{"id":2316,"date":"2019-09-09T15:27:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T19:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/?p=2316"},"modified":"2022-08-10T13:54:29","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T17:54:29","slug":"surf-smugglers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/surf-smugglers\/","title":{"rendered":"Surf Smugglers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

The Legacy of Sunset Cove Book 3 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Melody Carlson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the summer of 1917, US troops join the allied forces in the Great War. Back in Sunset Cove, Oregon, other battles wage. Anna McDowell continues to fight old fashioned stereotypes as she runs a newspaper committed to truth. Despite opposition, she\u2019s determined to expose ongoing rum-running and prohibition lawlessness.
<\/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

May 1917<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna could tell by Jim\u2019s expression that the news was not\ngood. But it was the end of the day and the end of the week, and tomorrow\u2019s\nnewspaper had already been finished. The clanking of metal told her the press\nwas just starting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d She set her hat on\nher desk and braced herself for whatever it was her managing editor had to say.\nHopefully not another tragedy for the Allied troops battling tyranny in Europe.\nNot when it already sounded nearly hopeless over there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim glumly shook his head,\nfingering the strip of paper that must\u2019ve just come over the telegraph. \u201cWell,\nas you know, the Nivelle Offensive failed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, a huge loss for France and Britain. But that\u2019s\nnot news, Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you know how Robert Nivelle raised\nAllied hopes, predicting such a brilliant<\/em>\nvictory.\u201d His tone was sullen. \u201cPride before the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna was well aware of the recent\nFrench and British bloodbath. \u201cI suppose American troops will be needed more than\never now.\u201d She sighed to consider all the young men about to ship overseas.\nEven their office boy Willy had just signed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks to Nivelle.\u201d Jim frowned.\n\u201cWhat a mess.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWar is a mess. But we covered Nivelle\u2019s\nstory last week.\u201d She reached for her hat again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe news is that he\u2019s been\nreplaced by P\u00e9tain. But the bigger news is that battlefield statistics have\nbeen released.\u201d Jim waved the strip of paper. \u201cAn effort to prove that Nivelle was\ninept and deserved to be removed. The count\u2019s not fully in, but it\u2019s been\nleaked that France suffered more than a hundred-fifty thousand casualties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne-hundred-fifty thousand\nsoldiers injured?\u201d Anna gasped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd as many as thirty thousand\ndead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, my.\u201d She sank back into her\nchair. \u201cI can\u2019t even grasp that number. It\u2019s obscene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that was only the French statistics.\nThe Brits aren\u2019t talking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about the Germans?\u201d she asked\nin a flat tone. \u201cWhat kind of losses do you suppose they suffered?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHard to say. Kaiser Wilhelm isn\u2019t\nexactly communicating with the US.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She rolled her eyes. \u201cWho would\ntrust him anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyway, I thought you should know\nabout this. If you like, I\u2019ll stop the press and run this story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pursed her lips, considering\nthose huge numbers blown up across the front page of Saturday\u2019s paper. As editor\nin chief, it was her decision. But Sunset Cove was a small town, and lately the\nwar news had been so very grim. \u201cDo you think it\u2019s really necessary for\ntomorrow\u2019s paper? It\u2019s not that I want to keep our readers in the dark, but those\nnumbers are so disturbing. And, really, it\u2019s just one piece of a much greater\npicture. I can understand the French wanting this information released\u2014it gives\nthem good reason to can Nivelle. But I think we should save it until our next edition.\nMaybe more information will be available by then and make for a bigger story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood point.\u201d Jim looked relieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd then I can do an op-ed on it as\nwell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He brightened. \u201cGreat. I guess we\ncan call it a day then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She stood, putting on her hat. \u201cAnd\nthe good people of Sunset Cove won\u2019t be slammed with another hard-hitting war\nheadline with their Saturday morning coffee. It\u2019s like a small reprieve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like how you think, boss.