Dark Dreams of Yesterday

By Juanita Cox

Ruby Martin had moved away from the small Georgia town where she had grown up; in hopes that all of the dark dreams of her childhood would no longer haunt her. She hated her Grandpa, Dr. Neil Hagen and that hate had kept her away for over six years until now. Grandpa's attorney, Marcus Briggs had notified her about Grandpa's death. It seemed that her presence was required at the old doc's funeral and reading of his Will.

From the moment Ruby returned; the madness of the old Hagen house seemed to take control of her life. With it the horrors she had tried so hard to forget. In his will Dr. Hagen had placed the family curse onto Ruby' shoulders. If she did not follow his instructions everyone involved with her would be in danger. In her stubborn way, Ruby fought to keep control of her life but every where she turned there seemed to be no way out but to face the demons of Grandpa's curse. Would she forever be doomed to a life living in a place she hated without the man she loved? Could Ruby dare to hope for some way out of the horrors of the Hagen curse that would release her from The Dark Dreams of Yesterday? Was there hope that one day Ruby Martin might possibly find her silver lining behind those dark dreams?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Feb 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781466972797

Juanita Cox

Juanita Cox

Book preview

© Copyright 2013 Juanita Cox.

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 written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4669-7280-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4669-7279-7 (e)

Trafford rev. 01/17/2013

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Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 1

The dusty old truck sounded louder than usual as it rattled up the lane toward the house. Ruby had sworn that she would never again set foot inside this place. She shivered as she thought about all the nights she had hidden in the closet with her quilt clutched tightly around her. Ruby had always thought that there were something evil about her Grandpa and this old place that had been passed down from generation to generation. From a young child she had known that she wanted no part of it.

Mr. Briggs, Grandpa’s attorney had called her two days ago with the news that her Grandpa had died. In fact; his call had come while she was being served papers to foreclose on her farm by a man from the bank. He had brought the sheriff with him; just like she was going to put up a fight about it. When Mr. Briggs told her the news about the death of her Grandpa, Ruby had not felt any grief at all just a feeling of bitterness had surged through her for all the pain the old man had inflicted in his life time.

Mr. Briggs had said it was important that she be there for the funeral, since she was his closest relative. He had told her there were decisions she would have to make. What decisions had to be made Ruby was not sure about? Mr. Briggs told her that Dr. Hagen had made all of the funeral arrangement in advance with the instructions that his Granddaughter had to be present for the reading of the will. With a bitter smile, Ruby thought, even from the depths of hell, Grandpa was still giving orders and running the show. How someone as sweet and kind as Grandma Lou had put up with him for so many years was beyond Ruby?

There weren’t many cars parked outside the old two story Colonial house. Ruby looked at the porch that ran across the front of the house with the white columns that reached like huge white fingers from the floor to the second story. A chill ran over her as she remembered how she hated them as a child; she felt like they were Grandpa’s guards to keep everyone away.

It didn’t surprise her that there were so few cars; Grandpa had never been one to hold with being neighborly. He was the only doctor for miles around and knew that the community would have to use him or do without a doctor. Most of the blacks in the area were terrified of him, mainly because of the old stories that had been passed on about how his Great-great-Granddad had operated on some of his slaves to put cow horns in their heads. The story went that he killed several men before he succeeded. He then placed the slave in a traveling side show making quite a large sum of money before the slave threaten to tell how he came to have horns. It was believed that the old doctor took the man to the back of the field making him dig his own grave before he killed him. Chuckling, Ruby stepped down out of the truck shaking her head at how totally ridiculous this story was; Grandpa’s family was evil but even they couldn’t get away with something like that.

Ruby glanced around as she walked toward the front steps. The swing under the arbor moved lazily in the soft breeze, Ruby’s eyes searched the yard for any change but everything looked the same. Her eyes roamed on toward the front porch before coming to rest on a woman that was sitting in the old rocking chair.

