Lost Letters

By Patricia Lewis-Burrell

Mary Grace Landers and Ethan Grant have one of those undying remarkable loves that everyone would like to experience just once in their lifetime. An extraordinary love that surpasses description. They live in a time when handwritten letters were important and, sometimes, the only means of communication. Their story starts when they are in their teens living in the early 1960s and then travel through their respective lives as they encounter pain, betrayal, and regret. They go through a time of change which includes war, upheaval in the United States, and terrible loss. Mary Grace and Ethan's story reveals how one action from one individual can change the course of peoples' lives and, ultimately, puts one to the test concerning forgiveness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781645591641

Book preview

9781645591641_cover.jpg

Lost Letters

Patricia Lewis-Burrell

ISBN 978-1-64559-162-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64559-163-4 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-64559-164-1 (Digital)

Copyright © 2018 Patricia Lewis-Burrell

All rights reserved

First Edition

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. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, locales and incidents are a work of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Prologue

Lost Letters

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

Epilogue

In memory of my parents and thank you Stacey, Jonathan, Stephanie, Jean, and Brenda for your love and encouragement.

Prologue

On a Saturday evening, November 16, 1963, in a little town nestled at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains called Greenville, there was to be a dance at a local high school. This particular dance would forever change the young lives of Mary Grace Landers and Ethan Grant. Mary Grace was fourteen, and Ethan was fifteen. This would be the night Ethan Grant would notice Mary Grace Landers as she walked across the room where the dance was taking place. Ethan thought she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, so he asked his friend, Dennis Nolan, to go ask her if she would dance with him. Dennis Nolan was a mutual friend of Mary Grace and Ethan’s, and he and Ethan had come to the dance together. Dennis approached Mary Grace and asked her if she would dance with his friend, Ethan Grant. Ethan was from a different school, and she did not know him, so Mary Grace asked her friend Dennis to point him out. When she saw Ethan Grant, she said, Yes, I will dance with him, Dennis. Mary Grace thought he was the cutest guy she had ever seen, and he wanted to dance with her; she couldn’t believe it.

As the band started to play the last song of the night, This Magic Moment, A nervous Ethan Grant walked up to an excited Mary Grace Landers. He introduced himself and took her into his arms. They slow danced, and when the music stopped, they continued to hold on to each other. Ethan looked down at Mary Grace and whispered, Thank you. She could not speak; she just smiled. The butterflies in Mary Grace’s stomach were overwhelming. This feeling was totally new, and she felt as though she was walking on a cloud. Ethan was feeling the same; he could not take his eyes off of her. He knew he would have to see her again.

The night ended. Ethan and Mary Grace reluctantly said good night but hello to a lifetime of love, regret, betrayal, and pain.

Lost Letters

Chapter 1

Mary Grace woke up on a bright sunny Sunday morning, thinking about the boy she met last night; he was very handsome, sweet, and she had a yearning to know more about him. He made her feel as though something beautiful was about to happen.

As she was sitting in the pew at First Baptist church with her friend, Maggie Harris, later that morning, she wrote a note asking Maggie if she knew Ethan Grant. Maggie replied that he lived right up the street from her and went to Paris Mountain High School. This school was out of their district, so Mary Grace could not understand why he was allowed to go. Anyway, Mary Grace thought, I need to pay attention to the preacher. He had already been into his sermon ten minutes as far as she could recollect. She knew her father would be asking questions about the sermon on the way home. It was always a benefit to have some knowledge of the sermon because she had used, It was a bit confusing, too many times.

Mary Grace loved her father; he was a great dad and very precious to her but very strict with all his children. Her mother was one of the sweetest and strongest individuals she had ever known, and she loved her dearly. Mary Grace and her siblings were very close. There was her sister, the oldest, Julia, who was married, and then her brother, John, who was currently at South Greenville University, where she hoped to be in a few years.

Mary Grace was in the ninth grade, a cheerleader, on the school newspaper, and loved art, Her art passion started when she was in the first grade. She was drawing a picture from a reading book, and her teacher stopped her and exclaimed, This is wonderful. Your picture is beautiful! This special picture ended up in the principal’s office framed with a small explanation about the artist. By Mary Grace Landers, first grade.

Mary Grace, with lovely chestnut brown hair and deep blue eyes, was a sweet beautiful young girl with an array of friends, but her dearest was BJ McPhillips (the BJ stood for Breanne Janette). BJ was a strikingly pretty girl with long strawberry blond hair and a deep Irish background. BJ was also a majorette and very popular; she was like Mary Grace, both girls beliefs and principles were very important to them. They liked everyone, and it did not matter if you were rich or poor; the two friends did not see a difference. If you saw Mary Grace Landers, you would always see BJ McPhillips and vice versa. They were always together, and their friendship would last a life time.

Mary Grace grew up in a privileged family, with her parents owning one of the largest horse farms in the surrounding area. She learned to ride at an early age and also learned to muck a stall before that. The family attended First Baptist church, and this is where Mary Grace and her siblings were baptized, got married, and had their parents’ funerals.

After finding out that Ethan Grant lived right up the street from Maggie Harris, and knowing that was only a few miles from her, the wheels started turning fast in Mary Grace’s fourteen-year-old mind.

Mary Grace said out loud, Patti Long goes to Paris Mountain High School! I will call her.

Patti Long and Mary Grace went through elementary school together, then her family moved. Now Patti attended Paris Mountain High. Mary Grace rang Patti, and after catching up, Mary Grace explained to Patti about the boy from the dance.

Patti replied, I know him! Patti went on to say that Ethan Grant was in the tenth grade at Paris Mountain High school, played football, and was very popular. He had a twin sister, but she passed away when she was five or so. His younger brother’s name was Michael, but they called him Mikey. The reason Patti knew this was because they attended the same church. The girls finished their conversation and promised each other they would stay in touch and would have a sleepover soon.

As Mary Grace was in her room that evening getting ready for bed, she was thinking she could not wait to hear what her friend Dennis would have to say at school tomorrow.

She didn’t see Dennis on Monday, which was disappointing, but on Tuesday, Dennis found her. As she was getting a history book out of her locker for her next class, Dennis yelled as he was walking up to her. Hey Mary Grace, what did you think about my friend Ethan?

She turned and replied, Dennis, I thought he was very cute. Trying to be somewhat cool and not wanting to ask, she waited to see if Dennis would tell her what Ethan thought about her, but this was not going to happen with Dennis, so she just asked him, Dennis, what did your friend think about me?

Dennis declared, throwing both arms in the air, He is in love, absolutely and totally in love, and you are all he talks about.

Mary Grace just laughed at Dennis and shook her head. Then she turned to close her locker and smiled to