The Carnelian Legacy
Read The Carnelian Legacy Online
Authors: Cheryl Koevoet
THE
CARNELIAN
LEGACY
CHERYL KOEVOET
Copyright © 2013 Cheryl L. Koevoet
Author Photo: K. Evenhouse
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ISBN: 978-1-4497-8089-0 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-8090-6 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-8088-3 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012924219
WestBow Press rev. date: 03/19/2013
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Jacksonville
Chapter 2
Carnelia
Chapter 3
Andresis
Chapter 4
Arrie
Chapter 5
Darian
Chapter 6
Monsters
Chapter 7
Truce
Chapter 8
Abbadon
Chapter 9
Savino
Chapter 10
Confessions
Chapter 11
Proposals
Chapter 12
Departure
Chapter 13
Ripples
Chapter 14
Frozen
Chapter 15
Conversations
Chapter 16
Apprehensions
Chapter 17
Crocetta
Chapter 18
Encounters
Chapter 19
Beauriél
Chapter 20
Dowry
Chapter 21
Intrigues
Chapter 22
Celino
Chapter 23
Resignation
Chapter 24
Glimpses
Chapter 25
Burials
Chapter 26
Surrogates
Chapter 27
Excursion
Chapter 28
Masquerade
Chapter 29
Disclosure
Chapter 30
Maraya
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
THE
CARNELIAN
LEGACY
In loving memory of my father,
Frank Hettick Jr., who always taught me
that one person can make a difference.
And for my mother, Shirley,
who continues to demonstrate daily
what it means to love unconditionally.
Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous will your future be.
—Job 8:7
(New International Version)
IT
WAS
THE
LAST
place in the world she wanted to be.
Marisa MacCallum wiped away the tears that blurred her vision and stared at the mahogany casket. Maybe he was waiting for them at home. Maybe tomorrow she would wake up to find it had all been a dream. But it wasn’t a dream.
It was a horrible nightmare.
Already a week had passed, and still she couldn’t believe he was gone. Her dad’s bright blue eyes and infectious grin were still fresh in her mind. Sure, the doctors had been surprised by how fast the cancer had spread, but they couldn’t have predicted he wouldn’t last another six weeks. His death had taken everyone by surprise and she secretly wondered if he’d just given up in the end.
Somehow, someway, Marisa had to move on. The tall, slender high school graduate had been accepted to the pre-med program at UC Irvine the year before, but when her father’s cancer had appeared, her dreams of becoming a doctor shattered in an instant. She made countless trips to the hospital and tried to keep their home functioning as normally as possible. She’d been so busy managing their household that senior year at South Medford High now seemed like just a blip on the radar.
And she had no clue where her life was headed.
As the bagpiper’s final stanza of “Amazing Grace” melted away into peaceful silence, she dotted her cheeks with a crumpled tissue. It had been his favorite hymn. She leaned back to check on her brother Mark. But his puffy eyes and quivering lip made her feel even worse. Still, no one was going to see her cry.
She heard Uncle Al sniffling next to her. It couldn’t be easy losing a twin, she thought. Now that her dad was gone, she and her brother Mark were the only family the forty-eight-year-old real estate agent still had left. She took her uncle’s hand in hers and gave it a loving squeeze.
Alistair MacCallum glanced down at his niece. She was so much like the sister-in-law he’d lost years ago in a car accident. Before his brother Alan had discovered he had cancer, she’d been a beautiful, bouncy teenager with freckles, long chestnut hair, and hazel eyes that sparkled whenever she dropped the punch line of her latest joke. But almost overnight, Marisa had been thrown into the adult world of hospice care, cooking, cleaning, changing light bulbs and balancing checkbooks. The twinkle had all but disappeared from her eyes and instead they reflected a wisdom that stretched far beyond her years.
Alistair had grown accustomed to losing loved ones in his life, but saying goodbye to his only brother at this stage in his life was unbearable. He had always been highly protective of his brother’s kids, but now that both parents were gone, Alistair was determined to be there for them. He wanted to make sure they still reached for every opportunity that life had to offer them.
“Amen,” said Pastor Holman.
Marisa buttoned her dark wool coat and hurried down the hill toward the parking lot, anxious to avoid her father’s co-workers. Although the staff of Rogue Valley Realty meant well, she just couldn’t stand to hear over and over again what a terrific guy her dad had been.
For the past decade or so, the real estate duo of Alan and Alistair MacCallum had helped several families purchase homes in their sleepy southern Oregon town of Jacksonville. Most of the people in the area even knew the brothers by name. Both of them, but especially Alan MacCallum, were known around town as honest men of integrity and all-around nice guys.