Unmasked (Godmother Security Book 1) by June Stevens, DJ Westerfield Page A
Authors: June Stevens, DJ Westerfield
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zest.
Cindy cringed. Perhaps that hadn’t been the best question to ask, considering his only cousin on his mother’s side was trying to have him killed. She quickly got them back on topic. “You were telling me about your great grandmother.”
“Ahh, yes. She was an amazing woman, according to my Dad. She grew up in the farmhouse that the Whites now live in, but we aren’t sure exactly which generation of the family built it. When she was young it was rare in this area for a girl to do anything but marry young and have a brood of kids. But, when she was 19 she went to Norfolk to one of the first nursing schools in the state, then when she was 21 she joined the army as a nurse and went off to war. She never came back here. She married after the war and settled in New York. Her brother and father both died in an accident at the mill. The mill and farm were shut down, and her mother went to New York to live with her. Neither of them could bear to sell it, so when she passed it went to my grandmother.”
“And then eventually to you,” Cindy put in, fascinated with his story.
“Yes. When I was born she put this property in a trust for me. Though my father never owned it, he deserves credit for the fact that any of the buildings are still standing.”
“He renovated the farm?”
They were walking past the large white farmhouse now, with its wrap around porch. Their pace had slowed, as if they both were enjoying this talk and wanted to stretch it out.
“He had always been fascinated by the stories his grandmother told of growing up on top of a mountain in Virginia, and when he was in his early twenties he came out here for the first time. He fell in love with it, even though the farm was overrun with weeds and the cabin and farmhouse both were dilapidated and falling down,” Sebastian said, kicking a large rock that could damage a tire off the dirt road.
Cindy looked out at the breathtaking view of the mountains as she waited for him to resume walking. She felt a little in love with the place herself. “It’s the view, and the history, I think.”
They resumed their slow, leisurely pace. “I agree. He brought my mother camping out here just before he proposed. She has always teased him that if she hadn’t loved it he wouldn’t have married her. He doesn’t deny it. They fixed the cabin up enough to camp in and we came out every summer until I was fourteen. But then Andy’s parents died, and he came to live with us. After that Mom felt it was important to keep up some of their traditions for him. So, it was good-bye camping and hiking in the Virginia Mountains and hello beach house in The Hamptons.”
“Oh, you poor baby.” Cindy scoffed.
He grinned, “I know, right? It was really a tough childhood.”
Cindy rolled her eyes. “So, what about this place? You definitely aren’t roughing it here anymore. And neither are the Whites.” She turned to motion back to the house with all of the flowers but realized they were long past it, and now the tiny road was surrounded by trees. “Wow, I didn’t realize we’d walked so far.”
“We can turn back, or we can take a path just ahead that cuts through to a blackberry patch, then back up around the pasture and behind the Whites’ house. It’s a bit longer, are you game?”
Cindy didn’t think she’d ever taken a leisurely walk through the countryside like this. She’d always lived in a city, and though her job often took her to the country, there wasn’t usually time for easy strolls through the jungle or across the desert. Of course she was working now, too. As much as she wanted to take him up on it, taking a stroll through the woods and pasture with Gus and Jack back up at the house just wasn’t a smart thing to do. “As much as I’d love to see a blackberry patch, we really shouldn’t stray off the path. It’s just too dangerous right now. We should just go back
Cindy cringed. Perhaps that hadn’t been the best question to ask, considering his only cousin on his mother’s side was trying to have him killed. She quickly got them back on topic. “You were telling me about your great grandmother.”
“Ahh, yes. She was an amazing woman, according to my Dad. She grew up in the farmhouse that the Whites now live in, but we aren’t sure exactly which generation of the family built it. When she was young it was rare in this area for a girl to do anything but marry young and have a brood of kids. But, when she was 19 she went to Norfolk to one of the first nursing schools in the state, then when she was 21 she joined the army as a nurse and went off to war. She never came back here. She married after the war and settled in New York. Her brother and father both died in an accident at the mill. The mill and farm were shut down, and her mother went to New York to live with her. Neither of them could bear to sell it, so when she passed it went to my grandmother.”
“And then eventually to you,” Cindy put in, fascinated with his story.
“Yes. When I was born she put this property in a trust for me. Though my father never owned it, he deserves credit for the fact that any of the buildings are still standing.”
“He renovated the farm?”
They were walking past the large white farmhouse now, with its wrap around porch. Their pace had slowed, as if they both were enjoying this talk and wanted to stretch it out.
“He had always been fascinated by the stories his grandmother told of growing up on top of a mountain in Virginia, and when he was in his early twenties he came out here for the first time. He fell in love with it, even though the farm was overrun with weeds and the cabin and farmhouse both were dilapidated and falling down,” Sebastian said, kicking a large rock that could damage a tire off the dirt road.
Cindy looked out at the breathtaking view of the mountains as she waited for him to resume walking. She felt a little in love with the place herself. “It’s the view, and the history, I think.”
They resumed their slow, leisurely pace. “I agree. He brought my mother camping out here just before he proposed. She has always teased him that if she hadn’t loved it he wouldn’t have married her. He doesn’t deny it. They fixed the cabin up enough to camp in and we came out every summer until I was fourteen. But then Andy’s parents died, and he came to live with us. After that Mom felt it was important to keep up some of their traditions for him. So, it was good-bye camping and hiking in the Virginia Mountains and hello beach house in The Hamptons.”
“Oh, you poor baby.” Cindy scoffed.
He grinned, “I know, right? It was really a tough childhood.”
Cindy rolled her eyes. “So, what about this place? You definitely aren’t roughing it here anymore. And neither are the Whites.” She turned to motion back to the house with all of the flowers but realized they were long past it, and now the tiny road was surrounded by trees. “Wow, I didn’t realize we’d walked so far.”
“We can turn back, or we can take a path just ahead that cuts through to a blackberry patch, then back up around the pasture and behind the Whites’ house. It’s a bit longer, are you game?”
Cindy didn’t think she’d ever taken a leisurely walk through the countryside like this. She’d always lived in a city, and though her job often took her to the country, there wasn’t usually time for easy strolls through the jungle or across the desert. Of course she was working now, too. As much as she wanted to take him up on it, taking a stroll through the woods and pasture with Gus and Jack back up at the house just wasn’t a smart thing to do. “As much as I’d love to see a blackberry patch, we really shouldn’t stray off the path. It’s just too dangerous right now. We should just go back
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