A Father First

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1-800-839-8640

© 2013 by Gary D. Henry. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/25/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-3114-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-3112-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-3113-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013905627

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Gary D. Henry

Email: virginian44@comcast.net

Facebook: Gary D. Henry

Cover Design: Johnny Hector, Colleen Lockard

Layout Design: Johnny Hector

Edited by: Belinda R. Bell, Gary D. Henry

Author’s Disclaimer

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Introduction

Chapter 1:   Humble Beginnings

Chapter 2:   The Loss of Everything

Chapter 3:   Business and Therapy

Chapter 4:   Thomas Comes Clean

Chapter 5:   His Nebraska Home

Chapter 6:   Regaining His Life by Losing It

Chapter 7:   Another Spirit Makes Itself Known

Chapter 8:   Sarah’s Operation

Chapter 9:   More Troubles for Thomas

Chapter 10: The Answers Start to Come

Chapter 11: The Real Miracle Man

Links

Dedication

As always, dedicated to my family and friends.

Live your life to the fullest. Create a wealth of memories in your lifetime and relive them as often as you can because memories will be your riches when your allotted time on this earth is expended. Reflection will be your last greatest moment.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank my editor, Belinda R. Bell, for her professional editing expertise, and I look forward to working with her in the future. She edited The Books of James C. Patch: The Barrier, The Books of James C. Patch: Returning, The Books of James C. Patch: Utopia, Legacy of the Unsung, Montana’s Own, Falling Waters, The Abel Conspiracy, and did a fine job.

Introduction

This is the story of a dedicated father. Thomas Stevens grew up as a farmer’s son in rural Nebraska. He, his three brothers, and three sisters helped their parents around the farm as much as they could. Thomas and his siblings came to know that their parents would pass on the family farm, as previous generations had always done. However, unlike his siblings, Thomas aspired to goals far beyond the boundaries of his parents’ farm property. He loved the business aspect of farming more than the sweat and hard work and told of his desires at an early age to the displeasure of his father. An understanding and loving man, Thomas’ father would not insist that his children remain on the farm and assisted young Thomas in his pursuits.

Christmas was a special time for the Stevens household, and the family made it a weeklong celebration within the old farmhouse. The Christmas holiday was a joyous time for Thomas and his siblings, and his parents made sure each year was memorable.

Thomas was the first to break away from farm life. He purchased a small local soda shop and grew it into a thriving statewide company. He quickly set up ten more shops and eventually became quite wealthy. In the meantime, through quirks of fate, he met a woman in trouble named Emily. Given Thomas’s upbringing, he quickly came to her aid and soon fell in love with her. Thomas’s selflessness and kindness toward others impressed Emily, and she learned quickly that Thomas was the man she had always hoped to meet. Together they had a child named Sarah.

Sarah provided much love and laughter in their happy household, and Thomas could see that Sarah possessed a level of kindness and caring that angels might envy. All seemed perfect until one day a simple trip to the grocery store and an out of control car hit Emily’s car head on and took her life. Thomas was devastated, but he had Sarah and his family to help him pull through the terrible trauma and devastating grief.

Years went by until another accident sent Thomas again into a depression that lasted much of the remainder of his life. Thomas, young Sarah, and two of Sarah’s cousins got into Thomas’s car. He inadvertently neglected to lock Sarah securely into her seat belt, and a head-on accident sent his beautiful twelve-year-old daughter through the windshield, paralyzing her for life. Thomas vowed to make things right, but Sarah harbored a lifetime of resentment and bitter hatred toward her father and eliminated him from her life. Thomas tried everything to regain her love, but nothing he did would restore her trust or rekindle their loving relationship. Thomas set out on an incredible journey that reaped him astonishing successes in his business world but one fraught with heart-wrenching depths into dementia, loss, prison, and despair, all for the sole purpose of restoring his and Sarah’s relationship and life together as a family.

He was a father first and that was the only success he sought. He did not care how long it took or the depths to which he had to sink to get there. He was determined to restore his daughter’s affections even though she was oblivious to her father’s good deeds. They lived a lifetime apart with Sarah not knowing or caring how much she meant to Thomas and how much her absence from his life had devastated him.

