KIRKLAND FALLS
By: Lorelai Huffman
Ellana Cahill loved Kirkland Falls and she loved one of the town's richest sons Alexander Masterson. They had been neighbors all their lives and had a love that El thought nothing could ever come between.
Until the day that Alex told her he was marrying someone else. El was so devastated that she said goodbye to her Nana and left Kirkland Falls to move to Chicago to be with her parents.
Six years later she gets a call that her Nana has died, and she must return to Kirkland Falls for the funeral and not only fight to keep her Nana's land, but fight to keep the feelings that she has for Alex at bay. She wants to hate him for his betrayal, but day after day it gets harder and harder.
Why does Alex keep showing up everywhere and why are his eyes haunting her? Why does he take every opportunity he can to touch her? What about his wife? And how long can El deny that she still wants the only man she ever truly loved?
Fun little tidbit about Kirkland Falls. I started writing it when I was studying for my nursing boards. We were on vacation, and I was surrounded by my nursing books because I was going to test in less than a week. At night when my eyes hurt from reading flash cards. I worked on my novels because I couldn't study twenty-four hours a day. Anyway this entire book came about from these lines.
As she reached the front of the room Alex stood up from his chair and they were face to face.
Their eyes met and he nodded, "El."
She didn't even attempt a smile as she nodded back, "Ass."
The entire idea of the book and everything in it was based around those lines.
PROLOGUE
El had been putting it off, but it was almost seven and she knew it was time for her to say her goodbyes to Nana. She took a deep breath and walked down the center row of folding chairs toward the coffin.
As she reached the front of the room Alex stood up from his chair and they were face to face.
Their eyes met and he nodded, "El."
She didn't even attempt a smile as she nodded back, "Ass."
El walked passed him and knelt down next to the coffin.
"Hey, Nana I am so sorry that I went away. I should have stayed here with you, but I wasn't strong enough."
El could feel someone standing behind her. She patted her Nana's hand one last time and stood so the next person could pay their respects. When she turned Alex was standing there holding out a tissue to her.
"I'm sorry for your loss El. She was one of the most incredible women that I have ever met." His eyes were genuine, but she didn't want his sympathy.
"Don't talk to me. Go have sympathy for your wife. She needs it more than I do." El walked passed him and took her mother's hand.
CHAPTER ONE
Ellana Cahill came home from work and dropped her bags on the multicolored sofa. The apartment was quiet, so she knew her roommate wasn't home. She pushed the play button on the answering machine so it would play the one new message.
El it's Mom. Honey, I need you to call me right away. It's Nana.
The rest was muffled and then she heard her mother hang up. El sank to the floor. She knew in her heart that her Nana was dead and that they would have to go back to Kirkland Falls. El took a few minutes to pull herself together before she called her mom back.
Rosette Cahill explained to her daughter when she called that El's grandmother had a heart attack and had died the night before. Rosette and Gerard Cahill had already purchased three tickets home to Kirkland Falls and El's brother would come from California as soon as he could.
El wrote a note to her roommate and tossed some things in her suitcases. Her parents picked her up around eight and she stayed with them until their flight at eleven the next morning. El didn't say a word the entire flight. She was thinking about her Nana and how she never should have left her and moved to Chicago with her parents. And then of course she thought about the reason that she had left Kirkland Falls…Alexander Masterson.
El and Alex had been best friends all their lives. It wasn't hard since they were neighbors and they played in the lake on El's grandmother's property almost every day. Alex and El were destined to be together. The only problem with that was Alex's parents had other ideas. They wanted Alex to marry someone worthy of him and their name and their money.
El and her family rented a car at the airport and drove the forty minutes to Kirkland Falls.
As they approached Nana's house El started to cry. She got out of the car with a heavy heart and then the front door opened and Mr. Jennings, Nana's lawyer was standing there and out ran Nana's dog Rufus. He had been El's other best friend.
Rufus was a mutt. It had been determined that he was part Collie, a small part German Sheppard and part hunting dog. He had the ears of a Sheppard and the hair of a Collie, but El never knew where the hunting dog came in because she had never seen him catch anything. He loved to chase the bunnies and the squirrels but El couldn't remember even one time that he had caught one.
They spent the afternoon with Mr. Jennings, and he explained to them what type of arrangements Nana wanted and that he had already put some of them in place. He told them that there was a will and that Nana had left El the house which included the land and the lake.
"She what?" El said holding onto the wall as her heart raced and her legs shook.
"She left it to you El," Mr. Jennings said. "However, if you don't want it there has been two offers that I have already received for the land."
El was stunned. She tried so hard not to think about this place and now it was hers. El had some of the best memories of her life that had to do with this place and one of the worst.
"El, Mr. Jennings asked you a question."
The sound of her mother's voice brought El back to reality, "I'm sorry Mr. Jennings what were you saying?"
"El, I was just saying that I can have everything appraised and then you will know if the money they are offering is fair."
"Thank you, Mr. Jennings. I would appreciate that."
"I will tell you that one of the offers is from your neighbors the Mastersons. Their lawyer Mr. McDermott has offered any assistance that you might need."
"I don't need anything from the Mastersons!" El suddenly felt hot and she stormed out of the room and out the front door with Rufus at her heels.
El and Rufus sat in the old-time rocker, that was big enough for two, on the porch for a long time looking out over the land that was now hers. Rufus liked that El was scratching him behind his ears as he laid his head on her lap.
After another half an hour Mr. Jennings said goodbye and that he would see her tomorrow night at the viewing.
El didn't know how long they had sat there staring into space, but eventually she and Rufus went inside. Her parents went out to dinner and invited El to come along, but she declined. She wasn't very hungry anyway.
El went inside and went upstairs into Nana's room. Rufus insisted on tagging along. The room smelled like her so El closed the door so she could keep the smell all to herself. Rufus jumped up onto the queen size bed with the white bedspread on it. He plopped down and watched El as she looked at Nana's dresser and all the pictures that were sitting on it.
There was a wedding picture of Nana and Pop-Pop and next to it was the wedding picture of El's parents. El touched the lace that was covering the dresser and then she picked up a picture that she hadn't seen for a long time. It was Nana and her parents in the back and El and her brother Ben in the front with Rufus sitting between them.
