Read Online American Heroes Series - 03 - Purgatory by Kathryn Le Veque - Free Book Online
Authors: Kathryn Le Veque
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floor was cold when she put her feet on it and she
hopped around, digging in a couple of boxes until she found a pair of socks.
Pulling them on her feet, she went into the bathroom that was part of the
master suite.
The claw foot tub was truly
something to behold. It was deep enough to swim in and she stood over it a
moment, trying to decide if she wanted to take a bath in the old tub or a
shower in the equally old shower. She settled on the tub, simply because she
liked baths, and she really wanted to take a nice, long one. That brought
about the issue of no hot water.
Last night in the midst of their
unpacking, they had found an old Merker gas-fired water heater positioned under
the flight of backstairs that led from the kitchen up to the second floor.
Gas was piped in from a big
propane tank on the side of the house, one that appeared as if it hadn’t been
used in eighty years. The only gas pipes ran to the water heater and the stove,
and neither of them apparently worked. It was one more thing for the contractor
when the man came on Monday. Until then, as Alec had repeatedly said, they
would have to live like pioneers.
Clad in a pair of silky pink
pajamas and her white socks, Elliot used the rest room, brushed her teeth, and
made her way from her bedroom through the second door in the bathroom which led
to the opposite end of the hall on the other side of the winding staircase.
Her bathroom backed up to the
stairwell, making it a long and skinny room. She’d intended to use the
backstairs down to the kitchen but ended up wandering around the three additional
bedrooms she really hadn’t paid much attention to yesterday.
All three of the rooms were
twice the size of a normal bedroom even though they were considered ‘smaller’
rooms. Newspaper and old print were taped up on the big floor to ceiling
windows and she immediately set about tearing down the newspaper. She was sick
of seeing it.
As she ripped it away, an
entirely new world was revealed. The enormous windows on the northeast side of
the house looked out over the gigantic garden that backed up to the Black
Bayou, which was glistening golden and green in the early morning sun.
Over to the north, she could
see what looked like rows of sheds buried deep in the heavy trees and it took
her a minute to realize that they were stables. She paused in her ripping,
realizing the view, the landscape, was absolutely heavenly. She felt at peace
simply gazing out over the gently flowing waters, a view that stretched out as far
as the eye could see.
A smile crossed her lips as she
drank in her lush green lands and the depression she had felt when she had
awoken was vanished, replaced by joy and hope. There was a new life down here
waiting for her in the bayou and she was ready to embrace it.
Ripping down the rest of the
newspaper, Elliot went into the other bedrooms and did the same. Sunlight once
again began to pour into the chambers of Purgatory, filling it with light and
warmth the old house hadn’t seen in years. It was a glorious sight.
Alec’s bedroom was empty, the
covers all jumbled up on the mattress. Elliot ripped all the newspaper off her
son’s windows and the early morning sun blasted into the room.
As she pulled off paper, she also
inspected the windows themselves, seeing that all of them needed reglazing or
replacement. She wasn’t surprised. As she passed by the enormous window that
faced the front of the house, she happened to glance at the driveway and
noticed a sheriff’s unit parked there. It didn’t take her long to realize it
was Nash’s car.
Curious, she took the backstairs
down into the kitchen. Alec was there, eating granola cereal out of the box.
He lifted a granola-dust covered hand at his mother.
“Hi,” he said, mouth full.
She smiled at him. “Good morning,”
she replied, looking around. “Is Nash here?”
Alec shook his head, tipping the
granola box into his mouth. “Not here.”
She
hopped around, digging in a couple of boxes until she found a pair of socks.
Pulling them on her feet, she went into the bathroom that was part of the
master suite.
The claw foot tub was truly
something to behold. It was deep enough to swim in and she stood over it a
moment, trying to decide if she wanted to take a bath in the old tub or a
shower in the equally old shower. She settled on the tub, simply because she
liked baths, and she really wanted to take a nice, long one. That brought
about the issue of no hot water.
Last night in the midst of their
unpacking, they had found an old Merker gas-fired water heater positioned under
the flight of backstairs that led from the kitchen up to the second floor.
Gas was piped in from a big
propane tank on the side of the house, one that appeared as if it hadn’t been
used in eighty years. The only gas pipes ran to the water heater and the stove,
and neither of them apparently worked. It was one more thing for the contractor
when the man came on Monday. Until then, as Alec had repeatedly said, they
would have to live like pioneers.
Clad in a pair of silky pink
pajamas and her white socks, Elliot used the rest room, brushed her teeth, and
made her way from her bedroom through the second door in the bathroom which led
to the opposite end of the hall on the other side of the winding staircase.
Her bathroom backed up to the
stairwell, making it a long and skinny room. She’d intended to use the
backstairs down to the kitchen but ended up wandering around the three additional
bedrooms she really hadn’t paid much attention to yesterday.
All three of the rooms were
twice the size of a normal bedroom even though they were considered ‘smaller’
rooms. Newspaper and old print were taped up on the big floor to ceiling
windows and she immediately set about tearing down the newspaper. She was sick
of seeing it.
As she ripped it away, an
entirely new world was revealed. The enormous windows on the northeast side of
the house looked out over the gigantic garden that backed up to the Black
Bayou, which was glistening golden and green in the early morning sun.
Over to the north, she could
see what looked like rows of sheds buried deep in the heavy trees and it took
her a minute to realize that they were stables. She paused in her ripping,
realizing the view, the landscape, was absolutely heavenly. She felt at peace
simply gazing out over the gently flowing waters, a view that stretched out as far
as the eye could see.
A smile crossed her lips as she
drank in her lush green lands and the depression she had felt when she had
awoken was vanished, replaced by joy and hope. There was a new life down here
waiting for her in the bayou and she was ready to embrace it.
Ripping down the rest of the
newspaper, Elliot went into the other bedrooms and did the same. Sunlight once
again began to pour into the chambers of Purgatory, filling it with light and
warmth the old house hadn’t seen in years. It was a glorious sight.
Alec’s bedroom was empty, the
covers all jumbled up on the mattress. Elliot ripped all the newspaper off her
son’s windows and the early morning sun blasted into the room.
As she pulled off paper, she also
inspected the windows themselves, seeing that all of them needed reglazing or
replacement. She wasn’t surprised. As she passed by the enormous window that
faced the front of the house, she happened to glance at the driveway and
noticed a sheriff’s unit parked there. It didn’t take her long to realize it
was Nash’s car.
Curious, she took the backstairs
down into the kitchen. Alec was there, eating granola cereal out of the box.
He lifted a granola-dust covered hand at his mother.
“Hi,” he said, mouth full.
She smiled at him. “Good morning,”
she replied, looking around. “Is Nash here?”
Alec shook his head, tipping the
granola box into his mouth. “Not here.”
She
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