Thomas had his spies who relayed information about Sarah’s wants and needs, and he silently made her life extraordinary. Sarah simply thought she was just lucky that whenever she needed anything it would magically appear. She had no idea that Thomas was being a father behind the scenes. The wheelchair bound young woman found love, happiness, and heartache along the way, but Thomas was always there even though she never knew it. An extraordinary series of events would finally reveal to Sarah the depths of her father’s unfaltering love and devotion.

CHAPTER 1

Humble Beginnings

Reared on a rural Omaha, Nebraska family farm with six siblings, Thomas Stevens enjoyed a love-drenched childhood chock full of Midwestern happiness and good values.

His parents, Ben and Charlene Stevens, hoped young Thomas would grow up strong and eventually take over the family farm, a fixture in the Stevens family for more than 200 years. However, Thomas had much higher aspirations for himself. He loved his parents dearly and would never do anything to hurt them, but he realized at a young age that farming was not in his plan for the future. He liked to ride on the tractor every morning with his dad as he plowed the fields, but his father’s stories interested him much more than the rides. Ben Stevens proudly relayed stories of his ancestors and their history while growing the farm over the years. Sometimes he would tell wild fantastic stories of how God himself helped his family in times of drought, which plagued most of the farming community at some time or another.

Thomas, a young man at twelve years old, suspected that his father exaggerated many of the more exciting parts of the stories to make farming seem less boring. When Ben was a child, his father talked him into farming much the same way. Ben had dreams of travel and seeing the world but, outside of a vacation or two, he remained on the farm and worked the land his entire life. It seemed to Thomas that his father did not mind farming and even enjoyed the profession when the weather was warm and the rain plentiful.

Thomas’ wonderful family included his loving parents and six older siblings. He looked up to his three older brothers, Tim, Dan, and James and cared deeply for his three sisters, Carla, Nancy, and Julie. Thomas’s siblings all helped around the farm and genuinely loved the farm life.

Thomas, the youngest of the clan, seemed to be still interested in his father’s stories and that is why his father enjoyed taking his youngster out into the fields. His brothers had already heard all of the stories, and his father knew no stories appropriate to the interests of his young little girls. The girls spent their days with their mother, leaving Thomas’ father to his responsibility to raise his four sons into farmers. Ben assigned his three older sons certain chores around the farm, and they hoped that, some day, they would work their own farms and raise their own families in the well-chronicled and humbling profession.

The business end of the farming profession interested Thomas. He excelled as a student, and teachers considered him a mathematics wizard even at a young age. He equated numbers to a plow, and business would be his land.

At fifteen, his desire for a place in the business world hit a milestone. He met a mentor, a man who had made millions on Wall Street named William Penderwall who made his first million a mere two years out of high school. An outgoing and helpful sort of man, Mr. Penderwall always drew laughter from whoever was with him and was always quick to help anyone who needed it. He favored ice cream, and the local ice cream shop is where young Thomas first met the benevolent entrepreneur. Thomas worked part time at the ice cream parlor after school and regularly served William his favorite of three scoops of strawberry with chocolate syrup and walnuts. William was the father of a school chum of Thomas’ named Joey. The man, his wife, and Joey’s sister made weekly visits to the small shop where William took an interest in Thomas. Thomas walked up to the man and asked him how he had made so much money without having gone to college.

William grinned as he spooned some of his favorite concoction into his mouth and asked, Thomas, what makes you so interested in what I do?

Well, I like business. Joey told me all about what you do. He said you hardly ever come home, but you’re always home for Christmas and for every other holiday, Thomas answered.

William smiled and said, Well, Mr. Stevens, if you want to be a businessman then you must realize what’s most important.

Thomas, being the astute student that he was, said, Profits, right?

William chuckled and answered, Well, yes, profits are important, but they’re not the most important in life. My wife, Joey, and this little girl here are the most important reasons why I succeeded. They are what drive me to succeed in business. Without them, I would’ve probably been a man who made a billion dollars and allowed his profession to rule his life. I would’ve been a miserable human being without the memories created by years of caring more about my family than about my bank account. Family, not the size of a man’s bank account, is the measure of a man.

Thomas questioned, You don’t want to be a billionaire?