El remembered they had driven to the photo studio in Montgomery County. It was just down the road from the Montgomery County Hospital. Nana wanted the picture to be just perfect and it took them over half an hour to get it just the way Nana wanted it.
It wasn't long after the picture was taken that Ben went off to college in California and her parents moved to Chicago. El had decided to stay with Nana and go to community college.
Nana's perfume bottles were lined up on top of her large jewelry box. El picked each one up one at a time and smelled them. They all smelled just like her. El smiled at Rufus rolling around on the bed. He had always slept at Nana's feet.
El opened Nana's closet. Nana owned a few dresses that she wore to church, but most of the closet was pants matched on the hanger to a top. El remembered that she had helped Nana put clothes together that looked nice on her.
She pushed all Nana's clothes to the right in the closet and looked at the empty space next to the wall. That is where Nana's funeral dress used to hang, the dress that Mr. Jennings' had taken to the funeral home…the last dress that Nana would ever wear.
El slid to the ground and leaned against the closet door as Rufus hopped off the bed and ran to her. He put his head on El's leg and looked up at her with knowing eyes.
Her heart was racing, and she felt like there was a lump the size of an orange in her throat. She couldn't make the tears stop. She would do anything for one more day with Nana…one more minute…
Ellana sat there and cried until she heard the car door close. Her parents had returned from dinner. She knelt on the cushion of Nana's window seat and watched them get out of the car. It looked to El as though they had stopped at the market and picked up food. She still wasn't hungry, but she cracked Nana's door and let Rufus run down to greet them.
El pushed the clothes in the closet back to where she had found them and closed the closet door. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Then she opened the top drawer of Nana's jewelry box to see if it was still there. She pulled it open and there just where Nana had placed it was El's necklace that Alex had given her on her twenty-first birthday.
The insurance information was slid under it and El pulled it out along with the necklace. She put on her necklace and unfolded the insurance paper.
Fourteen karat white gold solitaire pendant with a kited princess cut diamond weighing approximately two carat with eighteen inch rope chain of twenty four karate white gold.
The necklace was beautiful. El walked over and looked in the mirror and how nice it looked around her neck. She ran her fingers over the kite shape and was amazed how the diamond still sparkled.
El slid the insurance information back into the jewelry box and pushed the small drawer closed. She picked up Nana's robe from the back of the chair and put it on. It was warm and comfortable the same way Nana made her feel.
More tears came along with tightness in her chest and the feeling that nothing would ever be the same again.
El stretched across Nana's bed and closed her eyes.
She didn't mean to fall asleep, but when she woke up Nana's clock read one fifteen. El took off the robe and the necklace and put them back exactly how Nana had left them. She snuck downstairs to see what her parents had purchased at the market because her stomach was growling.
Rufus was lying on the couch until he saw El and then he joined her in the kitchen. She opened the back door so that Rufus could run out and do his business. El decided not to make any food, she just poured herself a large glass of orange juice and waited by the door for Rufus to come back.
There was a chill in the air which was unusual for this time of year. El locked the door after Rufus came in and was headed back upstairs to her room when she saw her mother's purse on the sofa. She took one of her mother's sleeping pills from her prescription bottle and headed up to bed.
El finished her juice and went to sleep with Rufus at her feet. She didn't know if tomorrow would be a better day, but she doubted it.
El woke up and Rufus was pushing his legs against her trying to tell her that he needed more room. He was used to sleeping in a queen size bed and this double bed just wasn't cutting it.
She put on her robe over her night shirt and shorts and went downstairs. It was almost six thirty and the house was silent. She couldn't even hear Rufus' feet because of the carpet. Nana had changed the carpet since the last time El had seen it.
When El walked into the kitchen she noticed that the floor tiles were different too. She had been too distracted to notice last night. She pushed open the back door and Rufus ran out. The scent of wildflowers permeated the room. El and Nana both loved wildflowers.
El had left her phone in her purse last night and forgotten to take her purse upstairs. She pulled it out to see if it needed to be charged and had texts from a lot of her friends saying they were there in case she needed them. Her roommate must have told them what happened.
El sat the phone down and noticed a picture hanging on the side of the stairs next to Nana's sewing machine. She walked over and took it off the wall. It was a small wooden frame, and it contained a picture of her and Alex. They were fifteen and both smiling huge smiles. El remembered that a few days after Nana had taken that picture Alex had kissed El for the first time.
They had been swimming and splashing around and Alex had dived under the water. He had come up behind El and when she turned around, they were face to face. El remembered that his eyes met hers and how he lightly kissed her lips. She touched the glass over where his face was and allowed herself two seconds of a pleasant memory and then she hung it back on the wall.
She heard the shower come on above her head, so she knew that either her mother or her father was awake.
El sat at the kitchen table looking around the room at all the things that made Nana's house…well Nana's house. Nana had two little leaves from a plant that were safety pinned to the curtain in the window. Nana did that all the time and she would spritz it with water every day until it grew large enough to place in the tiny vase that Nana kept on top of the refrigerator.
Above the stove Nana kept her spices in specially made colored glass jars. Nana never labeled them. If you wanted to cook with spices in her kitchen you had to learn her system, and which shaped jar of which color contained the spice that you wanted.
El would always laugh because her dad learned that the purple rectangular jar held the black pepper so that is all he would cook with. He claimed that was the only spice he needed, but everyone knew better he just didn't want to learn Nana's system. One time he smuggled some spices in that he had purchased at the market in those plastic labeled bottles and Nana found them.
She took each and every one outside and threw the contents up into the air. Everyone had a good laugh about it, but dad didn't cook dinner that night.
El ran her fingers over the lace tablecloth that always covered Nana's kitchen table. There was a clear plastic cloth under it to protect the table and El assumed that Nana had more than one of the lace covering because ten years ago El spilled spaghetti sauce on the table and the stain was nowhere to be found.
Nana had four sets of kitchen curtains, one for each season of the year. They had been specially made for her and when Nana cleaned the house from top to bottom four times a year, she changed the curtains.
El looked at the summer curtains that were blowing from the breeze coming in the window and wondered where Nana currently stored the other three sets. The back door along with the kitchen window that looked into the backyard and the window above the kitchen sink where you could look out and see who was coming up the driveway all matched.
