The Key to Her Heart

By Catherine Herzog

Anna is driven away from her home by an old feud between her father and the Rueschel family as a teenager. In her quest to achieve her dreams, she becomes a successful model in California in the early seventies and attracts the unwanted attention of powerful, ruthless, Matthew Wolffe, the eldest son of the fashion world’s biggest tycoon. Matthew pursues her as if she is his very own possession oblivious to the fact she wants nothing to do with him. His attention twists into a dark obsessesion. He doesn’t just set out to harm, but distributes abuse beyond Anna’s worst nightmares. Anna is not easily bullied, proving resistant to intimidation even at the possible cost of her own life.

As the stakes are driven ever higher, she must choose what dream she wants to pursue and what cost she is willing to pay. Meanwhile, Matthew plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse that threatens to find her no matter where she may run.

Patrick Rueschel is the boy she left back home when she ran away. He promises new life and love, but between her dark secrets in California and her father’s vow of revenge on The Rueschel family, Anna realizes there is no way for Patrick to be part of her life. Yet as her life spirals deep into an abyss she doesn’t know how to escape, Patrick may be the only thing standing between her and complete destruction. Is his love strong enough to save her? Or must she run away once more—and leave everything she loves behind?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Catherine Herzog
• Release date: Aug 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311002990

Catherine Herzog

My name is Cat Herzog. My passion is God, family, and literature. I love reading as much as writing. I have 5 children and 3 grandchildren and have homeschooled my kiddos since the late nineties. When my oldest girls were teens I read The Key To Her Heart to them as I worked on it. In 2013 they helped to convince me it was time to publish. It has been an adventure! It proves to continue to be a fun ride as I am working on the second book in The Heart of a Family series, Patrick's Rose.

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The Key to Her Heart

By Catherine Herzog

The Key to Her Heart

Copyright 2013

Catherine E. Herzog

Published by Catherine E Herzog at Smashwords

Cover Design site: selfpubbookcovers.com/Saphira

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior permission of the author. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Dedication

This is dedicated to Joseph for always being with me, and to Grandma.

For so many years you poured your attention and love into me and since your departure I can feel all the incessant prayers from you in heaven.

Finally, this is given to my Creator God for giving me life when I should not have survived.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 – Meeting the Wolffes

Chapter 2 – The Taking off of the Dream

Chapter 3 – Her Escape from Almost Tradgedy

Chapter 4 – Three Deaths in a Row

Chapter 5 – Her Grandmother’s Key

Chapter 6 – Her Tragic Destruction

Chapter 7 – The Fallacy of Powerlessness

Chapter 8 – The Unwanted Guest

Chapter 9 – A Night at the Beach

Chapter 10 – Old Friends and a Murderous Fourth of July Ball

Chapter 11 – A Terrible Choice

Chapter 12 – Loving the Unlovable

Chapter 13 – The Youth, Wednesday Night Service, and a Visitor

Chapter 14 – California Here I Come

Chapter 15 – A Surprise New Beginning

Chapter 16 – Youth Camp Days

Chapter 17 – Anna and Patrick

Chapter 18 – The Code of Silence

Chapter 19 – Her Leap of Faith

Chapter 20 – Nuptials

Chapter 21 – Soulfull Healing

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Connecting with Catherine

Prologue

Sheldonburg, Iowa

June, 1958

Here, Maxianna.

The little five year old looked up to her grandmother instead of at the pretty red flower.

See the soft petals... Anna turned her focus back to the flower as she gingerly touched the velvety soft rose. It was such a dark red on one side and lighter red on the other side. She immediately noticed the difference in color more than its softness.

Look at the stem... Her grandmother instructed and she noticed the grayish green leaf. It also was darker on the upper side than the under-side. She lifted the leaf to really look at it, and noticed something else.

That’s a thorn. A thorn? Her face wrinkled as she tried to understand.

The rose is lovely until you try to grasp it. Then it has hidden thorns that are sharp enough to draw blood sometimes. Anna recoiled back from the flower. As beautiful as it was, the thought of it taking her blood scared her.

So, Maxianna, when you come to the rose, look, don’t touch, please. I couldn’t imagine my precious granddaughter being hurt by something so pretty-- It’s almost as pretty as you are.

Anna looked up to her grandmother with a little smile, but inside she wondered if people could be like the flower. Could they have hidden thorns, too? It was only then that she noticed the dangling key hanging around her grandmother’s neck, and she knew even if people could have thorns, her grandmother would protect her.

