Tracie Peterson - To Have and To Hold

To Have and To Hold

2011 by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

Cover design and photography by John Hamilton

Cover background image Getty Images/Bertrand Demee

Published by Bethany House Publishers

11400 Hampshire Avenue South

Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-3378-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

To Lorna Seilstad

For your prayers, encouragement, and steadfast friendship during this difficult time. You have blessed my life.

With a grateful heart,

~Judy

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

Bridal Veil Island, Georgia
Late August 1886

Audrey Cunningham knew that look. The wrinkled brow, the furrowed crevices around the lips, the eyebrows dropped low above gunmetal gray eyesthe look her father displayed when trouble loomed in their future.

Shed observed far too many of those worried expressions over the past months. And though shed questioned her father on more than one occasion, he continually denied that anything was amiss. But not this morning. This morning, he motioned her toward the breakfast table and pointed to one of the spindle-back chairs. She settled on the cane seat and braced herself for the bad news that was sure to follow.

Weve got troubles. His shoulders hunched forward, and a thatch of dark hair that age and worry had peppered with strands of gray fell across his forehead. Even at fifty, his hair remained thick and unmanageable, much like Audreys unruly coffee brown curls.

She pressed her spine against the hard wood of the hand-turned spindles, folded her hands into a tight knot, and waited.

Her father raked his fingers across his forehead and pushed the errant hair into place. Ive been keeping this from you for a while now. I thought Id find a solution, but I guess the time has come that Ive got to tell you.

When her father hesitated, Audrey leaned forward and reached for his hand. What is it, Daddy? Fear caused her to resort to the familiar moniker shed used during her childhood.

Her father smiled and squeezed her hand. Sounds strange to hear you call me Daddy. How long has it been since Ive heard that word? Ten years?

Audreys thick curls bobbed against her pale cheeks. Ten and a half. The day Audrey turned eighteen, she had declared the term far too childish. From that time forward, shed addressed her father only as Father or Dad .

He stared at their entwined hands, and she feared hed lost the courage to continue. Please, tell me whats happened. Together we can overcome any problem, cant we? She forced a smile and hoped he wouldnt sense her fear. We always have before.

After releasing her hand, he leaned back in the chair, his eyes clouded with defeat. Not this time, Audrey. Even joining forces, we cant overcome this problem. He reached into the pocket of his blue chambray shirt and removed a folded envelope. After placing it on the table, he pressed the creases with his palm. This is the delinquent tax statement on Bridal Fair and our remaining acreage. With a fleeting look of desperation, he pushed the envelope across the table and lifted his hand. We dont have money enough to pay.

Audrey slipped her fingers inside the envelope and withdrew the contents. She rippled through the pieces of paper, carefully noting the amounts and dates on each of the pages. Her stomach tightened into a knot the size of a summer melon as she slowly grasped the truth. Theyd been living there for only two years. These tax statements dated back to 1880. Grandmother hadnt been paying the taxes? Did you know this before we left Pennsylvania?

Moving to Bridal Veil Island hadnt been Audreys idea. Shed been opposed to the return to Bridal Fair, the home her ancestors had constructed many years ago. Shed argued against the plan with great vigor. Remaining in Pittsburgh, where she could continue her work as a housekeepers assistant and enjoy the company of her friends, had been her stated preference. Although her father hadnt articulated a plausible explanation for the move to the aging island home off the coast of Georgia, there had been no doubt he would not rest until Audrey agreed to his request. In the end, shed been unable to deny his appeal. Now, faced with these tax statements, she silently wished she hadnt given in to his pleas.

I wont lie to you, Audrey. I knew some money was owed. I just didnt know how muchnot until after wed already been here several months. I thought maybe wed be able to

Able to what ? All effort to remain calm vanished. Youve known for all this time, yet never said a word? How could you, Father?

He bowed his head and cupped his face between his palms. I thought it would all work out. Your grandmother was a close friend of the tax collectors wife. You know how things are in the South. Folks want to lend a helping hand.

Audrey shook her head. How did he expect her to know how things worked in Georgia? Theyd left Bridal Veil Island when she was seven years old. She had a far better idea of how things worked in the North than in the South, but she doubted theyd be granted leniency on their taxes in either place.

If so many folks want to lend a helping hand, why are you worried? Though she didnt want to be unkind or disrespectful, Audreys attempt to keep a civil tongue fell short. But her fathers answer wasnt helpful in the least.

Lifting his head from between curved hands, her father met her eyes. Not everyone is accommodating. Your grandmothers connection to the tax collectors wife helped keep a tax sale at bayfor her and for us. But the tax collector died a month ago, and a new fellow has taken over.

And this new collector doesnt have any reason to be nice to us. Is that right? Now she understood. Just like in Pittsburgh, it was whom one knew rather than what one knew. And whom one knew could maybe save one from having a tax-sale notice posted on the front door.

Thats pretty much the sum of it. I dont even know a distant relative of the new fellow. Weve been gone far too long to keep up with the necessary socializing. Were going to have to get to know folks over in Biscayne. Then maybe we can get this thing taken care of.

Rather than socializing, maybe we need to figure out how we can pay the taxes. How long do we have? Audreys mind raced as she considered their options. Perhaps she could get a job in Biscayne. Leaving her father and Aunt Thora alone every day wouldnt be good, but right now there seemed to be no other choice. Given her fathers physical condition, he couldnt take on construction work in Biscayne. It had been several months since hed been able to work more than a day or two without having to recuperate for several days. Now the doctor said he shouldnt commit to any workmuch less strenuous work. There werent many options available. And over the past two years theyd depleted most of the funds from the sale of their home in Pittsburgh. This tax burden would be more than they could financially manage.