Sisterhood: Eleanor's Story

By Kathy Houchins

The Sisterhood series is about four women who grew up together. Ironically, they resemble each other very much (same color hair and eyes), and yet all four come from completely different parents. They went to the same school together, and they know more about each other than their families know. In middle school, they took an oath to stand by each other and formed their sisterhood. As adults, they have become very strong together, and they watch each other's backs. Growing up, they discovered certain skills that each of them possessed, and over the years, those skills got stronger. It was amazing what they accomplished without anyone knowing about it. When they touch hands together in their gathering circle, a powerful electrical charge runs between them. Their little hometown was safe with them in charge, even if the citizens had no idea what was going on behind closed doors. The first four books in the series present to the reader one of the sisters. She usually has an issue that needs to be dealt with, and the sisters form a gathering and take care of the business. Certain twists and turns happen throughout the story of that sister, and the fifth book will provide the answers to questions left to be answered within each book. Reading about all four of the sisters will help you digest and find the answers you will be seeking in book 5, entitled Sisterhood: The Answers, to be released in 2024.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889826149

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Introduction

Recap from Book 1

Bella's Story

Chapter 1: Eleanor Becks

Chapter 2: Blaine's Struggle

Chapter 3: Going from Here

Chapter 4: For Every Action There Is a Reaction

Chapter 5: Taking Care of Business

Chapter 6: Did This Just Happen?

Chapter 7: What Next?

Chapter 8: The News

Chapter 9: The Arrangements

Chapter 10: The Gathering

Chapter 11: What Can Happen Now?

About the Author

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Sisterhood: Eleanor's Story

Kathy Houchins

Copyright © 2023 Kathy Houchins

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2023

ISBN 979-8-88982-613-2 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88982-614-9 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

(Respect)

Introduction

Recap from Book 1

Bella's Story

The Sisterhood brought a situation to Bella's attention that related to her husband, David. They got Bella out of town while they handled the situation on her behalf. What they did and how they did it is all in book 1.

This picks up when Bella returns home now that the situation has been handled. She is unaware of what was done, or how it was done. All she knows is that her sisters took care of everything.

The Sisterhood always takes the position that if there was a gathering that related to one of them, the sister who is being threatened will be removed from any action to be taken so that she is unaware of what happens (and cannot interfere). The outcome will be explained to her once it has all been handled. All four of them agreed to that position and have honored it over the many years they have been together.

Picking up from the last day of action in Book 1: The Story of Bella…

Bella arrived home the next day to find her home in a bit of an upheaval as some OIG people had been in her home and turned everything upside down. (If you haven't read book 1 yet, let me help. OIG is an acronym for Office of Inspector General.) They had been to Bella's house, looking for some of David's files, and they didn't care what they tore up to find anything and everything they could on him.

Claudette (her housekeeper) was working hard with the other household staffers to get things back together when Bella walked through the front door. Claudette ran to meet her and grabbed her suitcase immediately and gave her a gentle hug, welcoming her home.

She looked at Bella and saw the grief on her face and said, No worries, Ms. Bella. Everything has been taken care of, and you are now home safe and sound. Let's get you upstairs and unpack so you can relax, whispered Claudette as she eased Bella up the stairs to get her unpacked.

Bella allowed Claudette to help her up the stairs to her bedroom. She is tired but happy to be home. Claudette moved her to a side chair in the bedroom and sat her down.

Let me draw you a warm bath to let you relax in, said Claudette while watching Bella just staring into space.

Bella just sat there, wondering how she was going to handle moving forward from here. She had no idea if she had digested it all yet. She knew one thing and that was that she was looking forward to a long conversation with Eleanor.

As recovery starts in Bella's home…high up in the sky, on a 747, flies Hector, returning to Barcelona, Spain, to bring new information to the Boss regarding David Thomas. Mr. Delgado will not be happy.

And now the story continues…

Eleanor Becks

Eleanor Becks was always one to pay attention to everything around her. She was the only child of a couple who wanted many children. Eleanor received all kinds of love and attention from her parents, and they doted over her most of her life.

Her father was the CEO of the only bank in town, and they lived on a large farm just outside of town. Her parents were directly involved in teaching her many of life's lessons early on. She had sensed from an early age that there was much disappointment in her parents not being able to have additional children, and adoption was never discussed. Both parents were killed in a car accident when Eleanor was twenty-six years old. That funeral service was probably just about the worst day of her life. Well almost.

She had been working for her father's bank as a cashier or teller after graduating college with a business degree, and then on to the mortgage loan department, where she learned about lending money. She was moving through the rank and file quickly as she was a fast learner.

