Whispers of Summer (eBook)

Eva Orilla (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
284 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3178-1521-9 (ISBN)

Infos

Whispers of Summer is the third in a series . All of this is included on the back cover page that I submitted already but will submit again BELOW

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR Eva Orilla is my pseudonym. It is my great-grandmother's name, from my father's side. Her daughter is my grandmother Doris. I sat at her feet every Sunday growing up, listening as she shared the stories of her life with me. About my grandfather, the seven babies they delivered together at home, and she showed me her writings, journals, and scrapbooks. I am more of a 1950s housewife than an eighties lady. I was born with an old spirit, a hundred years TOO LATE. I was raised on my fathers 's small farm, with three brothers, and because of my 'Real-life Riley,' we were given the opportunity to buy a 178-acre farm thirty-four years ago. I have spent every ounce of strength I have and every available second and penny trying to bring this 1882 farmhouse back to life. I love vintage, if it has a story to tell, its in our home, if it doesn't, its now here. And, we farm vintage, cabless tractors, ear pickers ( a machine that pulls behind the tractor and leaves the corn on the cob), we fill a round wire crib with all the ears, and we grind that ear corn into feed when we need it, for a small herd of Hereford cattle. I believe the older ways of farming and preserving/protecting the ground are still viable and ' YIELDS THE BEST FAMILY MEMORIES'. It has been a precious gift to be able to raise our children here. We built a two-story playhouse, and beneath it is housing for little wagons, pedal tractors, and there are dozens of old, used bikes. When our terrific twelve grandchildren are all here, the large circular drive on this farm is not for cars or trucks; the North Yard becomes a ball field, and everyone, including adults, becomes a player on a team. Most every Sunday, our children and grandchildren are here at the farm for breakfast. Sometimes, we all work together on baling hay, filling the round crib with corn, or making mechanical repairs. Sometimes, we are all together for lunch and/or supper. There is never a dull moment, and every Sunday feels like a HOLIDAY. The doors on this farmhouse are constantly opening and banging shut. There is lots of laughter, there are long conversations around the table, serious talks, sometimes tears, and someone is usually shouting over someone else to be heard. We still ring the cast-iron dinner bell for supper, or ice cream for the children. (a precious memory to ring the bells and watch all those kids form running from all areas). Our home, our farm, is a lovely GATHERING PLACE, and I am constantly thankful for every person, every sound, every BLESSED moment. All three of the novels I have written truly wrote themselves. Their stories unfolded effortlessly, without hesitation or effort. I had more issues with finding the time to write than actually creating the stories or people. I hope you find this third book to be an enjoyable read. Happy Reading. With Light and Love Eva Orilla/Sherry Haas-Shelby

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This is the third book in the WHIPSER SERIES by Eva Orilla. WHISPERS OF WINTER:When Jolie Mossman finally found love, her husband was 26 years her senior. They had it all for a short two decades before he died. They had a son together, and though they yearned for more children, they lived every moment in sheer happiness on the Johnson family farm. WHISPERS OF AUTUMN:After three long years of mourning, Jolie meets an ex-Rodeo rider, Morgan Wheeler, who is 13 years her junior, tall, quiet, and carries a heart full of pain himself. He lost everything in a nasty divorce and doesn't believe in love until he meets Jolie. They have a comical beginning, as he comes to work on her family farm that she runs with her grown son. Their connection is undeniable, but when Morgan receives a phone call regarding his ex-wife, he has to leave. However, when he returns, he has a 2-year-old girl in his arms. WHISPERS OF SUMMER:Four years later, Jolie and Morgan are settling into the routine of their new life. Jolie is sixty-two years old, raising the daughter she always dreamed of having with her husband, Morgan, who is almost fifty. The child keeps them moving and keeps them both young at heart as they work through the demands of the farm and a new business. This contemporary country, comedy, romance has some unforgettable moments and colorful characters that you will not be able to forget. Join the WHISPERS FAMILY and see for yourself how the power of love can bring light and laughter to the broken, downtrodden souls who have given up on love and happily ever after. It all here in these three volumes. We dare you not to laugh and cry, and want more.

