A Love for all Ages (Crockett County Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Book 1 of the Lawmen of Crockett County

  Author Brenda Phillips This book is dedicated to my best friend and sister Donna Iwouldliketogiveaspecialthanksto DannyMayes Frontcovermodel All characters and events in this book are fictional Copyright 2015 Prologue ArchibaldandDella

  First time she sees him she is eighteen years old. She wakes from a deep sleep to see him standing at the foot of her bed. It surprises her she isn’t scared. She doesn’t scream and faint, or call out to her parents.

  Thinking the only rational thought, she is dreaming. She takes her time looking him over from head to toe, he is transparent with just a slight bluish shimmer to his skin. She notices his Union uniform; faded a pale blue with brass buttons down the front of the jacket, on the left sleeve is three insignia strips midway down. His pants are a darker blue and are tucked inside his knee high army issued boots.

  Studying his face she admits to finding him handsome, with his coal black hair sticking out from under his cap, his piercing brown eyes and thick brows, his nose is straight and he has full lips; the only way to describe his face is strong, with his square jaw. He is tall and even in the old uniform she can tell his body is lean and muscular. She smiles as she watches him stand silently at attention.

  “Who are you?” rising up to lean against the headboard to her bed. Not expecting an answer, Della rearranges her pillows behind her to sit more comfortable. Smoothing the quilt across her lap she waits patiently.

  He stands frozen in place, afraid to move from the spot as he drinks in the sight of this lovely young lady speaking to him. Her hair a light brown hangs over her shoulder almost to her waist, bright blue eyes look at him with interest, her nose and mouth tiny, petite. He feels as if he could look at her forever and never get enough. He has been stuck here in this house since the summer of 1863, people have lived in this house on and off over the years, why after all these years is it this person who sees him, will she be able to hear him as well. “Miss, I am Sargent First Class Archibald Butterworth.” He continued to stand at the foot of her bed. Frowning down at her he tries to keep his excitement hidden. “You can see me; it’s been a long time since I have been spoken to. I do not understand the reason for this.” Seeing her jump after his first spoken word, he knows she can hear him, he just isn’t sure if this is good or bad.

  For generations this house has been home to her family, passed down from one family member to another. Having grown up in this house Della had heard the stories of a Union soldier, a man unable to move on, a ghost.

  The shock of hearing his voice, the deep alto sound, has her heart racing and her answering without thought. “My name is Della Cain.” She continues in a rush. “And you must be the ghost that I sensed in our attic. Why are you here? Why do you not move on to where ever ghosts go? Why are you standing in my room? Why can I see and hear you?” As she asked her questions Della motions for him to sit on the bed as she tries to calm her nerves.

  Shaking his head no, Archibald begins to pace around her room. Rubbing his forehead he starts speaking, almost as if to himself. “I do not know why I am here, Miss Della. And I also do not understand why you can see me and hear me, I have tried to speak with others but unfortunately no one has ever responded. You have to understand I was a good soldier, I was a good man. I do not know why God has not allowed me to join my family and friends. I do not know why I stay here after my body died by the pond while fighting beside my men in the Regiment.”

  Still frowning he moves closer to her bed. “Miss Della, I am a man with great pride, but I am going to put that behind me, I am begging you to help me. I need your help to understand why I am still here, unable to leave this place. I have tried to figure this out over the last 75 years; I am unable to do this without help. You are the only human that has ever seen me. I have tried over the years to make contact with the people that lived here, I can make things move if I concentrate, but not one person has seen or heard me. Sometimes the family pets would know I was around, but they are useless to me.” He looks at Miss Della pleading with his eyes for her to understand his frustration, his feeling of hopelessness.

  Seeing him look so sad and lost; her heart breaks for his pain. Deciding she will help his poor soul, she moved from the bed to stand in front of him. “I will do everything in my power to help you. We will figure out the why and the how. But we have to keep this our secret. I do not want my family to think I am crazy. After all, helping a Union ghost is not something a southern lady would do.” Della smiles shyly. Wishing she could touch him, to offer human contact. But knowing if she did her hand would pass through him, she was unable to bring herself to try.