* * *

June, 1962

Anna Lattimier hopped outside the door. Her gaze glanced up to the sky to see the brilliant blue that almost matched her eyes. Grasping her sketch pad tighter, she glanced around making sure her father wouldn’t see her. Quickly she leapt off the veranda and ran across the yard to where her grandmother stood painting a landscape picture. For a moment, she watched her skillful hand make a picture out of the white canvas. Anna smiled slightly as she flipped her dark colored ponytail off her shoulder. Sometimes when she looked up to her grandmother she saw herself. It wasn’t just that she knew she looked a lot like her, but she understood her better than almost anyone. When her grandmother began a painting Anna could see what she was doing before she ever did it.

Do you mind, Gramma, if I stand here beside you and draw? Her grandmother looked down at the young eyes that matched her own in color and expression, then the corners of her lips drew upward as they always did each time she found her painting and joined her.

Do I ever mind, Maxianna? She shook her head.

I want to see what you are seeing, and I want to draw it like you would paint it.

Her grandmother seemed pleased with her answer, stopping what she was doing to give her a big hug. She knelt down to Anna’s level and pointed out toward the Mississippi River.

Do you see the sun glistening on the water? Anna nodded.

I see the shadows in the trees on the island in the middle, too.

Is it the middle of the river from here? Anna analyzed what she saw instead of what she knew.

No, Gramma, it looks like it’s a lower portion of the bluff, but I know that’s the middle of the river. I’ve seen it from below.

Yes, but the beauty of this scene here lies directly in how you see it. Draw what you see, not what you know. Her grandmother instructed as she handed her a charcoal pencil. Anna quickly drew the river and the island that did not look like an island really.

How are you doing the shadows?

I-I was coloring them in... Her grandmother shook her head disagreeing. How would you do them, Gramma?

Maxine took the pencil and showed Anna how to shadow the darker areas. She easily grasped the lesson and eagerly continued on her own. Maxine watched her lovely granddaughter as she intently studied the scene before beautifully copying it onto her sketchpad. As she looked on she couldn’t help but wonder what great things and talents God kept in store for Anna.

* * *

April, 1969

Sheldonburg, Iowa

Jacque Lattimier paced the veranda in front of his house. It was late, and he was angry. His daughter was still out and he had told her to be home over an hour ago. Every weekend he faced the same dilemma. For the last four months he waited, and for an hour after she returned she argued with him. Just then he saw headlights coming up the drive. He crossed his arms, and decided he was going to put an end to this tonight. Whoever she was going out with and whatever the reason she was always late would be stopped tonight. He jumped down the steps, and hurried into the drive just as the car pulled up beside him. The window was rolled down on the driver’s side as the passenger door opened.

Hello, Sir... His breath stuck in his chest as he saw who it was his daughter spent just so much time with. This was him?! He felt his face heating up several degrees as his anger bubbled over into rage.

Daddy, let’s get inside. It’s so chilly out here. Jacque turned back to the young man sitting in the car.

You have no right to be around my daughter! He growled as his daughter pulled him away.

The young man got out of the car.

Mister Lattimier...

How dare you! Jacque yelled. The young man shoved his hands in his pockets as his words tumbled forward angering Jacque even more.

We-we were just at the church, Sir.

It does not matter where you’ve been! How dare you even come near my daughter! He yelled at the young man with all the wind he could muster.

I-I-I love her, Sir. The boy’s words only enraged him further as his nostrils flared and his eyes became wild.

Patrick, go home! Anna pleaded, frightened of what her father would do next.

Come on, Daddy. Let’s get you inside. She tried her best to pry him away from his old vendetta.

I’ll explain everything inside. But he pulled away from her.

No! You have no right to be around my daughter!

Patrick opened the car door.

Go home Patrick. I told you... He didn’t listen. Instead she ran inside the house and called for her mother and grandmother. They came running outside. Together the three of them pulled her father toward the house.

Go home. I’ll try to talk to you tomorrow.

No. I’m tired of hiding everything...! Patrick stood a little straighter, and then turned to Anna’s father. Maybe he could explain to him.

Sir, I love Anna. Why can’t she and I be involved in the same activities, and why can’t we go out on dates? I’m not asking anything more.

Emily was shaking her head. Anna was trying to pull her father away. Maxine was pushing her way into the middle. It seemed nothing was going to get Jacque to back down this time.

I don’t want her around the likes of you!!! He yelled.

