Seasons of Change: Grace Restored Series, Book 1

By C.J. Peterson and TBD

Katie MacKenna experienced one storm after another in her life. When Leukemia stole her mother from her and her father, Katie was only seven-years-old, and her father didn’t know how to cope after such a catastrophic loss. His response was to shut down and become abusive. The overwhelming devastation which surrounded Katie throughout her j

• Language: English
• Publisher: Texas Sisters Press, LLC
• Release date: Mar 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781952041044

C.J. Peterson

C.J. Peterson is a ten-time award-winning, multi-genre published author since 2012. She is also a podcaster, blogger, and publisher who knows how to relate well to folks of all ages.Grace Restored Series, The Holy Flame Trilogy, and the Divine Legacy Series have the characters crossing over storylines. In these books, the spiritual realm crosses into the physical. This adventurous journey will have you holding onto the pages for dear life!The Sands of Time Trilogy (Appointed Time, Race Against Time, & Out of Time) is an exciting sci-fi series that will have you on the edge of your seat! This series follows a group of teens with abilities as they go through the US to rescue their siblings. The challenger is their sadistic creator who has the money & power to win at any cost.Chain Reaction follows Trip and Tori as they go through time guiding their ancestors to change crucial decisions. In changing their past to save future generations, will Trip and Tori cease to exist? Take a wild ride through time in Chain Reaction! In Tested By Fire, Robin's life has been one firestorm after another. But what happens when a fire marshal falls in love with an arsonist? Find out in Tested By Fire! Don't miss any of these adventures.C.J. has a children's book series based on the real-life Adventures of Chief and Sarge! She and her husband (lovingly known as Super Hubby) take Chief (stuffed koala) and Sarge (stuffed monkey) on real-life adventures in order to share them with your little one! People have fallen in love with Chief and Sarge, as they follow along on these adventures on their social media and web page! Many have even taken advantage of photo opportunities with the little guys. Check them out under the tab on C.J.'s website with the same name. The Adventures of Chief and Sarge: Every day is an adventure with these

Book preview

Grace Restored Series, Book 1:

Seasons of Change

By

C.J. Peterson

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Texas Sisters Press, LLC.

Copyright © 2020 C.J. Peterson

ISBN 978-1-952041-03-7

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, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

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Published by Texas Sisters Press, LLC, Lufkin, TX, U.S.A.

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Texas Sisters Press, LLC

2020

Second Edition

This book is dedicated to my loving husband and dear family who love and support me.  You all mean more to me than you will ever know.  Thank you!  I love you!

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Hope’s Door, whose mission is to offer intervention and prevention services to individuals and families affected by domestic violence and to provide education programs that enhance the community’s capacity to respond.  To learn more about them, check out their website:  HopesDoorInc.org

To learn more about C.J. Peterson, you can find her online at:

CJPetersonWrites.com

While the stories are fiction, the journey is real!

Summary

Katie MacKenna experienced one storm after another in her life. When Leukemia stole her mother from her and her father, Katie was only seven-years-old, and her father didn’t know how to cope after such a catastrophic loss. His response was to shut down and become abusive. The overwhelming devastation which surrounded Katie throughout her journey in life forced her to shut down just to survive as well.

Trust is a difficult thing for many people, but for Katie it’s virtually impossible. Every life has Seasons of Change. Will those seasons open Katie to new opportunities or will they forever isolate her in survival mode? Will she be able to overcome the storms that have surrounded her to answer a call for help?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4:

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: ² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Chapter 1 – A Time to Mourn

Chapter 2 - A Time to Break Down

Chapter 3 - A Time to Dance

Chapter 4 – A Time to Weep

Chapter 5 – A Time to Hate

Chapter 6 – A Time to Heal

Chapter 7 – A Time to Every Purpose

Chapter 8 – A Time to Lose

Chapter 9 – A Time to Build Up

Chapter 10 – A Time to Cast Away

Chapter 11 – A Time to Laugh

Chapter 12 – A Time to Embrace

Sneak Peek of Winter’s Verdict

Chapter 1

A Time to Mourn

Katie! Where are you? Ryan Darcy yelled over the tornado sirens that screamed their warning of impending doom. He stumbled into the backyard, fighting against the whipping wind while ducking flying debris. Pounding on the sliding back door, he shouted, Katie! You have to get out! The tornado’s heading our way!