El remembered Nana writing to her that someone had purchased a microwave for her. She said that she never used, and microwave and she wasn't planning on it now, but that she had placed it in the kitchen. El didn't see it anywhere so she assumed that it was just in Nana's way and she had gotten rid of it.
After El left it was just Nana and Rufus, so she figured Nana made just enough food for the two of them and didn't have leftovers to reheat. Nana did use the coffeemaker, but when she wanted hot water for tea or soup she used the old time tea kettle which still sat on the stove. It was yellow with a silver handle and a black lid covering the end of the spout.
El remembered the first time she got to hold the kettle and pour the hot liquid into her cup for cocoa. That had been one of the most exciting times of her life the day Nana trusted her not to spill hot water on herself.
"Good morning,"
"Morning, Daddy."
Gerald kissed the top of El's head as she sat in the kitchen chair holding her juice.
"How'd you sleep?"
"Ok," she said tapping her glass and giving him a weary smile.
Gerald changed the filter in the coffee pot and started it percolating. Then he propped opened the screen door so some air could circulate in the kitchen.
El was thinking about the last morning that she had spent in that kitchen with Nana and wasn't paying much attention to her father busying himself with making breakfast.
"Come on now girl eat your toast it is quite a drive to the airport."
El remembered sitting there staring off into space and how much her eyes hurt from crying.
Nana sat the jam and the butter in front of El, but she didn't touch it. Nana sat down in the chair next to El and put her hand on El's arm.
"Ellana Jane, look at me."
El's teary eyes met her grandmother's.
"You will get through this. Family obligation is a tricky thing, and I don't think that Alexander had malice in his heart, unlike his parents who don't need a bigger empire then they already have."
In barely a whisper with a scratchy throat El said, "He said he loved me, Nana."
Nana put her arms around El, "And El I am sure that he does, and I am sure that he always will."
"I hate him."
Nana leaned back into her seat, "And I am sure that you will for a long time El." "You trusted him with your heart, and he betrayed you and I don't feel sorry for him, but sometimes in the long run things happen that will make your life better even if you don't think so now."
"Mom's thrilled that I'm coming to Chicago."
"I bet she is. She loves you so much and it was hard for her when you chose to stay here when they moved there."
"This place is my life, Nana. Being here with you and the lake and …" El wiped the tears from her cheek.
"And Alexander."
El looked down at the table, "And Alex."
"Your daddy called last night, and he is going to pick you up at the airport. He says that they have a room ready for you."
"Nana, I don't know if I want to go."
"Well, you don't have to. You can stay here and hold your head up high and show Alexander that you can move on without him. You can find someone else and make a life for yourself. There are plenty of eligible men who would give their right eye to have you, Ellana."
"If only I were that strong. Strong enough to not fall to pieces every time I look out the window."
"Right now, honey it is new and it tears at your soul, but maybe eventually you will be able to come back and make peace with the Mastersons."
"When hell freezes over or Bosephas returns to gospel music."
Nana laughed, "Eat your toast, we have to leave by eleven, so we get you to the airport on time."
El was brought out of her memory when her father placed two pieces of toast in front of her.
"I miss her Daddy."
"I know sweetie, we all do."
El ate her toast and then she went upstairs to get ready. Her mother was out of the shower now and she hoped that her parents hadn't used all the hot water. She held up the two dresses that she had brought with her. One was for the viewing and the other for the funeral tomorrow. She placed both of them across the bed and would pick one this afternoon. El showered and then took the rental car into town.
The florist was busy. As she waited her turn in line she looked around and they had so many beautiful arrangements that she didn't know which one to pick.
"Good morning, Ellana," Daisy Cutter said as El reached the counter.
"Hey Daisy."
"You look great. I love what you've done with your hair." El smiled at her. About six months ago El had decided to have six inches taken off her hair which brought it around her shoulders. She liked it so much that she continued to have it cut to there each time.
"Thanks. I need to order…"
"Yeah, I know. I have been so busy the last two days with orders for your dear grandma'. What would you like?"
"I would like to order a small drape for the bottom of her coffin."
"Like the one you ordered for your grand pappies?"
"Wow Daisy you have quite a memory."
"Yep, I do," she smiled at El as she reached over and picked up an order form.
"Yes, exactly like that."
"What would you like on the card?"
El thought for a minute and then she told Daisy, "To the greatest nana and mom in the world, love Rufus and El."
"I will have it there before the viewing."
"Thanks Daisy, I really appreciate it," El said handing Daisy her credit card.
Daisy rang her up and handed her the slip to sign, "And I gave you a twenty percent discount as sorta' a welcome back type thing."
El thanked Daisy again and then headed to her car.
She was driving toward the gas station when she passed Mr. Jennings' office, so she stopped in for a minute. She was a little more willing to listen today than she was last night.
She only had to wait a few minutes before he could see her.
"Hello dear what can I do for you?" he asked, offering her a seat.
"I wanted to find out when you would be able to get the land appraised."
"Well, it will take a few days, but the other two offers have submitted appraisals of their own and we just have to see how accurate they are. We don't want them to cheat you."
"Mr. Jennings had my Nana ever said anything to you about selling the land?"
"No El, as a matter of fact she made it very clear that she was saving the land to give it to you. She said that you could do with it whatever you wanted. She even said you could sell it and take the profits and buy a house anywhere you wanted."
"Mr. Jennings, when did you get these offers?"
"First thing yesterday morning. They had been faxed to me from the Masterson's lawyer Mr. McDermott and the government lawyer Mr. Edwards."
"Why does the government want the land?"
"Well, I hear tell they want to build a highway."
"Right through the lake?"
"I don't have all the details yet, but I will in a few days. You thinkin' bout selling?"
"I don't know, but now I have to choose whether or not to sell it to the people who ruined my life and drove me away from my home or a government who will tear everything up and pour asphalt on it."
"You still have time Ellana. We have to get our appraisal done."
"Thank you, Mr. Jennings, for seeing me without an appointment," El said as she stood and shook his hand.
Mr. Jennings walked her out to her car and waved goodbye. A good friend of his had asked to be kept informed as to whether or not El wanted to sell the land so Mr. Jennings had a call to make.
