Night and Day

By Richard B. Jones

The Lancasters have been the main family of Eastlake society. Over the years, the York, Foster, Thunderbird and Murdock families have joined them in many adventures and life-changing moments. Experience the weddings, deaths, romances, betrayals, murders, secrets and births that have shaped the lives of so many in Eastlake. Cry at the deaths of loved ones, hold onto your seat during the many action adventures and gasp at the sudden plot twists. Come get lost in the many great romances that blossomed and the weddings that were memorable. By the end of the story, you will know all of the characters as well as your own family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 29, 2008
• ISBN: 9781475906394

Richard B. Jones

Richard B Jones grew up in San Diego, California and now lives in Tampa, Florida. His passion for travel has taken him across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. A graduate of ITT Technical Institute and the Institute of Certified Travel Agents, Jones completed his first book titled Vampyre in 2006 and added Night and Day to his repertoire in 2008.

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Copyright © 2008 by Richard B Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-0-595-53183-7 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-0639-4 (ebook)

Contents

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

Epilogue

Appendix A

Appendix B

This is dedicated to my family, friends and daytime drama fans worldwide.

Chapter One

Night and Day is set in the California coastal city of Eastlake, located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Lancasters are the main family in Eastlake society.

Roland Lancaster met his wife, Virginia, when he was in medical school at Harvard. They married and Roland began his medical practice at Eastlake Hospital as an emergency attendant. They had three children: Mike, who became a medical doctor like his father; Davis, who worked as a bartender at the family-owned Eastlake Lodge; and Sydney, who worked at the bank.

The saga of the residents of Eastlake began at the Halloween Ball.

At the Halloween Ball at Eastlake Lodge, Davis asked Vanessa York out on a date. She accepted, but only as a friend. Mike Lancaster and Trudy Watson celebrated the holidays together with Georgia Drake around the corner, who tried to cause problems. Thomas Martinez tried his best to win over Georgia’s heart, but she was too infatuated with Mike. Sydney started dating Jake York, even though there was a sense of distance between them.

Chapter Two

A flash flood ripped through Eastlake and destroyed many buildings and altered the lives of several residents. Davis was in a warehouse at the time when the swell of the floodwaters caused the warehouse to explode. Several residents came to the scene and retrieved a person badly scarred from the explosion. After much healing, the person rescued was believed to be Davis, though in an altered appearance because of the explosion.

Reeve Martinez came to town and became close friends with Sydney. Her relationship to Jake came to an end when Jake felt threatened by Reeve’s presence and left town.

A migrant worker rummaged through the warehouse remains and stumbled upon a body that was still alive. The body was taken to their house and healed. The person turned out to be the real Davis. After feeling healthier, Davis returned to Eastlake and confronted the imposter. The imposter realized he had amnesia at the time and remembered that his name was Adam Newston. Vanessa fell for Adam when she thought he was Davis and decided to start a new life with Adam. Both left town together, which left Davis alone.

Georgia concocted several schemes to break up Mike and Trudy, but to no success. A Canadian Mountie by the name of Benton Frasier arrived in town to recover missing jewels stolen from a collection in Ottawa. The trail led to Eastlake and Georgia decided to help him recover the jewels. Along the way, she fell for Benton and they spent a passionate night together. The jewels were found and Benton returned to Ottawa. Before he left, Benton promised to return for her.

The Halloween Ball was a tremendous success that year. While picking out a costume for the ball, Davis met a young Indian woman at the store. Although he did not talk to her, she intrigued him. Davis attended the ball as John Smith. He met the young Indian woman again at the ball dressed as Pocahontas. She introduced herself as Sage Thunderbird and spent the rest of the evening with Davis. After a great friendship and several relentless pursuits, Sydney finally decided to date Reeve. They dressed up as Dracula and the Bride of Frankenstein.

During harvest time, Davis and Sage spent a great deal of time together and began to fall in love with each other. Davis met her parents, Phoenix and Moon. Georgia learned that her mother, Carolina, had an affair with Reverend James Scott that produced her. Roland Lancaster had a physical that yielded great results. Virginia Lancaster discovered a lump on her breast and went to the doctor to have a mammogram done. After much waiting, the results came in and she learned that it was not cancer.

