The Long Road Home

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Book Excerpt

Chapter One

It was a humid South Carolina summer day and Kate and Ken were planning on enjoying the surf at Folly Beach, a seven-mile-long barrier reef located just eight miles from downtown Charleston, when Ken received a call from his law office, concerning an important meeting. Kate wondered if the meeting had anything to do with her father's accident and his vacated position as head of the firm.

The past four months were hazy, for she was still reeling from the car accident that took both the lives of her mother and father. She wondered if the meeting was about naming a new partner and if Ken was the associate to be tapped. If it was under different circumstances, she may have been excited about Ken's chances. With nothing to do but wait for his return, Kate lounged in her frumpy pajamas, at odds about how to dress for the day. She walked past her fiancé's open laptop and realized in the hasty retreat he had left the screen open to an Internet dating site.

Before she even knew what she was doing, her fingers were tickling the computer keys, searching the browser history to see where his private thoughts gravitated. Within minutes her romantic notions about their relationship were shattered. What she saw confirmed that she didn't know the man who'd gallantly proposed to her months before. From searching porn sites, dating sites, and any other X-rated sites, ample proof of his infidelity was staring her in the face. How could she have been so naive to believe his profession of love for her? He was nothing more than a cheat — a male whore.

In the end, she was left fuming at learning the extent of his sexual perversions. Kate needed to leave the house quickly before he returned. He seldom went to the office on the weekend, and he probably wouldn't be gone long. On second thought, she decided that she wouldn't have peace or closure until she confronted him. Blast this temper she had inherited. She'd explode if she didn't gain release from this gut-wrenching pain.

She didn't have to wait long before he returned, strutting through the door as if he owned the world. "Kate, I just made partner," he said.

"Well, that's great. Now you can afford even more sexual stimulation," she said.

"What do you mean?" Ken asked.

"I think you know," Kate said.

Pointing at the computer screen, she said, "I guess I was just the fast track for your making law partner. Congratulations."

"Kate, I didn't cover up my activities on the computer because I didn't think I did anything wrong. I was just curious. I haven't gotten in touch with any of the women directly."

"What you did was just the first step to making contact. If you were satisfied in our relationship, you wouldn't be looking."

"I'm a man and I did nothing wrong!"

"Well, you can live with that. I'm out of here," she said.

"Not before me," he said, slamming the door on his way out.

He was acting like a spoiled brat when she tried to explain that looking was the first step before starting a relationship. She decided long ago to avoid a relationship with someone she couldn't trust, and here she was engaged to just such a man.

Luckily for him, he left to cool off. She was eyeing the computer to throw at him. Seized with anger, she tossed her clothes into suitcases, and emptied the storage bins with his sports gear and filled them with her personal things. She grabbed the hanging clothes from their shared closet and tossed them into the back seat of her old Beemer, and quickly loaded the suitcases and storage bins into the trunk. She was going to make it easy for him to move on with his life and sign-up on all the dating websites and meet lots of women.

Kate wanted to vacate the city before Ken returned. She owned the perfect place where Ken would never find her, silly him. He thought when she cooled off, everything would be fine again, but how could she marry someone she couldn't trust?

Kate cranked the car, and even in her outrage, she loved the sound of the engine purring. That was part of the reason she had turned down her dad's offer for a new one. She loved this car and wanted to buy a new one when she was good and ready and could afford it with her own paycheck. Slowly descending the driveway into the narrow cobblestone street, she easily steered the car and headed for the seacoast of northwest Florida.

She had quickly mapped and printed the directions to her late grandmother Leah's Seagrove Plantation in Genoa, Florida. She needed somewhere safe to gather her thoughts and find peace from the recent upheavals and losses in her life. Monday she'd call her boss at the ad agency to let him know she wouldn't be returning to the office. He probably expected it anyway since she had missed weeks of work after the tragic deaths of her parents. She counted her resignation as a favor since he wouldn't have to fire her.

As she drove along the highway, she listened to some of her favorite summer songs on the radio, which helped cool her temper as she drove on what seemed like a never-ending stretch of road. The blandness of the landscape on I-95 South brought to mind the story her father told about his family's first trip to Charleston aboard a schooner.

She could picture the notorious pirate Lafitte chasing the schooner for the captain had stolen his boat while the barnacles were being scraped off the hull of the ship. Partially submerged in the deep gulf made it easy pickings while the sailors were recovering from the previous night's celebration. Never mind it was the captain's boat that was first pirated by Lafitte. He was just getting it back. The ship had sailed into the port at Charleston in the early nineteenth century, and her family bought warehouses and docks to expand their business from the Gulf of Mexico in Florida to South Carolina. The story brought vivid images to the mind of the pirates and her beautiful Caribbean ancestor on the deck of the schooner, unafraid of sailing with pirates.

