Free A Love for all Ages (Crockett County Trilogy Book 1) by Brenda Phillips

last look to make sure all the journals
are out, Stephanie turns and follows Chase slowly; at the door she
turns to look back at the trunk thinking she had heard a soft sigh.
Not seeing anything out of the ordinary she continues to the stairs.
Chase doesn’t tell her
He had searched the
Chapter Three
    Archibald is relieved now that Miss Stephanie has the
journals, he will give her a few days to read them then he will show
himself to her.
He couldn’t believe his eyes when he seen her get
out of the motorized thing yesterday.
She is the spitting image of
his Dear Della.
The young man had seen him at the window; he
had come up the stairs quickly and almost caught him before he
could vanish.
For years it had been just him and Della together,
they would sit and talk for hours.
The few times over the years
when someone came to visit Della, he would just go upstairs, out of
sight. Della liked it better when he could be seen by her.
She
always said she wanted to see who she was talking to.
Smiling
with glee, he decides he will enjoy talking with someone again; he
wants to tell Miss Stephanie all about his Della.
    Sitting at the kitchen table Stephanie flips open the journal
dated the earliest.
With the kitten at her feet and Chase fixing
grilled cheese sandwiches, she begins reading out loud the first
entry.
July 14th
Dear Diary,
    Today I met Archibald.
He is a wonderful man; I could fall in
love with him. I may be almost in love with him now.
My parents
would have me committed if they knew I was falling in love with
Archibald.
    He came to me in my bedroom, he asked for my help, to help
him find his way out of here and to help him move on.
I don’t want
him to leave, but I gave him my word I would help him, and a lady
never goes back on her word.
    I know when he does leave my heart will be broken.
Not
sure how or when we will be able to do this, but until that time I will
treasure each and every day we have together.
    When Stephanie finishes reading the entry she looks at
Chase, “That is so sad; she is in love with a man her parents don’t
approve of.
You have lived here all your life; do you know if Della
and Archibald got to be together?” Debating on whether to skip
some entries to find out for herself, she decides that wouldn’t be
fair to Della.
    Sitting the plate with her grilled cheese sandwich in front of
her Chase sets down cross the table from her, after he takes a bite
of his sandwich, he address her question.
“Remember yesterday
at the diner when I told you I would never lie to you.”
She nods so
he continues, “Well, what I know about your Aunt and this Archibald
is not a love story with a happy ending.
Archibald was a soldier in
the Union Army,” as she opens her mouth to interrupt, he holds up
his hand to stop her, “Let me finish before you ask questions,” again
she nods while she takes a bite of her sandwich.
    “Now where was I, oh yes, he was a soldier and was killed
about seventy-five years before Della was born.”
Letting
Stephanie comprehend this information, he takes another bite of his
sandwich.
After he swallows he tries to explain, “Archibald was
killed in the civil war, over by the pond on the east side of the
house.”
He asked for the sake of asking, “Do you believe in
ghost?”
    Blinking several times Stephanie finally confides she does,
however not the type of ghosts that try to kill or hurt humans.
She
explains she believes there are ghosts that die and are unable to
move on to heaven; more spirits then ghost.
She has to know his
opinion so she asks the same question he just asked her, “Do you
believe in ghost?”
    Smiling he lays his hand over hers, “Yes My Lady I do.
I
grew up in this town; I grew up with the stories of Archibald.
And
later I heard the rumors of Della and Archibald.
When I was a
teenager I would come here to do the repairs on the house and yard
work for Della.
I remember seeing a man standing watching me as
I