Eastlake was host to an international figure skating competition. Among the competitors was Andrea Meyers, the reigning US and world ladies champion. Georgia went to Eastlake Arena for her autograph and was publicly snubbed by Andrea. Later that day, Andrea was attacked on the knee and Georgia became the prime suspect. A metal baton was found in her apartment and Georgia was jailed for the crime. Benton returned from Ottawa and helped in the investigation. Georgia was cleared when a rival competitor admitted she set up the attack and framed Georgia for the crime. Benton and Georgia spent time together before he returned home.

Mike continued his work at Eastlake Hospital. At Christmastime, he proposed to Trudy in a Santa suit and she accepted. They set the wedding date for November 1st of the following year. Thomas surprised Georgia with a kiss under the mistletoe and she did not refuse it.

Chapter Three

Mike, Trudy, Davis, Sage, Reeve and Sydney took a trip to San Francisco for a week. The three couples enjoyed Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, Pier 39 and the Golden Gate Bridge. During this trip, Davis and Sage shared a passionate kiss on a cable car. In the meantime, Thomas and Georgia plotted to break up Mike and Trudy so Georgia could have Mike. Along the way, Thomas and Georgia made love to each other at Lighthouse Point. When the three couples returned home, Georgia announced to everyone that she was pregnant by Mike. Trudy stood by him and the truth came out that Georgia was never pregnant in the first place.

Vanessa and Jake returned to town and tried to reclaim the loves of their past. Sydney slapped Jake when he asked her to be his again and she told him that she would never love him again and that she was dating Reeve. Vanessa explained to Davis that she was a fool to give up on them before they had a chance. Davis relived the fact that she stood by Adam even though he was not Davis.

Connor Murdock arrived in town and became good friends with Davis. He took a job at the lodge working the bar. Connor had a secret and did his best to keep it quiet. Reeve had a fallout with Sydney over Jake’s interference in their lives and left town. To relieve the stress of everything, Sydney took a vacation to Hawaii and met a photographer named Jasper Kenders. They spent a romantic time together.

After recurring nightmares haunted him, Connor admitted to everyone that he was gay. Everybody was appalled and turned their backs on him except for Davis, who helped him feel comfortable working at the lodge and with the townspeople. Eventually, everyone accepted Connor. Sydney and Jasper returned from Hawaii as a couple. The two met Connor and a tension began between Connor and Jasper.

Davis and Sage spent a peaceful summer together. Davis thought that if he lost weight, Sage would find him more attractive. He began taking weight loss pills but soon developed an addiction to them. At the same time, Bolt Stormcloud returned home to the reservation after spending time in Egypt. Sage told Davis that at one time, she was expected to marry Bolt. The revelation created more stress for Davis to lose weight.

Jasper bumped into Connor at the beach and the two shared a lengthy talk. The two began a unique friendship that began to bother Sydney. After some time, Jasper revealed to Sydney that he was bisexual. The revelation shocked her. Jasper confessed to her that he had fallen for Connor. Sydney had no choice but to let him go. They met at the Boardwalk and said their goodbyes.

Mike and Trudy started getting their wedding preparations underway. Georgia tried to interfere with the couple but with no success. She then began planning an elaborate scheme to win Mike’s heart. She enlisted Thomas’s help but he rejected her. Thomas ultimately dumped her and left town.

The Halloween Ball was the background for interesting developments. Mike and Trudy came as a king and a queen, Connor and Jasper dressed up as the Mummy and the Werewolf, and Davis and Sage attended as Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. Davis became distant to Sage because of the pills and Sage began to turn to Bolt for attention and comfort. Connor and Jasper shared their first kiss with each other. Georgia dressed up as Elvira and started to put the moves on Mike but he ignored her. Georgia decided to put her plan in action. Georgia informed Trudy to meet her at The Bait warehouse or risk losing Mike forever. Tired of the interference from Georgia, Trudy followed her to the warehouse. At the same time, Mike followed Trudy, wondering what she was up to. He saw her go into the warehouse with Georgia and became suspicious. At that instant, a lightning bolt hit a power line and knocked the pole into the warehouse. Suddenly, the warehouse exploded. Paramedics and firefighters arrived on the scene and found only one body in the ruins. The body suffered too many traumas to be identified. The news of Georgia’s death sent Carolina to the sanitarium.

The family comforted Mike in this tragedy. Sage discovered Davis’ addiction and confronted him. Davis explained that he took the pills to lose weight and become more attractive to her and to compete with the looks of Bolt. Sage left Davis and found comfort in the arms of Bolt. The two married in the foothills above the reservation with family and friends. Davis witnessed the outdoor ceremony from afar.

