The Favor

By Mary Wiggins Cotton

Widowed Ellen Ross, an urban professor, had no warning of what
awaited her and her three children when she married Garth Epstein,
whose resume read like a fairy tale: handsome, charming, well-educated
and owner of one of oldest and largest ranches in East Texas. What it
didnt list was: narcissistic, arrogant and controlling, with an undertone
of darkness that only Jennifer, her precocious oldest, seemed to
perceive. Garth uprooted the family and moved them to Lake Point,
Texas, a place deeply steeped in old bloodline traditions and prejudices
against women, a piercing thorn in Jennifers liberated and extremely
competitive side.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483644523

Mary Wiggins Cotton

Mary Wiggins Cotton, a retired educator and author of THE BIRTHMARK, SHADOWS FROM THE PAST and SOUTHERN LORE, a free e-mag, lives in West Monroe, Louisiana with her beloved husband, Bob, where she is lovingly known as “Mamaw Mary” to her combined family of nine children and an ever increasing number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2013 by Mary Wiggins Cotton.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 05/31/2013

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Dedication

I dedicate THE FAVOR, a 100% fictional novel, to my precocious, professional daughters, daughters-in-in law, granddaughters, great-granddaughters and nieces.

May they always strive to achieve their full potential.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special thanks to my husband and editor, Bob Cotton, for his patience and encouragement during the writing of THE FAVOR.

A special thanks to our children, Barry, Keith, Mary, Lisa, Michael, Deb, Geoff, John and Susan, for always being there for me.

CHAPTER 1

Summer 1969

Before Seventeen-year-old Jennifer Ross, a precocious redhead, allowed herself to accept the remote possibility that something this unbelievable could actually happen, she found herself uprooted with her family and moved from Denton, Texas to Lake Point, Texas, the last place on earth she’d choose to live. It had started innocently enough. Her mom, Dr. Ellen Ross, a widow and her personal rock, began casually dating this gentleman, Garth Epstein, and before Jennifer realized their relationship had turned serious, they were quietly married in a private ceremony without discussing their plan with her or her siblings.

At first glance, his resume read like something out of a fairy tale: handsome, charming, well educated and owner of one of the oldest and largest ranches in Lake Point, Texas. What it didn’t list was: narcissistic, arrogant and controlling, with an undertone of darkness that only Jennifer seemed to perceive.

Her new stepfather’s suffocating demeanor clashed with her independent nature and heaped coals on her already smoldering resentment.

While Jennifer frantically plotted ways to get back to Denton, she put minimum effort into her appearance. She brushed her silky, red curls straight back into a ponytail, and though she had contacts, she insisted on wearing her light sensitive eye glasses, hiding her exquisite long curly lashes and amber flecked, hazel eyes. Trapped in this stifling environment, she considered make-up, other than a light lip-gloss, a waste of time. She de-emphasized her perfectly proportioned figure with loose fitting shirts and only her long, shapely legs gave any hint of it. Even her beautiful smile, showing her perfectly aligned teeth and deep dimples, rarely surfaced.

Gary Epstein Black, her stepfather’s nephew, had spent his summer traveling throughout Europe with his Grandpa, Dr. Joseph Black, a wealthy retired physician. Jennifer’s first encounter with Gary was at the public library where she was waiting at the checkout counter. Gary sash-shayed in, stopped a few feet down from her, leaned over the counter, and whispered to the elderly librarian, Hello, Gorgeous.

Ignoring Jennifer, the librarian hurried over to him. Gary Black, welcome back! she gushed.

Thank you, Ma’am. It’s good to be back.

Understand you’ve had an interesting summer.

Yes, Ma’am. Quite interesting.

Meet a lot of pretty girls?

He squared his broad shoulders and took a deep breath as a flashing smile crossed his deeply tanned face. His dark eyes twinkled down at her as he spread his hands and said, What can I say? I’m irresistible.

That you are, Precious. That you are. She patted his hand affectionately.

Without a glance toward the waiting line, he plopped down several books. Jennifer smoldered. I’m afraid these are over-due. How much am I in for? he asked.

You’re not. I’ve kept them renewed for you. Nobody else around here reads on this level, especially books like these.

That was mighty sweet of you.

By the way, I’ve saved a couple of new books for you. She reached under the counter and pulled out the two books, for which Jennifer has spent the last thirty minutes searching, and handed them to him.

Thanks! You’re the greatest. He gave a flirty salute, took the books and left.

And how long will Mr. Black be allowed to keep the books that you had put aside for him? Jennifer asked testily, her fiery temper just below the boiling point.

Oh those? Just whenever he’s finished with them. If you’ll fill out a request form, I’ll be glad to give you a call, Mrs. Wright replied.

The following Friday night, Gary was hosting a private poolside party at Lake Point Country Club and Jennifer had received a hand written invitation. The girls she had met at the pool, the few times she had gone, compared it to an invitation to the White House. Each was enamored with Gary: It was Gary, captain of the football team; Gary, the scholar; and Gary, the handsome ladies’ man. Jennifer was not impressed, and much to her stepfather’s disdain, she declined the invitation. There were issues far more important at hand.

