Don’t Look Back

By Marcia Penland

Trouble isn’t something the art ladies set out looking for, but sometimes it finds them anyway. Life happens and this merry band of artists from the small town of Calhoun, including Stubby who is the former governor of Texas, face problems and misfortunes head-on.

The daughter-in-law of one of the women deserts her family for reasons unknown in the beginning. This leaves art lady Shannon and the others in the group to pick up the pieces and help her eight-year-old twin grandchildren get on with life. The women are so committed to restoring happiness to these broken hearts that they participate in a mother-child softball game. Competing against mothers half their age, along with trying to corral a mischievous group of third graders, involves heart-warming and hilarious situations all at the same time. While this is going on, find out what Stubby, owner of the two-cow ranch, does to upset the apple cart by surprising the women and others in the community with a totally new endeavor that comes completely out of left field. Meanwhile, the missing daughter-in-law spins her own web of confusion and mystery that ties together the insecurities and formerly dead-end life of Lila, the homeless young mother introduced in It’s a New Day.

The attitudes of forgiveness, understanding, humor, and second chances are all brought to life in Don’t Look Back. Members of the art group make choices on how to live life as they embark on the vacation of a lifetime and the issues they leave behind. These women will make you laugh, cry, and, more than anything, cause you to search yourself for what values you deem most important.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Sep 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685622152

Marcia Penland

Raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Marcia (Marcie) Penland has lived in five states, and in Europe. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism, from The University of Texas, Austin. Having retired from a career in teaching for over 20 years, Marcie now spends much of her time painting and writing. She sells her paintings at art galleries and shows while participating in art leagues and studying with other artists. Her three recently published books combine Marcie’s professional and personal interests while reflecting her priority of faith and relationships. A healthy dose of humor, camaraderie, and suspense is sprinkled throughout her writing.

Book preview

About the Author

Raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Marcia (Marcie) Penland has lived in five states, and in Europe. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism, from The University of Texas, Austin. Having retired from a career in teaching for over 20 years, Marcie now spends much of her time painting and writing. She sells her paintings at art galleries and shows while participating in art leagues and studying with other artists. Her three recently published books combine Marcie’s professional and personal interests while reflecting her priority of faith and relationships. A healthy dose of humor, camaraderie, and suspense is sprinkled throughout her writing.

Dedication

My book, Don’t Look Back, is dedicated to my mom and dad, Mary and Ed Wilburn. Besides my husband, they were the two most optimistic, forward-thinking people I’ve ever known. They treasured every day they had here on earth and blessed so many others’ lives along the way, mine and my brother’s especially. Although memories and past experiences were very important to them, they always focused on the present and future, not spending a lot of time looking back on what could have been. Mom and Dad were a team and they lived lives of integrity, hard work, and generosity. They will always be my heroes.

Copyright Information ©

Marcia Penland 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Penland, Marcia

Don’t Look Back

ISBN 9781685622145 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781685622152 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022915095

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

Acknowledgments

My husband, Pat Penland, is my biggest fan, encourager, and supporter. He is my rock and the love of my life. My son, Andrew, my mom and dad, my brother and his family, and my mother-in-law have always stood beside me, believing in me as well. I have many special friends too who, through the years, have demonstrated what loyalty and caring is all about. I’m blessed with so many important people in my life, to whom I will be forever grateful.

I want to acknowledge and thank the staff at Austin Macauley Publishers for taking a chance on me, a relatively new author, and showing me every courtesy of professionalism to help my books be successful.

Finally, this book, the third in a series, is based on a very special group of artists in Crawford, Texas. Nothing I write could fully capture the joy, fun, and inspiration they represent. Not only have they been gifted with an incredible amount of artistic talent, they live lives of faith and goodness. I’ll always treasure our association and friendship.

Members of the Art Group

LaVonda Beasley is the teacher of the little art group that meets regularly in Calhoun, Texas, population 650, give or take a little. She is a well-known artist who can paint Texas Hill Country landscapes with such beauty it will take your breath away. LaVonda is no-nonsense and extremely bright. A native of Calhoun, LaVonda is plugged into the history and happenings of every person who has ever lived within a 50-mile radius of Calhoun.

Bobbette Rollins is incredibly resourceful and talented. She is a natural born leader, who everyone loves and respects. Her paintings are beautiful, and so is she, inside and out. Bobbette is the glue of every group to which she belongs.

Cora Beth Parker drives the members of the group wherever they need to go. Cora Beth is generally light-hearted, easy to get along with, and also very artistic.

Patty Williams is sweet, thoughtful, and abundantly gifted. She predeceases the other members of the group but continues to live in their hearts forever.

