Her Old Kentucky Home Read online

  Her Old Kentucky Home

  Written by Lynette Sowell, originally published as part of the novella Sleigh Bells Ring

  Published by Gilead Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI

  www.gileadpublishing.com

  ISBN: 978-1-68370-144-6 (eBook)

  Lynette Sowell is represented by MacGregor Literary, Inc.

  Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system without prior written permission from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

  Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

  Editors: Barbara J. Scott and Sandra D. Bricker

  Cover and interior designer: Larry Taylor

  Bella Baby,

  I pray the investigators have found you well and happy. I’m sorry I’ve let so many years get away from us, and that we didn’t have the opportunity to spend some time together before my death. You were always my tough little cookie, so strong and determined. I’ve wondered often over the years about the woman you became, but I know this one thing for sure: you’ve made your own way. Even as a kid, you did that. I don’t really have much more in life than the ranch, and even that belonged more to your mom and you and your sisters than it ever did to me. It still holds my name though, and I’ve left it to you and the girls to do with whatever you choose. I’ll love you always, Bella. Be happy.

  Tuck

  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

  —Proverbs 3:5

  Chapter One

  Bella Tucker had forgotten the scent of her sister Jo-Jo’s favorite perfume, but that all came rushing back as soon as she found herself in a rib-crushing hug.

  “You came! You really came!” Beaming, Jo-Jo stepped back, her gaze flicking over Bella’s shoulder. “I . . . I almost can’t believe it. You’re here. At home.”

  Bella nodded, then gazed at the giant, decked-out Christmas tree in the living room. The tree reminded her of Christmases past—happy days because of her mother. Bella had barely been back to the farm since college, save for grief-filled days after Mom’s sudden death during her sophomore year. During that haze she hadn’t noticed much about the place she swore she’d never return to. She snapped her focus back to the others.

  “Well, this guy over here—” Bella nodded toward Jed, who’d contacted her last week, “—I couldn’t tell him no. He was wonderfully persistent.”

  She wanted to say more about her job, about the whole mess she had left behind in Chicago. But the mess would still be there when she returned after Christmas. Instead, she took a deep breath and willed away the tears that pricked her eyelids. Bella Tucker never cried.

  She sensed David’s presence at her elbow. The six hours on the road from Chicago had flown past. An easy trip, even if not carefree at the moment.

  Jo-Jo’s grin widened at the sight of David. “And David. Finally, I get to meet you at last, in the flesh.”

  Bella shook off the feelings that swirled below the surface of her own smile. “Yes, this is David. David, my youngest sister, Joanna. We call her Jo-Jo.” The two shook hands.

  “I feel like I know you already, David. You’re the other person responsible for making sure my sister came home.” Jo-Jo’s grin hadn’t faded. If anything, she had an extra sparkle in her eye that she cast in Bella’s direction. Bella tried not to squirm under her sister’s scrutiny.

  Instead, she let herself smile. “Yes, and the fact that the bigwigs insisted I use my paid time off between now and the end of the year. You’re stuck with me till New Year’s. We’ll celebrate Christmas Eve with David’s parents in Louisville, then we’ll make the two-hour drive back here on Christmas Day.”

  Keeping her tone casual, Bella schooled her jumbled thoughts about being back at the farm. Today was a rare warm day for the second week of December, and the familiar scent of horses drifted on the breeze.

  Lord, I’m not prepared for this. Not for the first time did Bella question her decision to come here.

  “I’ll get your bags,” David offered, leaving her side and heading out the door to his car.

  “He’s not going to stay with us? We have the room.” Jo-Jo gave her a quizzical look.

  Bella shook her head. “No, since his parents live in Louisville, he’s driving there to spend the night. He hasn’t seen them in a year or so. He’ll be back sometime tomorrow. We’ll have plenty of time together here.”

  “Good.” Jo-Jo linked her arm through hers and headed down the hallway. “C’mon, I’ve got our old room set up for both of us. Won’t be quite like old times, but it still looks the same. It’s been good to be back. This is going to be the best Christmas ever.”

  David rolled her suitcase into the house and followed them.

  Bella barely heard Jo-Jo’s chatter as they headed to their old bedroom—the keeper of all their secrets.

  When they were kids, she never could have imagined they’d end up scattered all around the country. Thanks a lot, Tuck. She suppressed the recollection of her long-dead dream of her and her three sisters converging with spouses and children on their childhood home as their parents came out to meet them all.

  A family Christmas on the farm.

  Well, at least she and Jo-Jo would spend Christmas together this year. Her older sisters Sophie and Amy had not been persuaded to come home. Their loss. Last Christmas, she’d been lounging by a hotel pool in Dubai while she sipped something sweet and frozen. She’d taken the year-end assignment on the other side of the world, so a colleague could go home to her own family for Christmas, along with her husband and new baby. This Christmas, because of David and Jo-Jo’s persistence and Jed’s invitation, she ended up here.

