Page 1 of Tank

Prologue

She remembered him telling her stories at bedtime when she was little. His German roots had gone deep even though he’d been born here. Grandpa spoke often about his Opa, a German version of grandpa, who had come from near the Black Forest. The area had been ripe with tales of elves, dwarves, and witches. Magic had abounded and his stories were full of it.

Today, in the cold and rain, she laid him to rest. She tossed a red rose on his coffin as she prayed, he would move on. This world had never been good enough for him. Her Grandpa had deserved so much more than it had ever given him. Especially at the end.

Breast cancer, a woman’s disease, had taken his strength and his dignity. She’d taken care of him, but he’d been embarrassed by the loss of control he’d had over his body and all the care he’d needed until he got so bad that he just didn’t care anymore, and he wanted to move on. Had he lingered for her? Yes, she’d wanted him to stay with her until she saw how terrible the pain had gotten. No one should have to deal with that level of pain.

Finally, she’d had to tell him that she understood. It was amazing how all he’d done was tell her he loved her, and he was gone. She’d not expected it to be so fast. When she’d called to report his death, the ambulance and a sheriff’s deputy had shown up in about half an hour. The deputy was to ensure there had been no foul play and the ambulance, that was just in case she was wrong. Neither had been the case and she was left to arrange his funeral and see to his estate.

He’d been a careful man, and everything had been arranged. There was a trust and he’d left everything to her. His other grandkids hadn’t bothered to come around, but now they were unhappy he’d not left anything to them. She’d had no siblings, these were her cousins and she just didn’t care what they thought. None of them had even bothered to come to the funeral.

It was time to pull her life together since she’d dropped everything to come home. The family farm was now hers as well as a small account to help her get by for now. Her grandpa had urged her to take this time to write a book. This might be her only chance to attempt to be an author. Her father had relatives that had pursued such careers. She would live on the farm and not be far from one of them. Her cuz Ariel had encouraged her too and she would give it a shot now.

This had been her mother’s father. Her dad’s relatives were so much nicer than those on her mother’s side. She’d tried to like them, but grandpa had said don’t bother. They are selfish and greedy, and he’d been right.

---