{"id":1075,"date":"2018-08-15T22:16:03","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T02:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/?p=1075"},"modified":"2020-06-01T09:07:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:07:00","slug":"harbor-secrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/harbor-secrets\/","title":{"rendered":"Harbor Secrets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Harbor Secrets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Melody Carlson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Peaceful Coastal Town\u2026Threatened by a Storm of Secrets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s 1916 when newspaper woman Anna McDowell learns her estranged father has suffered a stroke. Deciding it\u2019s time to repair bridges, Anna packs up her precocious adolescent daughter and heads for her hometown in Sunset Cove, Oregon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although much has changed since the turn of the century, some things haven t. Anna finds the staff of her father s paper not exactly eager to welcome a woman into the editor-in-chief role, but her father insists he wants her at the helm. Anna is quickly pulled into the charming town and her new position\u2026but just as quickly learns this seaside getaway harbors some dark and dangerous secrets.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Early June 1916<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna McDowell hadn\u2019t been home since the previous century.\nIn fact, she\u2019d never planned to return to Sunset Cove at all.<\/em> Not until she received the telegram last\nweek regarding her father\u2019s serious condition. But now that she and her\ndaughter were almost there, Anna had serious misgivings. Perhaps it wasn\u2019t too\nlate to change her mind. They could get off at the next station, catch the\nnorthbound train back to Portland, and forget all about Sunset Cove and Mac\nMcDowell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wouldn\u2019t be easy to swallow her\npride and beg for her job back, but that was what came from burning one\u2019s\nbridges prematurely. Anna should\u2019ve known better. Still, there\u2019d been some\nsatisfaction in telling her stodgy old boss what she really thought of him and\nhis prehistoric attitude toward women journalists, even getting him to admit\nhe\u2019d never heard of Nellie Bly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are you scowling like that?\u201d\nKaty asked as the train slowed down for a station. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna looked out to see the Dalton Springs\nsign. Their final destination was less than twenty minutes away now. \u201cScowling?\u201d\nAnna forced a smile for her sixteen-year-old daughter, watching as an elderly\ncouple made their way through the coach car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katy\u2019s forehead creased, obviously\nmimicking her mother\u2019s. \u201cYes, scowling<\/em>.\nYou were jazzed about this trip, Mother. You said you missed<\/em> Sunset Cove.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true.\u201d Anna nervously\ntugged at a kidskin glove. \u201cMostly true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally, Mother, I\u2019m the one who\nshould be steamed. I had to leave my friends and the city behind\u2014for the whole\nsummer!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, Katy, you should embrace this\nas a great, new adventure.\u201d Anna reached over to tuck an escaped curl back\nunder Katy\u2019s wide-brimmed straw hat. This was just one more piece of the\nMcDowell legacy\u2014wild, untamable auburn curls. Anna\u2019s father had passed them\ndown to Anna. And then poor Katy, who longed for sleek, bobbed black hair, had\nbeen similarly \u201cblessed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVisiting a rinky-dink town on the\nOregon Coast does not sound like a great, new adventure to me.\u201d Katy\u2019s lower\nlip jutted out. \u201cIt sounds more like a great big mistake\u2014and not at all like\nI\u2019d planned to spend my summer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes life requires more of\nus.\u201d Anna feigned confidence as the train\u2019s brakes hissed and it slowly chugged\nout of the station. \u201cMy father may be dying, Katy. We have been estranged for\ntoo long and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know, I know.\u201d Katy waved an\nimpatient hand. \u201cYour father is a tyrant who never forgave you for marrying\nwhen you were only seventeen. You\u2019ve told me all this before. If you ask me,\nthe old bully deserves to be estranged. I don\u2019t see why you\u2019d want to go back\u2026to\nthat.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna pondered her daughter\u2019s words\nas she gazed out the window, watching as green trees, a bubbling creek,\noccasional farms, and milk cows passed by in a blur. Before long they would\ncatch a whiff of sea air\u2026and then Sunset Cove would appear. Little had changed in\nthe past seventeen years. Well, except for her. She turned to look at her\ndaughter. \u201cI didn\u2019t tell you everything<\/em>,\nKaty\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Katy\u2019s brown\neyes widened with interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna pursed her lips. This was a\nstory she\u2019d planned on telling her daughter eventually\u2026in adulthood. Katy was\nonly sixteen but already proving herself to be a strong and capable young\nwoman. And, to be fair, Anna had only been a year older than Katy when this\nstory began. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is it, Mother?