November 2004 Archives
November 29, 2004
Chapter 13 ... in progress
*this chapter is about Katelyn going back to her apartment ... she finds
Michael has taken off with most everything that was of value. While at
the apartment, she had a dream that really freaks her out. She will pack
up what she has left and move back to the cabin. If you would like to
read the freaky dream, click below.*
Continue reading Chapter 13 ... in progress.
Chapter 12 ... in progress
Katelyn downshifted, felt the engine slow, the tires crunching over the
icy roads, and tried to make her heart match it. As soon as she had seen
the sign at the crossroads and turned down this road, it had gripped
her, the panic, and she had to fight to move her hand to the stick
shift. She kept it there, holding onto the knob, feeling it vibrate,
secure in the knowledge that she could still manipulate it, slow down
more, even stop if she had to. She felt the tired loose their grip on
the road again and tensed up, easing off the gas. Why can't they just
sand this road?? Paving it had been an improvement in the old, rutted
dirt road but, now that it was paved, no one came to maintain it in the
case of severe weather. How the state could build a road and then not
maintain is was ridiculous to her. Then again, in this area, usually ice
and snow melted almost as soon as they hit the ground so there wasn't a
need to do anything but wait for the sun to come out. It had been
unusually cold lately, though, and, with the sun blanketed by the thick
cloud cover, it looked like the ice would be here for a while. Just my
luck. I'm stuck in this God forsaken place and there is no escape.
Continue reading Chapter 12 ... in progress.
November 21, 2004
Chapter 11 ... in progress
Katelyn pulled into downtown Enfield and found the lawyer's office with
half an hour to spare. She had no desire to go in and wait for her
appointment so she parked a few blocks from the office and slowly walked
past the storefronts along Main Street. She still had a slightly fuzzy
head, though the drive had helped clear it a bit, her edges were still
slightly unfocused. She wandered into the coffee shop, thinking that an
espresso was just what she needed to clear her head.
Continue reading Chapter 11 ... in progress.
Chapter 10 ... in progress
The call had come just as Katelyn was sitting down to dinner. She knew the lawyers would be calling her, she just didn't know how long after the body was in the ground that the vultures would be swooping in. This particular vulture identified himself as William Davis of the Davis, Davis and Clayton legal firm. Katelyn recognized his name as one of the jocks from her graduating class, remembering that his father had been a lawyer. Like father like son, she thought wryly, but she really wasn't in the mood to spend any time on familiarities. It was apparent this was a business call.
"I have your father's will here ready to read, Miss McKenna, along with some other paperwork that we need to discuss. Could you come down to my office tomorrow?"
Continue reading Chapter 10 ... in progress.
Chapter 9 ... in progress
Barbara put the last bag in the trunk and shut it firmly. She turned to look at the farmhouse. She still didn't feel as though her work here was done but she really had no choice. Her extra time was up and she had no more days off to give Katelyn. Besides, her supervisor needed her in Norfolk. There was a Gulf War veteran there that had been on the waiting list and that was her district.
Barbara walked around the car, hoping Katelyn would come out to say goodbye. They had unfinished business but Barbara didn't want to preach. Almost as if she had read her mind, Katelyn stepped out the front door. Barbara walked back, sitting on the front steps, and Katelyn joined her.
Continue reading Chapter 9 ... in progress.
November 18, 2004
Waylaid ...
Just when I was going as such a good clip, I hit a major snag. You may
notice some shuffling of chapters here as 6 is really 7 and 7 is really 8
and the real 6, well, it has yet to be written ... because I'm a dork! I
got into a groove and left out a WHOLE BUTTLOAD of information ... and
now I have to shuffle and backwrite. CRAP!!!
Continue reading Waylaid ....
Chapter 8 ... in progress
Katelyn heard voices downstairs at the edge of consciousness and tried
listening to their conversation. She didn't know how long she had been
asleep but didn't think it had been very long, judging by the angle of
light coming in the window. Her head didn't hurt as much as before so
she tried to sit up slowly, trying to keep her head still, and was
surprised and relieved when she could sit up and not feel too dizzy. She
slowly moved to the end of the bed to look out the window and saw a
long black wagon out front. She had hoped that his body would be gone by
now.
Continue reading Chapter 8 ... in progress.
November 14, 2004
Chapter 7 ... in progress
Katelyn didn't know how much time had passed but suddenly she found
Barbara, taking her hand out of her fathers and patting her arm gently'
Katelyn looked up, bleary eyes, and noticed immediately the absence of
sound. She sighed loudly, to make sure her hearing hadn't gone and heard
herself so she knew that there was something else missing. She started
when she realized that the machines were off. After living with the
steady whoosh of the oxygen and the slow beep of the heart monitor as
constant background noise, she had gotten used to their mechanical
beating. Startled, she looked over toward her father, thinking the
electricity must have gone out but she could see him in the dim light
from across the room. No the electricity wasn't gone. Her father was.
