Amazing Grace

By Heidi K. Smith

Gracie is a young girl who has been living a life of hell. Her mother is addicted to drugs and alcohol has abandoned Gracie and her two younger siblings in a house that has been falling apart rather drastically. Gracie and her siblings eventually find themselves dealing with the many abusive guys that their mother has been dating while remaining a big secret to the guys that their mother has been with for the longest time. While living with their grandmother after the last time that they were abandoned Gracie and her siblings learn that their mother has been keeping a secret from them. A secret that would eventually be adding to their family because their mother had given up their youngest sibling, a boy named Timothy, and now he was searching for his family. A family that he had never known after he was given up for adoption. Will Timothy have the family that he had always wanted or will Gracie have to fight her mother over these things that were happening since the first time that she had been abandoned in a rather old house.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heidi K. Smith
• Release date: May 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223215806

Heidi K. Smith

Heidi K. Smith is a young girl who has been writing several different books over the past few years. She has mainly been writing a series known as The Arranged Marriage Chronicles. When Heidi is not writing she spends her time reading, watching a variety of television shows, and spending time with her family and friends. Her best friend and sister has helped her in many cases by coming up with the cover for each of these books. Heidi currently resides with her dog Treasure in the city of Rome, New York.

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PROLOGUE: ABANDONED

Gracie Anderson was in her last period English class when she had heard her best friend saying that her younger brother, Jason Anderson, was out in the hallway asking to speak to her about something that was very important. Gracie was pretty sure that whatever Jason had wanted to talk to her about definitely had something to do with their mother and the different things that she had always seemed to be doing at different times. This time had not exactly been any different than the things that Gracie had gone through long before Jason had ever been born. Gracie had been about eight years old the first time that her mother, Michelle Anderson had left her home alone. Gracie had never imagined that this was something that would be happening on a regular basis but that was exactly what had happened. That day Jason had told Gracie that their mother had called the principal and demanded that Gracie and Jason return to the house where they had all been living throughout that entire time. Either way, Gracie had seemed to realize that there was definitely more happening than their mother had decided to say when she was talking to the principal just before Jason had come looking for Gracie. No matter what was happening, Gracie knew that she would have to return to the house where she had been living with her younger siblings and their mother during the time that she had been around. All that Gracie knew for certain was that Jason would not have come to her class unless there had been something rather serious taking place that he had felt he could not discuss with so many other people around that would have found some way to cause a bunch of serious trouble for each of them when they had eventually found out the truth about the reason he had insisted on speaking to his older sister.

Right from the moment that Gracie had found out what was happening she had come back into the classroom and after explaining to her teacher that there was a family emergency and that she had to return to the house where she was living she grabbed up her few belongings and left the school with Jason in the hopes that they could get to the house before something serious had actually ended up taking place. They knew that their mother would either be preparing to leave or might have already left during the time that she had called the school saying that they had to come home as soon as they possibly could. Gracie knew that once you had considered where they were living and how they had gotten to and from school on a daily basis, that this was something that was definitely going to take them a while, especially since their mother was always making these phone calls during the time that she was dating someone that had insisted that she leave with them regardless of where they had planned on going during that time. During the last few months Gracie had tried to get her mother to realize that these boyfriends should have never been considered to be all that important and that she would have spent her time thinking about her three innocent children that she had brought into the world knowing that there would be a time when she would not exactly be there for them, especially after she had realized that two out of those three children were currently attending one of the local public schools and would find it a struggle to get back to the house during a time that she had decided that she was going to leave with whatever loser boyfriend that she was dating throughout that entire time. No matter what the reason was, Gracie was pretty sure that by the time that she had gotten home with her younger brother that their mother was not exactly going to be there regardless of what the reason might have been during that entire time. It would then be left up to Gracie to figure out the best way to not only take care of herself but also take care of her younger siblings, at least until her mother had gotten home.

