Page 31 of Spilling the Tea

Chance held his brother’s gaze. “That’s you and Reese. Neither of you experienced heartbreak before falling in love. It’s something you wouldn’t risk happening again.” He then checked his watch. “It’s time for me to get on the road if I want to reach Teakwood Ridge before dark.”

***

“There you have it, Ms. Felicia Laverne. I remember nothing of that time. Not even the accident. I recall waking up in a hospital room in excruciating pain. Although several doctors have told me there’s a fifty percent chance I won’t ever remember that period of my life again, I want to believe that I will get my memory back.”

Felicia Laverne didn’t say anything. Hearing what this beautiful woman sitting beside her had gone through as a child nearly broke her heart. And then for her not to recall the years before that car accident that had taken away her parents? That was eight years wiped away from such a precious little mind.

While Zoey was talking, Felicia Laverne remained silent and focused. She had heard her pain and anguish. She couldn’t imagine what she’d gone through after waking up in a hospital in critical condition and without her parents. A part of her wished she would have done a better job of keeping up with Arabella’s child after Arabella died. When she’d talked to Michelle that day at her parents’ funeral, she had told her of her plans to keep the ranch. When she’d heard it had been sold, she assumed Michelle had changed her mind.

Felicia Laverne didn’t know it hadn’t been Michelle who’d sold the ranch but Zoey’s grandaunt. There was something about that entire situation that just didn’t sit right with her. Why wouldn’t the woman want Zoey to know about her maternal relatives? As far as Felicia Laverne was concerned, that was heartless, especially if confirming the ranch’s existence might have helped restore her memory.

Reaching out, she took Zoey’s hand in hers. For the second time that day, she felt good and honest vibes. She felt strength in the young woman, yet there was also a vulnerability that touched Felicia Laverne deeply. Zoey had suffered so much sadness and pain in her young life. She had gone through all her trials and tribulations without a family—she still didn’t have one.

Suddenly, she heard Milton say, “Take care of Waylon’s great-grandbaby, Fee. She’s suffered enough and needs you.”

Her beloved husband’s words removed her inhibitions, and although there were some things she could not share with the young woman, Felicia Laverne felt more at ease. “I will tell you everything you need to know, Zoey,” she spoke up to say. “However, I can’t do it all in one day. How long will you be in Houston?”

“For as long as I need to be here. I told you about how I got flashes of my memory just from standing in front of Chance’s barn. I believe it’s returning and will do so completely if I hang around here for a while.”

After a short silence, she added, “This might sound crazy, Ms. Felicia Laverne, but I feel there is a reason I started having those dreams about the ranch. I want to believe my parents are reaching out to me. They want me to know them and remember them. They want me to know just how much I was loved.”

Felicia Laverne felt Zoey’s hand tighten in hers and could see tears misting her eyes. A lump formed again deep in Felicia Laverne’s throat. Her heart went out to the child who never got the chance to grieve her parents because she didn’t rememberthem. She knew then she would do all she could to help Zoey regain her memory. Instead of only telling Zoey about the Martins, as she’d first intended to do, she would start where it should be. With the Satterfields.

“Your grandmother was born Arabella Satterfield. Her parents were Waylon and Deedra Satterfield. Deedra died when Arabella was twelve. When Arabella turned fifteen, Waylon sent her to an all-girls finishing school in Alexandria, Virginia.”

Zoey nodded. “What did my great-grandmother Deedra die of?”

“Pneumonia. I understand Waylon did not want to send Arabella away to school, but Waylon’s mother, Penny, felt a ranch wasn’t a place for a young girl growing into womanhood. I heard she could ride, shoot, and hunt just as well as any boy her age. She and her father, Waylon, were extremely close.”

Felicia Laverne released Zoey’s hand to sip her tea and continued, “Arabella would come home for the holidays and the summers when school was out. Whenever I saw her, I thought she was blossoming into a lovely young lady with a heart like her mother. Deedra was a good and godly woman.

“Waylon always anticipated the days Arabella would come back home. Waylon’s father, Kurt, died years before Waylon’s wife, Deedra, and Ms. Penny died some years later. Waylon lived on the ranch alone after his mother’s death, and then he died. It was right after Arabella finished high school at eighteen.”

“What happened to my great-grandfather Waylon?”

A knot formed in Felicia Laverne’s throat. “One stormy night on his way home from town, he lost control of his truck. It went into a ravine, and he was killed instantly.”

“Oh, how sad.”

“Yes, it was a sad time. Arabella took her father’s death hard. She decided to remain in Virginia to attend college. I understandshe met a guy there, and after college, they got married and made their home in Virginia.”

“Why didn’t she sell the ranch?”

“She couldn’t. Waylon’s father, Kurt, decreed in his will that the Satterfield ranch, and all the land it sat on, could not be sold for three generations after his death,” Felicia Laverne explained.

“That meant the ranch could not be sold until my generation,” Zoey said softly. “Since I inherited the ranch from my mother, as my legal guardian, my aunt was able to sell it on my behalf.”

It was presented as a statement, and Felicia Laverne took it that way. “Yes. Since Arabella could not sell the ranch, she hired workers to look after it. I doubted Arabella would have ever sold the ranch anyway. She loved it there and said it would always be her happy place. I recall how she would return during the holidays to check on things. During the summer months, she stayed the entire time. After she married, her husband, Joshua, would come with her.”

Felicia Laverne had carefully worded everything she’d said, purposely leaving some things out. Like the other stipulation Kurt Satterfield had placed in his will. Zoey didn’t need to know about that.

“Was my great-grandfather Waylon an only child?”

Felicia Laverne’s hand trembled slightly as she lifted her cup to take another sip of her tea. A part of her wished Zoey hadn’t asked that. She didn’t want to say the woman’s name from her lips, but she had no choice. “No. Waylon had a sister named Charlotte.”

“What happened to her?”

Felicia Laverne worded her response carefully again. “She died less than a year before her mother, Ms. Penny.” Placing her teacup down, she quickly said, “I’ve told you all I can for today. It’s nap time for me. I would love to visit with you again and tell you more the next time. Will you be available after today?”

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