She looked back at Barbara, who said quietly, "I'm sorry." And all at
once, like stepping under a waterfall, it washed over her, the reality
of it.
Continue reading Chapter 7 ... in progress.
November 13, 2004
Chapter 6 ... in progress
Growing up on McKenna Farm in Enfield, NC had its advantages. Crime was
non-existent. Then again, when you own 140 acres, are one of the most
respected farmers in the community and have a shotgun and a temper, most
people steer clear of you out of respect. Big Jack had earned it,
though, raising his daughter on his own and running the most profitable
cotton farm in the county, if not the whole of Eastern North Carolina.
Continue reading Chapter 6 ... in progress.
November 9, 2004
Chapter 5 ... in progress
Katelyn crushed her cigarette into the sandy soil at the edge of the
field. After several days of rainy November weather and another
completely overcast week, the cotton was ruined. Any fibers left in the
bolls were drooping and dirty and all of it had begun to blacken and
mildew. The stems of the plants were rotting from the inside out. Just like Dad, thought Katelyn.
Continue reading Chapter 5 ... in progress.
Chapter 4 ... in progress
Katelyn McKenna's birth had been the biggest thing to happen in the
McKenna family for a long time. As the only surviving McKenna, Big Jack
knew that it was up to him to have children, specifically boys, and
Maeve had certainly been game to try. By the time this pregnancy had
held, though, Maeve had become paranoid and skittish, considering it her
own personal failure that she couldn't carry a baby to term, couldn't
be the woman she thought Big Jack had fallen in love with. Since Maeve
had taken to bed, Maureen had taken over the household. While this could
have caused even more turmoil for Maeve, she found Maureen to be such a
kind soul, so understanding and accepting of her flaws, that the two
women had formed a deep bond through the winter. As Maeve watched the
winter slowly turn to spring and her due date come closer, her mood had
begun to come out of dormancy, to warm and unfurl itself, to relax into
the infectious promise of the spring. Big Jake could once again make her
laugh like he used to, delighting in the crinkling of her nose when she
smiled, reveling in the light that was once again burning in her
mercurial eyes.
Continue reading Chapter 4 ... in progress.
November 6, 2004
Chapter 3 ... in progress
The drive had been a good idea; it was just what Katelyn needed after a
particularly stressful morning. Talking to her editor had not gone well
and, as soon as the hospice nurse arrived, she jumped at the chance to
go out for a drive. Using the excuse that she had run out of cigarettes,
she pulled out of the driveway and began driving, determined to just
keep going until she either got lost or ran out of gas.
Continue reading Chapter 3 ... in progress.
November 4, 2004
Chapter 2 ... in progress
After running McKenna Farm for 37 years, Patrick, the elder McKenna and a
first generation immigrant landowner, had succumbed to a brief but
deadly bout with cancer. On a dreary day in November 1947, his wife
Maureen became the owner of over 140 acres of land and everything on it.
Unfortunately, there were no other assets to speak of. Suddenly,
Maureen, having left all of the day to day operations to her husband and
her son, John, suddenly found herself alone with a huge enterprise to
run and no knowledge of how to do it. She had all this land and
equipment but no idea how to put food on the table.
Continue reading Chapter 2 ... in progress.
November 2, 2004
Chapter 1 ... revised
Katelyn had chosen the perfect place to hide. Just a moment ago, she had
stepped out onto the back steps, momentarily blinded by the brightness,
the warmth, having almost forgotten that there was a world outside that
didn't include bandages and the sickeningly sweet smell of pus and
bleach. It was a typical Indian summer day; a bright blue sky with just a
wisp of clouds off to the east, the sun beating on the south side of
the house where the wind couldn't steal the warmth, and none of the
pea-soup mugginess that coastal North Carolina was famous for. After the
stale, musty darkness of the house, this was a refreshing slap in the
face.
Continue reading Chapter 1 ... revised.
November 1, 2004
Before I even get a chance to get going here...
Can I just say one thing?
"AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Whew ... I feel better. Not for nothing, but I do have my groundwork
laid out for writing ... I just haven't put down any words in any order
yet. I figured I would have time today, on my lunch break perhaps, to at
least get my first few lines down and then, tonight, I'll be able to
knock out a good chunk.
Unfortunately, when I came into work this morning, I was greeted by "Just the person we wanted to see!" and "Oh, have we got a problem for you!"
Continue reading Before I even get a chance to get going here....