As Kate neared I-10 West, she realized that she was one step closer to understanding her father's love of the land. She wished her father were alive today. She needed his calm presence in her life. With a sad song playing on the radio, she couldn't stop tears from filling her eyes as she motored down the highway.

Finding out the truth about Ken before their wedding day made her heartache while at the same time, she sensed the relief of escaping something dreadful. All this time she had believed the heaviness in her heart related to her parents' tragic death. She would have never believed it was coming from an unconscious foreboding about her future with Ken.

It seemed like ages ago when Kate McClellan first met Ken at a house party given by her parents for partners at her dad's law firm. Her father, a respected Charleston attorney, had probably been trying to do some matchmaking by inviting Ken on this occasion. Her father thought Ken was brilliant and ambitious and was eyeing him for making partner in a few years. When their dating turned serious, her father seemed happy to welcome him into the family and promote him at the firm. She wondered what he'd think about his golden boy now. The one thing she was convinced of was her father would only want the best for her.

She was thankful she hadn't turned over the settling of her parents' estate to him as he had suggested. She was still reeling from the tragedy when Ken said he would administer the estate for her since she was distressed. At the time she said she would consider it. After all, he was an attorney and her soon-to-be husband. The emotions from sadness to anger were overwhelming, she blotted tears from her eyes just in time to see the giant oak trees that made a canopy over the entrance to her family's plantation home known as Seagrove.

It seemed she was taking a step back in time as she drove along the overgrown lane leading to the main house. The beauty of the land was still visible as it shone through the weeds and volunteer plants that now wound themselves among the ancient live oak trees and festive dogwoods. When her grandmother Leah died, her father wanted to spend time here and do a little ranching, but her mother, being Charleston's leading hostess, would have nothing to do with it. Now the homestead belonged to her. On this day she was happy to have a place to escape unknown to most people, including Ken. She just hoped the house was livable when she reached it. Some dusting and minor cleaning was no big deal, but she had no idea what kind of shape she would find it in after eight years of neglect. She sighed, as calmness entered her mind.

Kate slowed her car to a stop at the once-grand entrance of Seagrove and wanted to cry. Loose boards on the porch were swinging in the air from the ocean breeze blowing in. Well, that was just part of the upkeep that went unnoticed and it was no big thing. Surely the inside of the house would be in better shape. She took the ornate key, placed it into the keyhole, and pushed open the door. It squeaked as it turned on its hinges, but gave way to an amazing imported tiled foyer. She let out a breath of air. Things didn't look as dismal as she had expected. She looked around the house and was relieved the furniture was covered. Despite spider webs, everything looked livable. She made a few hasty notes of items to purchase in town, including a new mattress that she wanted set-up before nightfall.

Dispelling thoughts of the past, Kate drove into town to purchase the necessities she needed for the night. The local grocer, a seemingly nice man, was surprised to see a family descendant.

"How are your folks?" he asked. "Haven't seen them since the passing of your grandmother Leah,” he said.

"They were killed in an automobile accident a few months ago," she replied.

"Oh, my, I hadn't heard. I'm so sorry to hear that," he said.

"Thank you."

"I know the old plantation house will need some cleaning since no one has lived at Seagrove in a long time," he said. "If you're interested, there's a young Creole girl who lives along the backwaters who will help you make it spick-and-span again. Her name is Nap, and I can draw you a map to get you from here to there.”

"That's just who I need to help me spruce up the place so I can sleep tonight without worrying about spiders in my bed," she said.

"Very well," he said. "Do you need anything else?"

"Yes, I'll need to hire a contractor to look over the house to let me know what needs to be repaired."

"Jake Sullivan is the man for that job; he's the best carpenter around here."

He quickly jotted down Jake's telephone number and address on a small brown paper bag and handed it to her. "He'll fix you right up."

Kate had just one more stop to make at the locally owned furniture store for a new mattress for her bedroom. She was determined to have a place to sleep tonight. It didn't take long to find the mattress she wanted. "Can you deliver this within the next couple of hours?"

"Sure, just tell us where it goes," the owner said.

As soon as she said Seagrove, she figured they probably were aware of the family's history, too. She braced herself to be asked about her mother and father again, but the owner said nothing. Perhaps Charleston news hadn't reached this small seaside community in Northwest Florida.

Back in the car, she realized she would have to pick up some sunscreen. The sunshine seemed brighter and hotter here than in Charleston. She was counting on the ocean breeze for keeping cool at Seagrove. This last stop was all she needed to make before going to pick up Nap to help her clean. She couldn't remember if the old plantation home ever had air conditioning. This jogged her memory about stopping in at the local electric company to make sure she had electricity for the night.