  Her smile has Archibald staring at her mouth, the lovely Miss Della would be shocked if she knew he wishes he could lean closer and steal a kiss as her lips are very inviting. Reminding him he needs her help and he doesn’t want to scare her, he thanks her and leaves, fading into the background until he is gone.

  When Archibald vanishes, Della sits on the edge of her bed and sighs. Thinking to herself she has lost her mind. She just agreed to help a Union ghost, granted a very sexy Union Ghost. Covering her mouth with her hands to keep quite she began to giggle with glee.

  Over the next days, weeks, months and years Della and Archibald became friends, however; neither was able to figure out a way for him to move on.

  Chapter One

  Laying with her eyes close she listens to the sounds around her. The beeps of the machines, the soft whispers of voices and even the light footsteps walking close by. Before she opens her eyes she realizes she is in a hospital, just the sickly smell of the antibacterial cleaning supplies verifies what she already knows to be true.

  Slowly, she moves her toes, alright they work, next she moves her feet and they work too. When she lifts her arms she discovers her left hand and arm is in a cast. but thanks goodness not on her right hand. opens her eyes. The overhead lights are dim however she can make out the objects in the room; the single bed, night stand, bed tray and several machines close to the left side of her bed monitoring her vitals.

  The fact she is in a private room pleases her. She isn’t a person who enjoys small talk with strangers. She likes to be alone; she works alone, lives alone and spends most of her evenings alone. So what if sometimes she craves someone to discuss the events of her day. These feelings always pass. Since the death of her brother several months ago, her alone time has become more frequent, with only brief encounters with strangers. Loved ones will always leave; some by choice, others by chance. She is learning to accept this reality.

  Deciding it is time to move in order to check the extent of her injuries Stephanie rises up on her elbows; it is at that moment she sees a man sleeping on a chair at the far end of the room. Propped up she takes her time studying him. The fact she doesn’t know him makes her weary. He is slumped on the ugly orange chair, but the length of his jean clad legs spread out in front of him would make him tall, very tall, at the end of his long legs he wore brown leather cowboy boots. His chest is covered by a navy blue t-shirt, but she can still see he is muscular. His hair dark brown The weight is there, Finally, Stephanie looks a little long, as if he was due a haircut but hadn’t had time.

  As he sleeps Stephanie shifts her attention to the man’s face. His face is tanned indicating he spends a lot of time outdoors, she observes his square jaw is firm even in sleep. His eyebrows are black, straight and thick; his nose has a slight bump hinting it has been broken several times. Dropping her eyes she notices his lips are full but not too big and the only thought that comes to mind is they are the kind of lips described as kissable. Each feature s
eparately isn’t much to write home about but together they make him a very handsome man. With his eyes closed Stephanie doesn’t have a clue of their color. However, based on his skin tone and dark hair she will wager his eyes are green.

  Needing to check how mobile she is, Stephanie raises up into a sitting position. The pain in her chest is her ribs, bandaged; Stephanie figures cracked at least one maybe two. bad, guess the pain medicine in the IV is helping. relief she scoots to the edge of the bed and dangles her legs over the side. Using her good hand she pushes herself upward off the mattress to stand. Not dizzy, good sign. Standing feels good, not sure what day this is Stephanie has no idea how long she has been in the hospital. The last thing she remembers before today, she had been driving to a little town in Kentucky. A place to start over, to get a fresh start, to put down roots, a place to stay longer than a couple of years.

  Thinking back, Stephanie lost in her thoughts; she can’t remember ever staying in one place past two years. Her Mother, God rest her soul, was a dreamer. She wanted the best for her children, always figured the next town; the next state would be it. Her Mother would pack up their belongings, what little they had and tell stories of better opportunities at the next destination. Once they reach the new town her Mother would find work, usually as a waitress working long hours. Mitch, Stephanie's older brother, would make sure they would eat, do homework and keep the house clean. Mitch had been her rock. Thinking of Mitch still hurts, so Stephanie cut off her thoughts.