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She glanced at the clock. \u201cI\u2019m sure\nyou\u2019re relieved not to work late. Especially since I know you\u2019re going to the dance\ntonight.\u201d Anna\u2019s daughter Katy had already mentioned that Jim was escorting her\nto the Spring Fling. Even though Anna was aware of Jim\u2019s interest in her\ndaughter, she was still getting used to the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t use a silly dance\nas an excuse to shirk my responsibilities here at the paper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNor would I.\u201d She walked with him\nthrough the newspaper office, which, besides the noisy pressroom, was mostly vacant.\n\u201cAs it turns out, I have plans for tonight as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dance?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPerhaps.\u201d She smiled coyly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh\u2026?\u201d His brows lifted with\ntypical reporter curiosity, but Anna didn\u2019t offer any more information. Jim\nmight have a nose for news, but he didn\u2019t need to know everything about her and\nher family<\/a>. Not yet, anyway. It was one thing for Jim to take Katy to a dance,\nbut Anna felt certain her daughter wasn\u2019t taking his attentions too seriously.\nAnd that was just fine with Anna. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Katy had a bright future\nahead. At seventeen, she\u2019d attained her high school diploma and, though not yet\neighteen, she was part-owner and head designer of Kathleen\u2019s Dress Shop. As\nAnna walked home, she felt grateful her daughter was independent and\nstrong-willed. Jim was a good man, but Katy was a modern young woman with a\nmind of her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before going into the house, Anna\npaused in front of the tall stone mansion that overlooked the sea. The historic\nMcDowell house had been her home as a child and then, after twenty years of\nabsence, had become her home again. She could hardly believe that nearly a year\nhad passed since she and Katy had left Portland\nto move back here. Did she regret giving up her job as the first female editor\nat the Oregonian?<\/em> Not a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna went inside, stopping by Mac\u2019s\nsitting room like she usually did after work. Even though Mac wasn\u2019t fully\nrecovered from last spring\u2019s stroke and was still coping with a paralyzed arm\nand clumsy leg, his speech had improved greatly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood afternoon, Anna.\u201d His pale\nblue eyes lit up. \u201cI just asked Bernice to bring some tea. Care to join me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to.\u201d Anna removed her hat\nand jacket, laying them on a side chair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet the paper finished?\u201d he asked\nwith his usual interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the hands of the pressmen.\u201d She\nsmiled. Poor Mac. It had been hard on him to let her take over his newspaper.\nFor that reason, she tried to include him in the daily goings on\u2026and to ask his\nadvice. So she explained about Nivelle\u2019s dismissal and the French army\u2019s\ndismaying statistics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He slowly shook his head. \u201cThat\u2019s\ntoo bad. But France was right to get rid of Nivelle. Bad for morale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe news only just came. So I\ndecided to hold off on the story until next week. Hopefully, we\u2019ll get more\ninformation by then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He rubbed his chin with a creased\nbrow. \u201cWell, I suppose that\u2019s a good call.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello, Anna.\u201d Bernice set down the\ntea things. \u201cI just made the shortbread this afternoon. And that\u2019s my\nhuckleberry jam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d Anna watched Bernice\nfill a teacup. \u201cLooks delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI brought in enough for Katy too.\nIn case she joins you. And since no one\u2019s home for dinner tonight, Mickey and I\nplan to enjoy a nice quiet evening to ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot going to the Spring Fling?\u201d\nAnna teased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bernice chuckled as she\nstraightened her apron. \u201cAll I want is to put my feet up, and I expect Mickey\nwill be sound asleep before eight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSounds like a good plan,\u201d Mac told\nher. \u201cIf Lucille hadn\u2019t talked me into going, I\u2019d do the same.\u201d Anna winked at\nBernice. They both got a kick out of the way Mac and his previously estranged\nwife got along so congenially these days. Handy since Lucille now lived only\ntwo doors down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I hope you all have a good\ntime.\u201d Bernice looked at Mac. \u201cAnd Mickey\u2019ll be along around six to help you\ninto your evening duds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Bernice left, Anna turned to\nMac with concern. \u201cDo you think Bernice is working too hard?