  David released her suitcase handle, and she automatically stepped into the circle of his arms.

  “Have fun catching up. I’ll be back tomorrow,” he murmured into her ear.

  “Sounds good. I know your parents will be excited to see you again.” Bella gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. They hadn’t planned any specific activities for their three-week visit to Kentucky other than seeing what their respective families had in mind for Christmas.

  After Christmas—after they returned to the routine of their lives in Chicago—she needed to have a serious conversation with David about their relationship. In late January, she was due to spend a week in Germany with one of the European divisions of the company. That is, if she still had a job and if the rumors weren’t true.

  “I’ll see myself out. It was nice meeting you all, and I’ll see you again soon.” David flashed his winsome, boyish grin at all of them before heading into the hallway. Jed followed him, leaving Jo-Jo and Bella alone at last.

  Jo-Jo squealed and flung her arms around Bella once again. “I can’t believe it. I’m so happy you’re here. And I finally got to meet David.”

  Bella hugged her sister. “I know. It’s a long time coming, isn’t it? I’m glad everything worked out just to see the look on your face when you turned around and saw us. I thought Jed would never pry you away from your laptop.”

  Jo-Jo nodded. “That sneak, Jed, grabbed your phone number from my cell a
nd twisted your arm. You really surprised me. I wish Sophie and Amy would come, too. I still haven’t given up on them.”

  “You’re such an optimist. I can’t even remember the last time we were all together in one place.”

  “My high school graduation.”

  “That’s right.” Bella picked up her Louis Vuitton suitcase and dropped it on her old bed, trying to forget the sad time before that—their mother’s funeral. They had all missed Tuck’s memorial service. But his attorney had finally tracked them all down, even though it was too late for his funeral, and delivered a special letter from him to each of them.

  “Are you glad you came?” Jo-Jo asked.

  “Yes.” She smiled at her younger sister and hugged her again. “Very glad.”

  “I wanted all of us to have one more Christmas here because we might not have this chance again. Jed and I have been talking about the property.”

  “I admit I haven’t kept up with the horse farm’s affairs over the years.” Bella felt guilty about that. Once she left home, she never looked back. She had no idea her father had returned to the farm after he retired. Not until the letter arrived.

  “It’s kind of in bad shape, Bella. You could probably tell when you drove up. It’s not just the house, but the grounds. Jed and the hands do the best they can with maintenance, but the repairs and upkeep are expensive, and until Tuck’s estate is settled, it’s tough.”

  “How’s Sarah doing? I was so excited to see you when I got here, I didn’t stop to ask about her.”

  “She’s great. In fact, she’s running some errands at the moment, but she should be back soon.”

  Bella smiled. The older woman had been a fixture at the farm forever. Sarah had seemed “old” back when they were kids, but she was probably only in her fifties at the time.

  “I can’t wait to see her again.” She nudged Jo-Jo’s arm and smiled with a teasing look. “So, ’fess up. I want to hear more about Jed now that we have some time to talk. Tell me all about this romance with him.”

  Reluctantly, David drove away from the horse farm, glancing back in his rearview mirror. Part of him wanted to linger, to spend more precious minutes and hours with Bella. She’d barely gotten back from London before she received the news of her father’s death, and shortly after that, Jo-Jo’s plea to return home for Christmas and help to settle her father’s affairs.

  Bella and he had been a couple for two years, more or less, and both of them had yet to meet each other’s families. Bella’s job, and sometimes his, had made their relationship a long-distance one despite the fact they lived in the same apartment building.

  She would jet off for a week to ten days, then return to the high-rise where they both lived, two floors apart, then leave again on business. In between trips, they’d make up for lost time with a long date or two.

  After almost a two-hour drive through the Kentucky countryside he’d missed while living in the Windy City, David pulled into his parents’ driveway in suburban Louisville. He honked. Within seconds, the front door opened, and his mother descended the porch steps.

  “Davie!” She let out a squeal he could hear above the car’s engine.

  He climbed from the front seat and shut the door. “Mom.”

  Before hugging him, she glanced through the car window at the empty front-passenger seat. “Where’s Isabella? Don’t tell me she took off on another trip or stayed in Chicago after all?”

  He ignored the crackle of judgment in her dark-blue eyes. “I dropped her off at her family’s horse farm in Bluegrass Crossing over near Lexington.”

  “Ah . . . I see.” She straightened her spine. “So, she didn’t bother to come meet us.”

  “Mom.” Irritated, he hid his reaction and tried to see the situation through her eyes. “You’ll meet her soon enough. She hasn’t seen her own family in years. I’m staying here tonight, but heading back over there sometime tomorrow.”

  “That’s a two-hour drive.”

  He shrugged and smiled. “Not so bad compared to Chicago at rush hour.” He looked up at the porch. “Where’s Dad?”