  Hearing the chair squeak Stephanie clears her mind, turning The pain isn’t Sighing with

  she looks in the direction of the sound. Signing she sees the stranger is awake and staring at her.

  Stretching and flexing his shoulders Chase raises from the chair to stand. As Sheriff of Dusten, he knows the basic about the lady standing by the bed. He also knows this lady is suspicious, he can tell by the way she squared her shoulders as she turned to face him. But face him she did. She defiantly has a back bone.

  "Ms. Tuney, I am glad to see your up and about, you must be feeling better. You still have quite a bump on your head", he smiles as he walks to stand in front of her. Looking down he realizes how tiny she is, from her driver's license he knows she is 5'3" tall, weighs 116 pounds, her eyes are blue and she is 26 years old. The information on her license is just the facts, the reality of the lady before him is blow your mind beautiful, even with the huge bump on her forehead and dressed in the ugly hospital gown.

  "Who", clearing her throat Stephanie tries again, "Who are you?" Realizing he is standing so close, she moves back a step, stopping when she feels the edge of the bed touch her legs.

  His hand raised to touch her cheek finds only empty air. Dropping his arm to his side, Chase takes a step back away from her, sensing she needs space as much as answers. "I apologize, let me introduce myself; my name is Chase Peterson, I am the Sheriff of Crockett County, Kentucky. You are in the hospital in Darrin County it neighbors the county of Crockett." Waiting a second he adds, "How much do you remember about the accident”?

  Not much, she admits to herself. Outwards she shrugs one slim shoulder. Lifting her right hand Stephanie feels her forehead, finding the egg size bump. Blowing out a breath she becomes conscious she must look awful then feels silly; it doesn’t matter what she looks like, Sheriff Peterson isn’t anything to her. He is probably married with six children. Still she is a woman and therefore, as a woman, needs to be at her best at all times. This thought makes her smile; she can actually hear her Mother’s voice inside her head, saying those exact words.

  Pulling the orange chair beside the bed, Chase sits down as he motions for Stephanie to sit on the bed. The tubes in her arm won’t allow her to move much further; he doesn’t want her standing uncomfortably with no place to go, as they both have questions.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed Stephanie makes eye contact with Sheriff Peterson. “I don’t remember much about the accident. The other car was dark and it was big, but I don’t know the make or model.” Stephanie waits for his criticisms. Her brother would tease her making her feel stupid when she had no clue concerning the car he would be discussing. Looking down at the cast, she starts picking at a string on the section by her thumb.

  Sensing her nervousness Chase keeps his voice calm and low, “That’s fine; the witness told me that information. My question is do you know why someone would want to deliberately run you off the road? Because, Ms. Tuney, believe me I know what I am saying; this was no accident”. He knew the exact second she realized the extent of his words. Her eyes got huge and he could almost see her brain trying to process.

  “You have to be wrong, I don’t know anyone here”, this coming out in a whisper, Stephanie keeps staring at Chase needing him to explain why he assumes her accident was no accident.

  Before either can say another word, the door opens and a young nurse walks in, the nurse looked to be just out of high school, her blonde hair pulled into a pony tail reaches about her mid back. She has a light complexion; her eyes are dark blue with light brown eyebrows arched neatly, a small nose and her lips are thin and curvy. Her oval face brings all her features together, making her a beautiful young woman.

  “How are you feeling? It’s nice to see you awake and sitting up”. Seeing them both awake she smiles at Chase, “Well hello there”. Marty walks to the side of the bed, picking up Stephanie’s right wrist; she begins doing a vital check. “My name is Marty; I am the nurse on duty for today.”

