Spilling the Tea

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

F elicia Laverne took a sip of her tea while glancing around the living room. Her sons, grands, great-grands, and their spouses were all present to hear what she had to say. The murder attempt on her and Zoey’s lives had them demanding to know why Chance’s ex-fiancée had tried killing them.

She saw Zoey was sitting close to Chance. His arms were wrapped protectively around her shoulders. Felicia Laverne suspected there would be another Madaris wedding soon. This would be one love match she hadn’t orchestrated. However, she was convinced her beloved Milton, Waylon, and Victoria had. Undoubtedly, the three felt it was time to end the Satterfield and Madaris feud once and for all.

“What I’m about to tell you are things that happened in this family years ago, and how that history has become tied to the present,” she said, getting everyone’s attention. “I had assumed I would take this story to the grave with me, but that won’t be the case.” After taking another sip of her tea, she said, “First, I must tell you about the Madaris Scandal.”

Milton Madaris Jr., her firstborn, who felt he had a right to know everything about the family said, “I never knew about any Madaris Scandal.”

“It was before you were born, Milton,” she said.

“Oh.”

Felicia Laverne then told everyone about Milton Sr.’s close friendship with Waylon Satterfield. Everybody listened, and no one asked questions. She told them of Charlotte’s lie and how it tore the two families apart. She shared Charlotte’s banishment and the terms Kurt Satterfield had in his will that neither Charlotte nor any of her offspring could inherit Satterfield land. She also explained how Kurt had ended Waylon and Victoria’s engagement.

After taking another sip of tea, she resumed her story, bringing them to when Victoria and Waylon attempted to elope, Pa Jantzen’s stroke, and why he made Victoria promise never to marry Waylon.

Felicia Laverne wasn’t surprised when several women dabbed tears from their eyes. She then apprised them of Victoria’s decision to remain in Paris after attending nursing school, and working at a hospital there. After five years, Waylon married a woman named Deedra and moved on with his life. When their uncle Quantum died, Victoria returned to the States and took a job at a hospital in Ohio. Felicia Laverne realized her sons knew that much, since they’d always looked forward to their aunt’s visits.

“Then she died in a senseless robbery,” Jonathan said with both anger and pain in his voice.

“Yes, but several things happened a few years before that. When her pa, Jantzen, became ill, Victoria returned home to help care for him. Before dying, he released Victoria from that promise to never marry Waylon. His wife Deedra had died of pneumonia five years earlier.”

“Did Victoria and Waylon reconnect?” Justin’s wife, Lorren, asked, with hopefulness in her voice.

“Yes, they began seeing each other in private.”

“Why in private?” her son Lee asked. “They were both single.”

“Yes,” Felicia Laverne confirmed. “However, Penny Satterfield still had a grudge against the Madaris family.”

“Who cared how that old woman felt?” Milton Jr. asked, frowning.

“Your aunt Victoria cared. She didn’t want to do anything to upset Waylon’s mother in her old age. However, Waylon was past caring.”

“Good for him,” Clayton said.

“Waylon wanted more than to date in secret. He wanted marriage and felt they owed that to each other.”

Felicia Laverne gazed at Jake who was sitting with his wife, Diamond. “So, Jake, you and Diamond didn’t have the first secret marriage in the Madaris family.”

“Wait a minute,” her son Nolan said, standing. “Are you saying Aunt Victoria got married without any of us knowing about it?”

She saw the shocked look on all her sons’ faces. “Yes. The only people who knew were me, Milton, and Waylon’s daughter, Arabella. They got married in Virginia, so Arabella could be present.”

“I never saw Aunt Victoria wearing a wedding ring,” her son Lucas said.

“She had one, but since their marriage was a secret, she didn’t wear it in public. Waylon had a lovely gold necklace with a diamond designed for her and presented it to her as a wedding gift, to symbolize their union. She wore that necklace every day. It’s the necklace Zoey is wearing.”

Everyone stared at Zoey. Most had seen her wearing the necklace, but none had known its history.

“Keeping their marriage a secret worked well for them,” Felicia Laverne continued. “Victoria moved into the cabin Waylon had built for her years before. Although Waylon spent more time at the cabin than he did at home, his mother never suspected a thing. They also spent a lot of time away in Virginia visiting Arabella. They decided to announce their marriage to Ms. Penny on their second anniversary.”

“Wait a minute,” Jonathan said, as if he’d just remembered something vital. “The night Aunt Victoria was robbed, her killer took that necklace. The police captured him after he’d pawned it.”

“Yes. Milton returned the necklace to Waylon, who gave it to Arabella.”

“I knew that necklace was familiar when I saw you wearing it at the family reunion,” Jonathan said to Zoey.

