Emma's Deliverance

by Susan Vance

  Emma’s Deliverance

  Susan Vance

  New Friends Publishing, LLC

  Emma’s Deliverance

  This is a work of fiction.

  All characters and incidents are a product

  of the author’s imagination.

  Any relationship to persons living or dead

  is purely coincidental.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9892486-2-4

  All rights reserved

  Copyright © 2013 by Susan Vance

  No part of this book may be reproduced

  in whole or in part by any means

  without permission of the author.

  Cover design by

  Anne Cote

  All rights reserved

  Published by

  New Friends Publishing, LLC

  Lake Havasu City, AZ

  Visit New Friends Publishing’s website at

  www.newfriendspublishing.com

  Printing history

  First edition published in April 2013

  Dedication

  To my beloved Jim,

  my best friend and husband.

  To my children, James and Richard.

  To my entire family, always.

  Acknowledgments

  Anne Cote, you know me.

  You are an awesome publisher and a great friend.

  You took me through this process and

  smoothed out the rough edges.

  Sherry Parker, if not for your help and friendship,

  I would have been months behind.

  I appreciate you! You are very dear to me.

  Myra Hendricks, thanks for your

  helpful ideas of which I took all.

  Many thanks to Layne Walker

  for taking the time to rework and edit my novel.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Also by Susan Vance

  Author Bio

  Prologue

  Clayton County was a quiet town. Nothing like that had ever happened in this small mid-western city. The whole community was shocked and saddened. For the first time in the town’s history, they were now forced to lock their doors and windows. The citizens were terrified they might be next.

  With the exception of one small child, an entire family was murdered in their sleep. How could such a thing happen was an uncertainty on everyone’s mind.

  Emma Taylor was only three years old when it happened. She hid behind the closet door until it was over, then climbed further back into the closet, holding her breath. The police found her days later huddled in a ball as far back in the closet as she could possibly be. She was dehydrated, but physically unharmed. She didn’t answer any questions or speak to anyone. It was to be a very long time before she spoke at all. There were distant relatives, but no one wanted this child. She was withdrawn and had too many issues, so she bounced between foster families and the children’s home. The screams at night were just too much for most of the families that, at first, took pity on this little girl. The bed wetting continued for many years. She was simply too bothersome for most to handle.

  The Jenkins’ family had no idea what they were facing, but they had faith God would see them through and help them reach out and help this little heart.

  Chapter One

  “Emma, we’re really going to miss you not being home. You have to promise to call us every day so we know how you are. If you ever need anything, please remember we’re family and this will always be your home. You know that, don’t you? We really are family. We think of you as our daughter and we love you very much.”

  Marilyn Jenkins was a kind gentle woman. At fifty, she had the energy of a thirty year old and it was her love of running that kept her five foot five frame lean and flexible. Her curly, auburn hair had just a touch of gray, but she vowed to dye it should it become much grayer. Her bluish/green eyes turned completely green at times depending on what she wore.

  “She’s a beauty,” Howard, her husband, would say.

  Marilyn loved Emma and wanted only the best for her. When Emma first came to live with the Jenkins family she had already gone through many foster homes and it had been difficult on everyone. For the first few months Howard had wanted to send Emma back to the children’s home to await another family. He felt it was just too much to ask of their two daughters. He worried the girls would take on some of Emma’s behaviors. His thoughts would go back to the picture in the newspaper showing a tiny little thing with dark circles under her huge blue eyes amidst her tangled and knotted reddish blonde hair. Her face was so dirty the little freckles on her nose were hardly visible. A blank stare covered her round face.

  “Howard,” Marilyn had cried, “Emma’s just a baby. She saw her own parents murdered, for pity sake. We will never know if she heard the screams of her brother and God only knows what else. Why that horrible man didn’t find and kill Emma we’ll never know. He had to have seen her empty bed. I thank God he spared her and now we have been entrusted with her care. That poor child was alone in the house for two days with her entire family dead in their beds. We have to keep her and do what we can to make her life worth living. Howard, you know I’m right—she has no one. They’re all gone.”

  Howard Jenkins was a sensitive man that loved his family dearly. He worked hard to give them more than he had as a child. Long hours at the hardware store didn’t give him much time to be with his family, but he did his best to spend quality time with them. He prayed his wife was right. She had a good heart and he trusted her judgment. They had spent a lot of time discussing it and if Marilyn thought she could help this child then he would stand by her decision. When Emma first came to live with them she didn’t speak or show much emotion. She was very withdrawn. She didn’t interact with the Jenkins girls and Marilyn was the only one who could help her with simple tasks such as dressing and bathing. Wherever Marilyn was in the house, there Emma would be also. There had been many nights when Howard and Marilyn would check on the girls before going to bed and find Emma in the closet. This broke their hearts to see this sweet little girl feeling so alone and so afraid. Howard would pick up the sobbing child and carry her to their bed were she would cling to Marilyn the rest of the night.

