eventually warmed up to him when he realized Devlin had been no kid with a dick that needed to be satiated. At thirty three, Devlin pretty much had life figured out, with a good and focused head on his shoulder. All he'd wanted to do was make Ellie happy and after witnessing that for himself, Gabe gave his complete approval.
Redemption (The Bet) Page 1