Relief filled him when he saw Katie throw open the cellar doors. Ryan! she shouted over the wind howling around them. Over here!

Ryan ran to her and hugged her. Praise God! We have to get under. My dad called. It’s a super cell, and it’s headed this way.

She gulped. How big?

F-5. He stared past her shoulders toward the distance. The color drained from his face as his eyes widened. Oh, dear Lord, please be with us.

She turned to face what he saw, and her eyes widened in terror. The skies that had been partly cloudy only moments before were now pitch-black. The sun had disappeared, as though it were midnight, not the middle of the day. The only thing that loomed in the sky was a swirling monster. It looked as if the sky had come down and met the earth as it headed directly toward them. The loud sizzle of transformers exploding in the distance caused her to jump with each snap, crackle, and pop. Massive amounts of debris swirled in front of them while the funnel cloud collected every shred of garbage, plants, even lawn furniture. The eruptions deafened Ryan while it twisted metal, reduced wood to splinters, and shattered glass into flying debris that rapidly turned into projectile missiles around them.

When his ears popped from the sudden shift in air pressure, he shoved Katie down the cellar stairs and latched the doors behind them. He grabbed her trembling body while they huddled in the corner. The doors shuddered when the mile-wide tornado neared their neighborhood, thrashing around, consuming whatever was in its path.

While her body shook in his arms, he did his best to comfort her, It’s okay. We’re safe down here.

I don’t know. That one looks massive.

We’ve made it through before. We’ll make it through again.

How can you be so sure? It looks like a beast.

I know, but… Trying to convince himself as well as Katie that they would be okay, he said, God will protect us.

As soon as he said it, a rush of wind ripped open the latch and sucked the metal doors into the funnel of debris. Ryan held Katie, protecting her in the corner of the cellar with his own body. He was aware of the disaster their town would be…if they survived it.

It sounded like an out-of-control freight train when it skirted Katie’s backyard. He couldn’t imagine the damage and devastation this one was causing as it tore through the town. They’d survived multiple tornadoes living in Oklahoma, but he could tell this wasn’t just another tornado. The volume of this one was of monumental proportions. A beast of this extent destroyed towns.

The wind gusts did its best to wrench them from their safe haven, but Ryan held tightly to Katie and a bench bolted to the floor. Hold on tight!

We’re going to die! We’re going to die! We’re going to die! Katie repeated.

Just hold on. I won’t let go! I won’t leave you!

*    *    *

Six years prior

The rain came in a steady flow, as it had been for the last three days. Seven-year-old Katie held onto her father’s hand while they stood with several friends at her mother’s gravesite. To Katie and her father, Brent MacKenna, their friends were their family. He and his wife, Megan, grew up together in a children’s home. Brent arrived in the home at age eight when his father went to jail for murder, after a bar fight that went too far. His mother passed from a drug overdose only the year before. Meanwhile, Megan ended up in the orphan at age ten when her parents died in a car accident.

Megan grew to be a sweet, gentle, Christian woman. Unbeknownst to her, there was a hidden murderer deep within her body. Four months prior to her death, the doctors discovered the Leukemia that had invaded her body in an aggressive attack. Katie watched helplessly as her mother was taken from her day after torturous day.

She also watched her father shut himself down in a move of self-preservation. She was afraid for him. He used to be a fun-loving man to be around, Irish to the hilt, joyful, and full of life. She saw the light gradually dim from his twinkling eyes as her mother’s life ebbed away.

Finally, when Megan couldn’t take it anymore, she gave up the fight and died with only her husband in the room with her. Katie was at school on the day her mother passed. Megan’s best friend and Ryan’s mother, Abby, got Katie from school. Later that night, when her dad got home from the hospital, they sat her and Ryan down to explain that Megan died. Katie stoically sat there as if she were watching a horror movie. While she said good-bye and that she loved her mother the night before, she had no idea it would be the last time. There was no closure for Katie. She wanted her mother.

*    *    *

Standing on the other side of Katie at the gravesite was Ryan. He reached over and held the hand of his best friend. They had been neighbors since birth and were inseparable despite his two older brother’s attempts at making fun of him for his friendship with her. He admired young Katie and her drawing ability. They would take walks and play board games, often talking about what it would be like when they grew older.

While he held her hand, he remembered a promise he made to her about a month prior to her mother’s death. Ryan and Katie were in the living room playing a game while their mothers drank sweet tea and talked in the kitchen. It was a rainy day, typical for March in Oklahoma. While tornado warnings graced the airwaves, nothing of substance had hit their area yet that season.

