Teddi Greison's father has foiled her again. In order to keep the resort she built from the ground up, she must take custody of two nieces she never knew existed and help prove her estranged brother is innocent of murdering his wife
Teddi Greison built Freedom Bay Resort out of the fifty measly acres of land she bought from her father. But Teddi's world comes crashing down at the reading of her father's will. Old Celvin has managed to show disdain for his only daughter even from the grave. Seems the land she bought is not really hers. If she wants it, she must take custody of her brother's seven-years old identical-twin daughters she never knew existed. It's bad enough she knows nothing about children, but one of the twins has psychological problems and doesn't speak after witnessing her mother's murder. Teddi's charged with finding a way to prove her estranged brother is innocent of murdering his wife. In finding the proof, she rescues one of the twins from a murderer, uncovers a ring of thieves, and discovers the reason Old Celvin has been cold and distant to her most of her life.
Excerpt
Chapter 3
During my third grade class picnic, I gave Billy Thompson a black eye and a fat lip. He’d been teasing me for a while, calling me Theodora. No one dared to call me Theodora to my face except Mama and Old Celvin. I tried hard to pay little attention to him, but then he taunted me that my family was weak and simple-minded crop pickers who were right down there with the dirt we planted our trees in. I couldn’t see the insult in his statements. My brother and I had been brought up to respect the earth. If you were kind to it, it gave you everything you needed in life. Then Billy started calling me a ‘girl’ like it was a really bad thing. It wasn’t until the group of kids egging Billy on began to smirk that I realized he’d insulted me. While I was the smallest kid in the class, that day I earned the title of being the fastest, too. Billy learned the hard way to be wary about mocking me.
That one act of temper led to the only memory I had of physical contact with my father. My backside was sore for two days.
“You don’t never give no mind to rubbish and name-calling spewing from a body’s mouth,” he had scolded. “We’re good people who mind our own business. We abide the law of God first and the land second. Fighting with hooligans only puts you in the same boat with them. If there’s ever a next time, I’ll take the strap to you instead of using my hand. Don’t think you can go crying to your Mama, either. She’s just as mad at you as I am.”
I didn’t shed one tear as Old Celvin’s weathered and gnarled hand slapped against my behind. But later that night as Mama brushed out my thick, unruly hair from its braid, her gentle admonitions broke my heart.
“Young ladies do not fight, Teddi. I don’t like violence, and you will never purposely harm anyone again. Do you hear me?”
“But, Mama, I had to get even, ‘sides father smacks Austin all the time. No one ever tells him not to use violence.” Tried as I might, I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. Mama never scolded.
Her cool hands gently turned me to face her. “There is a big difference between how your father teaches you and Austin, and getting even with someone who made you mad. That is plain wrong,” Mama said as she laid her frail hand against my cheek. “Being a grown up involves considerable work, my darling Teddi. It’s difficult to know when to discipline and how to do it right. Your father and I try hard to show you both love.”
“But, Mama, he never pays me any attention ‘cept when I do something wrong.”
Mama huffed a sigh of exasperation. “Your father is a very busy man, Teddi. He would die before he’d willingly let anything bad happen to either of you. No one will ever purposely hurt you or Austin as long as he’s alive without having to answer for it. Now, enough of this, let’s get your prayers said and get you settled into bed. You’ll need to pray for patience and willpower when you apologize to Billy tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to apologize to Billy, Mama.” Even I could hear the whine in my voice.
“Hush, now. We all have to do what’s expected of us. How would it seem if you never said you were sorry to Billy? It would only make you as much of a bully as he is.”
I spent fifteen minutes on my knees that night with Mama right along side of me. She made sure I asked God’s forgiveness for every little sin I’d committed that day. Who could have guessed that pulling up dandelions with Billy’s face would have cost me so dearly. At the end, Mama was happy that I’d been at least a little remorseful. She tugged on my hair to let me know that God had enough to forgive me for right then. As she was leaving, she stopped in front of my door with her hand settled against the knob. When she turned to face me, something sparked in her eyes. “I want you to listen to me, Theodora.”
I knew it was serious if Mama called me by my given name.
“You must always believe that no matter what happens, no matter how unfair your father seems, he loves you. If there was ever another way, he would never do anything to hurt you. He can size up a situation and make the right decision in a second, and there are times when it seems like the wrong one. You can trust him, Teddi. Love him. Always. He’ll never let you down or do you wrong.”
As those memories tripped through my mind, I wondered what Mama would think now of Old Celvin. If she’d still think he’d do no wrong to me. I thanked the Lord that Mama was long gone and not around to see what my trust in Old Celvin had cost.
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