Though each plot to return to Denton to finish high school had crashed, Jennifer persevered, but time was running out, and her current plot was probably her last chance. In collaboration with her best friend, Leigh Hall, from Denton, they had devised what they considered an infallible plot.

From her seat on Garth’s front veranda, Jennifer anxiously watched while the mail carrier placed the mail inside the street box. To arouse no suspicion, she calmly walked down and picked it up. As she thumbed through the large stack, her pulse quickened when she spotted Leigh’s letter. She carefully tucked it inside her shirt, turned, and walked calmly back up to the porch. From the doorway, her mother asked, Anything interesting?

Not much. Jennifer handed her the other mail.

Confident that she had nailed something her mother would actually approve, she headed for the privacy of her own bedroom. On the way, she smugly projected the look on Garth’s face when she would look him straight in the eyes and say, I’ll be moving back to Denton to finish high school, and then you will no longer have any control over me or anything I choose do.

After closing her door, she quickly opened the envelope, but her throat constricted as she scanned the brief note. Leigh’s father had transferred to Houston, and their family would be joining him before school started.

Stripped of this last option for returning to Denton where she was a shoe-in for being the next valedictorian, bitter tears gushed down her cheeks as she sunk into a devastated heap amid the untidy pile of clothing she had carelessly left on the floor. The local academy required a four-year-residency for its valedictorians, and there was no way she could meet it.

Later, a frustrated, but subdued, Jennifer joined her mother for a scheduled meeting with Head Master Arnold Scott at Lake Point Academy. After briefly studying her transcript showing that she had completed all the required courses for graduation, and consistent with what Jennifer considered the administrative mentality of the academy, Mr. Scott suggested she take art, music and Elizabethan literature. This elicited such a fiery reaction, that he quickly assigned her to three advanced classes. One was a chemistry class especially set-up for four elite young men, including Gary Epstein Black. She welcomed the challenge.

Before the second meeting of advanced chemistry, someone had drawn a caricature on the blackboard of four boys with a girl in front of them attempting to look over enormous breasts in search of a well-hidden chemistry book beneath them. The caption, Now, where could I have left my book?

Assuming that Gary had done it, she was livid. Wisely, though, she chose to ignore him for now and to wait until a more opportune time for retaliation.

Gary was used to girls falling all over themselves to gain his attention, and he found it a bit disconcerting that Jennifer treated him like an empty chair beside her.

A few days later, while waiting for the teacher to arrive, Jennifer rose and bent over to get a magazine near the end of their study table. Noting that it was a bit farther than she could reach, Gary stood to get it for her. To balance himself while bending over her, he casually placed his hand across her nicely shaped derriere. She turned sharply and with a slap, heard halfway down the hall, she sent him reeling backward and almost caused him to fall beside his chair, which would have been a worse indignity than the slap. Instinctively he clenched his fist, then, quickly released it, but not before she saw it.

As if nothing had happened, she moved down the table, picked up the magazine and placed it in front of them. "Have any of you read this article on New Cures for Cancer? she calmly asked. It’s quite interesting."

She had definitely caught Gary’s full attention. He was mesmerized by her uniqueness, her level of comprehension, her competitive nature, and aside from that, she had the most perfectly shaped derriere that he’d ever touched, accidently, of course. From that point on, even their cordial relationship plummeted downhill.

Into the semester, Jennifer’s grades were running neck-n-neck with Gary’s with the next unit test scheduled after lunch. In study hall, before lunch, she opened her chemistry book for a quick review but found it impossible to concentrate amid what she considered irritating and mindless chatter about Western Day and the upcoming rodeo.

At the far end of the table, Jake Winters, a descendant from another one of the first ranchers to settle near Lake Point, was leading a boisterous discussion about bronco riding and was making no effort to keep his voice down. Jennifer equated the fact that the usually stern proctor had said nothing as another example of special privileges afforded a select few. She shot Jake a glaring stare, but he only grinned, winked, and drawled, Bet you never even rode a horse. Now, have you?

Jennifer had had enough. She snatched up her things and headed to the desk to request a hall pass. As she passed Jake, she retorted in a voice loud enough for his companions to hear, And I bet, you’ve never even picked up an advanced chemistry book. Now, have you?

She seethed all the way to Mr. Scott’s office to request permission to leave campus to find a quiet place to study. She contemplated simply leaving, but thought better of it. She refused to give his pompous old secretary any excuse to call her stepfather to report that she had broken a sacred academy rule. She waited outside his office until he finished counseling another student. After her initial encounter with Mr. Scott, he had been quite lenient in allowing her to do pretty much as she pleased during the periods before and after lunch, and she anticipated no problem with her request.

You’re clear until sixth period? he asked.

Yes. Sir.

Be sure you’re back by then.

She nodded, then, she jogged the several blocks home. Assuming Ellen to be out, she hurried to the backyard and up the steps onto the back veranda of Garth’s sprawling lakeside home. After catching her breath, she settled into a comfortable chaise lounge and quickly began reviewing her notes. Satisfied with them, she opened her chemistry book and scanned for anything she may have missed in her notes.

She allowed her mind to digress for a moment: A perfect score should be enough to get me ahead of the boys, but if I get all the bonus points my chances will be even better. I’ll show these wealthy chauvinists, especially Gary, that