Read Online Bygones by Kim Vogel Sawyer - Free Book Online Page A

and willed herself to sleep.
    “Mom?”
    The soft voice brought Marie to full attention once more. A shadowy figure stood beside the bed, reminding Marie of the days when Beth was little and would wander in, awakened by a nightmare. “What’s wrong, honey?”
    “I can’t sleep. I’m tired, but it’s so quiet here. It’s creeping me out.”
    Marie understood. She scooted over. “Climb in. We’ll share tonight, huh?”
    Beth slipped in and curled onto her side, facing her mother. “I heard you talking.”
    Marie’s heart caught. “Oh?” She chuckled softly. “I guess I was planning out loud. Lots to do tomorrow.”
    In the muted shadows cast by moonlight, Marie saw Beth nod. “Do you think I should go to the café tomorrow, or can it wait?”
    “It can wait if you want to. It’s never open on Mondays.”
    A long sigh came from Beth’s side of the bed. “I guess I should have asked questions before we came. But I was right—I wouldn’t have come if I’d had any idea. . . .”
    “You know, it really isn’t that bad,” Marie’s voice snapped out more tartly than she’d intended. Why was she so defensive? Sommerfeld was no longer her home. Based on the fact that no one was here to greet them, her family was no longer hers, either. So why tell Beth it wasn’t bad?
    More kindly, she added, “It’s only three months, honey. Think of it as. . .an adventure.” She smoothed Beth’s hair away from her face. “Who knows, maybe someday you’ll write a book about all this.”
    Beth laughed, pressing her fists beneath her chin. “Who would believe it?”
    “Truth is stranger than fiction.”
    Another laugh. “Oh, yeah.”
    Marie sighed. “Close your eyes, honey. Get some sleep.”
    Beth’s eyes slipped closed. They lay in silence for several minutes before Beth’s voice came again. “Mom?”
    “Yes?”
    “Thanks for coming with me.”
    Marie smiled and gave Beth’s hair another stroke. “You’re welcome.”
    “I wouldn’t want to be doing this alone.”
    “Well, no worries. You’re not alone.”
    Although Beth finally drifted to sleep, Marie lay awake, gazing out the window at the starry sky, her words to her daughter echoing through her heart. “No worries. You’re not alone.”

S EVEN

    M arie carried in a box of groceries and set it on the cluttered counter. Looking at the boxes already there, she realized she had been responsible for bringing in each one. Aggravation rose. Was Beth on her cell phone. . . again ?
    Hands on hips, she bellowed, “Beth!”
    “In here.”
    Marie followed the voice and found her daughter in the dining room, lying under the table, flat on her back. Bending forward and propping her hands on her knees, she peered at her. “What in the world are you doing?”
    Beth’s ponytail lay across the floor in tangled disarray. “Checking out this table. It’s solid wood, Mom. I can’t even find any nails—just pegs. It’s amazing!”
    Marie squatted down between two chairs to peek at the underside of the table. “Do you see a brand anywhere—symbols burned into the wood?”
    Beth twisted her head, her gaze seeking. Her face lit up. “Yeah! Right there!” She pointed. “It looks like a K with an O at the bottom right-hand edge.” Looking at her mom, she wrinkled her brow. “What does that mean?”
    “It means your great-grandfather and great-great-uncle constructed it.” Marie straightened and got out of the way as Beth scrambled from her hideaway. “My mother was an Ortmann. Her father joined forces with my father’s uncle to open a furniture-making shop.” Marie headed through the kitchen, Beth on her heels. “I would imagine if you went door to door around here, you’d find quite a few pieces with that brand.”
    “When did they start their business?” Beth followed Marie outside to the trailer.
    Marie handed a box to her daughter and scowled thoughtfully. “Hmm. Grandpa Ortmann was born in 1907, I believe, and he started the business in