Darla Lewis has painted longer than anyone in the group, except for LaVonda. Her specialty is gorgeous fall landscapes with deer incorporated into almost every picture. She works full-time as a hairstylist and owns the only hair salon in town. Like LaVonda, Darla is a native of Calhoun and she too has strong connections to the community.

Mary Ann Ballard doesn’t live in the Calhoun-Waco area very long, but she continues her friendship with the rest of the group. She is a retired teacher and relishes having time to paint and be creative, after a long time of working.

Verlene Grubbs is a gutsy little spark plug who asserts herself all the way between Kansas and Texas. She lives in Kansas but blows in and out of the Calhoun area fairly frequently like a high plains’ tumbleweed. Although she is a little rough around the edges, Verlene has a soft, compassionate side that becomes increasingly more dominate with age. Verlene likes to paint wild animals more than anything else. When she is determined to do something, she quite often adopts an expression much like the subject of her paintings. This expression is described as a wild-eyed wildcat look.

Shannon Martin is a latecomer to the group, but what an impact she makes. Not only can she paint beautifully, she sings like a canary. Shannon provides the background music for many adventures and activities the group undertakes. She is quick-witted, feisty, and an instant fit into this circle of trust and liveliness. Like her fellow painters, Shannon protects and loves her family beyond measure.

Governor Stubblefield (Stubby) is a former Texas governor who buys the ranch down the road from LaVonda and her husband. He fancies himself an authentic cowboy, but truthfully, he is a gentleman rancher with very little knowledge of any aspect of the cattle business. Stubby has dabbled in painting since recently retiring, and the ladies admire his enthusiasm for art and life, in general, and welcome him to the club with open arms.

Individually and collectively, the members of this group are a force of nature.

Don’t Look Back

Vacation pamphlets and brochures were scattered across the entire surface of Bobbette’s kitchen table. She was searching every beachside resort she could locate along the Texas and California coastlines. Her computer was turned on too, and she scoured one website after another, looking for the best travel packages she could possibly find with good deals on both hotel and VRBO accommodations. Galveston looked promising. LaVonda, who was always the navigator anyway, knew the city well, having paintings displayed in several art galleries in the downtown area. Santa Barbara also scored high on the list of possibilities. It was gorgeous, glamorous, and something entirely different. Bobbette read that the rich and famous not only vacationed there, they lived there! Heck, Oprah, Ellen, and even Harry and Meghan called Santa Barbara home. Well-known artists from all over the area displayed their paintings up and down the Santa Barbara coastline, and the nightlife looked like it went on forever.

Cora Beth sat at the kitchen table across from Bobbette, sipping coffee and absent-mindedly shuffling through travel brochures on the table while Bobbette rambled on and on.

We could begin every day going slow and easy and just lounging on the beach. After we got tired of that, we could bounce all over town looking through the millions of cute little boutiques they have there. They’re all over the place! Bobbette exclaimed, motioning Cora Beth to look over her shoulder at what she had found on the computer. See how pretty and summery all the clothing is! That’s what those cute little shops sell!

"You’re never going to convince me to bounce around town in one of those obscene little sundresses, Bobbette. I literally would be bouncing in one of those skimpy little numbers. I’d be arrested if I wore something like that."

Bobbette ignored Cora Beth’s comments as she moved on to the night-life section of the Santa Barbara web-site.

There are all kinds of fun-looking clubs and outdoor restaurants too! They’re everywhere! And you don’t have to dress up to go anyplace either.

Obviously not, clucked Cora Beth, pointing at the minimally dressed bodies posing in front of one club after another on the pier. They’re hardly wearing anything at all!

Oh, pooh. Yes, they are. They just look comfy and casual, that’s all. The good news is we can dress up or dress down as much as we want. We can tie a cute little scarf around our swimsuits and go anyplace we like. I don’t think we even have to wear shoes if we don’t want to. Or we can just color-coordinate flip-flops with our sundresses or swimsuits.

Cora Beth’s jaw dropped, staring at her friend in a state of shock. Bobbette, please explain how to insert orthotics in flip-flops. And you’re crazy if you think I’m going out in public wearing a swimsuit with a little scrap of material wrapped around my middle. I’ve had five kids, remember? Shoot, Bobbette, my dish towels are bigger than those tiny strips of cloth you’re referring to. You’ve gone off the deep end, sister.

Bobbette continued to ignore Cora Beth’s objections. The vineyards are only a short distance from Santa Barbara. We could sample every kind of Merlot and Chardonnay there is. You know, I think I’d like that better than the ‘wine in a box’ that Jack buys at HEB every week. It has a waxy, papery kind of taste, for some reason. Bobbette wrinkled up her nose. I would love a good, expensive bottle of Chardonnay. She sighed. Sitting on the beach with my feet propped up in a chair just staring out at the water. Hmmm. Sounds heavenly. Bobbette closed