Gracie knew that this was one of those times when it would be rather difficult for her to know what was happening until after she had at least found a note that their mother would leave for her whenever she had made the decision that she was leaving. Not that their mother had ever left them any kind of date that she would be returning, which would normally take place after she had run out of whatever money she had with her to cover the drugs and various other things that she had been addicted to throughout that entire time. Even then Gracie had known that there was always some reason that she would find herself taking care of her younger siblings, at least until her mother had decided that she had done the wrong thing and should have stayed with her children instead of taking care of whatever loser boyfriend she was dating during that particular time. This time Gracie and her siblings would find themselves dealing with things that had taken place because of the guy that their mother had been dating and that had included the fact that for reasons that Gracie had been unable to understand their mother had decided that they should be kept a secret until the time came when she was sure that this new boyfriend would be able to handle the truth about how she had three children from three different guys. Guys who had always learned about the children that they were having and decided that it was time to leave and never come back for the children that they were bringing into the world. Gracie had heard the different stories that her mother would often tell her about her own father, and now it had seemed that none of these things had ever seemed to really change the way that her mother had honestly thought that it would have been throughout that entire time. Every time that Michelle Anderson had started dating a different guy it had seemed that they had always taken off the minute that they had found out about Gracie and her siblings. The guy that Michelle had been dating this time had never been told anything about Michelle’s children, even after he had asked Michelle to meet him somewhere in California. Gracie had always wondered what the reason was that Michelle had wasted as much time as she did when it came to eventually admitting the truth about the reason she had kept them a big secret from her current boyfriend, whose name was Starlight Michaelson.

Gracie and Jason had heard all about Starlight right from the moment that Michelle had started dating him. Sarah had been young enough so that she would remember their mother talking about the guy she was dating, but she would never remember a time when she was given the chance to meet him. Simply because this was something that would never happen until after Michelle had found out that she was completely out of money for the things that she had claimed that she had needed right from the very beginning. It was usually after that had taken place that Gracie knew that her mother would be coming home and a short time later the letters would start happening. Letters that had been sent to a woman that Michelle had said was their grandmother. A grandmother who knew nothing about her three amazing grandchildren or what they were going through. Gracie had the feeling that Michelle had kept them from their grandmother for the same reason that she had always seemed to keep them a secret from the guys that she was always dating during that time. Either way, Gracie had the feeling that their mother was always getting letters from their grandmother and when that had happened it had seemed that she was always taking these letters somewhere in her bedroom so that nobody would be able to see the things that she was finding out when it came to the help that she was always claiming that she had needed when it came to paying the bills and a variety of other things that had needed to be done after she had left with the guy that she had been dating throughout that entire time. Eventually Gracie would find herself searching for the letters that had been sent to their mother in the hopes that she could use the address and write to her grandmother in the hopes that she could help herself and her younger siblings escape the terrible nightmare that they would eventually find themselves living in the minute that the neighbors had started to figure out what had been happening and the reason that Gracie and her siblings had always seemed to be left alone at a house that was literally falling apart. It would be during that time that they would find themselves dealing with the social workers and various situations that had taken place because of the times that their mother had decided that abandoning her children was better than anything else that would be taking place once certain people had started to learn the truth about why some of these things had eventually started to take place. Either way, Gracie knew that it would be up to her to figure certain things out that would help keep their family together.

Michelle Anderson had pulled into an old parking lot in front of a hotel that was somewhere in Erie Pennsylvania thinking about whether this was the kind of place that she could afford to spend the night in until early the following morning. Until this moment she had never exactly given much thought to the reason that some of these things were happening, or even the reason that she had decided that her three children should remain at the house where they had all been living after she had made the decision to leave the house where she had been growing up for the longest time. Michelle had seemed to think that her mother, Jessica Shepherdson, had just wanted to see her unhappy, especially when it came to the many times that she would complain about the guys that Michelle was often dating and bringing home throughout the time that she was in high school. The first guy that Michelle could remember bringing home throughout that time had convinced her that he was a better guy than he had later proven to be after she had learned that she had been pregnant with his child. Gracie was born several months after she had made the decision that she was going to leave with Joey Rollins and never return to the house where she had grown up. Michelle had been stupid enough to believe that Joey was going to stick around and help take care of their daughter, but that was the last thing that he had actually done. Michelle had gotten up sometime after midnight only to find that Joey was no longer in the room with her. There had not been any kind of a note to tell her that he would be back or even where he had decided to go during those early hours of the midnight hour, and when Gracie had finally made her way into the world Joey had been gone for several months, making it completely obvious that he was not interested in spending the rest of his life with Michelle and the baby that he had created during the time that their relationship had gotten so serious. Even then Michelle had refused to turn to her mother and beg for the help that she had needed because she had known exactly what her mother would have said and done throughout that entire time. No matter what Michelle was determined to prove that she could handle all of these things entirely on her own, regardless of what her mother and so many other people had believed throughout that entire time.