“My grandmother Arabella wrote in her diary how honored she felt to wear it because she knew how much her father had loved Victoria,” Zoey said sadly.

“Legally, Victoria Madaris was Victoria Satterfield when she died,” Clayton said. “That meant Waylon Satterfield should have handled everything as her next of kin.”

“True,” Felicia Laverne agreed. “However, Waylon took Victoria’s death extremely hard. They had been married a month shy of two years. He and Milton knew revealing their secret marriage would cause unnecessary gossip. That was the last thing Milton, as her brother, and Waylon, as her husband, wanted. They also knew it would not have been what Victoria would have wanted. So, Waylon asked Milton to handle the arrangements. However, an agreement was made between the best friends that when Waylon died, he would be buried with Victoria.”

The room became silent as what she said sank in. Of course, it was Milton Jr. who asked, “Are you saying Waylon Satterfield is buried with Aunt Victoria in that tomb?”

Felicia Laverne nodded. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. He’d also told Arabella what he wanted, and when he died, the burial arrangements were made in accordance with his wishes.”

“I recall going to his funeral and saw his casket lowered to the ground,” her son Lee said.

“That night, your father, along with a couple of his trusted ranch hands, dug it back up, recovered the grave, and placed Waylon’s coffin where Milton had promised it would be. Right beside his wife’s. Inside the tomb is a beautiful bronze plaque Arabella had made, with the words, Waylon and Victoria Satterfield. Together forever .”

“How touching,” Sam, Blade’s wife, said. “I’m glad that after all they went through, they spent at least two years happily married.”

“Is that why the tomb was sealed shut?”

“Yes,” Felicia Laverne answered her son Nolan. “Milton knew the secret would one day be revealed if it wasn’t. He sealed it shut before he died.”

Felicia Laverne paused, then said, “There is something else all of you need to know. Penny Satterfield had been carrying around hate for our family for so long, she hadn’t realized what travesty it had caused Waylon. When Victoria died, that’s when he told his mother that he and Victoria had been married for almost two years, noting why they had kept it from her. She saw how hard he was taking his wife’s death. I understand his revelation made her feel bad because Waylon had been a good son who had taken care of her after Mr. Kurt’s death. She felt worse when she learned the name of the young man who’d been arrested for killing Victoria.”

“Why?” Jonathan asked. “If I recall, he wasn’t from around these parts, but someone passing through. He committed suicide just days after being arrested.”

“Did Penny Satterfield know the man?” Jake then asked.

“Yes,” Felicia replied. “Although the name meant nothing to Waylon, Penny recognized it as the son Charlotte had from her second husband.”

“What?!” Several voices said simultaneously before pandemonium broke out among her sons.

“Are you saying Aunt Victoria’s death was not a random robbery but was intentional?” Jonathan asked in a steely voice.

“Yes, but we didn’t discover this until months later,” Felicia Laverne said. “Although Kurt Satterfield had forbidden Penny to have contact with Charlotte, she did so anyway behind his back. That’s how she knew Charlotte’s oldest son, the one she’d claimed was Milton’s, had gotten killed in a card game at twenty-one. Her second son, I understand, was always in and out of trouble with the law and had been in jail a few times. Charlotte had corrupted his mind against the Madaris family. Doing what he thought would please his mother, he traveled to Houston, stalked Victoria, and took her life when he had the opportunity to do so.”

Pandemonium broke out again, her sons all speaking at once.

“Why wasn’t Charlotte arrested?”

“Why weren’t we told of this?”

Felicia Laverne waited for her sons to rein in their anger before answering. “No one made the connection since the man had a different last name. Ms. Penny only confessed all this to Waylon on her deathbed almost a year later. And there was something else she confessed to Waylon at that time.”

“What?” Jake asked when his other brothers seemed too upset to do so.

“When Waylon left town to visit Arabella in Virginia to give her the necklace, Penny Satterfield caught a train to Denver without letting him know she was doing so.” Felicia Laverne took a sip of her tea, then added, “She confronted Charlotte about what her son had done and broke the news to her that he’d died by suicide in jail. It seems that particular son had been Charlotte’s favorite, and she took the news of his death hard. I’m told she lashed out at her mother, slapped her, and blamed her for letting Kurt banish her. She further stated she was glad Waylon was hurting because of Victoria’s death.”

She shook her head. “Penny finally saw what a spoiled, selfish, and hateful ingrate her daughter was, unlike Waylon, who’d been a kind and loving son. Before leaving Denver, Penny took her daughter’s life.”

Sharp gasps sounded around the room. “She killed her daughter?” Nolan the third asked, incredulously. Like the shocked faces of the others, he found such a thing unbelievable.