El filled the tank on the rental car and headed back to the house. Everywhere that she looked there was something that reminded her of Alex. She was sure that she hated him and hoped that he wouldn't dare show his Masterson face at the funeral home.
El noticed the town had painted the post office a new color while she was away and that they had planted several new trees along Main Street.
Almost every building brought back a memory of her and Alex. And if it didn't, they brought back memories of her and Nana. Kirkland Falls was just one big life sucking, heart breaking torture chamber of memories.
She had missed Kirkland Fall especially when Nana would come to Chicago to visit and tell stories of the happenings. The last time Nana had visited was about eight months ago for Christmas. She told El that Warren Henderson had finally married Mary Ellen Beckett.
She told them that Earl MacNamara had been reelected again as mayor and that Mr. Makluski had purchased Mr. Greene's land and now his farm was almost eighty-five acres. Nana said that Mr. Makluski had kept on all of Mr. Greene's workers so that no one lost their job in the transition. Mr. and Mrs. Greene had moved to Florida and had taken their daughter Sandy and both their grandchildren with them.
El wished that she could move back to Kirkland Falls and ask her parents to come with her, but her daddy has three successful hardware stores in Illinois and was in negotiation to purchase a fourth so there was no way her parents would leave Chicago.
Well El either you jump off the cliff and hope your parachute is packed correctly or you sit on the bench and watch everyone else have the ride of their lives.
El drove around town for a little while longer thinking about good memories that she had and fighting off all the pain they now caused her. Everyone in Kirkland Falls took care of their family and their neighbors. They worked together and Kirkland Falls was beautiful because of it. When the old bridge at Rickett Lake needed repaired the entire town chipped in to get the supplies and they all worked together until it was good as new.
El knew even the Mastersons did their fair share to help the town.
Yeah, she had to admit she really missed Kirkland Falls and she knew she was home, and this little town loved her as much as she loved it.
CHAPTER TWO
Rufus was ready for a walk by the time El got back to the house. She picked a dress and put it on with the heels that she had brought with her.
El and Rufus walked down to the lake. He would stop every few hundred feet and dig at the dirt road. "Rufus come here boy." El patted her leg and Rufus would run over to her and then he would run up the road a few feet and then he would run back at her. "Good boy, you are such a good boy." El knelt down and scratched his head. "I know you miss her boy."
The wild flowers were in full bloom and the scent danced in El's nose. El lost sight of the house as she and Rufus rounded the last curve to the lake. The lake was smooth as glass. El walked out onto the metal pier and sat on the old rickety bench. El remembered the year Nana had the bench built because Nana couldn't lug a chair to the lake any more.
The red paint was chipping and worn and she was careful not to get a splinter in her finger and she leaned back and patted the seat so Rufus would jump up and join her. He put his head in her lap and she scratched him behind the ears as she looked out on the lake.
The birds and the trees had perfect reflections because the lake was totally calm which was unusual for this time of year. The only noises El could hear were the crickets chirping and Rufus panting. Everything was still.
She could see the Masterson's house on top the hill just passed the tree line. Their land was shaped like a horseshoe with Nana's land including the lake being the middle of the horseshoe. The Masterson's had purchased all the land around them. All the land except for Nana's because she wouldn't sell it to them no matter how much they offered her. El wondered once in a while if that had anything to do with how much they had hurt her when they made Alex marry Rowena.
The trees were full of leaves and it blocked the Masterson's stables from sight. In the fall after the leaves fall from the trees you can see the stables and the horses when they are outside grazing. Mrs. Masterson has show horses and Mr. Masterson has race horses and horses that were past champions that he used just for breeding.
Their house was beautiful even though they would stand up there in those windows and look down upon everyone else. They were the snootiest people that El had ever met and she had thought Alex was different until the day he proved he wasn't.
El had always loved the lake. She guessed it was a little less than half a mile across to the trees on the Masterson's land, but the lake was she guessed at least two miles from the east bank to the west. She liked how the trees on Nana's property and the trees on the Masterson's property surrounded the lake. It made it a safe haven for her and all the kids who swam in it over the years.
El stood up and picked up a small stone from the edge of the pier and tossed it in the water. She watched the ripples as they spread out in small waves. El's heart was heavy as she thought about how many times she fished and swam off this pier with her Nana.
El turned around and started to walk back toward the dirt road, "Come on Rufus…we have a viewing to attend." She could hear her high heels clicking on the metal.
The limo was waiting in front of the house. Her father had rented it for the funeral and the funeral home had thrown it in for the viewing at no additional cost. El stood and looked at it and she decided that she couldn't bring herself to ride in it.
She walked in the house with Rufus at her heels and picked up her keys from the key ring holder in the kitchen. She looked in the dining room and the living room for her mother, but the downstairs was quiet. She walked upstairs and knocked on the bedroom door.
"Come in," she heard her mother say. El's heart went out to her mother because she was sitting in the window with a picture of Nana.
"Mom, are you alright?"
Her mother nodded that she was, but El knew better.
"I wanted to let you know that I won't be riding in the limo. Rufus and I are going to leave now and I'm going to drive the rental car to the funeral home."
"El…" Rosette wiped the tears from her cheek. "You don't have to drive yourself." Her mom looked so pretty in the dark green dress she had chosen to wear. And Rosette had her hair down. El noticed that her mother always wore it up, but not today.
"I really need to Mom."
Rosette stood up and gave her daughter a tight hug. El had to hold her breath because her mother was wearing way too much perfume. When Rosette let go of her El gave her a peck on the cheek and then left the room pulling the door closed behind her.
Rufus was waiting in the hallway. He was wagging his tail as though he knew he would be going for a ride. Or maybe it was because he was going to get to see Nana one last time. El's brother was supposed to be arriving from California late tonight. He promised that he would be there in time for the funeral tomorrow morning.
El opened the car door and Rufus jumped in and then moved over onto the passenger seat. "Oh so you don't want to drive?" she said to him.
She started the little red Toyota and backed out passed the limo. Her dad was standing on the front porch talking to the limo driver and he gave her a little smile as she left.
There were already a few cars in the parking lot of Jackson's Funeral Home even though it was only four forty-two. El knew that everyone loved Nana and that she was going to be missed. El parked next to a black F-150 pickup truck and she and Rufus got out.