All you are is Peter Rueschel’s son! It’s bad enough that he killed his wife, but he had to come after mine too?! Now you’re coming after my daughter? Finally the roaring fury came to a head as his chest tightened. He grabbed at his heart, suddenly gasping.

Mama! Get his pills! Emily ran back inside.

Patrick took several steps back, dazed by the nearly instantaneous chaos. Maxine guided him back to his car.

Go home. She spoke gently to the young man.

Tell Victor to pray for my son-in-law. Patrick nodded his head. Anna looked up to his haunted gaze, watching him. She wanted to hug him for the shock he had just faced, and at the same time wanted to smack him for not listening to her.

A half hour later, Emily got in the ambulance with her husband as Anna watched in horror. She shivered in her grandmother’s arms.

It’s my fault... It’s all my fault. She cried softly.

I knew I shouldn’t have been with him. I knew Daddy was going to find out... Maxine shook her head.

Your father’s prejudices are not your fault, nor your responsibility, Maxianna.

Gramma, he had an attack from just seeing him! Maxine shook her head again.

No, dear. He is full of anger and hatred. Those emotions ultimately kill you.

Anna swallowed and knew no matter what her grandmother said she had to fix the situation. It seemed there could only be one solution. If seeing Patrick would kill her father; she had no other choice, but her heart was beginning to ache from the decisions she was making.

The next morning she called her school, and her brother before heading out for the hospital. She intended to spend the rest of the day in Dubuque with her father.

It was just a small heart attack. The doctor informed her mother and her.

He has to stay calm. There are some new medicines that could help him, but if he doesn’t learn to control his temper...

Anna left the doctor and sat beside her father’s bed, watching over him. Her mother came into the room a few moments later.

Go. They said he’d be asleep for awhile. She sat, overbearing guilt wrinkling her brow.

I shouldn’t have been with Patrick.

Anna it isn’t your fault. Anna was silent, not knowing what else to say. She knew better.

It’s his anger that’s doing this. Three times she heard the same words, but in her heart she knew she should have kept Patrick away. Her father was in this bed because of her thoughtlessness. That left the fault on her.

She left the room and found the school principal was waiting for her. Quietly, she spoke to her, and signed the papers the woman had brought with her.

We’ll see you then at eight o’clock sharp Monday morning. You will only receive your diploma if you pass the test. Anna tried to smile slightly as she nodded her approval. Her brother, Jesse, was looking into colleges that would accept her at sixteen. At least this way she would not upset her father anymore.

Just as the principal left, the elevator opened, and Patrick stepped out. Silence overtook her and she froze. The world set heavily on her shoulders, and she felt herself wilting under its weight.

Immediately Patrick was at her side, holding her hands.

How’s he doing? Anna swallowed hard.

Another heart attack.

Another? She nodded.

Do you even know what happened last summer? Did your father tell you anything? Do you know why you and your father left so quickly? She watched his Adam’s apple bob.

No. He answered in a stretched whisper. For a moment she looked up to him wondering how she even explained the events that he had no clue of. Her soul shuttered thinking of last summer. She’d come so close to losing her father.

Peter tried to kiss my mother, and my father walked in on it. Patrick quickly leaned back against the wall.

When he saw your father there with my mother he had a heart attack, then another in the hospital the next day when Peter tried to speak with him.

I’m sorry. I thought he needed to face-- I was wrong. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. He plopped down in one of the chairs.

When are you going to listen to me? She crossed her arms, still angrier than she had felt since her father refused to allow the Rueschels to come to his house again.

There was a reason I told you we needed to wait. I did know.

I’m sorry...

You don’t know everything about my family.

He looked at her, pleading for forgiveness with his clear emerald gaze. She wondered how she was going to tell him the things she had decided.

I know what happened has nothing to do with you and it really has nothing to do with me. She spoke bravely, though her heart had never cried out so much.

My mother’s afraid to leave his side. She searched for strength to continue.

You need to understand, Patrick. I can’t do this. If my mother loses my father, she will be devastated. His skin paled. Never before had she hated her own actions, but it was her fault her father was here again. She had to make things right.

Everyone’s doing their part- She paused swallowing her pain.

Now this is mine. Speaking slower, she made the words she had rehearsed all night come from her lips.

I want----you--to leave. Each word came out individually, crushing her spirit. They were so far from true, but she knew it was everything she could do to keep her father alive...

Don’t call.

Anna--

She closed her eyes to control the sorrow inside of her. He gently caressed her cheek, but she moved away from him, wrapping her arms around herself.