  The first few years were difficult. The nightmares came almost every night in the beginning, but with the continued love and kindness of the Jenkins family and expert counseling, Emma seemed to adjust and by the time she was ten years old she appeared no different than her two foster sisters. Teri, their youngest, was two years younger than Emma while Jody and Emma were about the same age. Emma lived with the Jenkins family until she graduated from community college and now at twenty-two she was moving to her own apartment.

  “Mom, you’re the best thing in my life. I love you more than you could possibly know. I can’t remember not being your daughter. You, Dad, Teri and Jody are my family. This will always be home to me. I’ll miss you, too, but I’m sure I’ll be over all the time. I just want to be on my own, but I will always love all of you and I know I will always be welcome here. This is my h
ome and you are my family. Of course I know that. I am a lucky person to have such a great and caring family.”

  “Oh, Emma, we all love you so much,” Marilyn cried as she threw her arms around Emma and held her tight.

  With that, the whole family began to sob. Emma extracted herself from Marilyn’s embrace and turned to Teri. She knew that out of all of them Teri would get the family laughing. “Okay, okay, let’s have a group hug. Emma’s late for work,” Teri squealed.

  Chapter Two

  “Emma, can you come and cover the front?” Carol asked. “I need to run to the bank and go home to check on Annie. She still isn’t feeling well and I let her stay home from school again.”

  Emma smiled as she came out from the back. “Sure, go ahead. I’ll be fine.”

  As soon as Carol was out the door, Emma exhaled. She loved being up front with the customers. Emma hollered at the other employees in the back to let them know she would be in the front for awhile. They were both busy working sweeping up the cuttings and putting flowers in vases to go in the coolers. Emma looked around knowing that this was her dream to one day own her own flower shop. She had it all planned out. She was a junior in high school when she began working for Carol at The Flower Box. She worked after school and weekends starting in the back sweeping up and taking out the trash. Soon she was arranging flowers and helping Carol in the front. She was good with the customers and Carol trusted her. For six years she had been a model employee and the customers loved her. Many asked for her in particular when they would come in the shop. Some would call ahead and ask for Emma to arrange something for them. Carol never minded Emma’s popularity. In a way, she was proud of her and felt she trained her well. She told her often that this was her destiny.

  * * *

  Several weeks had gone by since Emma moved to her apartment. For the most part, she liked living by herself, but there were times when she was lonely. There were times when she got a little frightened being all alone at night. She went to visit the family almost every day after work, but sometimes only staying to eat and run. The last few days she didn’t stay to eat. She was learning to cook and was starting to settle in a little more. The night before had been tough on her. There hadn’t much on the television and she ended up going to bed early. Her cat, Sam, was company, but just not the same. She had wished that she could just fall asleep right away and not hear strange noises at night. She had lain awake tossing and turning until exhaustion had taken over. The evenings were lonely for her. Tonight was starting out just as badly as the night before. She needed a friend. “Hi, Mom, can I talk to Jody?”

  “Hi, sweetie, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I thought I’d see if Jody might want to come over and watch a movie or something. She said she’d come by this week, but so far I haven’t seen her.”

  “Jody isn’t home, kiddo. She went to the movies with Ryan. I’m not sure what time she’ll be home. What’s up?”

  Emma was embarrassed to say, but Marilyn had a way of pulling things out of her.

  “Well, okay, but this is so silly. I just don’t like being here all by myself. Maybe it was a mistake—my moving out. I mean, I thought I was ready, but it’s weird being here all alone. I hear noises at night. I know it isn’t anything, but you can’t convince me of that in the middle of the night. I hate it. I go to bed thinking this will be the night I fall right to sleep without thinking about anything. Then I hear a noise and I’m so awake I have to get up and watch TV for awhile. Then I go back to bed and if I’m lucky I drift off, but it just isn’t working out. I’m so tired some days I could sleep through lunch. What am I supposed to do?”

  Marilyn had suggested a roommate the day Emma began to talk about getting her own apartment, but Emma wanted to do it on her own. It was hard convincing both her parents, but in the end, Emma won. She didn’t want Marilyn to think she was right on this, but the truth be known, Emma was afraid.

  “I have an idea. Why don’t you come home for a few days and let’s talk about a roommate for you. I know you want to be on your own and I’m very proud of you, but Teri really wants to move out and this might just work for both of you. You’ll save on half the rent and she doesn’t even snore,” she said with a giggle.

  Emma would prefer to have Jody as a roommate, but Jody was in love with Ryan. Both of them were planning on staying at home with their parents to save money before getting married next year. Emma and Teri got along great, but Jody was her best friend.

  “Thanks, maybe I will, but don’t talk to Teri about this yet, okay? I want to try it on my own first.”