El hoped to never see the inside of this funeral home again. It looked exactly the same as it had the last time she was here with the magenta carpets and the crown molding. All the walls were beige, but they had this wavy pattern of gold flakes running through them.
Gil Sheppard one of the owners was standing in front of room two and above his head was the small sign that read ELLANA MONTGOMERY CHANCE.
El's heart started to ache more and more as she walked toward Gil. Rufus was right next to her and it almost looked like he knew exactly where to go.
"Good to see you again Ellana. I'm so sorry that it's under these circumstances."
"Thank you Gil. My parents should be here in a few minutes."
He nodded and she could tell that he wanted to ask her why she hadn't ridden in the limo, but he didn't say anything.
El and Rufus walked into the room. El couldn't believe how many flowers were there. Everyone in town must have sent some. The scent was enticing and it made El smile because she knew how much Nana loved flowers.
She could see from her place just inside the door that Josh Picklin was kneeling next to the casket. He and Nana were about the same age and El remembered that she always thought that Josh had been sweet on Nana.
About a year after Pop-Pop passed away he had started to make up excuses to come to the house and see Nana. Josh ran his hand through his gray hair and then he placed a picture frame on top of the casket. He had to lean on the handle of the kneeling stool to get up because of the arthritis in his knees.
Rufus pushed against her leg almost as if he were telling her that she needed to go the rest of the way into the room now, but she couldn't. Not yet. She walked along the back of the room and sat in the farthest corner. Rufus sat at her feet and put his head in her lap.
From where El and Rufus were sitting they could see everyone coming into the room. Most people turned toward the coffin in the front and didn't even notice her sitting there. Her mother and father had just walked in and they made their way to the front of the room.
El rubbed Rufus' head as she thought about standing and joining her family when a face that she knew all too well came walking in the door looking exactly the way he had the last time she had laid eyes on him.
You have some nerve Alexander Masterson.
He was wearing a gray suit that fit his muscular frame perfectly. His black hair was combed away from his face and El tried not to think about how much sexier he was when his hair was loose around his face.
He didn't see her sitting in the corner. She watched him walk up and talk to her family. He hugged her mother and shook hands with her father. People were starting to funnel in now. It was five and everyone was flowing in to pay their respects for her Nana.
El wanted to leave. She wanted to take Rufus and runaway, but her legs failed her. Alex walked up and knelt down to pay his respects and El watched him from where she was sitting. His lips were moving and El wondered what on Earth he would have to say to Nana. But Alex and his family had been her neighbors forever so El figured he had the right to say goodbye. Of course the Masterson's felt they had a right to do whatever they wanted…and hurt whoever they wanted.
She watched him the entire time he knelt there with that black hair and muscular shoulders. El wanted to look away from him in his tailored suit and his perfect posture. El found herself holding onto Rufus when she saw him stand. As he turned around his eyes met hers…those deep brown and hypnotic eyes. They looked at each other for a few seconds and then El looked away.
"El."
El looked up to see her old friend Warren standing in front of her. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around him. She could see over her arm as she hugged Warren that Alex was still standing and watching her.
When she finally let go and stepped back Warren said, "El, I am so sorry about your loss."
"Thanks Warren."
"How long will you be in town?"
"I have no idea. My parents have some things that need to be seen to and I will be staying as long as they have to stay."
"I missed you El."
"I missed you too Warren." She could feel Alex's eyes on her. She wanted to go and slap him in his face for even showing up here, but she would never cause a scene here. Instead she said, "Warren would you mind walking me outside to get some air?"
Warren held his arm out to her and she wrapped her arm through his. Warren escorted her out of the room with Rufus right behind them. She didn't look in Alex's direction, but she knew he was watching them.
Warren held the door open for her and she walked outside. A few of her Nana's friends gave their condolences as they passed her. El walked outside with Warren and Rufus. It was humid and her dress instantly started to cling to her.
She kept walking until she reached the far side of the parking lot so she didn't have to keep putting that fake smile on her face. She ran her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath.
Warren took El by the hand and pulled her against him. He gave her a friendly hug and held her tight for a minute so that she could regroup.
"You should charge me for those therapy hugs," she said stepping back from him and leaning against the fence.
"I have a special discount for old friends."
"Where is Mary Ellen?"
"She's working at the hair salon until close tonight so that she can take off tomorrow for the funeral. Lots of women in town want to be presentable to say goodbye to your grandma."
"Thank her for me will ya?"
"Of course...El how are you? It has been a long time."
"It's only been six years Warren."
"Well it feels like a lifetime. This place has been different since you left. People come and go in your life, but you know when you have those special people that touch your life in some way…people who give your life meaning and that happiness they give you just being around them. You are one of those people El and Kirkland Falls was a lot less happy after you left."
"Did you see Nana a lot?"
"I sure did and she missed you something awful."
Tears started to well up in El's eyes.
Warren took her hand, "I didn't tell you that to upset you. I just wanted you to know that she loved you so much."
"I left her all alone when I went to live with my parents."
"El, you did what you needed to do and your grandma always did what she needed to do. She didn't blame you for leaving after what happened. None of us did."
"I acted like a spoiled child and I never should have left her."
Warren squeezed her hand, "Ellana, you know that isn't true. What Alex did was unforgivable and we all understood that and now that…"
"Excuse me."
Neither El nor Warren had seen Alex walk up to them until he spoke.
"Excuse me Warren," El said and then she and Rufus walked back toward the funeral home.
"Warren," Alex nodded.
"Alex," Warren responded as he looked over his shoulder to see El and Rufus running toward the funeral home.
"I need a favor."
"Stay away from her Alex."
"Warren I just need…"
"I know what you need. Look at her. She's beautiful and you stay away from her. She's going through enough right now and doesn't need your baggage weighing her down even more."
"I just wanted to ask you not to tell her about me and Rowena."
"Well, that I can do."
El walked back inside, her heart was racing. She took Rufus up to say goodbye and just as promised the drape she ordered was there and looked incredible.
El stood there with Rufus as he looked at the coffin and then he let out a little bark and stood and walked away. El figured that was about as much closure as a dog could get.
