The Rosaries (Crossroads Series) by Sandra Carrington-Smith Read Free Book Online

Ryan knew that his father counted on him.
    Natalie Sanders was a beautiful girl; certainly he would forget about Ashton in time, wouldn’t he? His family wouldn’t accept Ashton, a poorly educated waitress, as his wife anyway; and Natalie’s family had money, real money; the type of money that could save his family from a financial catastrophe. There was no doubt his father couldn’t survive losing everything; and his mother…what would be of her? Although their hardship was well concealed, it would only be a matter of time before the devastating news leaked to the rest of Wilmington’s upper crust. Ryan was the eldest of the Wheeler sons, and the only one with some business acumen, so it only made sense that he would be the one to save the reputation of his family. He turned on his side and reached for the phone on the bedside table. It rang four times before Natalie picked up.
    “Hello”
    “Natalie! Ryan Wheeler. How are you?”
    Natalie sighed on the other end of the line. “You haven’t heard? There was a fire at the art gallery and my paintings are gone. I thought Aunt Catherine, or my mother, would have passed the word.”
    “Oh, no, I didn’t hear. I am so sorry, Natalie.”
    “Yeah, I’m sorry too. Six months of work gone with the wind. Or with the flames, I should say.”
    “What are you going to do now?”
    “I guess I’m going to start back from square one and paint away. Aunt Catherine said she knows someone in London who wouldn’t mind to exhibit my work.”
    “ London ? That sounds awesome! Better than Wilmington by far, that’s for sure. Listen, would you still like to get together?”
    “Sure, why not? Do you know how to get here? Take 421 S until you see signs for Carolina Beach . I’m at 431 Hamlet, four blocks down from the boardwalk, on Pleasure Island .”
    “I’m sure I can find it, I can Google the address. Would ten or so be good for you?”
    “Ten is great. See you then.”
    “See you tomorrow, Natalie. I look forward to seeing you again.”
    “Yeah, me too. Bye for now.”
    Ryan smiled as he realized his task was going to be easier than he had originally envisioned. Natalie was upset about the paintings and he had the opportunity to be her shoulder to cry on, her comforting force. “It will be a piece of cake, Dad. Our family is going to be okay,” he thought out loud, and smiled to himself.
     
     
    Belinda Allen felt uneasy. Something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t quite figure out where the feeling was coming from. She talked to both her children and they were fine; her husband, Jim, was resting comfortably on the recliner in the family room, and she passed her yearly check-up with Dr. Thompson with flying colors. No reasons to worry about anything in particular – so where was this feeling of foreboding coming from? Belinda had experienced strange sensations in the past – premonitions about something imminent to happen – so she had learned to pay attention, but this time the feeling was stronger than usual and she felt almost as if someone was lurking in the shadows, ready to surprise her at any moment. She found that sensation quite unnerving, and she had done her best, since yesterday, to conceal her lack of ease from her husband. She didn’t want to worry Jim; with his heart condition, strong emotions could be fatal, but even a slow simmering anxiety could have long lasting negative effects.
    “Belinda” Jim called to the kitchen while she finished cleaning up after their evening meal, “have you talked to Claire Wilson?”
    “Not yet, unfortunately. I was planning on stopping by her house after I closed the shop, but then I remembered I had to go by Dr. Thompson to get my results.”
    “That’s right. Was everything okay?”
    Belinda smiled, turned down the kitchen lights and walked in the family room.
    “Everything was fine, thankfully. The doc said that I will live to be a hundred at least. Oh yes, he also said that he would like to put you on a