Fallen Stones (18 page)

The information that had thrown the couple into such a state of perplexity was what H. Mason Armstrong had told them during their morning meeting. He had read them the last will and testament of Stephanie's uncle, Emerson C. Washburn, in its entirety. He proceeded to translate all of the legalese into plain understandable English. The bottom line was, the stranger, Stephanie's long-lost Uncle Emerson had accrued an estate worth over three million dollars. And he had left everything to Stephanie. They learned that the property had been given the name "Fallen Stones".

“Fallen Stones?” Stephanie had inquired. “What a strange name! Do you know why he called the property Fallen Stones?”

The lawyer hesitated for just a moment then replied with a cordial smile, “No. Not really. Mr. Washburn never explained that to me. I had asked him the very same question once and he refused to tell me, and then he changed the subject. Sometimes it was difficult to get certain answers from your uncle, especially toward the end. I assumed if he didn't want to discuss it then it was none of my business. Perhaps you will figure out why on your own eventually. Or you can always change it to something else.”  Both Jason and Stephanie found this mystery somewhat odd but not particularly troubling.

During the reading of the will, the children were out in the main office watching television while Jason, Stephanie and Armstrong were meeting in a side conference room. The kids didn't hear a word of the reading, and that was just fine with the couple. They had no idea what they would eventually tell their children but understood for the time being they would be telling them as little as possible.

The two also learned there were a few very important contingencies pertaining to the estate, each of which had the potential to affect their family to an even greater extent than the incredible value of the settlement itself. One such roadblock was the fact that most of the three million dollars was tied up in the property. The couple was told Washburn had purchased the land with the farmhouse and all the outbuildings relatively inexpensively because of its run-down condition. He had then proceeded to dump a mountain of money into outrageously expensive renovations and additions.

The lawyer explained how he believed Washburn had begun to lose his mind somewhat toward the end of his life and had begun to spend money with reckless abandon. Armstrong was quick to point out how he did his best to keep tabs on Washburn's excesses where it came to his finances but there was simply only so much he could do. As a result, the Washburn estate had only about three quarters of a million dollars available in liquid assets; the rest of the estate was tied up in the property.

Although such a sum was still quite substantial, especially to a couple with such an uncertain financial future as Jason and Stephanie had recently become, they quickly learned how most of those supposedly liquid assets were not very accessible either. There was stipulation in the will, which would, in essence tie up some of those funds as well. Washburn had insisted as part of acceptance of the terms of the will that his heir, Stephanie not be permitted to sell the property at any time during her lifetime. He also stipulated she could only leave the estate to her decedents when she in turn passed away. Also, as part of acceptance she must draw up her own will and specify that whoever inherited the property from her could likewise not sell it. The bottom line was she had a property worth over two million dollars, which she could not sell.

In addition, the lawyer explained how she would be responsible for paying the property taxes on the estate for the rest of her life and would in turn pass on that responsibility to her heirs when she died. Armstrong had assured her that Washburn had taken care of the tax and property maintenance issue by creating an investment fund, which would automatically pay the taxes as well as homeowner's insurance annually and would earn enough to cover those expenditures. Based on some quick calculations, the lawyer figured they would be able to keep about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars cash for their own personal use and still be able to forget about ever having to come up with money to pay for insurance or the taxes on the property. It would all happen automatically, behind the scenes, and money would perpetuate and would always be available for those purposes only.

At first, they were disappointed about the situation and had even considered refusing to accept the property; that was until they realized they were no worse off financially than they had been before and had in fact, a quarter of a million dollars to do with what they pleased. If they didn't like the area or the property, they could stay in Berks County and forget about the property or perhaps try to find some legal means to potentially circumvent the will and get permission to sell it later.

However, if the property were half as gorgeous as Armstrong had suggested, they would have a home and land the likes of which they would never have previously been able to afford. That is, if they were willing to relocate to Schuylkill County. They both understood because of Jason's current job situation they might have little if any choice in the matter.

Since Jason was about to lose his job and if he could not quickly find another, they would likely burn through the inherited two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars within a few years, and that was only if they stayed in their cramped little townhouse. Jason had been offered a promotion with a substantial raise plus relocation expenses if they were willing to move to the Ashton area. And now they had been given a completely remodeled property worth over two million dollars, to live in for as long as they chose to and never had to worry about coming up with the money to pay the taxes. It was starting to sound like a simple decision, a no-brainer, at least at first glance.

If only Stephanie didn't feel so much as if someone else was trying to take control of her future and like she had no say in the matter whatsoever. Everything was also happening so quickly. Two days ago, Jason had a secure job, she was a contented mother and part-time children's storywriter and they were both settled into their routine lifestyle. But in the matter of just twenty-four hours, so many important and potentially life-changing decisions had been thrust upon them. Maybe she was still feeling the residual effects of the previous night's pain pill, but everything around her was starting to take on an almost surrealistic feel.

"When will we get to the farm?" Jeremy asked from the back of the van, startling Stephanie from her thoughts. He was seated in one of the rear seats while Cindy and Sammy were both in the middle row.

"We should be there in a few minutes," Jason called back.  "Mr. Armstrong said it was just a few miles outside of town.  In the meantime, you should look out the window and check out the scenery. Enjoy the ride." Jason tried to sound convincing, but he understood when it came to anxious and excited kids there was no such thing as a short or enjoyable ride.

"All I can see outside is trees and woods," Jeremy replied.

Jason suggested, "Well, woods can be very interesting places to play, Jeremy. All sorts of animals live in the woods, like squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, deer and the like."

"Yeah!" Jeremy replied. "And bears, and cougars and mountain lions."

Cindy said with fear, "I don't want to see any bears or mountain lions."