For many years Michelle could hear the things that people were saying about her and the bad boys that she had been dating and eventually causing her mother all kinds of heartache because she had refused to give up on the guy that she had been dating throughout that entire time. Joey might have been the first bad boy that she had been dating, but he was definitely never going to be the last. Gracie was about two years old when Michelle had started dating a guy named Michael. Michael had been the leader of a motorcycle gang and for whatever reason he had made Michelle believe that he would be there for her no matter what had been taking place. Of course, the minute that he had learned that Michelle had a young daughter it had seemed that everything had changed. That had been the first time that Michelle had thought about leaving Gracie completely alone so that she could spend as much time as she could with Michael and the different members of his motorcycle gang. The problem was that Michelle knew that she would be in all kinds of serious trouble if she had even attempted to do these things, and sooner or later her mother was bound to learn the truth about where her daughter was and just what had taken place when it came to the baby her daughter had been carrying throughout that entire time. That was something that Michelle had not wanted to happen regardless of what the reason was throughout that entire time. It was several days later that Michelle had decided to leave Gracie with one of their neighbors promising that she would be back after certain things had gotten settled and Michelle then left to search for Michael who had taken off with his gang for somewhere in a different state. Michelle had not returned to her daughter for several years, and by the time that she had returned Gracie was already eight years old and was in school. Michelle was about four months into a new pregnancy and was determined to make Gracie believe that she had not had any kind of choice except to leave her in the way that she did throughout the time that Gracie was growing up. Michelle knew that Gracie had not believed the things that she was saying but she had hoped that a time would come when her daughter would be a little more understanding.

After Jason had been born and Michelle had found out that Michael was every bit of a cheating scumbag that Joey had been, she had decided that she was going to move to a small town in Florida where her children would be able to enjoy the sunshine and the various other things that would be happening during that time. Even though Gracie had liked living in Florida and attending the schools that had been in the small town where they were living, there was a part of her that knew that it was just too good to really last. Something would eventually happen that would cause Michelle to get itchy feet and start following after the newest bad boy that she would be dating at a particular time. Jason would be about two years old when Michelle would meet a guy named William Gordan, and he would prove to be worse than Joey and Michael put together. Even though Joey and Michael had been cheaters, William had proven to be the biggest liar and manipulator of them both. Michelle had never realized that there would be a time when William would become incredibly abusive toward her and her two children, and by the time that she would find out the truth it was already too late because Sarah would be making her presence known with the biggest kind of vengeance that was remotely possible. At least that was the way that Michelle had seen things during that entire time. William had never found out about the fact that Michelle had already had two other children before she had met him, but he did eventually find out that he was going to be a father around the time that he was making a variety of decisions that would include leaving when Michelle had least expected it to be taking place.

By the time that Michelle had returned to take care of Gracie and Jason it had become obvious that the guy that she had been dating had refused to understand the reason that she had never told him about her two children that she was now wanting to make sure had been able to be with her even if it meant that William was going to refuse to take care of them during the time that he had been dating their mother. Michelle had found herself getting into all kinds of fights with William when it came to her children and he still refused to let her do anything that would mean that she would actually prove that she was any kind of a decent mother during the time that they had been dating. Michelle had heard so many stories about William and how he could turn abusive if he had let his anger get out of control, but she had wanted to take the chance to prove that William was not the monster that so many people had seemed to be making it seem that he was throughout that entire time. She had known that sooner or later she would have to admit that her friends had been right about him, but for now it had seemed that as long as she had remained with him that William was always rather calm. At least that was what she had led herself to believe throughout the time that she had dated him during the time that she was pregnant with her youngest daughter. A daughter that would eventually start to realize that her older sister was really the only one that had honestly cared about her once certain things had started to take place. Either way, Michelle had found herself realizing that she had needed her mother’s help regardless of whether she had wanted to admit the reason that she had done certain things during the time that she had cut her mother out of her life from the very beginning.