“Yes. Penny confessed to putting a poisonous drug in the glass of whiskey Charlotte was drinking.”

“The police didn’t detect foul play?” Emerson asked.

Felicia Laverne turned to her great-grandson, a state prosecutor. Of course, he would find that question of significant importance since he firmly believed in law and order. “No. Penny returned home and told no one what she’d done or that she’d even left Houston. Charlotte’s death was ruled as an overdose of liquor. When she was found, it was discovered she’d drunk not only that glass, but several bottles. She had a history of heart problems and had been warned to stop drinking, so it was ruled an overdose. Like I said, Penny didn’t tell Waylon what she’d done until she was on her deathbed and apologized for being the cause of his unhappiness for so many years.”

“I guess Ms. Penny took the phrase, ‘I brought you into this world, and I’ll take you out,’ literally,” Blade said, shaking his head.

“Waylon was shaken by his mother’s confession and told me and Milton about it. Since Penny was gone, there was no reason to go to the police with anything. The case was already closed.”

“So, how is Ravena Boyle involved in this?” Reese asked.

After releasing a deep breath, Felicia Laverne said, “Ravena is Charlotte’s great-granddaughter. All you need to know right now is that Charlotte’s hatred for the Madaris family was passed down from generation to generation. Ravena tried killing me for revenge since Milton married me instead of Charlotte. It was only recently Ravena discovered Zoey was also a Satterfield.”

Felicia Laverne leaned back in her chair. “So, there you have it. Secrets never told. Hopefully, now we can get on with our lives and finally move on.”

***

An hour later, Felicia Laverne called a private meeting at Jake’s study with Alex and Zoey. She wasn’t surprised when Chance attended as well.

“Before I let Alexander speak, dear,” she told Zoey. “I want to say the reason I asked him to investigate a few things had nothing to do with me suspecting you of anything. It had to do with your aunt. Even if Paulina Pritchard disliked your mother, I found it hard to believe she would go to the extent that she did to try to keep your memory from returning. I wanted Alexander to find out all he could. In investigating her, he discovered a connection to Ravena. I’ll let him take over from here and explain.”

Alex leaned forward, holding everyone’s attention. “According to my investigation, ten years after leaving Houston, Charlotte gave birth to a daughter who she named Wanda. By then, she’d been divorced twice, was unmarried and had fallen on hard times. When she saw she wasn’t able to care for both Wanda and her two sons, she gave her two-year-old daughter to a childless older couple she’d met.

“When Wanda Hagans discovered she was adopted, at sixteen, she dropped out of school, abandoned the parents who’d raised her and set off to locate her biological mother. She found her.” Alex paused before continuing. “Charlotte made it her life’s mission to poison her offspring’s minds against her parents, brother, and the Madaris family. When Charlotte died of what everyone assumed was an overdose of alcohol, Wanda was living in Tennessee with her boyfriend and newborn child. A daughter. Upon hearing about her mother’s death, Wanda vowed to get revenge against those she felt were responsible for her mother’s banishment from Houston, Texas.

“Wanda’s daughter, Samantha, got pregnant at eighteen. A few years later, Samantha died of a drug overdose. Wanda raised Samantha’s child, and it wasn’t long before she began corrupting Samantha’s daughter’s mind against the Satterfields and Madarises. Samantha’s daughter is Ravena Boyle.”

Chance shook his head. “When we met, Ravena told me all her relatives were deceased.”

“When she told you that, Wanda was very much alive and helping Ravena plan Mama Laverne’s death. She only died a year ago.”

He then turned to Zoey. “From my report, I discovered Wanda found out about the death of your parents, which made you the heir to the Satterfield estate. After the courts awarded custody of you to Paulina Pritchard, Wanda and her boyfriend showed up in San Francisco and threatened to petition the courts for custody of you, Zoey. Wanda told Paulina that the only way she would agree to leave you alone was if Paulina sold the Satterfield ranch and gave her the proceeds. She also told your aunt to make sure you didn’t regain your memory and one day demand the money be repaid.”

“That’s why the deed indicated the Satterfield Ranch had been sold to a bank,” Zoey said.

“Yes, that’s why. So, Zoey, it seemed that the reason your aunt never shared anything about your mother’s past with you and tried to keep you from regaining your memory was because she was trying to protect you. I don’t want to imagine how your life might have turned out if custody had been given to Wanda.”

Zoey didn’t want to imagine that either. “How did you find out about Ravena and her sinister plan?”