No, being a billionaire isn’t my goal. What good is a billion dollars? Money just allows you to buy things. You’ll find out one day that a simple family outing at a place like this ice cream shop is worth much more than your next million-dollar deal. I set out to be good at what I do, and I make a good living, but I went into this with my family foremost in mind and not with securing success at all costs.

This confused Thomas, but he accepted Mr. Penderwall’s advice. Thomas noticed Mr. Penderwall’s family while they interacted with each other at the ice cream shop, and he understood why, despite the fact that the man was seldom home, Joey always seemed to be a happy kid. The family laughed and talked as they ate their ice cream. They stayed for a long time enjoying each other’s company at the shop. Mr. Penderwall had one more piece of advice for Thomas before he left the shop that day.

He said, Thomas, you seem to be a bright kid, and there’s no doubt that one day you’ll be here with your own family enjoying the time with them. Remember, to be a good father and husband, your primary goal is to put your family first and to allow your success to happen slowly. Do not go into this wanting to be a billionaire or even a millionaire. You go into a business to become a better provider for your family, not to boost your self esteem.

Thomas thanked him and vowed to remember his conversation with Mr. Penderwall and try to mimic his success both professionally and personally.

Thomas wondered about the ice cream shop and knew that most of the townspeople in the small town, regardless of their ages, were fond of the shop. Mr. Smithson had started the shop as a young man with a vision and a true love for ice cream. Many years later at the age of sixty, he had not lost the perpetual smile that had become his trademark. He always greeted his customers fondly and made it his mission to go the extra mile for them. A kindly man, Mr. Smithson did not want to sell his shop, but age had finally made it impossible for him to keep it. Sadly, he had to sell the shop because of his wife’s ailments, and he needed the money to get her the medical help she required.

A few years passed with the shop still up for sale, but still Mr. Smithson had received no offers to buy it. His wife felt much better, and Thomas hoped she had weathered the storm. Mr. Smithson continued to run the shop, but he still wanted to sell it. Thomas saved almost every cent he made. He had a deeply engrained entrepreneurial spirit in him from a young age and amassed twenty thousand dollars within a short period.

High school graduation was soon, and he had a few scholarship offers to go to college, but he wanted to get started in his business career immediately, so college would not be in his future. He wanted to buy the small ice cream shop but lacked enough savings for the thirty-thousand-dollar down payment that he needed to finalize the deal. He went to his parents and asked them if he could borrow the extra twenty thousand dollars he needed. His father had a good year of farming but he didn’t have all the money Thomas required but could help him out with most of it. He questioned Thomas’s desire to go into the ice cream business.

He said, I always hoped you would run the farm, Thomas. Your brothers already told me they want their own farms, and Dan already purchased a hundred acres up the road. Are you sure you want to do this?

Thomas explained, Dad, Dan is a farmer. He always wanted to be one, and so do Tim and James. I want to be a businessman, and an opportunity presented itself recently to allow me to be one. I realize you want me to take over the farm, but I’ve told you that business was going to be my profession. I saved my pennies my entire life to get my first opportunity, and now that I have it, I’m ten thousand dollars short. I need this, Dad. Will you help me out?

His dad smiled and said, Okay, son, your mother and I helped Dan get started, and we’ll help you out as well even though it pains me that you don’t want to be a farmer. You realize your mother loves ice cream, and she’ll expect her favorite flavor to be available, mint chocolate.

Thomas hugged and thanked his father and said, Don’t worry, Dad, mint chocolate will always be there for her. I promise you that and I also promise you that I’ll pay you back.

His father grinned and replied, Hey pay us back in ice cream. Your mother will be okay with that. Aren’t you concerned about serving ice cream in the winter? You may lose a lot of customers.

Thomas replied confidently, Nope because Mr. Smithson was in business for nearly forty years, and I’ve made plans to make the shop profitable year-round.

His father asked, How are you going to get the rest of the money?

Thomas answered, I’m going to the bank in a week to discuss a loan with them. I don’t know what they’ll say, but Mr. Smithson said he’d speak to my loan representative to assist with making the sale happen. Thanks again, Dad. I need to tell Mr. Smithson that I have the down payment.

As Thomas walked away, he noticed a good man who continued doing something he loved even though his heart was broken because his son chose a different path. He always wished Thomas would reconsider being a farmer. Thomas got no pleasure from disappointing his father, but the call of Wall Street was too strong.

