Chapter One
Janet Nelson parked her vehicle on the
slight incline near the entrance of Cedar Ridge Hills Museum. She turned the car
off only to hear it continue to run before it coughed, chugged, burped, and
made other colorful bodily function noises before it stopped with a sigh of
relief.
The door made a piercing screech, objecting
her to exit from the car. It continued its complaining until she slammed it
shut.
You’re
never going to make it…
She ignored the condescending voice and
took a deep, cleansing breath.
The majestic manor sat on the crest of
the hill. Seen from the cliffs and Lake Superior, it shared the summer sky. A
faint ray of light appeared on the far horizon dispelling the darkness. The
morning breeze cleared the dawn mist shrouding the distant boundary dividing
heaven and earth.
It hinted at the secrets and mysteries
within the haunted walls of the museum until they dissolved into each other. The
ancient cliffs projected upwards, a hundred feet from the lake below.
Janet inhaled the comforting fresh air.
The lake beyond the rock face was calm and motionless. The curling waves were
gentle. The lake was never still, the massive expanse of Superior beckoned,
pulling the tides to a distant shore. The unseen currents demanded obedience.
The force of the great lake forever called the people of Locke Bay to its
shores.
The museum was a vast and sprawling
place. Its rooms were many, and its halls elaborate. It stretched from high
towers to deep cellars.
Of all its many rooms, there was one
built deep into the very foundation of its secrets. One room roused different
emotions in different people; the ‘campfire’ rituals inspired stories revealing
its secrets of transcendental travel. To others, it was simple curiosity.
To a handful, it was fear and
desperation.
The great walls of Locke Manor
weathered years of troubles and happiness.
Janet used to play manhunt among the
deserted hallways, partying with her friends before the state’s purchase. The
college students considered it an initiation of sorts, a rite of passage…to
spend one night in the sanatorium section among the haunted halls of Locke
Manor.
The warmth and radiance of the sun
shining down on the great house couldn’t remove the woeful shadows clouding her
days. They haunted her, just as the halls of the great manor were haunted by
its past.
Somehow, all those wide-eyed, naïve
dreams came crashing down around her. Janet was born with a silver spoon in her
mouth, and life served on a silver platter. However, no one could accuse her of
being lazy. She was raised to work for what she wanted. Her parents were
financially comfortable, not her. She had to make her own way.
Entitled was a dirty word in her
family.
She’d married into a more affluent
family, new money. Of course, it wasn’t unexpected. However, somewhere along
the line, she’d lost the silver spoon, and dropped the silver platter until it
shattered and broke into tiny little pieces.
She literally ran away from the
comforts of wealth; and began her new life with a quarter in her pocket.
For her, it was the last straw. Lines
became more important to him than the roof over their heads. He’d lost his
temper when he found out she threw it in the trash. She touched her tongue to
the tooth he broke.
She fell against the door and grabbed
the closest thing. Janet had thrown the large formal lamp at him. When he ducked,
it gave her a chance to get away from him. She ran from the house before he had
a chance to grab her again.
Janet had found a quarter on the ground
while walking to her friend’s house. She had nothing but the clothes on her
back. She started her new life with absolutely nothing but that quarter.
She was forced into hiring a lawyer to
pick up her and Aiden’s belongings, the ones he hadn’t destroyed.
Everything went up in smoke. Like the phoenix,
her life was reborn.
She lost her job and dropped out of
college. So much for her master’s degree.
You’ll
never make it without me, princess.
Yeah, watch me.
She may have a broken-down car, a tiny
apartment she shared with two other people, and was working in a small
diner…but she’d be damned if she would go crawling back to him.
She even started dating a year ago. It
was a freaking disaster, a huge mistake. Her divorce was pending. Even though
there hadn’t been any physical relationship, X accused her of adultery. She
hadn’t found a job to support herself, let alone their son.
When X refused to return Aiden on one
of his visitation weekends, all hell broke loose.
She retained a small apartment with
roommates. He had a large home, a bank account, possession of the vehicles, and
an expensive lawyer. He’d accused her of doing all the things he’d done to her.
The X used it all against her.
You
want your son back? Then come home and be a real wife.
Her divorce was finalized last month. He
promised he would break her. He almost did. She’d lost the only thing that
mattered, custody of her son. Shared parental responsibility, Janet had him 50%
of the time, but Aiden lived with X.
He bragged about how he’d bought her
lawyer.
Despair threatened her heart.
Two years passed since she walked away
from a life of luxury, and she still had the quarter. It was a reminder that
tomorrow was a promise of hope and second chances.
She stared at the door to the museum.
This job could be her redemption, a new
beginning to change not only her life, but also the lives of others around her.
Janet knew what it was to live in
darkness, to find a moment of reprieve, only to be plunged into obscurity
again. She understood the undercurrents hidden behind superficial smiles.
When she’d first come to Locke Bay, Cedar
Ridge Hills lured her to it. She was fascinated by the imposing manor house. It
separated the boundaries of the mystery from the truth and the boundaries
within the mind.
Janet took a deep breath before
entering the Cedar Ridge Hills Museum. Her hands shook. She had no
qualifications, no inkling of what she was getting into, nor did she have any
idea of how much she should be asking for a wage.
All she knew was what George told her.
Sweet and wonderful George Greene was
one of the docents at the museum. He’d chatted with her when business was slow at
the diner, and they’d gotten to know each other. They’d been looking for a new
tour guide, and according to George, she’d be perfect for the position.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, George. I wasn’t
expecting you to be here.”
“Me either, but it appears our newest
curator has exited the building.”
Her mouth dropped. “Another one? Three
in the last month?”
He grunted. “Four.”
She frowned, disappointed. She hadn’t
realized how much she hoped to get the position.
He locked the door behind her. “Come
on. Let’s have some coffee.”
Following him, she rubbernecked her way
down the hall toward the kitchen area.
“Don’t fret. Since I’m the one doing
the hiring today, you have the job.”
“Really?”
“It’s all yours.”
“I’ll need to give a two-week notice.
But I can work part-time until then.”
“Absolutely. We can start your training
today if you’d like.”
Janet
laughed. “I like. I like.”
A note from Pam:
As we were walking through the stories played out in my head. Skies of Blue was inspired a few years back when we toured the Ohio Reformatory. I pictured a live-in curator who needed a new beginning. Then... when the pictures were printed---I saw the orbs and now we have The House on Cedar Ridge Museum Series which I'm in the process of finishing is an extension of Skies of Blue.
It's "scary good!"
Check out my blog on Ohio and the Reformatory
* * *
Bestselling, award-winning author, Pamela Ackerson is a time travelling adventurer. She was born and raised in Newport, RI where history is a way of life. She lives on the Space Coast of Florida where everyone is encouraged to reach for the stars! When it's time to runaway, she's a hop, skip, and jump from Disney World and fun-filled imagination and fantasy. She's a multi-genre author and writes time travel, westerns, Native American, historical fiction, nonfiction, WW2, inspirational, contemporary, self-help marketing and advertising, personal and travel journals, and children's preschool/first reader books.
Visit Pam's web page www.pamelaackerson.net
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