  Stephanie opens her mouth to respond just as the nurse sticks a thermometer inside. Sighing, Stephanie closes her lips around it. Deciding to just allow the nurse to do her job Stephanie sits patiently. While waiting Stephanie sneaks a peek at the Sheriff, he is just sitting on the ugly orange chair as if he has all the time in the world, his calm attitude helps smooth her nerves. When his eyes move to lock with hers, she has a feeling of being pulled towards a giant green field, smiling as she remembers she had figured his eyes would be green. As they continue to gaze into each other’s eyes, Stephanie wonders what he is thinking about; she continues to hold his stare until he breaks eye contact.

  Rising from the chair, Chase walks to the window pretending to look out at the parking lot. He tries to get her mouth out of his mind. He is the Sheriff; he is here to protect and serve. He is here to get facts. He is not here to think about Ms. Tuney’s mouth. He is not here to fantasize about kissing her. He is not here to be distracted by her. Breathing deeply, he tries to calm his nerves as well as other parts of his anatomy. Squaring his shoulders he turns to face the room; his eyes are drawn straight to Stephanie, seeing her face has gone pale he starts to move. Glancing down he sees Nurse Marty is tightening the bandage surrounding her torso.

  Marty talks quietly to Stephanie as she finishes the task of fastening the bandage. Once completed, she turns gathering together the instruments. Stephanie looks around the nurse to see Chase, “Sheriff, Marty says the doctor will be in soon”. Frowning, why did she tell him that, it really wasn’t any of his business?

  “Good”, moving to stand by the bed, Chase lays his hand on Stephanie’s shoulder, massaging with small circle movements. Her bones feel fragile under his hand, she seems delicate and petite.

  The warmth of his touch feels good; Stephanie closes her eyes enjoying the sensation as his hand continues to slowly rub her shoulder. It has been a long time since she wanted a man’s touch. Just the heat from his hand soothes her; she comes to the conclusion that the medicine is making her feel these things. Since she doesn’t know him, there is no other reason to explain her reaction to his touch.

  Clearing her throat Nurse Marty picks up the tray with the instruments then walks towards the door, “The doctor will be here soon. If you need anything just push the call button.” A few seconds later the door closes.

  Hearing the click of the door, Stephanie opens her eyes to look at Chase. “Before the Doctor comes in I need you to tell me why someone would run me off the road”, actually holding her breath she
waits for his reply.

  Giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, he moves to lean against the window sill, Chase crosses his arms over his chest as he begins to tell her everything, “Let me start at the beginning; the part I know. I know your Stephanie Tuney, your Great Aunt Della left you her farm and it took three years for the estate attorney to find you. Everyone in Dusten has heard you are coming to claim your inheritance. The house hasn’t been lived in since Della lived there so several ladies from town went out there and cleaned it. Just dusting and light stuff, kind of aired the place out for you. To my knowledge no one in Dusten is angry towards you or even knows what you look like. I don’t believe anyone local is responsible for your accident”. Chase watches as she absorbed what he has told her so far. Stephanie is silent waiting for him to continue. “As for who would want to run you off the road…..I have no clue. Don’t know who or why. I was hoping once you regain consciousness, you would be able to shed some light on this.” Finished speaking Chase stands quietly giving Stephanie time to think about his words.

  Eyes wide, her brain struggles to make sense, “I don’t know why either. I thought it was an honest to goodness accident.” Taking a deep breath she tries to remain calm; Stephanie again waits for the Sheriff to continue.

  Straightening to his full six feet height he begins to explain, “The stretch of road you were on is well traveled. The SUV was dark gray 2006 or 2007. The license plate was covered and the witness said the vehicle passed him moving fast. It came up behind you, you slowed down. I am guessing you were allowing it to pass however it didn’t. The SUV first rammed your bumper hard then hit your bumper on the right side; your car started to spin, it went off the shoulder of road and flipped several times. The SUV left the scene. The witness stopped, called 911 and worked to get you out of your car. It was the medics using a crowbar to open your door before you were able to be move from the vehicle.” Chase relates just the facts; keeping his voice neutral. However inside he is still furious knowing someone did this to her then had left the scene not caring if she lived or died; with careless disregard for human life. As Sheriff he hated not having the rest of the facts and not being any closer to solving the crime; he hated these feelings of uselessness.