Thomas was a happy man, but he still had one more hurdle to tackle before he could start in his lifelong endeavor. He had to get the loan from the bank. The day came for him to make his first sale in the business world and had to sell the idea to the bank. Mr. Smithson had already talked with the loan representative. The bank cared nothing about the nostalgia swirling around the iconic establishment, but Thomas hoped it would approve the loan regardless. The loan representative cared about only money and repayment of a loan. Thomas had little collateral with which to secure the loan but hoped the weight of Mr. Smithson’s recommendations would be enough to convince the bank. Sadly, Thomas’s route into the business world was in doubt because the bank denied his request. Mr. Smithson offered to lower his price, but Thomas would not allow him to do so. He thought that if he was about to embark upon such an endeavor, then he wanted to do it using Mr. Smithson’s original asking price. It was supposed to be a happy day for Thomas given that he was to graduate from high school that day, but it was not. He had just suffered his first defeat in the business world, and his father saw how depressed Thomas was as he snapped pictures of him in his cap and gown.

It saddened Ben to see his normally gregarious son so unhappy, so he did something to put the smile back on his son’s face. He visited the bank’s loan officer and put up 100 acres of his land as collateral to secure Thomas’s loan.

The bank called Thomas and told him what had happened, and Thomas hurried to his dad in the fields, hugged him, and thanked him for his help. It displeased Thomas that his father had put that much land in jeopardy, but his father stated that he meant to use the land for that purpose.

Thomas, whether or not you work the land, it’s still here for you. Your mother and I helped your brothers, and we talked about it and decided that that little shop is just as important to you as getting this field plowed is for me and for your brothers. Now go out there and make us proud. Ben stated proudly.

Smiling broadly, Thomas replied, I will, Dad. I can’t wait and don’t worry because I’ll make sure the shop is more successful than it is now. I have ideas to make it larger. I think I’ll get out the other tractor and start on the lower 50 acres.

That put a huge smile on his father’s face although he wished that young Thomas were still at the age where he could sit on his lap and hear tall tales of what he had encountered during his many years of working the land. However, his father was getting on in years, and thirteen hours each day in the fields was becoming more difficult for him. Thomas taking care of the last 50 acres would allow him to relax a little, and he greatly appreciated every little bit of help from his sons as well as their mother. Thomas and his siblings spent a lot of time at the farm assisting their parents with many of the numerous tasks required at such a large farm.

Thomas went to the bank the next day and received the check, which he happily delivered to Mr. Smithson. Mr. Smithson already had his lawyer create the contract, and all he and Thomas had to do was sign it with a witness present. Mr. Smithson called his lawyer who stopped in at the ice cream parlor and witnessed the two men sign the documents.

Thomas had a potential gold mine in the little shop, but he was careful not to change things too drastically. He had forty years of customers and wanted to make sure they continued to enjoy all they had come to expect from the quaint little shop and would still eat there even with Thomas at the helm. The shop had two high-school aged workers who Thomas allowed to continue to work there. Mr. Smithson had a good eye for dependable workers, and because he had hired the highschoolers, Thomas kept the two girls since they were excellent workers. He would still have to be there all day every day, but he did not mind. Constantly busy with customers, the shop was running itself. At times, Thomas could have left the shop early, but he stayed. The winter months would soon come to Nebraska, but Thomas welcomed the thought because it meant the holiday season was near. He loved the holiday season because his parents had always done something special to enhance the holidays and make them a memorable tradition for their children.

Their home lit up the dark nights with Christmas lights that surrounded the home. Inside each room of the brightly decorated farmhouse sat a large bowl of hard candy or chocolate creams amid the decorations. The rooms were awash with traditional Christmas reds and greens with peppermint-scented candles flickering in the unlighted places and a pine scent which permeated the home and grew stronger as you approached the beautiful Christmas Tree. Twinkling lights and small bells rang when someone brushed against the huge Christmas tree in one particular corner of the family room. Their Christmas tree was preordained to be the Stevens family Christmas tree when it was planted years prior.