I’m sorry, Patrick. Tears crackled in her words as stinging ones rolled down her cheeks.

It’s my only choice.

Anna. We can work it out.

At the expense of my father’s life? She held his gaze daring him to be selfish.

No... But-- She turned away from him.

Don’t make this harder for either of us. Just go. I’m sorry... It was over. As he began to walk away her soul felt as it was being ripped away with every step he took. She listened as his shoes shuffled over the carpet, and sobs rocked her shoulders. She would allow herself these moments to grieve.

Then never again. But before she forced her sobs to end she gently touched the wetness under her eyes with graceful sweep of her fingertips. She studied the glistening moisture for a moment, staring at the physical evidence of her pain. For a moment it almost seemed as if she could lessen the hurt by gazing at the salty tears. She would be strong like her mother and grandmother. This was not the end of the world--even if it felt like it.

Meeting the Wolffes

June, 1971

All right now, make that hat work! The photographer called as Anna turned. Quickly she changed poses with the cream colored Stetson. Her face changed expressions just as rapidly according to the demand of the second long scene. A large electric fan simulated wind, and the fine, chocolate strands of her glossy mane began to churn in the breeze. The camera clicked in quick succession as she responded. Within a minute it was over, and she began to step away.

That girl is going to soar to the top. One of the photographers exclaimed behind her. The thought made her smile. At least this would pay for the next two years of college and maybe seminary too. Last year she had dove into summer classes with a vengeance after her first full year. She stashed away the money she received for modeling in a bank back home in Chicago. That way when she was in school she could really do things to achieve her dreams, instead of just working night hours and going to school during the day.

Wait, Anna. Her agent came over to her, grabbing her attention. No one knew her secret life. Anna Paige and Maxianna Lattimier were two completely different people. Gracie, her childhood best friend, had thought up the name a month ago when she first started modeling and doing commercials. She had moved from Iowa the year before Anna had left and had established a thriving art business. The thought made her smile. She still had secret passions that no one knew about. Someday-- She dropped the thoughts. Right now she needed to keep her mind on the present.

Anna walked over to her agent.

What is it? For a second, the man was silent, and then he spoke up.

There’s a gathering... She groaned as she heard the words that would soon form a request.

A local school wants you to visit with some of their classes next week. Anna pushed out a breath.

It’s only two hours. All you have to do is talk to some of the children about what it’s like to be a model. She stared at the man, as her hands rested on her shapely hips.

Do I have a choice? Sounds to me like you’ve already got it set up for me.

Anna... It would be good publicity. You told me you liked children. He smiled slightly and she nodded with a humorous roll of her eyes.

When is it? Talking with children sounds delightful. She agreed with only the slightest hint of sarcasm. He quickly spit out the date as if it jumped from his pursed orifice itself. It would keep her schedule full and it would help her give something back. That was always good. When she got back to her space she wrote it down on her calendar before sitting for a few seconds. She glanced at the clock. It was past four in the afternoon. She put together her things, changed out of the clothes back into her comfortable bell bottomed jeans and a pirate shirt she had found at a Goodwill store last week, and left to go back to Gracie’s large Los Angeles apartment near the ocean. She had promised to spend some time with her best friend.

On the way, she saw a used book store, and could not pass by. No one seemed to care about classics anymore. However, thanks in part to her grandmother, classic works of literature were one of her true loves. As she neared the store she was lured in by the smell of old bindings and worn dust covers, unaware she was being watched.

It was a bright sunny day, and Matthew had on a purple silk shirt, tucked into his tight Levis. He walked with an air of haughtiness. It was time to find something new. His latest occupation was getting boring. He needed something fresh- unspoiled. As he was walking past an antique book dealer he caught sight of her. She was inside the bookshop glancing over an old hardcover. With one petite hand she flipped her long brown waves off her shoulders. Long curls swayed back and forth accenting her tiny waist. The denim pants she wore hugged her bottom and the loose white cotton shirt exposed the rosy skin of her perfect shoulders.

Mmmm, yes that is it. He whispered as if he had just found the perfect dessert. She was young, sexy, and yet still untouched somehow. He was mesmerized by her beauty, and the sight of her there, having no idea how striking she was. Suddenly his course changed. Though his car was in sight, he knew he would forever regret it if he did not at least talk to this goddess.

The door jingled as he went inside the book shop, but the woman didn’t look up. She was studying the same hardcover. Slowly, he meandered closer... She was looking at an old copy of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. For a moment he watched her. She flipped the pages