Christmas came to Eastlake. Connor and Jasper shared the holidays together and enjoyed a passionate night together in front of the fireplace. The Lancasters dealt with the holidays the best they could. Mike became depressed when he remembered the good times he shared with Trudy. Davis looked back on his pill addiction with pain. Sydney voiced her concerns that she would never find a man who would love her.

New Year’s Eve brought tragedy. Connor and Jasper drove home from a party when they were struck by another car head-on. The other driver was drunk and was killed instantly. Both Connor and Jasper were taken to the hospital, where Mike worked desperately to save them both. Connor came out of surgery with minor injuries but Jasper died on the operating table. Both Davis and Sydney were at Connor’s side to comfort him.

Chapter Four

An inventor by the name of Vann Eastmann arrived in town to make a name for himself. He met a young gypsy woman named Arianna and fell in love with her. Arianna became an assistant to Vann in his lab.

A 7.2 earthquake left much of Eastlake in ruins. High-rise buildings were demolished and many businesses went under. The residents donated their time to help rebuild the city.

The reconstruction brought new people to Eastlake. A family by the name of the Careys arrived from Boston, looking for a new way of life. Dorothy introduced her children, Nancy and Gilly, and her niece, Julia, to the Lancasters. Mike became very interested in Julia after their first conversation.

Nick and Grant Foster arrived in town to assist their dad, Al, with the general store. Both of the young men grew up in Eastlake, but left at an early age for boarding school and college. The two men decided to return to Eastlake to be with their father and to start their lives.

Davis ran into Sage several times since the wedding and did his best to hide his pain from her. Sage noticed that Davis was carrying a backpack full of books. She inquired about what he had been up to recently, but Davis answered the questions vaguely, leaving Sage to be concerned about him.

Tired of being pursued by Jake, Sydney quit her job at the bank and became a secretary with the police department. Jake realized that he would never win Sydney’s heart back and left town again.

The town celebrated Memorial Day with a safari-themed potluck. Vann brought his new time travel invention to the celebration to show off to everyone. Something went wrong and the townspeople were transported 55 million years to the past. Everyone realized that they were in the era of the dinosaurs. With that, everyone came to the realization of how much danger they were in. Several people were killed by velociraptors and attacked by triceratops. Davis and Nancy grew close to each other during this time. Another couple that began to develop feelings for each other was Gilly and Sydney. Mike and Julia’s relationship also grew closer. The residents kept on trying to remain safe in the harsh environment. A T-Rex surprised the group and trapped them in a canyon. Before he could attack them, the group was transported back to the present.

The summer season ushered in a heat wave for many of the couples. Mike and Julia decided to move in together. Gilly and Sydney grew more comfortable with each other. Unfortunately, Vanessa had a plan of her own to get back at Davis and used Sydney as her victim. Vanessa met Gilly at a bar and spiked his drink with a drug. She drove him home and seduced him. Gilly realized what he had done the next morning and decided to keep the truth from Sydney to spare her feelings.

Davis and Nancy took their relationship slow during the summer. Nancy started realizing that she was not in love with Davis but decided to wait to tell him in case the chemistry between them improved. At the same time, she found a job as a model for Chandler’s department store.

Al suffered a heart attack and passed away, leaving the general store to both Nick and Grant. Grant gave his share of the store to Nick and left town. Nancy comforted Nick during this time and began developing feelings for him. Nick eventually sold the general store and took a position with the local newspaper, the Eastlake Herald.

At the Halloween Ball, a man by the name of Luc DeVil arrived in town. Many of the residents became suspicious of him. Davis became very uncomfortable when Luc recalled to Davis about his past with Sage and Vanessa and how his future would not include Nancy. Nancy spent a lot of time with Nick, which made Davis wonder if he really had a future with Nancy. He decided to not confront her but instead kept an eye on the situation.

Vanessa dropped a bombshell on everyone when she announced that she was expecting Gilly’s baby. Sydney punched her and confronted Gilly. He admitted that he was drunk at the time and had indeed made love to her. Sydney left the party disgraced and humiliated. Gilly followed after her and tried to convince her to give them another chance. Sydney told Gilly that she would never go back to him. Gilly went back to the party to be with Vanessa.

