I explained it to him, sharing everything that Angelique said.
“And you haven’t missed any calls or texts?”
“Nope.”
“Do you need to go? We can go if you need to, baby.”
“I’m grateful for your show of support, but it’s important to me that you and I continue this vacation together. It was much-needed time away. If I lose you, then what the hell good is my career anymore, right?”
“You’re right, but are you good?”
“I’m disappointed, honestly. It hurts that I might lose this opportunity just because I’m not there.”
“We can go, baby. Your disappointment is valid, as are your feelings to want to be there. I’m here for whatever you need me to do.”
“I need you to take me to this hayride so that we can learn the history of this place.”
He bent down and kissed me. Taking my hand, he replied, “Let’s go.”
“. . . returned to the plantation and purchased the land from the original owners, who had initially been their slave owners. They turned it into an arable farm. Although it was very humbling for the Bunch family, there was nothing they could do because they were losing everything and could no longer feed their own family. They had sold off everything that they had, and selling the property to their former slaves was their last chance for survival.”
We were riding past the B&B, which had been the Big House during the time the Grace family bought the property. I was seated on Bryson’s lap, and I rested my head on his shoulder as we continued riding on the property. There were several couples out tonight, including L.A. and Kerris, among many others we had met. It was nice, riding in the back of the wagon on bales of hay while the cool breeze drifted through the autumn trees. Thetemperatures had dropped greatly, which was why everyone had blankets covering them. I was wrapped very tightly in mine like a swaddled baby, and Bryson hugging me to him only made me feel that much more comfortable.
After a while, we made our way down to the lake, and that same serenity washed over me.
“It is said that Marion Grace often came down here to find rest from her stressful days of working the farm. Even in later years, when they turned the farm into a home for weary travelers and kept the farm going, she would find solace alone at the lake. Sometimes, she sat and read; others, she might be found knitting or fishing, but mostly she liked to go for late-night swims.
“One evening, in the middle of the fall, she came down here looking for that same peace as always. They had more travelers at the big house than usual, and she had been up working since five that morning. Her daughter, Hope, had come down to the lake looking for her mother because they had another unexpected guest.
“They had only recently had all the cabins built, and one of the cabins was still free. Hope needed her mother’s help getting the cabin ready for the guest. But when she arrived, she found her mother in the lake in distress. She jumped into the lake to try to save her mother but struggled to do so. She tried freeing her mother from a snake that had gotten hold of her, but her mother suffered a heart attack before she could.
“The snake released her mother and turned its assault on her, sinking its venomous fangs into her arm. By the time anyone found the two, it was too late. James Grace, Marion’s husband, was devastated at the loss of his wife and only child. They say he went deep into mourning, took his granddaughter, and left the property. He raised her alone, and she eventuallyreturned to the property many years later to reclaim it after she was married.”
“Who ran the house in their absence?” Kerris asked.
“One of the farmhands who worked here. He treated this place like his own. He loved Hope, although he wasn’t the father of the child. He mourned her loss as well.”
“What happened to the baby’s father?” I asked.
“Faith’s father was a married man who had returned to his wife. He was only a traveler passing through here for the summer. Poor James never knew the man seduced and took advantage of his only child until long after the man had left.”
My heart broke over the story of the property owners. Their story was such a sad one. We continued the ride all over the property. The driver dropped all the residents of the cabins off at our cabins before they returned up the hill to the B&B.
Chapter 19
Bryson
MONDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 13TH
“What are you doing, beautiful?”
“Making love one last time here in this cabin.”
“You’re horny as hell, you know that? I swear I can’t keep ya ass off this dick. Every time I turn around, you got me running up in ya li’l hot ass.”
Giggling, she hit me in the chest with her shirt. “You love me like this.”
“Damn right, I do,” I replied, getting off the bed.