She spent the next two hours talking to old friends about her Nana and getting a lot of hugs. Warren stood next to her in case she needed any support. All of El's friends from high school came and talked to her and told her to call if she needed anything.
El noticed that her mom was standing alone over by the window so she walked over to her.
Rosette was patting her eyes. El hugged her mom and Rosette silently cried. El had been so wrapped up in her guilt and her grief that she hadn't spent enough time checking on her mom. It had broken Rosette's heart when El decided to remain in Kirkland Falls and not move to Chicago with them.
Gerald came over and took Rosette with him to get a drink.
El had been putting it off, but it was after seven and she knew it was time for her to say her goodbyes to Nana. She took a deep breath and walked down the center row of folding chairs toward the coffin.
As she reached the front of the room Alex stood up from his chair and they were face to face.
Their eyes met and he nodded, "El."
She didn't even attempt a smile as she nodded back, "Ass."
El walked passed him and knelt down next to the coffin. She ran her fingers along the cold skin of her grandmother's fingers. She was wearing the gold ring with the three small emeralds that El had sent her for her sixty-third birthday on her right hand. El touched it with her finger tips and she could feel the tears running down her cheeks.
"Hey, Nana I am so sorry that I went away. I should have stayed here with you, but I wasn't strong enough. I miss you and so does Rufus and no matter what I will take care of him. I love you so much Nana." She thought how peaceful Nana looked in her navy dress with the white flowers on it. Nana had put that dress aside years ago saying that she wanted to be buried in it. She never wore it for any other occasion because she said it would be a bad omen.
El could feel someone standing behind her. She patted her Nana's hand one last time and stood so the next person could pay their respects. When she turned Alex was standing there holding out a tissue to her. He had been watching her and listening to her talk to her Nana.
"I'm sorry for your loss El. She was one of the most incredible women that I have ever met." His eyes were genuine, but she didn't want his sympathy.
Quietly so she wouldn't cause a commotion she said, "Don't talk to me. Go have sympathy for your wife. She needs it more than I do." El walked passed him and took her mother's hand. She whispered that she was going back to the house to make sure everything was ready for anyone who wanted to come back with the family.
Rosette nodded and gave El a kiss on the cheek. El blew a kiss to her Nana and Warren walked El and Rufus to the car.
"I'll see you tomorrow at the funeral El, but if you need anything you call me and I will come a running."
"Thanks Warren."
Warren hugged El and put her safely in her car. He made small talk for another minute because he saw Alex get in his car on the other side of the parking lot and wanted him long gone before El pulled out.
Alex walked in the door and Maria, the Masterson's maid took his jacket from him as he walked through the foyer into the living room. His mother was sitting in her favorite armchair that she had purchased ten years ago. It was the only thing that wasn't thrown out last year when his mother had redone the living room and den.
Alex poured himself a drink in a tall glass.
"Was she there?" his mother asked not looking up from her book.
"Of course," Alex answered after taking a long drink of his bourbon.
"Did you talk to her?"
"What is this Mom twenty questions?" He topped off his glass again before he sat on the couch opposite from where his mother was sitting.
"Did you tell her that you were no longer married?"
"No."
"Your father and I will be attending the funeral tomorrow and I would like for you to drive us."
"What about Blain?"
"If I wanted the chauffeur to take me then he would, I have just asked you to drive me."
"I was thinking about not going."
"Alexander."
"Alright Mother I will drive you and Dad to the funeral." Alex finished his drink with a few big swallow and sat the glass on the bar as he walked outside onto the terrace.
He could see the lake from the terrace and the house where El was right this minute. He didn't know what to say to her. It was true that he chose his family over her and that he dumped her and married Rowena Prescott.
He never loved Rowena and their marriage only lasted a year. Alex wanted out of the marriage even before the honeymoon was over, but he knew that he would never get El back now that he had sent her away.
El was as headstrong as he was, but she looked damn good tonight tears and all. The last time he had seen El her brown hair was halfway down her back. Today it was just passed her shoulders and it was lighter as though she had been spending a lot of time in the sun. He couldn't remember ever seeing El wear a dress, but the one she had on at the funeral home fit her perfectly. Not that Alex knew women's dress sizes, but he would guess that El wore an eight and she was as stunning as ever...as stunning as the day before he broke her heart.
He had been in love with Ellana Cahill since he was old enough to know what love was. Alex knew that he had been Ellana's first everything. Her first kiss, her first sexual partner…and her first heart break.
She didn't deserve the pain that he had caused her. Ellana was always happy and full of life. She thrived in Kirkland Falls and always had a huge smile on her face.
As he stood there on the balcony Alex's mind was full of all the good times that he and Ellana had shared. All the wonderful memories that they had built together. All the plans that they had made for the future. Every inch of her perfect body.
Then he took a deep breath and thought about every miserable day that he has had without her. All the tears that he knew she had shed over him. Alex knew that he could never make it up to her. He knew that he had destroyed the most perfect thing in his life. He knew that Ellana Jane Cahill would have loved him forever and would have made him happy every day of his life. If only he hadn't been the stupidest fuck on the planet…if only he had fought harder to be with the woman that he still loved.
So many people came to sit and talk about Nana that night that El lost track. They all brought food and El knew they wouldn't be able to eat it all.
When the bulk of the people had left El had snuck in and made a sandwich and ate a piece of pie. Her head was throbbing and she didn't know what she was going to do about the land or the house.
El just wanted to go and hide and forget all the pain that was running through her.
CHAPTER THREE
El had been sitting on the porch when she heard shouting from the kitchen. She walked around the house to the back door and listened.
"This is total horse shit who the hell do those people think they are?" her father was saying loudly as he was holding a stack of papers in his hand. Rosette was sitting across from him at the kitchen table.
"Gerald, they have always wanted this land along with the lake. They just want to make sure they get it."
"I don't care Rosette she isn't even in the ground yet!" he screamed and shook the papers. Then he slammed them down on the table.
"Gerald it will be El's decision. Mother left the land to her."
On the wall was a cat clock and its eyes moved back and forth and it looked to El like it was bouncing back and forth as her parents talked. It was almost eleven and she was exhausted.
"Put those away until after the funeral tomorrow and then we will talk to El."
