Page 61 of Grounded
The reality stunned her. She had never thought of the losses from her grandmother’s point of view, only from her own. And yet, she had run from home as soon as she could get out. Hadn’t that been another grief for her grandmother?
Though no one was around to see, Annie felt a hot flush in her face, ashamed yet again at her self-centeredness. But she had dealt with her own pain for some of those years, and how could she have done differently? Her need to get out and away from the loss had propelled her like a jet engine.
Annie moved to the back and read the names on each stone in the cemetery. They were all relatives going as far back as the pioneer days of Boone, Logan and Whitley and Shelby. Each represented heartbreak for those left behind and, for some, heartaches multiplied.
Annie sat down next to her mother’s grave and allowed understanding, like a photographer’s sepia tone, wash over her. She could do nothing for the dead, only the living. Out of the whole family lying under the hillside, only she and Beulah were left, the last of the May family. She knew why Beulah couldn’t let go. It wasn’t merely land to be traded whenever the right opportunity came along. It was their heritage.
The wrought-iron gate creaked again as she shut it. Coming off the hillside, Annie was lost in her own thoughts as she walked along the rock fence toward home; but when she heard a man’s voice, and then a woman laughing, she edged closer. Annie could see the clearing, the crossover place, and Jake holding a woman in an embrace.
His back was to her, but Annie knew Camille had arrived. She stepped behind a tree and watched, feeling like a voyeur, yet wanting to see this woman before making her presence known.
The young woman had straight, blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, which swung from side-to-side when she moved her head. Smiling at him with full lips and an upturned nose, she reminded Annie of a petite Barbie doll.
Size two or maybe zero,Annie thought, judging the girl’s fitted jeans.Not good child-bearing hips,she could almost hear her grandmother saying. Camille had on a crisp, white long-sleeved shirt, the collar open and loose around her neck.
Camille had her arms around Jake’s waist. He held her and listened to her talk, and then he laughed at something she said. Camille lifted her chin as if waiting for a kiss. Annie turned then, not wanting to see anymore. Unexpected anger flashed through her. Why did he bring Camille to the crossover place of all the places on the farm?
Annie started back up the hill at a near jog. It was shrouded by shrubs and trees, obscured from view by the lovers in the clearing below. Why did it matter to her, she wondered, the anger adrenaline fading. She shouldn’t have been watching. What was it to her where he romanced his girlfriend?
From here, she could either take the longer route back by the cemetery and take the lane out to Gibson Creek Road, or she could take the shortcut by the old stone house below and stay near the creek until she was close to the horse pasture. An urge to be home as soon as possible settled the decision.
The hillside led down into the extended backyard of the stone house. She was on the outside of the plank fence, which encircled the yard itself. Sheets covered the back windows, and Annie shivered at the thought of living in darkness.
With the windows covered, no one could see her, she mused. She might not have another opportunity like this. On an impulse, Annie moved close to the back door. When she did, she heard a long, low moan. She moved even closer and listened.
“Ooooohhhhh,” the voice cried from inside the house.
Chills ran down Annie’s back. She knocked on the door. “Hello, do you need help?” The moaning stopped immediately.
Silence. “Stella, do you need help?” She knocked on the back door, louder this time. Silence, and then a voice, close to the door, yelled back, “Leave me alone!”
Annie drew back. “Sorry, I just thought you were hurt!” Her hands trembled as she pushed her hair back off her face, elbows suspended, waiting. When no response came, she turned and left.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When she reached home, Annie called Lindy and told her about the exchange with Stella Hawkins. “Something strange is going on inside that house!”
“Do you have a solid reason to think she’s involved in something illegal?”
“No, but she’s acting very odd and what with the windows covered, it seems like something is going on. Grandma thinks she might be involved in some kind of drug lab.”
“You need ‘reasonable basis’ to go in without her consent. Suspicion of illegal activity would certainly qualify, but you would need some basis for the suspicion in case she filed a lawsuit,” Lindy said.
“You’re right. We don’t know anything. But if you could have heard that cry … something is wrong, I just don’t know what.”
Annie made hot tea before going to bed that night. She poured two cups and carried them into her grandmother’s makeshift bedroom.
“How about some tea?” Annie said, setting a cup down on the nightstand. Her grandmother was propped up in bed, reading her Bible.
“That would be real nice,” she said, closing the book and reaching for the cup.
“Grandma, when I went to the cemetery today, I saw things in a way I had never seen before. I realized how much you have lost over the years. I want you to know things will be different from now on. I’ll come here more often and maybe you can come to New York for a few days. We are all each other have and I won’t let that slip away.” Annie felt tears well up in her eyes and her throat close on the last words.
“Now, now,” her grandmother said, patting her hand. “I’ve done my share of making things hard between us too. I will come to New York if you promise not to make me ride on that subway.”
Annie laughed. “I promise! But there’s something else I want to say. I will do everything I can to hold onto this farm. I understand what it means to you, to our family, and I’ll do my best.”
“Annie, that’s the best gift you could give me. The reason I’m so frugal is so I can leave you fixed to where you can keep all this.” Her grandmother’s face glowed with approval.