Textauszug

CHAPTER ONE

Jolie Johnson-Wheeler stepped outside the glass door of her 1889 farmhouse, which once belonged to her husband’s family, and wrapped the black scarf tighter around her face. There were several inches of fresh snow on the ground, which was typical for Michigan in mid-March, but the winds of the last couple of days had a real bite to them. She folded her arms across her chest and began walking to the hip-roof barn.

She was proud of how well the old structure looked. Her first husband, her beloved Riley, had worked tirelessly to maintain his family farm. Every other year, they spent an entire summer together painting the old barn siding and repairing cracks in the hand-poured foundation. He had been gone almost six years now, but on some days, if she closed her eyes, she could still see him sitting at their kitchen table or on the back deck, petting Cynders, his faithful canine companion, whom he had lost shortly after she and Riley met.

Today, she and her son, their only child, Jonathon Riley Johnson, continue his legacy with the farm that had been in the family for over a hundred years. Riley was an excellent steward of the land, and like his father before him, he tried to put more back into the soil than he took from it. He believed in crop rotation and applying cover crops each fall, which was then plowed back into the ground in the spring to provide more nutrients. He didn’t believe in spraying to kill the crop covers, that just added more poisons to the soil. Come spring, he would turn it all under with a traditional harrow disc in the spring. It incorporated organic matter, aerated the soil, and removed vegetation from the previous year without using weed killer.

Shortly after losing Riley, their son, Jonathan, talked Jolie into covering the barn’s roof and sides with metal. He thought it was a waste of time to paint the old boards every few years, but the point that drove the nail into the notion was when he told his mom.

“You aren’t getting any younger, you know that. You need to work smarter, not harder, Mom. Several hundred layers of paint will not protect this barn from the gale winds, rain, and snow that Michigan’s climate brings. Just let me call Wright and Sons Construction. They do top-notch work, are good and honest, and get the job done right the first time, and I won’t have to babysit them. They are known all over the county for the respect they show their customers and their property.” Jonathon waited patiently for a sign that he might have finally convinced his mom to give in.

Jolie drew in a deep breath and glanced over at the hip-roof barn once again. It didn’t make sense to climb ladders and hold paint cans in one hand, four-inch brushes between her teeth. It wasn’t worth trying to hoist the ladder up and over the beautiful photinia hedge and maple trees that now surrounded the barn.

“Mom, we should be able to write it off as a farm expense because it’s for the farm. We store a lot of hay in the loft and equipment below, not to mention all the stuff that we still haven’t sifted through from Dad and his parents in the old horse stalls. Let me call Wright’s Construction and see when they can stop by and give us a bid on it. If they can come in at a reasonable price, we can determine how far in advance they schedule the job.

We could cover the barn in white metal, and you can keep the black on the roof to simulate shingles, or you could change the roof coloring now. You know, if Dad were here, he would want your input on this. Hell, if you wanted a pink roof, he would have hired a company to make that color just for you.” He smiled and winked at his mother. Jolie’s heart dropped. That was a trademark he got from his dad. Jolie took it as a sign.

Jolie smiled and twitched her nose. The tell-tale sign that she was feeling melancholy was that her eyes were filling with tears. Her son was correct. Riley would have hired a company to paint metal pink if it were something she wanted. Never, in her thirty-four years before meeting Riley, had anyone loved her, and most especially not in the way he did. From the moment they met, she was struck by his genuine kindness towards her and his slow, gentle manner of speaking. His beautiful, deep voice was full of wisdom, and when he laughed, the man could light up a cave.