\u201d Katy\u2019s\ncountenance softened. \u201cPlease tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna estimated she had about fifteen\nminutes to get this story out, and so she jumped in. \u201cAs you know, I met your\nfather when he was a traveling salesman. Darrell passed through Sunset Cove in\nlate 1899. He seemed like such a modern man, so full of exciting dreams and\nfresh ideas\u2026 Well, I was only seventeen and I got rather swept away by all of\nit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd he was very handsome,\u201d Katy\nadded. \u201cI\u2019ve seen your wedding photograph. You made a striking couple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. Your father was extremely handsome.\nAnd I was extremely na\u00efve. Oh, I thought I was rather grown-up at the time, but\nlooking back, well, I see it differently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo you got married and moved to\nthe city and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHold on, Katy. I\u2019m the one telling\nthe story. The part you haven\u2019t heard is that your grandfather took an instant\ndisliking to Darrell. For some reason, Mac completely disapproved of my beau.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho in the world is Mac?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMac is my father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou called your father by his\nfirst name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I got into the habit while\nworking at the newspaper. Everyone called him Mac. It just made life simpler.\nAnd he didn\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, I see. So Mac didn\u2019t like\nDarrell. Why not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be honest, I didn\u2019t really know\nwhy at the time. But Mac was convinced that Darrell was, well, a bit of a\nscallywag.\u201d That was an understatement, for sure, but Anna wanted to respect\nthat she was talking about Katy\u2019s father\u2026and it was unkind to speak ill of the\ndead. Still, she wanted to be as truthful as possible. Katy deserved honesty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWas<\/em> he a scallywag?\u201d Katy\u2019s head tipped to one side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna sighed. \u201cI\u2019m afraid he was.\nOh, Darrell had a sweet, endearing side to him too. He was well spoken and\nintelligent. Truly, most people were quite taken with him, and he was a\npersuasive salesman. My goodness, that man could charm the stripes off a snake.\nBut, truth be told, he had a very dark side as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow so?\u201d Her brow creased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was fueled by his fondness of\ndrink. Of course, this was well before Oregon\noutlawed alcohol last year.\u201d Anna weighed her words, trying to decide how much\nto say. \u201cWhat you don\u2019t know, Katy, but what you may find out someday\u2026is that your\nfather got involved in some serious legal problems. He was arrested for fraud.\nAnd when he passed away, back when you were still a baby, he was incarcerated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katy looked genuinely shocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna reached for her hand and clasped\nit in her own. \u201cI never planned to tell you this\u2026not until you were grown-up. I\ndidn\u2019t want you to think your father\u2019s mistakes were any sort of reflection on\nyou. In many ways, your father was a fine man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut\u2026but he was a criminal?\u201d Katy\u2019s\nvoice had a slight tremor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe got caught up in some criminal\nschemes. He wanted to get rich quickly\u2026he lacked discernment, Katy. And it\nbackfired on him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you know he was like that,\nMother? When you married him, did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, no, not at all. As they say, love is blind<\/em>. I certainly was. I\nthought Darrell Devlin was my Prince Charming. It seemed he\u2019d come to rescue me\nfrom the tiny town that I felt certain I\u2019d outgrown. But somehow your\ngrandfather saw right through Darrell. I\u2019m not even sure how, but he did.\nUnfortunately, I refused to listen to Mac.\u201d Anna smiled sadly. \u201cAnd yet, I\u2019m\nglad that I didn\u2019t. Otherwise, I wouldn\u2019t have you, darling. That makes up for\neverything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katy looked confused. \u201cYou just said\nmy father\u2019s name was Darrell Devlin<\/em>.But our last name is McDowell<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter your father was sentenced to\nprison, I returned to my maiden name. I had it legally changed for both of us.\nIt seemed the prudent thing to do at the time\u2026to separate ourselves from a name\nassociated with crime. I felt we needed a fresh start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katy\u2019s eyes grew misty. \u201cI don\u2019t\nknow what to say, Mother. I feel like my whole life has been a complete lie.\u201d\nShe pulled a handkerchief from her skirt pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, it hasn\u2019t been a lie, Katy.\nIt\u2019s just that I didn\u2019t think you were ready to know the whole truth before. If\nwe weren\u2019t going to see your grandfather now, I probably wouldn\u2019t have told you\ntoday. I realize how shocking it must be. I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo is that why you never went back\nto see your father? Because of\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy father was a stubborn man. He told\nme he would disown me if I married Darrell. I said a few things too\u2026things I\u2019ve\ncome to regret. But Darrell and I ignored Mac\u2019s warning. We snuck away in the\nmiddle of the night and eloped. Then when it turned out that my father was\nright, I was too proud\u2014and like him, too stubborn\u2014to go home and admit failure.