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    Love Is Strong: The Helena's Grove Series, #4
    Love Is Strong: The Helena's Grove Series, #4
    Love Is Strong: The Helena's Grove Series, #4
    Ebook123 pages2 hours

    Love Is Strong: The Helena's Grove Series, #4

    By Ivy Alexander

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    About this ebook

    Aunt Gabby is a strong, purposeful lady whom everyone loves dearly. When a surprise visitor makes an unannounced visit that no one sees coming, it puts her, and everyone around her, in a tailspin.

     

    Now Aunt Gabby must relive events from her past she thought were gone and buried, which brings many truths to light her family never knew. Confronting these past events leaves Aunt Gabby questioning the choices she once made and wondering if she can both forgive and be forgiven. She knows she must finally accept the story that brought them all together, but how? Supported by the people who love her, Aunt Gabby agrees to take a monumental step forward…

     

    Will the secrets of her past bring them closer together, or pull them apart?

     

    Love is Strong is filled with drama, love, laughs and the power of the human spirit. This story will convince you that love is strong, through anything!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIvy Alexander
    Release dateSep 13, 2014
    ISBN9781502216168
    Love Is Strong: The Helena's Grove Series, #4

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      Book preview

      Love Is Strong - Ivy Alexander

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      About the Author

      Chapter 1

      There was silence in the room. Not the serene kind that comes from a beautiful morning or after a nice song; this was uncomfortable, thick, heavy silence that hung in the air like a blanket. Zack, Jen, Annie and Roger sat in Aunt Gabby’s living room, each watching the old woman who stood staring out the front window. Jen kept glancing at the others, hoping they’d know how to start, what to say. What could they say? They’d all been stunned when a young Dylan Drake had shown up at Jen and Zack’s wedding reception claiming to be Aunt Gabby’s grandson. How could she have a grandson when she hadn’t had any children? They had been shocked, but Aunt Gabby looked totally and completely floored. That was a week ago. After Dylan left, they’d all agreed to come back to Ohio the following weekend to talk about things. However, that was proving to be an arduous task since none of them knew what to say nor wanted to push Aunt Gabby into talking about things she wasn’t comfortable with. Zack and Jen had spent their honeymoon in the realization that neither of them knew Aunt Gabby nearly as well as they thought. She would be seventy-seven in November. Jen had only known her personally for a little over a year. Zack and Annie had known her since they were children but she was in her fifties at that time. Roger, being her youngest brother had of course known her the longest but even he had no idea she had a child. She’d kept her life under wraps, keeping those things close to her heart. Jen thought briefly how hard it must have been for her, living all these years without having anyone to talk to about the things of her past.

      Aunt Gabby moved and everyone tensed, waiting for her to speak. But she only rubbed her eyes and went back to staring into the front yard. She was clearly reliving some of the things that had happened in her early life, a life so foreign to those around her. Each person there wanted to know her story; they wanted to know what had happened, what her life had been before they were a part of it. But Aunt Gabby remained silent. Jen glanced at the clock on the wall, its incessant ticking made the time crawl by. It had only been twenty minutes but it seemed like hours. Jen glanced again at Zack, his thumb and forefinger gingerly rubbed his chin and the newly grown goatee that covered it. He was obviously in deep thought and Jen decided not to disturb him. Roger was on his phone, no doubt trying to find a way to announce he must be leaving soon. For a lawyer, it surprised Jen how uncomfortable her father was with silence. Then again, maybe it was the issues of the past that he was uncomfortable with. Annie was chewing her nails softly, seeming more nervous than Aunt Gabby. Jen didn’t make eye contact with anyone, knowing they were all absorbed in their own thoughts. And so, they waited.

      The Saturday morning ticked away and it was just over an hour before Aunt Gabby finally spoke with a slow, tired voice. I know you’re all here to get some sort of explanation of the young man, Dylan, that you met last week. And I’ve spent the last week going over in my head how to tell you; where to even start...

      You don’t have to tell us anything you’re not comfortable with, Annie said comfortingly. We just want to know if you’re okay.

