wedding. I wouldn’t have gone otherwise. Call me a silly old man if you want, but I can’t change the way I think. If you’d have seen what I saw, you’d understand.”
“I do understand, Gramps…least I think I do and I really appreciate you telling me about all this. I know it wasn’t easy for you. Do you think your father and the other elders did the right thing? I mean, they killed a preacher, right? That’s heavy shit.”
“I don’t know. It’s a question that haunted my father to the day he died. He never came up with an answer and I doubt you or I ever will either. Only God can answer it, I suppose. I shouldn’t have told you. You’ll think all your ancestors were lunatics.”
“No I don’t, big guy. I love ya, and I’m glad you told me. I’ve always wondered what happened there and why no one ever wanted to talk about it. Now I know. Here…have another drink of your water. Be right back.”
Kelly got up to go rinse their coffee cups, leaving her grandfather slumped at the table, head bowed and looking like his thoughts were somewhere far, far away. She wondered how much of that fairy tale her grandfather actually believed. He’d only been a boy at the time and surely whatever had happened back in his village had morphed into something far worse than what really took place. Like any good story, the truth gets lost in time and the storyteller starts to add in things to make the tale more sensational to the listener. No doubt, Kelly’s ancestor must have had a hand in overthrowing their town leader, but whatever his crimes were she had serious doubts Joshua Miller had been evil incarnate and a close personal friend of the devil’s. It was an awful story and an incredible part of her family history, but on top of all the madness, mayhem, and horrible violence, Kelly couldn’t stop thinking about the one other thing Malcolm had offhandedly mentioned even before he’d begun his story. Something that struck a chord with her more than the vigilante justice and satanic ghost story had.
…the council might have to find Joshua’s hidden gold to refurbish the theater.
“Joshua’s gold?” Kelly whispered, testing the words on her tongue. Was the crazy old preacher rich? Could that much of the story be true? Had Joshua Miller buried thegold in his church, or maybe hidden it somewhere else in the Grove? Better yet, had anyone found it or was it still out there somewhere in the woods?
These questions and many more kept popping into Kelly’s head. She could use that cash to help start up the restaurant she’d been dreaming of, but she was also thinking about Dan and Rich’s floundering landscaping business and how maybe there was a way to pay off their debts and keep them in business after all. Even if she and Dan never got back together as a couple, she still cared about both of them and would be thrilled to be the one who came up with the plan that might salvage their company. Crazy as her plan might be. Hell, maybe they could even donate some of the gold to help rebuild the Paramount Theatre like her grandfather wanted. That would make him incredibly happy, which was reason enough in itself. The possibilities were endless. If the gold actually existed, that was. And if they could find it. After all, all she had to go on were the stories of an old man whose memories probably couldn’t be trusted, but Malcolm had never lied to her before so maybe there was something to this after all.
She put the clean cups in the cupboard and headed back to the table. In the dining room, Malcolm was still trapped in the past, staring out the front window but probably not seeing anything in the here and now. It was sad to see him looking so small and frail, looking guilty of a crime that wasn’t his, lost in memories that were likely closer to fiction than anything resembling the truth. This was definitely a side of her grandfather Kelly wasn’t used to seeing; a secret side of him that had obviously been
“I do understand, Gramps…least I think I do and I really appreciate you telling me about all this. I know it wasn’t easy for you. Do you think your father and the other elders did the right thing? I mean, they killed a preacher, right? That’s heavy shit.”
“I don’t know. It’s a question that haunted my father to the day he died. He never came up with an answer and I doubt you or I ever will either. Only God can answer it, I suppose. I shouldn’t have told you. You’ll think all your ancestors were lunatics.”
“No I don’t, big guy. I love ya, and I’m glad you told me. I’ve always wondered what happened there and why no one ever wanted to talk about it. Now I know. Here…have another drink of your water. Be right back.”
Kelly got up to go rinse their coffee cups, leaving her grandfather slumped at the table, head bowed and looking like his thoughts were somewhere far, far away. She wondered how much of that fairy tale her grandfather actually believed. He’d only been a boy at the time and surely whatever had happened back in his village had morphed into something far worse than what really took place. Like any good story, the truth gets lost in time and the storyteller starts to add in things to make the tale more sensational to the listener. No doubt, Kelly’s ancestor must have had a hand in overthrowing their town leader, but whatever his crimes were she had serious doubts Joshua Miller had been evil incarnate and a close personal friend of the devil’s. It was an awful story and an incredible part of her family history, but on top of all the madness, mayhem, and horrible violence, Kelly couldn’t stop thinking about the one other thing Malcolm had offhandedly mentioned even before he’d begun his story. Something that struck a chord with her more than the vigilante justice and satanic ghost story had.
…the council might have to find Joshua’s hidden gold to refurbish the theater.
“Joshua’s gold?” Kelly whispered, testing the words on her tongue. Was the crazy old preacher rich? Could that much of the story be true? Had Joshua Miller buried thegold in his church, or maybe hidden it somewhere else in the Grove? Better yet, had anyone found it or was it still out there somewhere in the woods?
These questions and many more kept popping into Kelly’s head. She could use that cash to help start up the restaurant she’d been dreaming of, but she was also thinking about Dan and Rich’s floundering landscaping business and how maybe there was a way to pay off their debts and keep them in business after all. Even if she and Dan never got back together as a couple, she still cared about both of them and would be thrilled to be the one who came up with the plan that might salvage their company. Crazy as her plan might be. Hell, maybe they could even donate some of the gold to help rebuild the Paramount Theatre like her grandfather wanted. That would make him incredibly happy, which was reason enough in itself. The possibilities were endless. If the gold actually existed, that was. And if they could find it. After all, all she had to go on were the stories of an old man whose memories probably couldn’t be trusted, but Malcolm had never lied to her before so maybe there was something to this after all.
She put the clean cups in the cupboard and headed back to the table. In the dining room, Malcolm was still trapped in the past, staring out the front window but probably not seeing anything in the here and now. It was sad to see him looking so small and frail, looking guilty of a crime that wasn’t his, lost in memories that were likely closer to fiction than anything resembling the truth. This was definitely a side of her grandfather Kelly wasn’t used to seeing; a secret side of him that had obviously been
Similar Books
