Teddy Parker was angry and Grace Taylor could feel it radiate a
country mile long. She sensed his presence as he tore through the
field connecting their houses. She met her nephew on the front
porch as he strode up their muddy drive way.
State of Grace: The Sequel
Chapter 1
Part 1
Teddy
was angry. First, he was mad his parents ever named
him such a stupid name as Teddy. Now that he was in high school,
the other kids teased him for having such a childish name. Second,
he was angry about the fact that his parents didn’t have any
other kids after him. He noticed the scattered toys and bikes
littered around his aunt and uncle’s house and grew jealous
of his cousins. They had two kids and another baby on the way? It
just wasn’t fair. He looked up to see his aunt standing
on the porch, just like she knew he was coming.
“Staying for dinner, Teddy?” she asked as she turned
into their house, ignoring his issues. Teddy sighed and followed
her inside. He knew she would get to the problem soon enough; she
always knew if something was bothering him.
Their house was gorgeous. She and Uncle Luke built it from the
ground up on a hundred acres of land, which they converted into
fields. It was just the right distance from his house, his
grandparent’s house and most importantly, in Teddy’s
opinion anyway, town. The big white house had a wraparound
porch with black shutters and a chimney. Inside, Aunt Grace kept it
tidy regardless of her messy kids.
A small weight hit Teddy’s legs when he entered their foyer.
He looked down and Nick, a blonde haired and blue-eyed
six-year-old, was hanging on to his legs.
“Teddy, come play with me. Sarah can’t,” he
pleaded. Teddy felt like he was looking into the face of his
grandmother, although Nick was named after his grandfather. Nick
had inherited his grandmother’s bright blue eyes and blonde
hair. Teddy was just the opposite, more like his grandfather. Both
of his parents had dark brown hair that Teddy inherited. He got his
mother’s dark brown eyes and it marked him different from the
rest of the blue or green-eyed Parkers.
“Why can’t Sarah play?” he asked his cousin. Nick
pouted and shrugged. Just then Sarah, a little girl of three, waded
into the kitchen with her long curly dark hair a big mess.
“He says its cause I’m a girl but Daddy said I can play
with any boy toy I want and be just like Momma, who played with boy
toys when she was a little girl,” rambled Sarah. Her green
eyes sparkled with wonder at the world. Teddy tried to picture the
world from her three-year-old perspective.
Grace watched her nephew interact with his cousins. Both her kids
adored when he came over to play. As she attempted to fix her
daughter’s hair, she thought about what Teddy really needed
to talk about. His anger had faded at the door when he saw her kids
but she knew it would return when they left. She decided
she’d deal with it after dinner. Just then, she heard the
tractor pull to a stop out in the nearest field. She wiped her
hands and went out to meet her husband.
Fifteen years couldn’t erase the way Luke Taylor made Grace
feel. They had a whirlwind of a start until they eased into a
relationship their senior year of high school. He had a high temper
but high enough to match her attitude. They never got a long as
kids and they still didn’t. Still, seeing him in his
work boots and hat made her heart swell with pride and love.
Luke seemed to be in a good mood but Grace could never tell until
she got right under the brim of that cowboy hat. Feeling like she
was seventeen again, she raced across the yard in her bare feet and
stopped just where she wanted. His blue eyes, exactly like
Nick’s, had held no emotion. She could tell he was tired from
working. His eyes lit up when he saw running towards him. He picked
her up and kissed her while twirling her around.
Teddy watched his uncle and aunt from the doorway and felt jealous
almost instantaneously. Why couldn’t he have that
relationship? Sure he had liked a few girls but no one ever looked
at him like his aunt looked as his uncle. If he ever saw his
parents kiss, he might be sick to his stomach but this moment was
rare for Luke and Grace. They were hardly affectionate in public.
He knew they must have missed each other lately. Both were so busy
getting the kids back to school and harvest time was coming for the
crops. His parents were just as busy on their farm so Teddy knew he
wouldn’t be missed.