  “Where else? In the workshop, going through his stash of Christmas lights.” She shook her head, her platinum curls bouncing. He didn’t recall her coloring her hair like that before. “I tell ya, ever since he started replacing the old lights with those new LED strands, he’s gone hog wild. You know he’ll be askin’ you to give him a hand. I think he even bought some computer gizmo that makes the lights flash in time to the music.”

  “I’ll be glad to help deck the place out. You two still have the house lighting party, right?”

  “It wouldn’t be Christmas without it.” Love for him lit up her blue eyes. “I can’t believe you’re actually home for Christmas. It’s been too long. I know I’ve said so already, but I can’t help but repeat myself.” Her voice held the faintest scolding tone.

  Mom . . . always ready to speak her piece. A lot like Bella. He didn’t think it wise to mention that right now.

  “You go right ahead, Mom. I don’t mind.” He popped the trunk and pulled out his carry-on and overnight bag, then joined her at the porch steps. The second stair creaked when he stepped on it like it always had. He needed to help Dad fix that while he was here.

  He held the door for his mother, and she entered the house ahead of him, while the aroma of something warm and hearty drifted from the kitchen.

  “Supper will be ready soon.”

  New furniture graced the living room, including a pair of wingback chairs that faced each other in front of the fireplace.

  “If it gets cold enough, we’ll light a fire before too long. Maybe make some s’mores.” She gave him an affectionate look. “You like the new chairs? They’re really cozy for your dad and me.”

  He nodded. “I do. The room looks bigger.” His parents had gotten rid of the large sectional that he and his brothers had used to make forts, or employed as a shield when dueling with their light sabers.

  That sofa was worn out by the time his younger brother Bryan had gone off to college more than three years ago, leaving his parents empty-nesters at last. If it were him, he would have splurged for new furniture, too.

  “Your little brother will be home next weekend after finals,” his mother said as if in response to his thoughts. “Time is flying by. I can’t believe he’s a senior already.”

  “Me either. Can’t wait to see him.” David tossed his overnight bag on the piano bench where he and his brothers had suffered through hours of lessons.

  Just then his cell dinged in his pocket. Work, probably. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the text. Sure enough. George, his associate broker. The Millers were closing on their building today, a three-unit walk-up, which would be converted into a nice set of condos in the spring. A brilliant return on their investment, he’d insisted, when he showed them the property.

  “Are you going to bury your nose in that thing the whole time you’re here?” Mom sounded annoyed.

  “After today, not much. At year’s end, things quiet down long enough for me to leave the business in George’s hands.”

  He typed a response to his associate’s question and fired off the message, then muted his phone. “That should do it for now.”

  He followed his mother into the kitchen and bent to peer through the oven window.

  “Chicken cordon bleu, poor-man style,” she said. “I haven’t made it in ages, with your daddy and I watching our salt and all.” His mother peered at the timer on the microwave above the stove. “But I figured you might like a taste of home when you got here.”

  “Thanks, Mama.” He caught himself slipping into a southern accent. If he spoke that way in Chicago, he’d be labeled ignorant. “You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did.”

  She washed her hands at the sink and wiped her hands on the dish towel that hung from the oven-door handle. “Now go on out and let your daddy know you’re here. I still need to make the salad and set the table.” As she shooed him away
with her hands, he opened the back door and walked to his father’s workshop, only a few paces from the house.

  David could just make out the tones from an old radio cranked up high that blared with classic Christmas songs, filling the workshop and probably annoying the neighbors. Yet maybe not quite annoying, as the entire neighborhood looked forward to Mr. Christmas’s light display. His father had the reputation on the block of being the one with the lightest and brightest display of Christmas lights every season since David could remember. But now that his dad’s hearing had started to go, the TV and radio were always turned up too loud for his taste.

  “Hey, Dad.” He called out loudly enough so he could be heard over the strains of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

  His father looked up from where he stood at a scarred worktable covered with a jumble of Christmas lights. “You made it! Right on time, too. Wait till you see what the yard is going to look like this year. I’ve got plans all drawn out.”

  No clap on the back or hug, but David caught the warm twinkle in his father’s eye. For some reason, the thought of Bella’s confused emotions of grief and anger struck him at that moment. His own throat caught. He didn’t want to imagine a world without his father in it. His mother, either. Bella had lost both.

  “I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be glad to give you a hand while I’m here.” He wanted to say, “Not every day,” but didn’t. He’d figure out the schedule soon enough.

  “You think you’ll be coming back here someday, permanently?”

  Trust Dad to cut straight to what was on his mind. A grin tugged at the corners of David’s mouth.

  “Actually, I am thinking about it. Very seriously. I’ve been in touch with Jonathan Daniels. I don’t know if you remember him, but we’ve been talking about me opening an office here in Kentucky and turning things over to George to run in Chicago.”

  Dad nodded, untangling two strands of lights as he did so. He pulled one to the side and set it onto a pile of lights. “But? I hear a ‘but’ with that idea.”

  “But I love Chicago. And then, there’s Isabella.”