Sarah had been about two weeks old when Jessica had gotten the first letter from her daughter claiming that her electricity and heat were about to be turned off because she could not pay the bill that was coming in every month. Jessica had wanted to believe that her daughter was doing everything that she could to change the way everyone had seen her, especially after she had started dating Joey all those years earlier. Jessica had always felt that it was Joey that had convinced Michelle to do these things that she typically would have never done if she had actually been thinking for herself the way that she should have been throughout that entire time, but Jessica had found herself having to just deal with all of these things despite the way she had been feeling right from the very beginning. Jessica had known that Michelle was always finding different reasons to get into all kinds of trouble, especially when it came to the guys that she had been dating. The letters that Michelle was always writing when she was attempting to get Jessica to help her when it came to different things had been something that Jessica had started to find herself getting used to despite the fact that she had seemed to get the feeling that Michelle was keeping something from her throughout that entire time. Exactly what that could have been Jessica had not been entirely sure about, but she knew that Michelle would continue to reach out as long as she knew that there would be things happening that Jessica would help her with regardless of the lies that Michelle was always telling when she would be asking for Jessica’s help. There were times when Michelle had found herself starting to realize that Jessica was finding it hard to believe certain things and it was mostly because of the many lies that Michelle had told her family at different times over the years. Michelle knew that her mother had wanted to believe her, but had found it hard to do when she had thought about the guys that her daughter had eventually dated over the years. Jessica had not been told about the last guy her daughter had dated or even how abusive he had been throughout that time, but Michelle was sure that her mother had suspected a number of different things after she had read the last letter that she had been sent from somewhere in Florida before Michelle had decided that she was moving somewhere closer to where her mother had been living. Gracie knew that sooner or later there would be certain things changing and yet Michelle had always managed to find different ways to stay quiet about her plans until after she knew that it was safe for her to say certain things to Gracie throughout the entire time that she had been taking care of her children without William thinking that Michelle was completely ignoring him for a variety of different reasons. Either way, Michelle was determined to do whatever she could to get out of the abusive relationship that she was currently in and that had included making sure that William was kept away from her children during that entire time.

Throughout everything that Michelle had recently been dealing with it had seemed that she was always noticing different things that William had been doing, especially when it came to how much she had wanted to make sure that her children were kept safe regardless of who she was dating at different times. William might have been abusive toward her during that time but the truth was that he was Sarah’s father and she had wanted to make sure that William was able to spend time with her whether they had been together throughout that entire time or not. Gracie and Jason had seen things differently, however, which was part of the reason that Michelle had found herself making her way to New York State after her youngest daughter had been born. She was pretty sure that William would figure out that she had left and once that happened there was absolutely no way of knowing how he was going to react. Either way, Michelle knew that this was going to be her chance to prove that she was able to handle different things for herself and her three beautiful children. This had not worked out in the way that Michelle had hoped that it would, and it was all starting with that first time that she had written to her mother literally begging her for the help that she had wanted and needed during that entire time. Michelle knew that Jessica had wanted to trust her and for the longest time it had seemed that Michelle just might get everything that she had wanted, but for some reason Jessica was struggling with the fact that Michelle could very likely be lying to her about everything that she had needed help with during the time that she had been writing to her mother. Every letter that Michelle had gotten from her mother had carried a small bit of hope that Michelle had always seemed to carry with her. Hope that she had claimed had led her to meeting Starlight after they had reached New York State.

For several days Gracie had made sure that Jason had gone to school despite the fact that he had wanted to stay with Gracie and Sarah in case someone showed up while Gracie was searching for the letters that would contain their grandmother’s address so that Gracie could eventually write to their grandmother asking her to help them now that their mother had abandoned them yet again. Gracie knew that Jason had wanted to stay with her and their younger sister, but she knew that it would not help matters much if both of them had missed school until she was able to get the help that they had desperately needed during that entire time. Sarah had always managed to stay quiet with whatever cartoons that she was watching which had made things easier for Gracie when it came to searching for the different things that they were going to need. After everything that Michelle had said about their grandmother, Gracie had found herself wondering if there was even the slightest chance that their grandmother would consider helping them if she had known that Michelle had kept them a secret after a fight that they had supposedly had during that time. Regardless of what happened Gracie knew that this was literally her only chance to get the help that they had needed during that time. Even Jason had seemed to realize that this was the only chance that they would have to keep the social workers and CPS away from where they were staying. At least for the time being.