Ryan played with a different strategy than Katie when they played board games. He did his best to acquire as much money and property as possible in order to win. On the flip-side, Katie was particular on which properties she bought and how she spent her money. This frustrated Ryan at times, because she always seemed to win every game regardless of his strategy.

Ryan looked up at Katie as they were playing and mentioned, Ya know we go into sixth grade in a couple of weeks.

I know. She grinned. It’s exciting, isn’t it?

You get that the three elementary schools come together in sixth grade? It’s junior high.

I know.

You’re not nervous?

She shrugged. No. We know a lot of the kids anyway.

When my brothers went into sixth, their friends changed.

She looked up at him with a furrowed brow. What do you mean?

Well, since they’re in sports, if their friends weren’t in sports they didn’t talk to them.

Why not?

I don’t know. He thought about it for a minute before he suggested, I think we should make a promise.

What do you mean? What kind of promise?

I think we should be best friends at least until we graduate. We’ve been best friends this long. I don’t think we should stop.

Why would we stop?

Because you don’t play sports.

So, that means we can’t stay friends?

That’s why I want to make a promise, he said, offering her his pinky. She joined her little finger with his as he pledged, I promise to remain best friends with you forever.

And, I promise to be best friends with you forever too.

*    *    *

Later, on the day of the funeral, people moved in and out of Katie’s house, but Ryan faithfully remained beside her. He would only get up to get something to eat. Katie refused to eat, though, as she sat on the couch, hugging a pillow.

You need to eat, dear, Abby said, sitting on the couch next to Katie when Ryan went for more food.

Katie shook her head. She glanced at a photo of her mom on the end table beside her.

I’m pretty sure your mom would want you to eat, she encouraged.

Katie didn’t say anything. She only stared at the photo of her mother, remembering moments with her. She reached over and ran her fingers over the glass. It felt so cold. She felt so cold inside, like the glass. She missed her mom and couldn’t fathom never seeing her again.

Ryan sat in between his mom and Katie. Here. I scored some fried chicken.

I’m not hungry.

Why don’t you two go to your room? Abby suggested. You know, to get out of this cluster of people.

I don’t want to go anywhere.

How about a game? Ryan asked.

Katie reluctantly got off the couch and followed Ryan down the hall to her room of the ranch style home. They hid all afternoon in the room, snacking on food Abby periodically brought to them.

*    *    *

After everyone left several hours later, Katie’s dad called her and Ryan into the dining room. When they all settled around the table with Ryan’s parents, Abby and Steve, Katie’s dad took a deep breath. Katie bug, he started with her nickname, I need you to do me a favor.

Anything.

I need you to keep Abby company for a little while. As he spoke, a tear rolled down his cheek. Brokenness and defeat written all over his body, he admitted, I miss your mother terribly and I know Abby does too.

But, she has Uncle Steve, Aaron, Pete, and Ryan, she objected. I want to stay here.

Abby got out of her seat and knelt beside Katie. She took her tiny hands into hers and explained, Your daddy needs some time alone. His heart is broken, and he needs some time to heal. He doesn’t want to see you hurt while he tries to heal. He wants to be strong for you. She reached up and tucked a portion of Katie’s raven-colored hair behind her ear so she could look into Katie’s hazel eyes. She sighed. Ahhh, you have your mother’s looks.

C’mon, man, let’s go play some pool, Steve said, getting out of his seat when Brent dropped his head into his hands, distraught. Think we need t’ talk.

After the men left, Ryan asked, Why is Katie staying with us? Why would she not stay with her dad?

Because her daddy misses her mommy so much, he doesn’t want to take it out on Katie.

Katie gasped as she looked at Abby in horror. He would never hurt me.

Not on purpose. Abby looked down for a moment, working on the best way to word Brent’s intentions so Katie wouldn’t be upset. He doesn’t want to forget to get you dinner or do your laundry. He needs a little help right now.

But, Katie’s bottom lip quivered, "I need him. I don’t have Mommy anymore and I really need Daddy. Please don’t make me go."

Abby had to take a deep breath to recover from that one. She knew this conversation was going to be tough, but she also had compassion for Brent. While she recognized he wouldn’t do it on purpose, she didn’t want Brent to fall into such a deep depression that he forgot about her and didn’t take care of her. Until he was stable, Katie needed to stay with them. Katie bug, you’re breaking my heart.

