“My, you really have changed,” said Candy with a giggle.
“Wait, Johnny, there is something else I need to put in the hole.” I pulled the stack of money out of my pocket that had a paper band around it.
“That’s some of the money that I – that Blue stole, isn’t it?” asked Johnny.
“Uh huh,” I said, feeling apprehensive again.
“I don’t remember a lot being in the other realm,” explained Johnny. “But some things I do remember. Didn’t Cardinal Wolsey say he’d stolen the money from the king or the church?” he asked.
“Yes. It was supposed to be given to the church as alms,” I explained.
“Then maybe we should give it back to the church,” suggested Candy.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Johnny. “But first, I need to do this.” Johnny pulled a few bills off the bundle and threw them into the hole with the jacket. “I don’t want to take any chances,” he said. “So we’ll leave some of it here, and anonymously donate the rest to the church. How does that sound?”
“I think it sounds perfect,” I said, holding the rest of the money while Johnny shoveled dirt over the rest of the hole. “We need to keep this all a secret,” I told Johnny and Candy.
“But Brett and Dex might already suspect something,” said Candy. “And don’t forget about Snake and Ed. We don’t even know what happened to the rest of the money.”
“I guess I don’t want to know,” I said, meaning every word of it. “And what I meant was to keep it a secret about burying the jacket and the money and all. Since it doesn’t seem to have come from our time period and no one is missing it, there’s no need to make it known what we did.”
“I agree,” said Candy.
“Me, too,” added Johnny.
“Johnny, you can’t even tell Dad,” I said.
“I won’t,” he said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. “Raven, how do you really feel about Dad being back in our lives and getting back together with Mom?”
“I don’t know,” I said, feeling sketchy about the whole idea but not knowing if I should say something to Johnny or not. After all, Johnny had hated our father for so long and it was good to see them starting to make amends. “How do you feel about it?”
“I’m not sure either,” he told me. “I’ve hated him for so long and now he acts like nothing ever happened.”
“Didn’t he ever explain why he left to begin with?” asked Candy.
“No, I don’t think he did,” I told her.
“Oh, well, I guess it doesn’t matter.” Johnny dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a fistful of change. “I’m going to take Ashley and Prudence for ice cream. Do you two want to come with us?”
“You’re taking two girls?” asked Candy.
“Yep. I can’t decide which one I want to date so I’m going to date them both at once for now.”
“That’s not going to go over big with the girls,” I told Johnny.
“I suppose not.” He eyed the stack of money in my hand. “Boy, I wish I had that cash to spend on the girls.”
“No way, Johnny!” I knew he was being tempted. “You go for ice cream while Candy and I drop this off in the collection box at the back of the church.”
“Fine, but I don’t know how long you think this is going to last.” He held out his hand and opened his palm. “This is all the money I have, and half of it I found on the floor of Dad’s new truck. He told me to keep it.”
I looked at the coins in his hand and noticed something odd. “Wait a minute,” I said, plucking a coin out of his hand that didn’t look like our kind of money. “What’s this?” I held it up to the light.
“It looks like a foreign coin,” said Candy.
“It’s says sixpence on it,” said Johnny.
“And it’s crooked,” I said.
“Where did it come from?” asked Candy.
“I guess I must have picked it up off the floor of Dad’s truck,” said Johnny.
“I’d better hold on to it for now,” I said, subconsciously rubbing my crystal like a worry stone. A flash of a vision went through me. I gasped and looked at Johnny and Candy.
“What’s the matter?” asked Johnny, bending over to pet the dogs.
“I just had a vision and it involved Dad,” I told Johnny. “Dad and that crooked house he bought to fix up.”
“Crooked?” asked Candy. “Does this have something to do with another nursery rhyme?”
“Unfortunately, I think it does,” I told her with a heavy sigh, knowing this was far from over.
“Which one?” asked Johnny.
“Well, from what I saw and this coin that isn’t round, I’d have to say we’ve got a whole new problem on our hands and it has to do with our father.”
“So is he hiding something, just like you thought?” asked Candy.
“Wow. What do you think, Raven?” asked Johnny.
I looked at my brother and friend and shrugged my shoulders. I had a feeling another horrific journey was about to begin. “Well, all I can say is hello, Crooked Man, and goodbye, Little Boy Blue.”
From the Author
I hope you enjoyed Blue and will take the time to leave a review for me. As with each of the books in the series, I tackle issues that we all might go through in our lives.
Mary, Mary, Book 1, deals with bullying, while Muffet, Book 2, explores the hardships of abusive relationships. Blue, Book 3, tackles bragging as well as low self-confidence, and helps us to remember that we need to believe in ourselves and shouldn’t want to be anyone else but who we are.
I love this series because it is written for young adults but can be read and enjoyed by anyone!
I also explore the hidden meanings behind nursery rhymes and the origins and how they came to be.
Little Boy Blue goes back to the 16th century with King Henry and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey was also the king’s almoner, and I found out he had what they called a sweating sickness, too. He liked to brag – or to toot his own horn I should say. He did steal money and that is why I decided to incorporate it into the story. While he had illegitimate children, Blue was of my own creation.
Watch for more books in the series to come. You’ll find out more about Raven’s mysterious father in an upcoming book called Crooked: There was a Crooked Man.
If you have a favorite nursery rhyme that you’d like to see me incorporate into my series, feel free to leave me a message on my website.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Rose
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Rose is a multi-published, bestselling author, writing medieval, historical, contemporary, paranormal, and western romance. Her books are available as EBooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks as well.
Her favorite characters in her works include dark, dangerous and tortured heroes, and feisty, independent heroines who know how to wield a sword. She loves writing 14th century medieval novels, and is well-known for her many series.
Her twelve-book small town contemporary series, Tarnished Saints, was inspired by incidents in her own life.
After being traditionally published, she started self-publishing, creating her own covers and book trailers on a dare from her two sons.
Elizabeth loves the outdoors. In the summertime, you can find her in her secret garden with her laptop, swinging in her hammock working on her next book. Elizabeth is a born storyteller and passionate about sharing her works with her readers.
Please be sure to visit her website at Elizabethrosenovels.com to read excerpts from any of her novels and get sneak peeks at covers of upcoming books. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or BookBub. Be sure to sign up for her newsletter so you don’t miss out on new releases or upcoming events.
Click to join Elizabeth Rose’s Readers’ Group.
Also by Elizabeth Rose
Medieval Series:
Legendary Bastards of the Crown Series
Seasons of Fortitude Series
Secrets of the Heart Series
Legacy of the Blade Series
Daughters of the Dagger Series
MadMan MacKeefe Series
Barons of the Cinque Ports Series
Second in Command Series
Holiday Knights Series
Highland Chronicles Series
Medieval/Paranormal Series:
Elemental Magick Series
Greek Myth Fantasy Series
Tangled Tales Series
Contemporary Series:
Tarnished Saints Series
Working Man Series
Western Series:
Cowboys of the Old West Series
And More!
Please visit http://elizabethrosenovels.com
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