Grandma Lou had told Ruby every day about how Grandpa’s Granddad had sat in that chair to watch the end of the day. Grandma never would sit in the chair nor allow Ruby to sit in it; she said it was haunted. Ruby had not doubted her Grandma for that old chair rocked all the time. Ruby remembered as a child she would stick her finger into her mouth wetting it; then watching the chair rock as she held her wet finger in the air as high as she could checking to see if the wind was blowing. Well, that old chair sure didn’t seem to be haunted today, unless that woman was a ghost and not really there at all. Ruby looked down at the simple black dress she wore comparing it to the dress the woman had on. Whoever this was, she didn’t buy her clothing from discount stores the way Ruby did. As Ruby’s feet touched the top step, the woman came to her feet moving gracefully toward Ruby.

Hello! You must be Ruby. I’m Karen, your Grandfather’s wife. He said you were a poor farmer but I thought he was just being his usual cruel self until I saw you come up in that bucket of bolts. Are you sure it is safe to ride in?

Ruby couldn’t speak. The shock of the woman’s statement was ringing in her ears. Grandpa’s wife! When did he get married again? Could have been any time since Grandma Lou’s funeral six years ago? Ruby’s thoughts went back to the scene that had taken place following Grandma’s funeral. The old man had left the cemetery long before the grave side service was over; leaving a head of the other mourners. When the rest of the mourners reached the house, he had all of Grandma’s belongings piled up in the front yard pouring gasoline over them. Ruby had run to her Grandpa, attempting to stop him from torching the pile, only to be shoved so hard that she had fallen down. By the time she got to her feet, all of the precious belongings of Grandma’s were a fiery blaze. Turning on the old man, Ruby had shouted.

You are a vile hateful old man; you should have been the one we buried today, not Grandma. You deserve to die for all your cruel behavior over the years.

Grandpa had stood staring at her with such hate in his eyes that Ruby was afraid that he might shove her into the fire. Dennis had moved to her side wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

Come on sweetheart, let me take you home. This has been a very tiring day for all of us.

Ruby wanted to pull away, run at the old man shoving him the way he had done her. At the same time she didn’t want to do anything to cause Dennis and her Grandpa to disagree. Accidents always seemed to follow when any one disagreed with her Grandpa. Ruby didn’t want anything like that to happen to Dennis. He had been her best friend since grammar school and knew how she felt about her grandparents. He also knew the horrible fear she felt in that house. A few months before Grandma Lou died; Dennis had suggested that Ruby get an apartment of her own so she could move out of the old house. That was the same night he had asked her to marry him. It didn’t take long for Ruby to answer yes to both suggestions. She and Dennis had moved in together immediately with plans to marry as soon as they finished college. Ruby felt that if anything happened to him, she would never be able to forgive herself for involving him in her crazy family. With this thought moving though her mind, she allowed Dennis to lead her to the car. Just before she closed the door, Ruby shouted at the old man in a tear filled voice.

I will never put my feet in this evil place again.

That had been six years ago; today she would have to swallow those words. Not once in the past six years had she come anywhere near the old house or her Grandpa. In a freak accident a few weeks after Grandma’s funeral; Dennis had been killed.

No one seemed to understand how a dump-truck stopped at a traffic light with a load of rock could malfunction; dumping the entire load into the car behind it. The driver of the truck had told the investigating officer he did not know what had happened. After the accident was investigated the final report read that it was a freak accident with no one held responsible. Ruby knew somehow her Grandpa was responsible for the accident but no one else felt he was involved. After Dennis’s funeral, Ruby had left the small farm town she had grown up in moving across the state to a town much like it. She had bought a little farm with what Grandma Lou had left her. She then used the farm for collateral to buy the equipment needed to work it; hiring some locals to do the work so she could continue to work. She had been able to find a job at the department of family and children shortly after she arrived in the town. Everything seemed to be going great until two years ago when there had been some cut backs in the government funding’s and she had found herself without a job. Ruby tried to hold on to the farm but it had been hard to make the payments with what little the farm was bringing in. By the time she paid the expense of growing the crops there wasn’t much left over to live on. She was almost relieved that the bank had taken it. Now maybe she could move somewhere that would have better job opportunities. Who knows, she might even have time to socialize.

The woman was still talking, telling Ruby all about herself. Smiling, Ruby broke in.

I’m sorry, but I wasn’t listening, my mind had wondered back over some memories of years pasted. What were you saying?