Throughout the majority of the day Gracie had been dealing with the neighbors stopping by the house constantly asking her about where her mother was and what the reason was that Gracie had not gone to school that morning. No matter what Gracie had told these neighbors, it had seemed that there was nobody out there who had believed the things that Gracie had been telling them. All that they had seemed to think during that time was that Michelle had seemed to do the same things that she had always done from the moment that Gracie had first been born and she had always seemed to ask one of the neighbors about taking care of Gracie until after she had returned. These things had always seemed to be happening even after Gracie had started to take care of her younger siblings knowing that it could take months before her mother had eventually come home from wherever she had gone during that particular time. It was for this reason alone that Gracie had been so determined to write to their grandmother and ask her for help after everything that she had gone through because of her mother and the guy that she was dating throughout that entire time. Unfortunately the fact that Michelle had decided that she was leaving yet again was something that Gracie had found herself thinking about during the time that she had been searching for the letters that her mother was always seeming to be hiding for the longest time. Letters that Gracie was sure had something to do with the drugs that Michelle had been addicted to during the time that she had been dating each of these random losers who had abandoned her the minute that they had learned about her kids and the kind of life that they had been living once these things had eventually taken place. Either way, Gracie knew that she would have to act rather quickly if she was going to get the help that her family had needed during that entire time.

CHAPTER 1: LETTERS

Afew hours after Jason had come home from school Gracie had managed to find the letters that Michelle had received from their grandmother. She had told Jason about everything that had happened when the neighbors kept coming to the house asking about where their mother was and why she had left them alone. Gracie knew that Jason was bound to be rather worried about these things, but at the same time it had seemed that he knew that Gracie would do whatever she could to keep her younger siblings safe from the things that were bound to be taking place the minute that their mother had made the decision to leave to meet her most recent boyfriend in California. While Jason was doing everything that he could to get his homework done and help Gracie take care of their little sister. At least until Gracie was able to find the letters that she was searching for and could eventually take the time to write a letter to their grandmother and hope that she would take the time to help them get out of the nightmare that they were currently living in because of their mother. Jason knew that there was a chance that their grandmother would not answer the letter that Gracie would be writing to her, but he had hoped that there would be something happening that would lead to this nightmare eventually coming to an end regardless of the different things that would happen during that time. During the time that Gracie had been preparing to write a letter to their grandmother so that she could tell her who she was and everything that their mother had neglected to tell her during the time that Gracie and Jason had been growing up. In some ways Gracie had wondered if their mother had ever said anything to their grandmother after Sarah was born but when she had looked through the letters it had definitely looked like she had even kept her youngest sister a really big secret.

After Gracie had read each of the letters that their grandmother had sent to their mother it had become obvious that whatever their grandmother had been helping Michelle with during the time that she had been writing these letters, it had absolutely nothing to do with paying the bills that were accumulating even before Michelle had decided that she was going to leave so that she could meet Starlight in whatever city that he was staying in during the time that he was in California. Michelle had not stopped to think about the things that would be happening to her children during the time that she had been traveling from New York to each of the different states in order to get to California where she would be meeting with Starlight and continuing the relationship that they ended up having. Gracie was the one that had seemed to be thinking about the things that would eventually be happening the minute that Michelle would be coming home and realizing that her children were no longer at the house where she had eventually left them. This was going to be something that would take some time to figure out, especially since it was bound to take months before Michelle would ever return to the house acting like the mother that she had claimed that she was meant to be right from the very beginning. Gracie knew that her mother had never exactly been the greatest and that she had always found different reasons for leaving her kids in the house while she was running off with the different guys that she had been dating throughout that entire time. Michelle had never said anything about her children to Starlight mostly because of the fact that she was afraid it would be taking place at different times. Gracie knew that her mother had been so used to keeping all of these secrets knowing that something was bound to happen the minute that one of the neighbors had decided that they were going to make a phone call that would make sure that Gracie and her children were put into different foster homes that would eventually keep them safe. At least that was honestly what each of these neighbors had been thinking throughout that entire time. Either way, Gracie had hoped that the letter that she had written to her grandmother would get there safely and that it would be a short time later that she would hear from their grandmother about what would happen which had included the help that they had desperately needed. In the meantime, Gracie was making sure that Jason had gone to school so that he could get the education that he had needed throughout that entire time. Gracie would find herself waiting to hear from their grandmother and taking care of Sarah in the hopes that there was not going to be trouble with the many social workers that had been out there waiting for the opportunity to separate Gracie and her younger siblings by placing them in the different foster homes that were out there in the world. This was definitely something that Gracie was hoping she could keep from happening throughout the time that her mother had been traveling throughout the different states in the country. Either way, Gracie knew that this was something that she would be dealing with for a very long time.

After Gracie had mailed the letter to their grandmother she knew that she would find herself dealing with all of her neighbors, especially when it came to her mother. Gracie knew that there would be a number of reasons that the neighbors had seemed to want to know about these things that her mother had been doing every time that she would