The customer service representative at Florida Public Utilities pulled up Seagrove Plantation's account quickly. The electricity was still on, which didn't surprise her that her father never had it shut off. She remembered when they visited how he used to flip the switch to turn the pump on, and after waiting for the pump to fill, opened the faucet and said, "Nothing is tastier than fresh spring water."

She smiled at this memory and was thankful for the ease in transferring the account over to her name. It was looking like everything would be done before sundown.

The local grocer was right about Nap being eager to help clean Seagrove. The young, scrawny girl was in the car as soon as she was told about the job. Kate instantly liked Nap for she had a cheerful lightness that made the idea of cleaning that afternoon seem easier.

With the supplies Kate had bought from the local grocer, it was no time before she and Nap had the old antebellum house looking livable. Right on schedule, the new mattress arrived, and the young, muscled delivery men vanished upstairs, quickly setting it up in her bedroom. With everything in place for the evening, she asked Nap to come back tomorrow to do more cleaning. They set the time so Kate could go by the contractor's office on the way to pick her up.

At dusk, she drove Nap home, and by the time she returned, her muscles were aching, and she was ready to call it a day. After soaking in her grandmother's claw-footed cast iron tub to relieve the soreness, Kate decided to read until she fell asleep. She was glad that she had tossed some of her books into a bin when leaving Charleston. She prayed for the gulf winds to flow through the open windows and that the huge ceiling fans would continue working through the night. An indescribable cleansing took place as the salty gulf breeze flowed over her body. The soft humming of the fan motor with an occasional squeak from the rotating fan blades was comforting for some reason rather than irritating, something she didn't expect. Perhaps later she would consider air-conditioning, but the ceiling fan would be well-oiled and remain in its lofty position.

Kate was awakened early when the sun blazed through the open windows. She had rested well during the night and was eager to tackle today's chores. Looking around her spacious bedroom, she wondered how much effort and money she should put into Seagrove to fix it up. She didn't want the beautiful old mansion to fall further in disrepair, but at the same time, she was unsure where she would be making her home. She doubted seriously if the marketing was needed in this small community, and sooner or later she would return to her career in Charleston, yet she owed it to her grandmother Leah to keep the place pristine. After all, she had left her a trust fund upon her death. This she would worry about another day.

Kate wasted no time getting ready to face the day. She was surprisingly cheerful with everything going on in her life. The first thing she wanted to do was stop off at the contractor's then pick-up Nap for more cleaning. Today, her feelings about Ken were more of relief than sadness. This was going to be a good day.

She easily found the contractor's house and honked the horn when seeing a large dog guarding the entrance to his house.

"Here, boy," said Jake Sullivan. "Don't be afraid, Sam won't hurt you. He just looks mean."

Kate refrained from opening the car door until the dog was coaxed into his kennel. The estimate for repairing the house could wait.

"The grocer said you could help me determine what renovations are needed at Seagrove," she said.

"I'd be glad to take a look-see. What about later today?

"That would be fine. What about around two o'clock?"

"I'll see you then."

Kate smiled as she drove away toward the river road to pick up Nap. She was ready and bursting with delight. They were on their way to bring Seagrove back to life. She wanted Nap to clean down-stairs while she tackled the rooms upstairs. She wanted things to look as clean as possible before the contractor arrived. Otherwise, he may think that the house needed even more repairs.

Kate and Nap worked all morning and the house was beginning to sparkle. She made notes of the window coverings she needed to buy, as she tore down the tall curtains that had aged and turned yellow from the sunlight. They stopped long enough to eat tomato sandwiches made from fresh tomatoes she had bought just the day before from the country store. She couldn't remember sweet tea tasting as good as when they chatted while eating.

Jake Sullivan arrived right on time with his golden retriever riding in the back of his four-wheel-drive truck. "Stay," he said. "Hope you ladies are having a good day."

"Yes we are," said Kate. Nap, standing right behind her, nodded in agreement.

"Hope you can tell me what it's going to cost to renovate my antebellum home to today's standards," Kate said.

"Let me take a look around and I'll work up an estimate and you can decide how much to sink into her. Old homes like these are usually worth the expense because they have good bones."

"I appreciate your taking the time to do this on short notice."

"No problem. After the harvest every year I have some extra time for other things before beginning new planting for the next season. I usually help out my neighbors with whatever they need repairing, and it keeps me busy and out of trouble."

Jake spent a couple of hours making notes as he looked around the house. She offered him some sweet tea which he graciously accepted with thanks.

"I'll be back tomorrow after checking the pricing on the materials," Jake said.

"That'll be fine. I'll be around all day tomorrow. Just come over when you're ready."