Riley taught her how to trust in the gift of love. Something she had spent most of her life living without. Every word he spoke was genuine. He always told the story of how he fell in love with Jolie within the first hour of meeting her. He felt it deep inside him. For her, it took a bit longer to come around to the idea, and the day he told her his age, that he was 26 years older than she, she almost fell out of her chair. It was a whirlwind courtship, and though she would have never put money on the idea of falling in love and marrying a man so much older. She took the chance and won the lottery with her precious Riley.

She never knew a moment without his love. They were inseparable, doing everything together, from farming to canning, grocery shopping, and auctions. Riley added her name to everything immediately after they married, and she was completely involved in every decision regarding the farm and their finances. Though she walked away from a four-hundred-acre farm in Indiana that she owned with Jonathon and Sarah King, she never regretted it.

The Kings were an older, childless couple who took her in as an employee, but they required her to be at their table for lunch every day. Over many years, the three of them became a family. Jonathan King taught her everything he knew about farming and allowed her to work alongside him, doing everything he did. Sarah was never jealous of Jolie working with her husband. She knew immediately that Jolie loved to farm and had no interest in Jonathon except as her boss. By the time Riley and Jolie met, they fell in love, and she decided to move to Michigan to live on his farm. Her brother, Sam, had already been working at the King farm intermittently during the busy seasons to supplement his construction income. His wife Maggie had a great job in the concrete jungle back then, but by the time the three boys came along, she put her career on hold to raise their sons.

Sam and Maggie were delighted for Jolie when she announced that she was in love and asked them to move their family to the King farm and work with Jonathan during his older years.

That was almost twenty-seven years ago. Time had moved forward just like a phantom jet; you hear it, but you don’t see it, till it’s already past you. Sam and Maggie’s boys were all grown, married, and had made them grandparents five times. Their days were filled with farm work, family dinners, and Maggie watching the grandchildren while their daughters-in-law worked.

Jolie had shaken her head in agreement so many years ago, when her son insisted on a metal roof. She worried about losing the character of the barn, the vintage look and feel, but she had relented, and today she was glad she did. It was time to preserve the grand hip roof barn, and most of the time, Jonathan was spot on with his ideas or suggestions. Riley would have been incredibly proud of the man their son grew into.

“Let’s do it. White metal sides with a dark green roof add a touch of color to the old girl. She deserves it.” Jolie smiled at her son.

“I’ll call them today. As soon as I receive the quote, if we both agree it’s a reasonable price, I will give them the go-ahead and get a check from you for half down. That’s customary with any builder these days.”

“Thank you, Son; I appreciate you bringing the subject up and doing all the legwork on it.”

Jolie appreciated how much Jonathon has stepped into the role of farm caretaker. He loved it, as did she and Riley. He was always looking for better, more efficient ways to farm, while preserving and improving the land each year, rather than depleting it through constant cropping.

A little over four years ago, Jolie had met Morgan Wheeler through Jonathon and their foreman, Joe. He was a broken man physically, with a heart and soul to match. He came by the farm to deliver a few horses he sold to the boys at a livestock auction, and ended up giving them a few riding lessons. Shortly after that, he began helping on a farm for a day or two when the men were attending ag workshops or on vacation. Soon, Jolie and Morgan began to talk, and by the end of the summer, they had become good friends.

They shared stories of their lives, and even on those days when their visits took on more of a confessional nature, she could hear that the man came from a terrible home life, with a drunken father, a mother too bruised and scared to stand up to him. With only his sister to cling to, the two of them were still tightly bonded today. They were joint survivors of their traumatic childhood. Janeen had made all the right decisions. She set her jaw on having a good husband and two children and raised them as she had always wanted to be raised in a home full of love, nurturing, support, and comfort. She was going to make sure her children felt safe in their home. She would often hug them and kiss them goodnight, telling them how much she loved them. They were her whole world, and her husband, John, was everything she ever dreamed of. They made their home in Ohio; her children were crazy about their only...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.10.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kinder- / Jugendbuch
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3178-1521-9 / 9798317815219