When Eleanor first got involved in the bank after college, she learned about the good ole boys who ran the show. Her father had indicated this condition existed and suggested that she just let them die off, and then she could take over. These good ole boys ran the various departments within the bank, and her father allowed this behavior. As CEO and CFO of the bank, her dad had full control of the end decisions. Therefore, he never worried about final decisions as he was always the one with the say-so. However, Eleanor was having no part in letting them die off. (Inside info: Eleanor, with the help of her sisters, took care of part of this situation.)

It took her a while to break that group up. They soon learned that Eleanor was someone they had to deal with or move out of town. That is all there was to it, or so it would seem. Eleanor knew what it really took to clean out that bunch. Nobody would ever call her little girl again, and her sisters helped her through it all.

Upon her father's death, she was moved to management and became CEO before she was thirty years old. It was not as easy as she first thought it would be as she was a woman in a man's world, and she had to overcome so many discriminating issues at every turn. But as she aged and became more familiar with the game, she developed her own skills. She became the best in the business at negotiating and running a multimillion-dollar business. When Eleanor spoke, people sat up and listened. Now to Eleanor—that was respect! It would make her smile.

Eleanor had always taken pride in her physical condition and would wake up early just to take her jog every day. It always invigorated her and gave her more energy. It was a way for her to keep her weight in check and to keep her doctor happy with her health. She had hired a housekeeper to help keep up the farmhouse, and she still had Cookie to fix healthy meals for her. Cookie was in charge of running the household, and Eleanor always trusted Cookie. She was an excellent cook that Eleanor had grown to love as a family member. She had been with the family for as long as Eleanor could remember. Eleanor had a hard time boiling water, so she was more than thrilled to have Cookie handling things for her at the ranch.

She stood five feet, eleven inches in height and was the perfect weight for her height. She turned forty-five last May and had to admit to herself that she didn't have many wrinkles to prove her age. She smiled to herself every time she looked in the mirror to see if there were any new lines appearing. This was all natural for Eleanor. No lifts, Botox, or any of the other stuff. She was happy with how life was dealing with her. Her dark almost-ebony hair was shoulder length and had a natural glow and bounce that she was happy with. Most every woman she knew had issues with their hair, but Eleanor was happy with hers. It seemed to just fall naturally without much hassle. Boy, did she know how lucky she was. Her sisters told her that all the time. This always made her smile to herself.

If there was one regret in her life, it would be that she never had any children. She had hoped that possibly one day she would be able to bear a child, but she inherited her mother's condition that would not allow that to happen. As it turned out, she would have had to raise that child alone if she had conceived. Sometimes there are reasons why your deepest wishes don't come true, and for Eleanor, not having to raise a child by herself was one of those blessings you don't talk about very much.

She desperately tries to never think about that whole thing, but it sneaks up on her every once in a while. That gut-wrenching feeling begins to surface, and she fights against it. She has major difficulty dealing with all that emotion. She buries herself in her work to forget and thank God every day for her sisters. But that emotion still lingers deep even after twenty-plus years.

Eleanor is also part owner of multiple businesses throughout town. These partnerships are private to her and not part of the bank in any way. She has her fingers in just about every business in the Bayou as a silent partner. This is because Eleanor has a huge heart that she doesn't want anyone to know about. It is her way of helping her neighbors. It keeps her town up and running, and by doing this, it allows happiness in her heart to be able to help. These endeavors are all done from her personal finances and never passed through the bank. She doesn't want anyone (other than her sisters) to know about her financial associations.

One of the greatest accomplishments in Eleanor's mind is the level of respect she commands in the community and elsewhere. This means a great deal to her. She has earned that respect by always dealing fairly with everyone she encountered.

The sisters really developed and honed their skills as the years passed. They got better and stronger. There was never a problem that they were not able to fix in their favor. The more they got together, the stronger they got. Eleanor chuckled to herself as she recalled the good ole boys and now realized that she and her sisters had now formed the good ole gals club behind-the-scenes. Thank goodness for progress and getting her town into the twenty-first century.

Blaine Burroughs

Since he was a little boy, Blaine always knew he wanted to be a hockey player. He thrived when involved with this sport. Yes, it was a rough game, but one he took to very easily. All the aches and pains were worth every moment he could spend on the ice.

When his mother was still alive, she would come and sit at the arena just to watch him skate. She often told him that he was so graceful, and he made it look easy. She knew it was not. She had been a figure skater since she was a little girl and was familiar with being on ice most of her life. These were special moments they shared that created great memories for Blaine.

The day they got the call that she had collapsed was etched in his memory forever. He was only fourteen years old. His father came to the skating arena and collected Blaine to go with him to the hospital. Blaine was always at the arena when he wasn't in school.

His father was unsure exactly what happened but was told she had been out shopping and just collapsed in the store. The paramedics were called, and she was rushed to the hospital.

Thank goodness she was always prepared as she had a note in her handbag about who