Rufus knew El was standing just outside the door so he went over and scratched at it. El quickly moved to the side of the house so her mother wouldn't see her when she got up and opened the door for the dog. Rufus walked right around the corner and licked El's hand.
She patted his head and then walked back to the front porch. The moon looked so large in the sky and El sat with Rufus by her side and watched it for the longest time.
El remembered sitting on the pier with her legs dangling in the water.
"El."
She turned around and Alex was standing there on the pier. She remembered that he looked tired as though he hadn't slept all night. She stood up and walked over to him. The pier burned her feet a little because she wasn't wearing her sandals.
"El, I have to talk to you."
Alex sat on the bench and pulled El down with him.
"Alex what is it?" She was worried because he looked so unhappy.
"El…I will always love you and I don't want you to ever forget that."
"Alex what are you talking about? You're frightening me."
He took a deep breath and let it out forcefully, "El, I had a long talk with my parents last night."
"And?"
"El they want what's best for me and the company…and…well..."
Alex took El's hands in his as he looked into her bright blue eyes with his dark brown ones.
"El my parents want me to marry Rowena Prescott."
"That bitchy girl with the horses who always looks down her nose at everyone?"
Alex nodded.
"You of course told them no and that you loved me. You told them that I was going to be your wife and that you wanted no other didn't you Alex?" El knew the answer before the words even came out of his mouth, but her brain wouldn't let her believe it.
Alex let go of her hands and said, "I'm sorry El."
"Alex no."
"I'm going to marry Rowena on June fourteenth. They said they would cut me off and take me out of the will if I didn't. They said I had family obligations and if I didn't know what family was then they would wipe their hands of me."
El couldn't breathe. There was no way he was really saying this. It had to be a bad dream. Alex had promised her forever for years. He had told her that he loved no one but her and that he couldn't see himself with anyone but her. He had been her first everything and she knew she would never love anyone but Alex.
El stood up and started walking toward the house leaving her sandals on the pier.
"I'm sorry El," he called after her.
She stopped and turned around, "Yes you are sorry Alexander Masterson and you will be even sorrier that you chose her over me." "You think that you are the only man on this Earth, well let me tell you something mister I sure can do better than a pansy ass momma's boy like you. And one other thing Mr. Masterson when you realize that you have totally fucked up your life and that you threw away the best thing that ever happened to you don't come crawling to me. I will have no more use for you and you can rot in hell with your misery!"
El walked away that day and never looked back. Two days later Nana put her on a plane to go and live with her parents and she hadn't been back until now. She hadn't thought of Alex in a really long time. She blocked out the life she had with him because it hurt too much to think about.
But now his eyes haunted her every thought no matter how hard she fought to think about something else. Those eyes that she had looked into so many times and had seen how much he loved her. Those arms that had held her and comforted her. Those lips that had put her body on fire…those lips that had betrayed her and ripped out her heart…
El was brought out of her memory when she saw headlights coming up the driveway. She knew it was after midnight and that it could only be one person. She stood up from the swing and walked out to the driveway and waited.
A rented two tone cavalier pulled up next to her parent's rental and turned off the engine and then the lights.
A tall brown haired man stepped out. He was five eleven and had a tan El would kill for. She ran to him and he swept her up in his arms and twirled her around.
"Oh Benny I thought you would never get here!"
Ben Cahill sat his sister down on her feet, "Hey little sis how you holding up?"
"Well let's see misery and misery and well…"
"More misery?"
"Exactly!"
"I got here as soon as I could."
"I know big brother. How's Tracie?"
"She's good. She got that job on the soap that she tried out for so she couldn't make it because they start shooting on Monday, but she sends you all her love."
Benjamin Cahill and Tracie Parker were a perfect match. They had graduated from high school together and had moved to California together to go to college. Ben was now working for MGM and Tracie had just got her big break. They had agreed to get married after they had both reached their professional goals.
El was happy for her big brother and she was happy that he had made it. When she had been talking to her old friend Nancy Slater on the phone, just after she had moved out of her parent's house and moved in with her roommate, Nancy had let it slip that soon after El had moved to Chicago Ben had returned to Kirkland Falls and had confronted Alex Masterson.
Nancy had told her that Ben had kicked Alex's ass, but that Alex hadn't put up much of a fight. Nancy told her that Ben had broken Alex's nose and that Alex's face was black and blue for almost two weeks. El asked Nancy not to tell anyone about their conversation and Nancy had promised. She didn't want Ben fighting her battles, but Ben was her over protective big brother and deep in her heart El was glad that Ben had defended her. She didn't want anyone beating anyone else up, but she was happy that Ben had her back.
The sun was coming up before El and Ben had realized they had talked through the night. They both figured there was no use in trying sleeping now.
Ben and El started breakfast and Rosette was ecstatic to see Ben when she came downstairs.
El and her father finished breakfast while Rosette and Ben sat outside on the porch and talked for a few minutes. Rosette explained to Ben about the fifty thousand dollars that Nana had left him and the trust that she had created for his first child.
After breakfast El went up and put on her dress. She saw Ben outside with Rufus through her bedroom window. He was tossing the ball and Rufus would chase it and bring it back. El thought that her brother looked incredibly handsome in his suit. She talked to Ben several times a week and they emailed, but she didn't realize how much she missed him until right now.
She was having feelings like she had lost everything that was important to her in her life and she leaned against the wall and tried to drive those thoughts from her head or she would never be able to make it through the funeral.
El still couldn't bring herself to ride in the limo so Ben drove her and Rufus in his rental car to the funeral home. There was a spot reserved for them behind the hearse and Ben pulled into it and turned off the engine.
El looked out the window and it looked like everyone in Kirkland Falls had come out for the funeral.
Ben took his sister's hand into his, "You ready?"
"Can I have another minute or two?" El asked trying not to break down.
Ben patted her hand, "Take all the time you need."
Ben got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk and talked to people he hadn't seen in years, but he kept a close eye on his sister as she sat in the car and stared straight ahead.
El sat in the car until the limo carrying her parents parked in front of Ben's rental. The procession would line up behind them at the end of the service.
When El got out of the car Rufus came out with her. It was then that she noticed that Warren and Mary Ellen were standing and talking to Ben.
Mary Ellen walked over and hugged El. El clung to her friend for a minute trying to calm down, but it wasn't working.