  Marilyn looked at her husband who was napping on the sofa with a full stomach of meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

  “Emma, Dad’s sleeping and I’m bored. Let’s go to the mall and do some shopping. What do you think? Have you eaten yet? We could get dinner at the food court.”

  Emma knew Marilyn was probably tired and she was sure that going to the mall wasn’t really what her mother wanted to do. She was pretty sure that Marilyn most likely had already eaten and this was just for her benefit. Emma thought there was probably not a kinder woman alive. Knowing her mother was probably already dressed for bed, she declined her loving offer.

  “Thanks, but I already ate and I just put on my sweats. How about next weekend? Maybe the girls can go with us. I think I’ll just watch TV for a while and go to bed. I have to be at the shop early in the morning. Carol has a shipment of roses coming and she said I could do some of the arranging.” She felt more upbeat and excited just talking about flowers.

  “Okay, but if you need me, I want you to promise that you will call no matter what time it is. Now promise me, dear.”

  Smiling, Emma wanted to reassure her foster mother. She didn’t want her to think it was so terrible all alone. It certainly had its benefits. “Of course I will, but I’m fine, really.”

  Emma survived that night, and the next three years. She was enjoying the privacy of her own space and rarely did she hear from the boggy-man. It hadn’t taken long before she was happy having her own apartment and she was glad she didn’t cave in and get a roommate after all. Emma was no longer afraid of living alone. It happened slowly, but one night she thought about how tired she was and the next thing knew she was waking up in the morning. She looked around and smiled. Emma had made a giant step and there was no going back now. She worked hard and saved her money. At twenty-five she received the bulk of the trust left to her from her parent’s estate. With the interest it had earned over the last twenty-two years she had over $375,000. When Carol talked about selling the flower shop, Emma jumped at the chance. After agreeing on a price, Emma applied for her business license, and insurance. She changed the name to Emma’s and she put a help wanted sign in the window.

  Chapter Three

  “Emma, where do you want Ryan to put the table?” Jody and Ryan had been married for two years and their son, Louie, named after Ryan’s Grandfather, was three months old.

  “Right there is fine,” Emma said.

  Terry bounced into the room holding a cake box. “I put the coffee and punch by the window. Where do you want the cake?”

  “Put it on the table when Ryan gets it set up,” Emma said.

  Louie let out a hungry cry. Jody unbutton her blouse as she looked around for a place to nurse and still help with the preparations for the grand opening.

  “It’s okay Jody, just take care of Louie.” Emma giggled. “We can move things around. Trust me, I’ll keep your husband working.”

  “Hey, you two,” Ryan said, making a face and laughing, still dragging the folding table around.

  Ryan was a good fit for Jody. Not only did they look great together, they got along together as best friends. Ryan had several brothers and Jody always teased that she got the “pick of the litter.” Ryan and his brothers didn’t look too much alike. Jody admired the manliness he acquired from his father. He was tall, lean and had very dark brown hair. His eyes were so dark they looked almost black an
d Louie was looking more like Ryan every day. Ryan had olive skin like his Italian parents and little Louie was no exception. Jody had wondered if Louie would take on any of her Irish traits from her family, but so far, Louie looked pure Italian. Jody thought Ryan was the most handsome man in the world and now she had two gorgeous men in her life.

  Ryan finally set the other table up near the drink table and Emma put on the lace tablecloth Marilyn had given her as a gift earlier that morning. Marilyn and Howard arrived just in time to help finish up. Everyone was busy running around the store and Emma was thankful she had such a caring family.

  “Emma, do you have a minute for your old pops?”

  “Sure, Dad, what’s up?”

  Howard took Emma aside and handed her a little white box tied with a tiny gold ribbon. Emma looked up at her father a little bewildered. She knew she was about to cry and was trying to prepare herself. She swallowed hard and as she reached for the box she noticed tears coming from the most beautiful brown eyes in the world. Howard’s medium brown hair was beginning to turn gray at the temples. She had always thought of him as tall and handsome, but at this moment he was all that and more. She loved the way he towered over all of them and his broad shoulders made his frame even larger.

  “Dad, what’s this for?” she asked opening it as fast as she could. Inside was a white gold necklace with a diamond solitaire. “Oh, Dad,” she cried. “It’s beautiful!” She turned towards the mirror on the wall as she held it up to her neck. She looked at her reflection and then held her gift to her heart. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and brushed the hair from her wet face. Her blue eyes were highlighted by her naturally dark lashes and brows. There was barely a freckle left on her face. Her hair, though not as reddish as when she was a child, had just enough strawberry highlights left in it that everyone told her how lovely it was, but Emma wasn’t quite satisfied with it. She had wanted to put some additional highlights in her hair to give it some “oomph,” she would say. A petite five foot-two, she usually picked shoes that gave her an inch or two more in height. She admired Jody’s five foot-six inch frame. Tall and slinky, she would call her.