Katie shook her head as the tears slowly poured down her cheeks. I’ll take care of him. I promise.

What if we consider it a week-long slumber party?

She’s staying for a week? Ryan asked, taken aback. Even on school nights?

Maybe a little longer. We’re going to take it one day at a time.

I’ll take care of Daddy and the house. He won’t have to worry about anything, Katie said in desperation. I don’t want to go.

Just for a couple of days. It will be good for me to have you around, Abby coaxed.

Katie pleaded, I’ll be good. I promise.

How about if I let you come over some times during the day to clean if you want?

I don’t want to go, though. I will take good care of Daddy. I promise I will. I’ll be good.

Katie, honey, I don’t want to be the bad guy here, but you are going to stay with us for a couple of weeks regardless if you want to or not.

After a long moment of deliberation in her mind, Katie nodded in understanding. Abby knew Katie well enough to read her body language, though. While Katie would do what the adults told her, she recognized Katie’s disapproval of the situation.

*    *    *

The Monday following the funeral would be a tough one for Katie. Abby knew Katie didn’t mind staying with Ryan’s family, but realized it wasn’t her family. Have a great day, Abby said as she squeezed Katie’s hand. She gave her toe-headed son a hug and kiss before she sent the duo off to go into the school. She was amazed at how opposite their looks and gifts were, and yet they were such great friends. She prayed it would continue. She knew Katie needed Ryan…and, deep down, Ryan needed Katie too.

Ryan and Katie looked so tiny to Abby heading into the school with their large backpacks on. That March had come in like a lion. For the sake of the town, Abby prayed it would go out like a lamb. The tornado two weeks prior wreaked havoc on most of the downtown, but left a lot of the residential areas alone.

Lord, please help her, Abby whispered as she turned on the engine of her midnight blue Range Rover and pulled out of the parking lot.

*      *    *

That’s her, Sadie Henderson whispered loudly when Ryan and Katie walked by. She’s practically an orphan.

You don’t even know what that means, Ryan shot.

She leaned against her locker in amusement. "Oh, like you do?" Sadie’s parents were both in high-powered city jobs, which generated a lot of income for her family. She was an only child, so her parents spoiled her. She was one of the best-dressed fifth graders Katie knew. She had a snotty attitude though. While that made her ugly to Katie, there was a small group of girls who clung onto Sadie’s every word. Katie accepted that Sadie would be one of the popular kids when the three elementary schools combined in the fall for sixth grade…and she wasn’t looking forward to it anymore.

It means that a person doesn’t have parents. She does. She has her dad.

"Then why is she staying with you? My dad said it was because her dad couldn’t handle her, she snidely asserted to Ryan. Then she looked at Katie and asked, Are you that much trouble? What did you do that he doesn’t want you anymore?"

Shut up, Sadie! Ryan snapped. He grabbed Katie’s arm, pulling her down the hall. Just ignore her. They have no idea.

I want to go home, Katie said, wiping the tears off her face.

We will, after school.

"No. I mean my home. I like staying with you guys, but I miss my daddy. I miss my home. Please help me talk your mom into letting me go home?"

We’ll see. Until then, let’s go.

Katie had to endure comments similar to what Sadie dished-out for the rest of the day due to Sadie’s clan of girls. Good news spread fast, but bad news spread like wildfire.

That night, Katie won. After Ryan told his Mom what the kids in school said, Abby spoke with Brent. He reluctantly allowed Katie to come back. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her. He loved her with every fiber of his being. The problem was that she was the spitting image of her mother, which broke his heart every time he saw her.

*    *    *

That night, Katie got up around midnight to go to the bathroom when she noticed the lamp was on in the living room. An eerie silence hung in the air as her dad slept on the suede recliner, and an empty Vodka bottle rested on the end table next to the picture of her mother. The alcohol stench was potent, but her dad was sound asleep, so she took the white afghan her mother had made two years earlier and draped it over her dad so he wouldn’t get cold.

She gingerly stacked the newspaper that was strewn across the floor. While in the living room, she carefully removed the empty bottle of Vodka from the end table along with his dishes from dinner and quietly deposited them in the kitchen so as not to wake her father.

When she returned back to the living room to finishing straightening up, her father suddenly appeared in her path. His eyes were bloodshot and his