      I don’t mean to sound disrespectful of your life Gab, but I would have to disagree with Miss LaFaye, Roger spoke up in his usual gruff tone. I would most definitely like an explanation. I’d like to know how I grew up not knowing you had a child.

      I’m with Roger on this one, Zack agreed. I’ve known you almost my entire life. And now I feel like I hardly know you at all.

      Zack! Annie hissed. Be respectful.

      I’m not trying to pry, Zack replied and then turned to Aunt Gabby. I’m just flabbergasted that no one here knew you had a child. You always said we were your children.

      You’re right Zack, Aunt Gabby said softly. You are right. And you have every right to be a little upset. But I lived an entire life before I moved here. No one has ever known my story, except... She met Zack’s eyes as hers filled with tears. Except your mother. She’s the only one I ever talked to about Jimmy.

      Is that your baby’s name? Annie asked tentatively.

      Aunt Gabby nodded and took a deep breath. It’s been so long since I’ve talked about him, I wasn’t sure if I could. But I’ve thought a lot about it and I think it’s something that you all need to know. I’ve wondered how I can tell you everything without getting too emotional or dramatic but I’m not sure that’s possible so I’m just gonna dive right in. She looked down at her hands and was quiet for a moment. Telling this was already bringing up emotion, as she knew it would. And although there were certain events she wasn’t sure she wanted to relive, the thought of dying without anyone knowing about her life, her trials, her joys, her search, made her stomach turn and her heart heavy. She knew she wanted to share it.

      Everyone in the room shifted in their seats, ready to hear the life story of the woman they all loved so much. A few seconds passed as Aunt Gabby closed her eyes, and taking a few deep breaths said, I suppose I’ll just start from where it’s relevant.

      In September of 1953 I was sixteen years old, beginning my junior year in high school, living in Los Angeles... and eighteen weeks pregnant. It was not commonly known by people in my circle in my later years that I’d had a child. I made sure of that. But I was a teenager once, and I made a decision that would impact the rest of my life. It wasn’t accepted very well in those days and my father was furious. He had five other children at home and felt I was a bad example. But I was a rebel. I tried my hardest not to care what he thought. I went to school that September determined to graduate just like everyone else. I had no idea what having a baby would mean or what it took to be a mother. She paused, her eyes in some faraway place. I think in those first few months, I honestly believed I could keep him...

      LOS ANGELES, CA, 1954

      James Dean Berkley was born January tenth, 1954, after nine hours of labor. He weighed 6 pounds 5 ounces; just a little thing. I remember thinking he looked like a bird. I named him James Dean because he was a big actor in those days and all the girls had a crush on him. I suppose that shows how immature and ignorant I was.

      James’ father and I had broken up two months before he was born. We had tried to make it work, get married and raise the baby together, but it didn’t take me long to realize he wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment and truthfully, neither was I. My father was adamant that I give the baby up for adoption – it was a constant fight between us. Like I said, I was sure I could take care of him on my own.

      After he was born, I remember crying and kissing him; he smelled so good. In my heart I couldn’t bear the thought of giving him up. He was mine and I wanted him. I looked down at him, wrapped so tightly in his little hospital blanket. He didn’t cry, but just looked at me with wide eyes. I could tell right away his eyes were going to be blue, even though the nurse told me their eyes changed and I couldn’t be positive of the color. Despite my parent’s repeated attempts at telling me he’d be better off if someone else raised him, my stubborn bone was stronger than any of the sense people tried to talk into me. The more they tried to convince me to give him up the more convinced I was that I was keeping him.

      I realized very quickly that my father and stepmother, Evelyn, weren’t going to help me. I believe Evelyn would have but my father was a stern man and told me that if I was certain I wanted to be an adult then he was going to treat me like one – which meant I had to face my choices and their consequences on my own. Evelyn gave me advice when I asked her but she always looked around nervously to make sure Father wasn’t nearby before she did.

      I moved out of my father’s house and into a halfway house for teens in trouble when Jimmy was only three weeks old. I quickly realized I couldn’t do school and take care of him. It was hard to find a babysitter and I didn’t have the money to pay for one anyway, so I dropped out of high school. That little boy was everything to me, and it

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