There were hundreds of them on their property, and each one of them had a small tag with a year noted on it. It was a family event to plant a seedling when they removed one of the trees. The family tagged each newly planted tree with the year they planted it, and they all delighted in the thought that someday the tree would adorn their home for a future family Christmas. Thomas fondly remembered that the family would cut down a selected tree and haul it to their massive living room where each child thrilled at decorating every branch until they were ready to light the tree. It was truly a family affair in the Stevens household. The home filled every sense. The smells of peppermint, fresh homemade breads, apple pies, and Christmas cookies wafted throughout the warm inviting home. During the day, Christmas music played constantly and left the children humming the verses well after the songs had ended. The family spent an entire night watching their favorite Christmas movies. One of the family’s favorites was White Christmas with Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen, which the parents played every night during the family’s three-day celebration. Melodies of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and many others supplied music throughout the house but Bing was Ben’s favorite crooner.

The family always participated together in activities. They would all go outside, build snowmen, sleigh ride, and just enjoy the beauty of the Nebraskan winter wonderland. As the children grew into adults, they would still look forward to coming back to relive their happy youth within their loving family home during Christmas.

Because of those memorable times, Thomas had a special love for the holiday season. All of Thomas’ grown siblings not living at the farm, loved to return during those times and regardless of how long they’ve been away, they always reflected back to when they were children. The women cooked while the men discussed the day-to-day tasks that each of them completed. Inevitably, the talks turned to the mouth-watering scents of home-cooked food emanating from the kitchen. Without fail, the men gravitated to the kitchen much to the dismay of the Stevens women. Two of Thomas’s sisters, Carla and Julie, were married, and one was pregnant, but that did not stop her from cooking her specialty, glazed honey ham.

Their husbands were kind and caring men who got along well with everyone in the family and in the community. Thomas’s sisters learned from their mother the importance of making sure their men were happy and well fed. Their mother taught all three of them how to cook, and each of them had a friendly competition among them to determine whose dishes were the best. When two of them lost, they would never say anything or think anything bad and fully acknowledged and praised their sister’s accomplishment. None of the sisters could come close to matching their mother’s delectable dishes though they tried every year.

Every Christmas celebration usually was a three-day affair full of movies, singing, and gift giving. The family said a prayer before each meal to thank God for their family and to request continued blessings and protection of the Stevens family. Thomas extended the celebration beyond the family farm by giving out free ice cream to all of the children who came into the shop with their parents on Christmas Eve. The gesture cost him a lot of money, but he did not care because the changes he implemented improved the tiny shop’s bottom line immensely.

Thomas expanded his shop’s menu to include both lunch and dinner while keeping his favored ice cream dishes. However, his place was so small it was limited as to how much profit he could garner.

One day a woman in her early twenties came into the shop crying. She was wiping her eyes when Thomas walked over to her with a cup of coffee and a big bowl of chocolate ice cream and asked her name. She said her name was Emily Presser, and Thomas introduced himself. Thomas was a sucker for anyone in obvious pain. He always wore a big smile and was genuinely interested in the reason for a person’s distress. It did not hurt that she was an extraordinarily attractive woman.

She said that she had a fight with her boyfriend who struck her in the face. Thomas noticed a small trickle of blood on her lip, so he pulled a napkin and gently dabbed the blood from her lip and chin. Her injury was not so bad that she would need stitches, but when she looked up, Thomas could see that the boyfriend had struck her repeatedly and blackened her eye. She seemed unconcerned about her injuries.

She said, I’ve made some poor choices in the men I meet, I’ve got to change that aspect of my life.

When she finally looked up at Thomas, she saw a big smile and a bowl of ice cream. She thanked him for his generosity and his gentle caring for her. She saw more in Thomas than a soda clerk behind a counter. Instead, sitting with her, was a kind and giving man willing to care about a total stranger and exhibit a willingness to talk to her as if he had known her all of his life. Emily told Thomas that she was afraid to go back to her house because her boyfriend was still there and drinking heavily. She said she had no money with her because she had to leave the house quickly and left her purse there.

Thomas made a phone call, walked back to her, and handed her a credit card receipt. He had paid for her to stay the night at a local hotel because he feared the boyfriend would again beat her should she return to her home. She told Thomas that it was her home and that her boyfriend would not leave. Thomas advised her to stay at the hotel that night and return