True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,76

be their forever home and they wanted their mark on it. Their goal was to be self-sufficient eventually, so it had solar panels and all that other stuff those off-the-grid people do. They planted fruit trees, and last I saw, they had a huge garden.”

Quinn had to admit, the story that Helen was telling about her daughter may have been unsettling to her as a mother, but it sounded very romantic from the viewpoint of Jules and Noah.

Helen rocked back and forth for a moment, catching her breath.

“Life went on, but our relationship was still tenuous. Jules and Noah didn’t want to accept any more gifts and strove to maintain their simple life. They embraced the land we’d bought them but turned away from any other offerings. They wanted to do things on their own, and their visits were few and far between as they worked to build their business.”

She stopped talking and moving, sitting completely still. Her eyes on her hands clasped tightly together in her lap.

“Tell her the rest, Helen,” Carmen said.

Helen looked up again. “I didn’t hear from my daughter again until months later, when she called me, hysterical and begging for my help. Nama was missing. She and Jonah had fallen off the boat when an unexpected squall came up during a scuba tour. Her brother was found immediately, but Nama had disappeared, and, at less than two years old, was thought to be drowned.”

Both Quinn and Maggie gasped at the same time.

“With my daughter on the other end of the phone, I fell to my knees, broken in the knowledge that the curse had found my granddaughter, and this time it was exacting the ultimate punishment for deeds done long before she was born.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Quinn watched Helen closely. The woman looked drained, her complexion now a pasty white, the circles under her eyes darker.

Carmen went to her and knelt, searching her face as she took her hand. “How do you feel?” she asked her.

“Relieved,” Helen said. “But also afraid. Very afraid.”

“You rest now,” Carmen said. “This is almost over. It’s my turn.”

Helen nodded, then laid her head against the back of the rocker. She didn’t move, seeming too exhausted to even find comfort in rocking back and forth.

Carmen returned to the couch and removed a colorful crocheted coverlet from the back, then took it over and spread it across Helen’s lap.

When she took her seat again, she leaned forward. “I’m the same age as Jules, but my life was as far from her kind of lifestyle as one could be. Jules was born into money, and her family had it scattered in many investments in every direction, while the Crowes’ net worth was and remains tied to the land. We owned a small ranch in Hana, and we paid our bills by raising cattle. We also had horses, goats, and all the things a child loves to grow up around. To me it was the best place on earth.”

So she was just a country girl at heart. That explained the boots, pickup truck, and her scuffed-up jeans, as well as the rough way she carried herself. Quinn couldn’t even imagine her in a dress or wearing a ring the size of the rock that Helen wore.

“When I was about seven or eight, I was given a horse. From the moment we saw each other, we had a bond that transcended explanation. His name was Wiley, and I woke each and every morning hours before school would begin so that I could start the day with him. My other love was for the land our family owned. Wiley and I rode every trail around our ranch and the mountain several times a week, imprinting our presence into the soil. He loved it there as much as I did, this I instinctively knew. Once, Wiley caught some sort of virus that was rare but deadly among the herd. I slept with him every night until he finally recovered. My parents said he should’ve died, but he couldn’t find the will to leave me, so he carried on further than what most animals could’ve done.”

She paused, lost in thought for a moment.

“When I was eleven, our barn was set on fire. It burned for hours before we even woke and sounded the alarm. Wiley died before we could get him out. He would’ve lived another twenty years if it weren’t for the hatred of a reckless human. I knew I had let him down when he needed me