Bolt and Sage celebrated their first wedding anniversary on the reservation. Davis stopped by with a gift and went on a walk in the woods with Sage. They found a wounded raccoon in the brush and an owl with a broken wing on the ground. They took the animals to the hospital and Mike examined them. After their release, Sage decided to keep the raccoon for rehabilitation and named him Bandit. Davis kept the owl and named him Arches.

At Christmastime, Mike decided to leave emergency medicine and pursue veterinary medicine. Julia told Mike she would not commit to anybody less than a medical doctor and left town with Dorothy to pursue an acting career. Nancy came over to the lodge for dinner and spent a great deal of time with Nick. Nick thought Nancy should tell Davis about their feelings for each other, but Nancy decided to wait until the timing was right. Davis watched the two for most of the evening and realized that Nick and Nancy belonged together.

During the New Year’s Gala, Davis told Nancy that it was best if they parted so she could be happy with Nick. Nancy was surprised at what Davis had said. She kissed him goodbye and spent the rest of the evening with Nick. Sydney told her family that she wanted to become a police officer and that she had already been accepted at the police academy. She told them that she would be leaving for police academy the next day. She said her goodbyes and left town. Arianna said yes to Vann’s marriage proposal. Gilly told Vanessa that he was leaving town. Vanessa went to slap him but fell down a flight of stairs. She was taken to the hospital and the doctors informed her that she had suffered a miscarriage. Gilly stayed by Vanessa’s bedside out of guilt. Luc watched everybody in action at the gala and began planning a scheme. He picked Davis as his victim, since he had just suffered yet another broken heart and emotionally was the best choice.

Chapter Five

Luc began stalking Davis in the following weeks. At the same time, Davis became suspicious of Luc and his suspicions came true when he stumbled upon a cult gathering in the forest. Without warning, Luc kidnapped him and whisked him away to his hideout high up in the mountains.

After missing for several days, the authorities were called and search parties began. Connor, Sage, Nick, Nancy and Mike began their search in the forest. Bandit found a clue that led to a sacrificial altar, which sent shockwaves through the group. Arches took to the skies for more clues.

In the meantime, Davis woke up and found himself trapped in a cage with a young woman named Celine. She told him that she had been a prisoner for several months and Davis promised her that they would find a way out. Luc began the process of converting Davis to fall under his power. Davis was strong at first but eventually gave in to Luc. He drank a potion of goat’s blood and fell under Luc’s spells. Celine found a way out of the cage and left with Davis. On a cliff, Luc tried to prevent them from escaping. Celine pushed Luc over the cliff. When she went to look at his dead body, there was none to be found.

Nick and Nancy went back to town and showed the police the clues they had found. Mike received a page from the animal hospital and had to leave the search as well. Connor and Sage continued looking. Along the way, they recalled the good times they shared with Davis. The two eventually found Davis and Celine and brought them to the hospital. Davis stayed in the hospital for several days and had his system cleaned of the impurities. Celine said goodbye to Davis and left Eastlake.

Gilly continued to stay with Vanessa out of guilt over his causing her to lose the baby. Vanessa asked Gilly to leave her alone. Gilly left Eastlake and headed for Houston. Shortly thereafter, Vanessa headed to Lighthouse Point. She realized that she had hurt so many people with her lies and deception. When she reached the top of the lighthouse, she pleaded for God’s forgiveness and jumped to her death.

Mike rescued a stranded seal and helped rehabilitate it. Another veterinarian doctor at the hospital informed Mike that he had been invited to an animal medical convention in Miami and invited Mike to come along. Mike accepted the invitation.

Vann and Arianna proceeded with their wedding preparations. They decided to have a medieval ceremony at the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. The two decided to dress up as Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora in an elaborate ceremony.

Davis dealt with the emotions of his ordeal with Luc. He reflected back on the pain with Sage and Nancy and the unhappiness he had suffered within the last couple of years. Davis decided to take a sabbatical to clear his mind and heart, and to get a new perspective on what life had to offer. Davis said goodbye to his family and left Arches’ care with Connor. Davis gave Vann and Arianna his best wishes and left Eastlake.

The Biddle family arrived from Philadelphia and began setting up a conglomerate in town. Anton and Courtney Biddle arrived with their daughter, Cordy, and their butler. Their business, Biddle Enterprises, included real estate and publishing. Biddle Manor was built on the outskirts of town.

Mike traveled to Miami for the medical convention. While there, he decided to take a boat trip into the Everglades. Mike witnessed a boat running over a manatee and quickly came to its rescue. The manatee