Memories of Houston County

Chapter One

Cheyenne, Van, Kyra, and Jake all sat around the wooden table as the lawyer talked on and on, his voice quickly becoming a distant echo. Their mother had died two days ago and it still didn't feel quite real. Not one of them had thought about living in a world without Reba Holliway and now that it had become inevitable, everything felt emptier than it had before – as if part of the sun had been snuffed out and nothing was as bright as it once was.

The news came as a shock. The phone rang and a doctor with a soft voice told them of their mother's fate. She was healthy as a horse and had been all her life, but they supposed that there comes a time in life when our time on this earth must end and this was her time. She had lived a long and happy life, something we all can only wish for. With their father having died five years prior, it should've been expected; they should've been more prepared, but nothing can really, truly prepare you for the loss of a parent and now with no parents left, it felt strange.

They were grown; Cheyenne and Van's daughter, Elizabeth was to graduate college next month, Kyra had two daughters and a husband of her own, and little Jake had his second baby on the way. They shouldn't feel this distraught, they had lives and families of their own to take care of, but it was hard not to. Reba had been such a part of all of their lives and very much the center of the family. What would happen next? God only knows.

"Cheyenne, your mother left this envelope with your name on it and specific instructions for her ashes to be spread along a riverbank just outside of town."

Cheyenne took the yellowing envelope in her hand and flipped it over, seeing her name scrawled in her mother's handwriting.

"Mom wants to be cremated? I thought she wanted to be buried next to dad, that can't be right." Kyra took the piece of paper from the lawyer's hand and narrowed her eyes carefully as she read it.

"She was adamant about it when I spoke with her on several occasions. You can ask her friend, Barbara Jean about it. She was the witness who signed there at the bottom."

Kyra continued to argue with the lawyer as Cheyenne gently pulled the flap on the envelope loose. She slid out the letter that occupied it and along with it, a silver key. She held the key in her palm and looked it over; it was a beautifully old brass key, one that she had never seen her mother with in the entire time she had lived there. Van took it from her open palm and began to inspect it as well, the sound of Kyra bickering beside them still incessant.

Cheyenne shifted her eyes to the letter on the table and began searching for the answers to the questions that were rattling her mind.

Dear Cheyenne,

I am writing you this letter because for whatever reason, I know you will understand. And if you're reading it right now, that means I've been called home and you've met with my lawyer. He sure does talk a lot, doesn't he?

It feels strange to finally set this secret I've been holding in for the better part of my life free. I suppose I could take it to the grave with me, but part of me feels as if I won't truly be at rest if I don't share it. I know my plans to be cremated will come as a shock to you all, but after this I hope you'll understand.

This key belongs to the wooden chest in the back of my closet. The items in there will tell you everything you need to know. You may feel anger towards me at first, but I hope when you're through you'll view life a touch differently, perhaps better. I want you to know that I don't regret anything. I love you three with all of my heart.

Reba.

Cheyenne lifted her wide eyes from the paper in front of her and looked to her husband, who quickly stood and began to usher the lawyer out of the room. "I think it's about time you left, Mr. Arnolds, before Kyra has your head. I'll call you later on in the week and we can sort out the will and everything else. We need some time to sort through Mrs. H's things, you understand."

Before the man could even respond, Van had him out of the door. He rushed back into the kitchen and waited for his wife to tell the other two about the unusual note.

"I wasn't done arguing with him." Kyra crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave Van a look she only could've learned from Mrs. H. She was a grown woman, but she hadn't changed a bit since her teens. Maybe a few more wrinkles.

"Shut up, Kyra. Jake, lean in and read this with her." She handed the note to the redhead and waited for the two to finish. She watched as their brows furrowed together and they looked questioningly in her direction.

"What do you thinks up there?" Jake said what was on all of their minds. What could their mother have been hiding for so long? For all their lives, they had known her to be an honest person, one who had no secrets and was very much an open book. What could've been so bad that she couldn't even tell them?

"Well, what're we waiting for?" Kyra snatched the key from the table and headed upstairs towards what once was her mother's room.

Van and Jake pulled the large, wooden chest out from the back of the closet and moved it to the center of the room. The four of them stood in front of it and stared, unsure of what the key would reveal to them.

Cheyenne could feel the nerves pooling in her stomach and she hesitated a moment before kneeling down in front of it.

"You guys ready?"

The three of them nodded in unison and Cheyenne exhaled through her teeth, finally sliding the key into its slot. With a forced turn, a click echoed throughout their mother's room and all that could be heard was their unsteady breathing.

Kyra kneeled down next to her sister and gently lifted the lid. All four of them leaned over the top and peered in. There were boxes, journals, and items that couldn't be identified quite yet – and most importantly, on top of it all sat another letter, covered in that same familiar handwriting.

"Who's going to read it?" Jake asked quietly, desperately hoping one of his sisters would volunteer for the job.

"I guess I will." Kyra steadied her hands and reached into the chest. She was fearless most of the time, but the idea that her mother, her best friend, the woman she knew most in this world was hiding something from her scared her.

"Cheyenne, Kyra, Jake, and Van, what you're about to read will be hard at first, but if you give it a chance and read on, I think you'll find that it'll become easier. It's just as difficult for me to write about. Do you remember in 2004 when you're daddy took y'all up to Louisiana to visit grandma and gramps? I hadn't had the house to myself in years and as awful as it sounds, I couldn't wait for y'all to leave. You guys were going to be gone for five days, which meant five peaceful days for myself. I'd planned on relaxing, catching up on my reading, and maybe going shopping, but what I did instead wasn't planned.

An old friend showed up while you were gone, Brock, I'm sure I'd mentioned him before. We went to college together and we all worked in your daddy's bar some time ago. Anyway, it's all there in those four journals. I want you to know I loved him with everything I had inside of me. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would've lasted all of those years. Feel all of the anger you need to, but also try to understand. In a way, he brought me back to life."

Kyra stopped reading and handed the letter to Cheyenne. She couldn't read any more, she didn't want to read any more.

"Mom had an affair?" Cheyenne ran a hand across her face and filled her cheeks with air, how could she? She'd always been one to preach about truthfulness and doing the right thing – how could she say all of that and then go do the opposite?

"Sounds like it." Van snatched the letter from his wife and inspected it as Cheyenne reached into the chest, pulling out a worn, red notebook.

"Gross." Jake muttered and sat down between his sisters, crossing his legs and watching as Cheyenne opened the notebook. The words May 2004 were scrawled across the top in black ink. There was no turning back now.

To be continued...