"You don't have to worry about that, honey," Jason explained. "Jeremy is just being goofy. There are no such animals to worry about in this part of the country. There are too many people living in the area for that. This is the coal region not the wilderness after all."

"Is there going to be a cold mind on our farm?" Cindy asked abruptly changing the subject as kids often do and getting the word “coal mine” completely wrong.

"Cold mind?" Jeremy laughed. "What the heck's a COLD MIND?"

"Jeremy. That's enough!" Jason scolded. He disliked whenever Jeremy made fun of Cindy. Since theirs was a blended family, he was always cognizant of any comments or behaviors, which might cause friction and affect the difficult enough task of making their new family work as a cohesive unit.

"It's called a coalmine Cindy. C-O-A-L-M-I-N-E," Stephanie explained. "It's a tunnel underground where they dig for coal."

"Whatever," Cindy said. "Is there going to be one of them under our farm?"

Jason said, "No, Cindy. Our farm will just be a house, maybe a barn or two and lots of land to play on." Jason suddenly realized he had just begun referring to the farm as their farm for the first time. This realization of his willingness to accept the idea of them owning the property felt somewhat strange to him. They had not even seen the property yet, but for some unknown reason he was already starting to think of it as their own; not just their possession but quite possibly their new home.

"Wow!" Jeremy exclaimed. "A coal mine under our land would be even cooler than a cave or something like that. It would make a really cool place to hang out."

Jason said, "First of all a coal mine is no place to hang out or play, it is way too dangerous. Besides, this is a farm, which means it is nowhere near any coal mines. The only hole you might find on a farm is maybe an old fashioned well, and chances are pretty good that there won't be any open wells on the property either."

Stephanie suddenly felt a chill skitter down her back at Jason's mention of a well. What was it about a well that made her feel so apprehensive? She couldn't recall what it might be, but she suddenly experienced a weird sort of momentary flashback where she saw a mental image of a woman who looked very similar to herself and who appeared to be dragging two young boys toward a well off in the distance. Before the image could solidify, it vanished.

"Steph? Steph? Earth to Steph!" Jason was calling from the driver's seat.

"Oh, dear," she replied startled. "I'm sorry, honey. I guess my mind went somewhere else for a moment."

Jason replied, "Not surprising after the day we've had so far."

Up ahead at a break in the trees, the Cadillac turned left onto a long driveway, which seemed to snake upward through the woods. Jason put on his turn signal to follow the lawyer. "Looks like we're here," Jason announced.

The two older children started shouting, "We're here! We're here." But, little Sammy said nothing. He was sitting hunched in his car seat staring out the side window toward a clearing along the side of the road, which Jason, Stephanie or the other children hadn't noticed. The youngster appeared to be in an almost trance-like state. At first glance, the area looked to be no different than the rest of the bushes lining the highway, but if one were to look closer he might notice how some of the tree branches had been recently trimmed and the gravel appeared to have been raked a bit too evenly. If one were then to investigate even closer, he might notice some leaves, branches and grass, which would appear to have been recently burned.

Sammy was too young to comprehend exactly what was wrong or even what he was seeing, but whatever it might be it did not seem to be something good. Sammy knew how good things looked and how good things made him feel. He understood nice things and happy things. He also knew about bad things and about sad things. But, he didn't really understand what he was seeing and could never hope to put it into words at his very young age. What he saw was neither good nor happy. He was seeing what looked like a cartoon or maybe a TV show, but it was playing outside, along the road and it was one he could see right through it like it was on a window. The show was of a man in a car that was on fire.

Sammy knew about fire and that fire was hot and fire was bad. Sammy knew to never touch hot things and especially to never touch fire. The man looked like he was hurting and like he was screaming but Sammy couldn't hear him, like somebody turned off the TV sound. It was all so very strange for Sammy. He felt sad and scared and had a strange feeling deep in his tummy. He didn't know why nobody one else in the car could see the bad, sad thing. He didn't know what to do, or how he should feel, so he just looked away from the bad, sad thing and became very quiet.

As the minivan followed up the long driveway, which seemed more like a road than a driveway, they noticed how dense the woods were along the way. When Stephanie had first heard the property referred to as a forty-acre farmette, she supposed it would all be open farmland but here were thick forests on both sides of the access road and she hadn't expected woods. Before she could finish the thought, their van emerged from the shade of the canopy of trees and out into an incredibly bright and open expanse of meadow and farmland. It was as if they had entered another dimension; a special oasis of sorts, removed from the rest of the world around them. A large rock about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle was positioned on the left side of the driveway, its polished face engraved with the name "Fallen Stones". Stephanie didn't understand the name and assumed at some time it might make sense. But for now she was too excited to care.

At the end of the driveway, she saw the Cadillac circle around to the left following the curve of the roadway as it approached the front of an incredible three-story farmhouse; although farmhouse barely describe the amazing spectacle before them. Jason hit the brakes, and they sat momentarily staring, their mouths agape, gawking at the structure looming in the distance. It was truly one of the most beautiful buildings either of them had ever seen. The words renovated or remodeled didn't begin to do justice to the unbelievable craftsmanship which had gone into the transformation.

Both Jason and Stephanie had seen their share of century-old farmhouses having been raised in rural Western Berks County, but never had they seen or even imagined anything close to what they now saw. If this had once been a farmhouse, it no longer could be referred to as one; this was an estate. The center of the structure appeared to be the original three-story brick building, but it was obvious that all of the windows had been replaced with new units, most likely no-maintenance, and it looked like the exterior woodwork had been covered with some sort of stucco to eliminate such work as well. It also appeared as if all of the original brick had been sandblasted and re-pointed to look like new. A large roof extended out over the front door entrance and covered part of the driveway for weather protection when guest arrived by car and which was capped with copper, reflecting like a jewel in the afternoon sunlight.