Mary Ellen looked into El's eyes, "Hey girl."
"Hey."
"You want to walk in with us?"
El nodded that she did. Mary Ellen had one side of El and Ben the other. Rufus walked behind them next to Warren. Mary Ellen and Ben could both feel El shaking and they shared a look at each other that stated they were both worried about her.
Warren and Mary Ellen sat in the row behind El and Ben sat next to her. His mother was on Ben's other side and Gerald was on the aisle.
Alex and his parents were sitting near the back. Alex had seen Ben and Mary Ellen bring El through the side door. She looked so pale and fragile. He wanted to go up to her and help, but he knew that he would just make things worse. He had tried to convince his parents not to go to the funeral home or the cemetery, but his mother went on a twenty-minute rant about duty to the town and their neighbor and Alex had just given up.
El sat next to Ben. He had his arm around her and she was just staring at Rufus sitting at her feet. El knew that people were standing up and saying nice things about Nana, but she couldn't tell you who they were. El's heart felt like it was being crushed by a ten ton brick. She was having trouble breathing as the tears were flowing freely down her cheeks.
She remembered that the pastor closed the service with a prayer and that people started to funnel out of the room to put their cars in the processional. El was still sitting and Mary Ellen had moved up to sit next to her.
Ben, Warren, Gerald and the sons of three of Nana's friends carried the casket to the hearse. Mary Ellen sat and watched them leave the room and watched the funeral employees begin to load the flowers onto a cart.
Mary Ellen didn't know if she should say anything to El or not. Mary Ellen just sat there and held El's hand until Ben came back into the room.
Ben smiled at Mary Ellen and she went to get in the car with Warren. Ben knelt down in front of El. Rufus was sitting and wagging his tail and waiting patiently for the two of them.
"El, we have to go," he said gently as he held her hand.
"I know," she said without looking up.
"You're gonna be alright."
"Ben…I…I shouldn't have left her."
Ben saw Alex walk in the back of the room. Their eyes met and Ben gave him a look that would have killed Alex if that were possible. Alex didn't walk any closer and didn't make his presence known to El, but he didn't retreat either.
"Sweetie we have to go," Ben said again as he offered El his other hand. She took it and he gently pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in his arms. He made sure to put himself between his baby sister and Alex Masterson so that she couldn't see him when Ben led her out the side door. Ben hoped that Alex would stay clear because this time Ben would do more than just break his face. He knew how fragile El was right now and that she was barely holding it together. Ben knew that she couldn't handle Alex right now. Ben also knew that he would do anything for his sister and that Alex better stay the hell away.
Gerald was standing in front of the limo and helped El into Ben's car. Rufus hopped in the back seat and Ben gave his dad a hug before he got in the car.
El didn't notice, but Gil gave the signal and the hearse started the trip to the cemetery followed by the limo carrying Gerald and Rosette and then Ben's car and then Warren's car. The rest of the mourners filled in from there. Alex waited until the end of the line and then he pulled his parent's car out and followed the line of cars.
When they reached the cemetery El sat in the car as Ben went to help with the casket. She sat and waited for him to come back and get her. Then she walked with him to the place where she would say goodbye to Nana. Four chairs had been set up and her parents were already seated when Ben sat El down and then took the seat next to her.
Ben took her hand and held it tight. He could feel that she was shaking.
El listened as Ben stood and talked about Nana and how incredible his childhood had been in Kirkland Falls. Then Rosette got up and said a few sentences about how much her mother would be missed.
Rufus looked at El and his eyes met hers and she knew that he was telling her to get up and say something about Nana because he couldn't.
Ben took El's hand again as she stood and looked at the guests who had joined them to say goodbye.
El took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "My Nana, Ellana Rosette Montgomery Chance was a remarkable woman who never met anyone that she didn't like. She was so full of life and I don't remember her ever taking any guff from anyone." El took a breath and wiped a tear from her cheek. "She always told me that not only did I get my beauty from her, but my brawn. She was so tough and I wish that I had been as tough as she gave me credit for."
Ben squeezed El's hand. El walked over to the casket and put her free hand on it as Ben stood next to her.
"Nana, I love you so much and I know you are in a better place and you are probably making Pop-Pop crazy already. I just want you to know that I will be alright and I will take care of Rufus." Ben kissed El on the side of her head for strength. "I want to thank all of you for coming here today. That line of cars and the large group that stands here in front of me I think is proof enough of what kind of woman Ellana Chance was. I am proud to be her granddaughter and I know that she was proud to call each and every one of you friend."
El smiled and nodded to the pastor as tears streamed down her face.
"Let us pray."
Warren came over and hugged El as Ben hugged his mother.
"You gonna be alright Cahill?"
"If not Warren I'll come and knock on your door."
"Bourbons on me. If you need anything El please call and Mary Ellen and I will drop everything and be there. You are important to us and we miss you so much. Please call us if you need to talk, or scream, or drink…or whatever you need Ellana."
"Thanks Warren."
Ben and Warren had gone out of their way to make sure El hadn't seen Alex or his parents. Now they were back in their car driving away and the men who were protecting El were glad the Mastersons were gone.
Rufus rode back to the house with El's parents.
Right before El got in Ben's car Mr. Jennings walked up to them.
"Mr. Jennings did you need me for something?"
"El, I just wanted you to stop by my office on Saturday if you can."
"Why?"
"There has been a third offer for the land and I wanted to discuss it with you."
"Are you going back to your office now Mr. Jennings?"
"Yes dear, but you need to…"
El turned to her brother, "Can you get a ride with Warren so I can use your car?"
"Are you sure sis?"
"Yes, I just need other things to concentrate on right now."
Ben handed her the keys and El told Mr. Jennings that she would meet him at his office.
Mr. Jennings showed El the paperwork and an investment company named I.L.E. had made an even more generous offer then the other two. They had offered three hundred thousand more than the other two.
After El left Mr. Jennings' office she stopped at the library to try and do some research on I.L.E. She couldn't find anything and that was mighty fishy to her.
She didn't want to go to the house, but she didn't really have much of a choice. She didn't know what to do about the land and she was wondering who this third person was that was interested in the land and why had they offered so much more than the other two.