\u201d she asked\nquietly. \u201cI know she\u2019s older than you are. Mickey is too. Do you ever wonder if\nthey\u2019re getting too old? Should you consider letting them retire?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mac frowned. \u201cI guess I never gave\nit much thought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt would be different if they were\nonly caring for you. But with Katy and me\u2026and the additional social activities\nwe all enjoy, well, I sometimes worry the workload might be too much for them.\nBut every time I offer to help with housekeeping, Bernice practically throws a\nfit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, she\u2019s always saying she\nlikes to stay busy.\u201d He shrugged. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be too concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello in the house,\u201d Katy called\nout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn here,\u201d Anna replied. \u201cTea and fresh\nshortbread.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLovely.\u201d Katy entered the room,\ngreeting them with her usual flair. Her shell-pink layered satin skirt rustled\nas she unpinned her oversized hat, laying it on Anna\u2019s things before she took\nthe chair next to Mac. \u201cI\u2019m famished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere you go.\u201d Anna handed her a\nfresh cup of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat a day.\u201d For the next few\nminutes, Katy amused them both with the latest comings and goings at Kathleen\u2019s\nDress Shop.<\/em> She always made it sound\nso exciting and dramatic, but Katy was like that about everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuch an interesting place to work.\u201d\nAnna sipped her tea. \u201cFar more entertaining than the newspaper office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHmm?\u201d Mac\u2019s brow creased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, we certainly get more than\nour fair share of tittle-tattle.\u201d Katy giggled. \u201cIf we wanted, I suppose we\ncould publish our own newspaper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOr at least a gossip column,\u201d Anna\nteased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpeaking of columns.\u201d Mac pointed\nto Katy. \u201cDid you finish your fashion column for tomorrow\u2019s edition?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course. I turned it in to Jim\ndays ago.\u201d Katy set her teacup in the saucer and stood. \u201cAnd now, if you\u2019ll\nboth excuse me, I need to get ready for tonight\u2019s festivities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mac glanced up at his mantle clock.\n\u201cIt takes you more than two hours?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrandmother left the shop at two o\u2019clock so she could take four\nhours!\u201d Katy glanced at Anna. \u201cAnd you should come up and try on that new dress\nI brought home for you, to make sure it fits right. Although I\u2019m fairly certain\nit\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThree generations of McDowell\nwomen.\u201d Mac smiled with pride. \u201cYou\u2019ll all be the belles of the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome on, Mother.\u201d Katy reached for\nAnna\u2019s hand. \u201cI have something special to show you upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna excused herself and followed\nKaty up to her room. \u201cI received a letter from Portland this morning,\u201d Katy said\nmysteriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom one of your old school friends?\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom Sarah.\u201d Katy extracted a\nsmall white envelope from her soft leather handbag, holding it up like a prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSarah? Do you mean Sarah Rose<\/em>?\u201d Anna looked at the letter\nwith interest. She hadn\u2019t heard from their old friend and housekeeper in\nseveral years\u2014not since Katy was old enough to be left home unsupervised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d Katy removed two\nneatly folded pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe it.\u201d Anna peered\ndown at the letter, recognizing the neat penmanship and remembering how Sarah\u2019s\nmother had been a teacher before they\u2019d moved from Connecticut. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen our Sarah in\nages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been nearly seven years,\u201d\nKaty said. \u201cI remember because I\u2019d just turned eleven when she married Abe. And\nI was so upset about her leaving us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow is she?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cUnfortunately, she\u2019s not doing very well.\u201d Katy\nhanded over the letter. \u201cSee for yourself while I run my bath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerned for her old friend, Anna\nbegan to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear\nsweet Katy,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for the birthday package you sent me care of the Portland\nHotel. It took two months to reach me because Abe no longer works at the hotel,\nbut a neighbor woman got it to me. The scarf is very beautiful. I think of you\nwhenever I wear it. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abe left the hotel last winter to work in the shipyard. Not long\nafterward, he met his fate in a terrible accident. I am now a widow. I wish I\nhad better news to share, but times are hard.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am happy to hear of your new dress shop, Katy. You were always a good\nseamstress. I wish I could find a good job like I had at the hotel, but jobs\nhere are scarce as hen\u2019s teeth. Newcomers keep coming. They take our jobs and\npush us from our homes. I now rent a room from a family, but each month it\u2019s\nharder to pay my share.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portland<\/em> is not the same as when my parents brought\nme here as a child. There is hardness and hatred all around. Sometimes I wish I\ncould join Abe and my parents and my baby too. But the Good Lord knows best. I\ncan only trust Him. Please give your sweet mother my love. She is a good woman,\nand you are too.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warmest regards,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah\nRose Lewis<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna slid the sad little letter\nback into the envelope and sighed. \u201cPoor dear Sarah Rose. I wonder if there\u2019s\nsome way we could help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI agree, Mother. I read her letter\nthis morning, and my heart\u2019s been aching for her all day long. Think of it\u2014Sarah\nRose was part of our family\u2026 From as early as I can remember, she took really\ngood care of me and helped us around the house. Right up until she married\nAbe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just assumed life would go well\nfor her.\u201d Anna handed back the letter. \u201cAnd to think she\u2019s lost a baby too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you think she means about\nhardness and hatred everywhere?\u201d Katy set the letter on her bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid it has to do with the\ncolor of her skin, Katy. Just a year ago, while working at the Oregonian,<\/em> I covered some stories regarding the numerous\nimmigrants flocking to Portland. Despite the fact that many colored families had\nbeen there for decades, the immigrants started to displace them from jobs and\nhomes and neighborhoods. I was concerned then, and I\u2019m afraid it\u2019s grown worse thanks\nto the European war. Unfortunately, the immigrants from solely Caucasian\ncountries might be unfamiliar with people of African descent\u2026and perhaps feel\nsuperior.\u201d Anna knew this was an understatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember being out with Sarah\nRose, going to the market or the park\u2026and occasionally someone would treat Sarah\nRose like she was inferior.\u201d Katy headed back to the bathroom. \u201cBut I just\nthought they were stupid.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, but stupidity\u2026or ignorance\u2026can\nbe dangerous when it evolves into prejudice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you think that\u2019s why Abe left\nthe hotel, Mother? Because he was colored and a white immigrant took his job?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s possible\u2026but we don\u2019t know\nthis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe that\u2019s why Sarah can\u2019t find\nwork now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna simply nodded, following Katy\nto the bathroom as she turned off the bathtub tap. \u201cIt\u2019s all very sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd unfair. Sarah is a darling.\nShe\u2019s like family. And that makes me even more certain that I\u2019ve done the right\nthing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe right thing?\u201d Anna unbuttoned\nthe back of Katy\u2019s dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI sent Sarah a telegram.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA telegram?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. This afternoon.\u201d Katy turned\nto face her. \u201cI invited Sarah to come work for me in the dress shop. She is an\nexcellent seamstress, and I\u2019ve needed more help ever since Ellen ran off to get\nmarried\u2014which from what I hear isn\u2019t working out so well. Anyway, I offered Sarah\na job and a train ticket and a place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna didn\u2019t know what to say, but\nshe suspected her horrified expression said it all. Naturally, Katy had no idea\nwhat she\u2019d done by inviting Sarah Rose to come live and work in Sunset Cove.\nHow could she understand? Katy had known Sarah since infancy, and she\u2019d\naccepted her without the slightest concern over the color of her skin. For that\nmatter, Anna had as well. She loved Sarah Rose and wanted nothing but the best\nfor her. But Anna also knew Oregon\u2019s\nhistory, especially in small isolated towns like Sunset Cove. And as much as\nshe loved her home state, she did not love its history when it came to fair\ntreatment of all races.
<\/p>\n\n\n