Story Description:
Koehler
Books|October 1, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-1-938467-56-1
New York City
flight attendant Annie Taylor is grounded, putting a halt to weekends in Rome
and her jet-setting lifestyle. Soon her noncommittal
boyfriend’s true nature is revealed, and to top it all off, she loses her
apartment.
With nowhere else
to go, Annie leaves the city for the family farm in Kentucky, a place she’s
avoided for years. She finds a
shotgun-wielding grandmother, a farm in disrepair, and a suspicious stranger
renting the old stone house.
The country quiet
haunts Annie with reminders of a past that can’t be changed. She tries persuading her grandmother to sell
the farm, but is met with stubborn refusal.
Yet in the midst of her crashing life, Annie sees a glimmer of hope for
a second chance.
Jake Wilder is
contemplating jumping off the corporate ladder to follow his passion for
sustainable farming. He’s almost ready
to propose to Camille, a girl who wants more, not less. Annie believes Jake is about to make a
terrible mistake, but does she have the right to tell him?
As the summer
heats up, so do Annie’s unexpected feelings for Jake and her interest in the
land. When a sudden phone call comes from New York, Annie is forced to choose
between coming to terms with her past or leaving it all behind.
My Review:
Thirty-two-year-old,
Annie Taylor was a ten-year flight attendant with TransAir. Right now she is warned about losing her job
as there are other airline companies attempting a takeover. Losing her job would make it difficult to pay
her part of the rent on the apartment she shared with three other flight
attendants. However, her handsome
boyfriend, Stuart told her not to worry about it that he’d look after her.
Annie met Stuart
six months ago at a costume party. Not
only was he extremely good looking, but successful and rich. For her birthday just past, he gave her a
pair of beautiful diamond earrings and asked her to move in with him.
Soon enough, Annie
finds out some very disturbing news about Stuart. She accidentally bumped into someone she
didn’t know and they struck up a conversation about Peoria, Illinois and Annie
happened to mention her boyfriend had grown up there. Well, she received some very unexpected news,
with details, about her lover, Stuart.
Annie went directly to his office to in the financial district of New
York, but Stuart wasn’t there. (I’ll leave it up to you readers to find out on
your own what happened and where he was.) Feeling irritated and frustrated,
Annie returned to work only to be confronted by her boss. He told Annie the takeover had taken pace and
now she was out of a job, effective immediately.
Annie rented a car
and made the twelve hour drive to her Grandma Beulah’s farm in Kentucky. Beulah was so happy to see her granddaughter
after almost a year, except for a very short stop-over at Christmas. She planned on staying about a month, hoping
by then that she could be re-hired at the new airline that took over
TransAir.
The following day,
a Sunday, was Beulah’s turn to host the after church dinner. With a beautiful beef supper and everyone
happy to see Annie after all this time, they had a nice evening. Evelyn was there whose son, Jake had grown up
with Annie after her mother died when she was twelve. It just so happened that Jake too was taking
time off work to contemplate his future.
Evelyn told Annie that she hoped she and Jake would have some time
together for old time sake. Jake was
currently dating Camille and had been since last fall, but Jake had known her
father for years and he had been a mentor to Jake through banking
connections. Camille was also coming
down to the farm to spend time with Jake.
With the string of
recent home invasions occurring lately, Annie suggested Gramma consider selling
the farm and moving into town to a nice apartment with far less work for her to
do. At seventy-something she wasn’t
getting any younger but Beulah slept with a loaded shot gun underneath her
mattress just in case these home invaders dared to get into Beulah’s place looking
for money to buy drugs which had become a big problem in the area
recently. But Beulah had no intentions
whatsoever of selling the farm and that was the end of the conversation.
One morning, Annie
decided to go for a jog around the farm area.
On the way back she carefully took in the sites of the fences, the
house, the old stone house out the back which had just been recently rented,
the barn, and all the other out-buildings.
Upon this close scrutiny she realized how much the farm had fallen into
disrepair since her grandfather passed away a couple of years ago. At the same time, Annie did understand that
it was a lot of upkeep for someone Beulah’s age. Annie missed her grandfather and used to love
spending time with him. He always
listened to her without judgment and encouraged her dreams for the future. Her relationship with her grandmother was a
bit strained as she always had to turn any conversation into a lesson for Annie
to learn. Her grandfather said they were
too much alike.
Jake finally
stopped by to visit with Annie. They
reminisced about old times, talked about Jake’s girlfriend, Camille, and
Annie’s break-up with Stuart.
Annie asked Jake
what his plans for the future were and he replied that was why he was here at
the farm trying to decide and sort things out in his mind. He was leaning toward farming where his real
passion lay. Jake realized farming now
required a big operation in order to be successful and sustainable which is
what he had to investigate while he was here.
However, Camille’s father wanted Jake to work with him in the hotel
business as did Camille, but that wasn’t really his thing. Farming was definitely at the top of his
list. After Jake left, Annie thought
about how Jake was like a brother to her, but the years that had passed had
pushed them apart. But “being with him
again reminded her of their easy relationship, of how he made her laugh and his
positive view of life.”
After walking
through the old cemetery one afternoon and reading all the headstones of passed
on family members, it really hit Annie at how much loss she and her grandmother
both had suffered. Annie and her
grandmother were all that was left of the family and she made a solemn vow to
her grandmother that she would do everything possible in her power to hold onto
the old farm after her grandmother was gone.
Annie began to realize that the lack of visiting in the past had been a
serious mistake and promised to visit more often. The importance of family and feeling
connected was a glaring reality for Annie.
She realized her poor visitation record had been hard and sad for her
grandmother and she now regretted that.
Jake’s girlfriend,
Camille finally arrived and before Annie even met her she sees them hugging and
embracing each other which bothered her for some reason. After a few moments
she pretends or tries to tell herself that she doesn’t really care, but deep
down she does. It didn’t help matters
any that from a distance, Camille looked to be about a size zero and with that
blonde hair, it made Annie feel a tad jealous of her being with Jake but didn’t
understand why it bothered her so much?
Was she beginning to have different feelings for Jake other than the
brother/sister type relationship they’d enjoyed their whole lives?
The more Annie
gets to know Camille, the more she realizes that Jake is making a terrible
mistake in marrying her. Annie found her
to be deceptive, manipulative, and obviously a tad spoiled. But, was it her place to talk to Jake and
tell him what she thinks and feels? And,
what is she going to do about her job back in New York, will she return when or
if she is re-hired by the new company?
Beautifully
written, Grounded is a skillfully
woven story that takes you through unexpected twists and turns. Immerse yourself in the heartwarming and
surprising tale of love, forgiveness, the importance of family, and
healing.
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