\nIt grew even harder as the years passed by.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoes your father even know about\nme?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t spoken to him since I\nwas seventeen, Katy. Not since I left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow did he know how to reach you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was his doctor who actually\nsent the telegram.\u201d Knowing they were now just minutes from Sunset Cove, Anna\nquickly explained how her father ran the Sunset\nTimes<\/em>. \u201cAs a newsman, he\u2019d always read the Oregonian<\/em>. I suspect he observed my byline\u2026and probably mentioned\nit to his doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut everyone assumes A.R. McDowell\nis a man,\u201d Katy reminded her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure Mac could put two and two\ntogether. The telegram was delivered to the newspaper office.<\/em>\u201dAnna still had regrets about giving up her job\u2026especially after working her\nway from lowly secretary to society writer to her recent promotion to an\neditorial position, albeit under the pretense of writing as a male. Anna was\nwell aware that her begrudged promotion was greatly due to the war in Europe. Although the United States was not involved, some\neager young men were already joining the military with the expectation that it\nwas right around the corner. Most members of the press believed it was\ninevitable, and a few adventuresome reporters had recently vacated jobs at the Oregonian <\/em>to do \u201ctheir duty.\u201d So, like\nher boss had warned, Anna would likely be demoted in the event the U.S. avoided\nthe war\u2026or at the latest, when it ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you nervous about seeing your\nfather again?\u201d Katy peered curiously into Anna\u2019s eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna simply nodded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Katy took Anna\u2019s hand. \u201cI\u2019ll stand\nby you, Mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna smiled. \u201cThanks, darling. And,\nlike I said, if we both decide that we really hate it in Sunset Cove, we are\nfree to leave whenever we like. But I just can\u2019t bear the idea of Mac dying without\nrepairing our relationship and without having met his only grandchild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about your mother?\u201d Katy\u2019s\nbrows arched. \u201cWill she be there too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mother\u2026oh, she left us years\nago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe died?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna shook her head. \u201cNo, my mother\npacked her bags and went away. I was only six and had no idea why she left or\nwhere she\u2019d gone. Later on I heard rumors that she hated small town life, and I\nsuspect it was true. She came from San\n Francisco. I remember her as being very flamboyant and\ncolorful\u2014completely unlike the other women in Sunset Cove.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy did she move there, then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna got a glimpse of the ocean as\nthe train went over a small rise, which reminded her that Sunset Cove was only\na mile away. \u201cMy father inherited the newspaper from his father but wanted to\nmodernize it, so he went down to San\n Francisco to pick up a new printing press. That\u2019s where\nhe met my mother. She was quite a beauty, but somehow he swept her off her feet.\nThey married down there, and he brought her home along with the press.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat sounds rather romantic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it didn\u2019t turn out romantic\nfor either of them. I eventually learned that my mother got a divorce and\nremarried in San Francisco.\u201d Anna had heard that her mother\u2019s new husband was a\nmuch older man\u2014and according to the scuttlebutt, quite wealthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid your father ever marry again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna stood as the train slowed for\nthe station and retrieved her small bag from the overhead rack. \u201cNot that I\nknow of, but it\u2019s been seventeen years. Anything could\u2019ve happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe this will be an adventure\nafter all.\u201d Katy\u2019s brows arched as she stood. \u201cAnyway, you\u2019ve piqued my\ncuriosity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the train stopped, Anna realized\nthat she\u2019d aroused her own curiosity as well. What would they find in Sunset\nCove? Had her father remarried? And what about the newspaper? Was it even still\nthere? Thanks to the popularity and increased distribution of large papers,\nlike the Oregonian<\/em>, many small-town\npapers had failed in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna\u2019s biggest questions were\nregarding her father\u2019s health. All she knew from the telegram was that he\u2019d\nbeen incapacitated after suffering some sort of stroke\u2014and that was more than a\nweek ago. Was he even alive? And if so, how would he react to seeing her again?\nWould he even allow her into his home? Did he live in the same house? And why\nhadn\u2019t she sent a telegram to inform him she was coming? What if a surprise\nlike this proved too much for him? What if the shock brought on another stroke\u2026and\nhe died? Then what? Anna closed her eyes, silently praying that her father was\nstill alive\u2026and that he would survive their visit. <\/p>\n\n\n