Karen’s expression changed to an ugly snare, all the sweetness left her voice.

I see Neil was right about one thing, you are just as cruel as he ever dared to be.

Ruby didn’t have time to respond, before the woman whirled toward the door slinging her blond hair back as she stomped away. Ruby stood glued to the spot on the top step where she had stopped when the woman had broken the news that she was Grandpa’s new wife. Just how new Ruby didn’t know but intended to find out. Not that she wanted any of the old man’s worldly goods, but there were a few things left that had belonged to her Mom and Dad. By damn, she intended to get them, wife or no wife, those were hers.

Ruby’s parents had both died in a house fire not far from this place when Ruby was eleven. Grandpa had taken what little was left, locking it in his office safe. Though the years he would make her sit in the office on the anniversary of the fire, showing her what was left of her parents as he told her how her Mom had given up her career to marry a worthless bum like Chas Martin. He would go on for hours telling story after story about her Dad until Ruby would be sobbing broken hearted as she begged him to stop. Grandma Lou would come into the room in her quite way fuss at her husband for what he was doing to the poor child. Grandpa’s face would turn blood red as he shouted at her.

You are the reason that her Ma turned out the way she did, always spoiling her until she thought that she had to always have her way, that’s what got her killed. We are lucky that the child was at a friend’s house that night or you would have lost her as well. Now, leave us be, so that Ruby will learn to be strong not weak like her Ma!

Ruby shivered as the memories flooded her mind. She had been able to forget all the stories until now. Straightening her shoulders, she moved toward the door; as she reached for the knob the door was pushed open from the inside. Standing in the door way was one very handsome man. His smile told Ruby, that he thought she should recognize him. Searching her mind for a name to go with his face but nothing materialized. Surely she wouldn’t have forgotten someone that looked like this man. Maybe when he spoke his voice would give her some clue to who he was.

With his hand outstretched to her, he moved toward Ruby.

Ruby, so good to meet you at last, Marcus Briggs, I spoke to you on the phone.

There was a look of total surprise on Ruby’s face. No wonder she didn’t recognize him. He was the lawyer, Grandpa’s lawyer that had called her about Grandpa’s death. She couldn’t believe this was his lawyer. The last time Ruby had been to the old man’s attorney’s office was several weeks before Grandma Lou’s death. Grandma had sent her to carry some papers there for her. There had not been anyone there that looked like this man. She would have remembered if they had been; this was one hunk of a man, gorgeous, that was it, just gorgeous. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Ruby took the man’s hand. Warmth spread up her arm moving into her face, Ruby lowered her head so that her soft brown hair slid over her cheeks to hide the color she knew was covering her face.

Please to meet you Mr. Briggs, I’m afraid I was expecting someone entirely different as Grandpa’s lawyer. The last time I visited your office, I took some papers in for Grandma Lou but the lawyer there was a tall middle age man with no hair.

Laughing, the attorney gently pulled her into the house. At once Ruby felt the coldness from the front room, it had always been there. Grandma Lou kept a fire going in the fireplace even in summer time. She had told Ruby that it was cold like this because Grandpa’s family ghost weren’t willing to give up the house. They continued to stay in the front room and their presents kept it cold like a tomb. As a child, Ruby thought she could see them standing around the room with their evil looks cutting though her. As Marcus lead her though the room into the warmth of the den, he continued to hold her arm tightly. Ruby looked around to see if she could still see the evil looking ghost lurking there. She couldn’t help but smile at her foolishness. In the den, Ruby recognized a few of the old town council members; there was Mr. Hall owner of the drug store; where she stopped after school for ice cream sodas. Ruby smiled at him as she remembered his kindness to her. Next to him was Clyde Smith, he was the mayor when she had left town six years ago. There were several others in the room that Ruby didn’t know; they were gathered around Karen so Ruby figured they must be her friends or maybe some of her family. It seemed that all eyes were following her as she moved across the room. Karen and her friends were giving her such dirty looks, like she was an intruder that was not supposed to be there. Well, she didn’t want to be here, so they had nothing to worry about. Ruby glanced around again before she whispered to Marcus.

Where is Grandpa’s casket?

Still guiding her by the elbow, Marcus moved through the house into