Alex leaned back in his chair. “Ravena’s ex-husband. She married him a couple of years after ending her engagement with Chance. The man provided the names of some of Ravena’s closest friends he felt I should talk to. One such friend was a woman living in Atlanta named Tanya Goodman. Fearful of becoming an accessory to anything Ravena might do, she spilled her guts. She had just spoken to Ravena a few days ago, and Ravena had outlined her plans on how she intended to get rid of Mama Laverne and later get rid of you, Zoey. Catching the two of you together today gave her the perfect opportunity. She’d only discovered a couple of weeks ago that you were Waylon Satterfield’s great-granddaughter.”

The room got quiet, and then Felicia Laverne spoke. “As you can see, dear, although I still think your aunt could have done a better job in giving you the love you needed, at least now you know her reasons for doing some of the things she did. She might not have liked your mother very much, but I want to believe she did love you and did what she could to protect you from Wanda Hagans. For that, I’m grateful to her.”

Zoey wiped the tears from her eyes. “I am grateful to her, too. I am also grateful to you, Ms. Felicia, for caring enough to want me to know the truth.” She loved Ms. Felicia and felt she was everything she believed her great-grandmother Deedra would have been.

***

Later that night, after making love, Chance held Zoey in his arms. His great-grandmother had unloaded a lot of family secrets on them. He wouldn’t lie and say finding out about the depth of Ravena’s duplicity hadn’t bothered him because it had.

He was about to shift in bed when Zoey suddenly jerked up and began screaming, breaking free of his hold and tossing around in bed. “Zoey, baby, it’s okay. You’re having a nightmare. Wake up, baby. You’re with me. Wake up,” he whispered soothingly. He assumed she was having nightmares of the barn burning that day, and thoughts of what could have happened if help hadn’t arrived in time.

Her eyes flew open, and she threw herself into his arms and began crying in earnest. He gently stroked her back while continuing to speak soothingly to her. Moments later, when her crying had subsided, she pulled back while wiping away her tears. “I remember, Chance. I remember everything about my childhood. My mom, dad, and grandparents. I remember Sharon. I was to stay with her that day but begged Daddy to take me with him when he went to the hospital to get Mommy and my baby brother. I remember the day I saw him.”

More tears fell, and she held tight to his arms as she stared into his eyes. “I remember we were on our way home, singing a happy song—my parents and I—then suddenly a truck appeared out of nowhere. I remember the crash and screaming for my daddy and mommy. Then I recall nothing else until I woke up in the hospital in excruciating pain.”

He held her as she cried. He loved her so much that his heart ached at the sound of her crying. So much that he wasn’t sure how he would let her leave him to return to Baltimore. With her memory returning, there was no reason for her to stay in Texas. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, he continued to hold her as she soaked his bare chest with her tears.

“Stop crying, baby. You’re breaking my heart—the one that belongs to you.”

She lifted her face from his chest. “What do you mean?” she asked softly.

He took his fingertips and gently wiped away her tears. “I love you, Zoey, and when you hurt, I hurt.”

She reached out and cupped his face in her hands. “I love you, too, Chance. I believe I fell in love with you that day my car broke down on the side of the road.”

He leaned in and kissed her in a full-contact, passion-driven, head-reeling kiss, hungrily devouring her mouth for what it was worth. As far as he was concerned, it was worth a lot. When he finally dragged his mouth away to drop featherlight kisses over her face, he said, “Do you want to know what I’ve come to realize?”

He heard her moan before she replied, “Tell me what you’ve come to realize, Chance.”

“That letting you leave me at the end of the summer will be hard.”

“You got a reason for me to stay?” she asked, kissing his chin.

“I think I do. Will you marry me?”

She went still. Chance knew why. He was asking something of her he’d sworn never to ask another woman, and she knew it. Holding his gaze, she asked, “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes. More than anything, I want you as my wife. Someone I can build a life with. Have babies with. Grow old with. Someone who will wear the Madaris name with honor. After all, you are Waylon Satterfield’s great-granddaughter, and if nothing else, today I learned what an honorable man he was. And just like he loved his Victoria beyond the grave, I will do the same for you. Live with me on Teakwood Ridge, Satterfield land that’s a part of your legacy. Together, we can make it ours the way Waylon and Victoria would have wanted. Will you marry me, Zoey?”

***

Chance’s words had Zoey’s eyes tearing up again. Unable to speak, she reached out and took Chance’s hand in hers. This man. This tall, hot, and handsome man had suffered disappointments in life. She wanted to be the one to bring him happiness.

“Yes, Chance, I will marry you.” The happiness that spread across his features nearly took her breath away. “You’ve given me the one thing I’ve always wanted,” she said.

“What’s that, sweetheart?” he asked, reaching out and softly brushing his knuckles against her cheek.

“A man who truly loves me.”

“And I do, sweetheart,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “I truly love you and will do so forever and always.”