THE SHADOWED ONYX: A DIAMOND ESTATES NOVEL (21 page)

Mark slid off his chair and fell to his knee in front of her. “There is so much going on, there’s so much at stake, and you’ve only scratched the surface of what can happen. We want to offer you some help. I’m going to start by giving everyone in the room here a chance to say a few words, and then I want to make you an offer.”

Joy almost rolled her eyes, which would’ve been rude, but an offer? What? One she couldn’t possibly refuse? At least he hadn’t said those words. Because she would refuse it, Mark Stapleton. Put your money on that.

Mark returned to his chair then looked around the circle. “Who would like to start?”

Dad lifted a finger. “I would. I just have two things to say. Joy, I love you. That will never change. It’s because I love you that I’m so worried about you.”

Joy looked at the floor. If only the carpet could swallow her up.

“Number two,” Dad continued. “You made a promise to me years ago, and to God, that you would follow Him. As that little girl who made that promise, you knew Him well. I want to find the heart of that little girl again.”

Ouch. Joy remembered glimpses of that feeling. But the problem with the whole thing was emotion. You couldn’t make a decision about faith based on emotion without any tangible proof. Joy learned that the hard way.

Aunt Sue lifted her hand. “I’ll go next if that’s all right.”

Mark nodded. “The floor is yours.”

“Thank you. Okay, Joy …”

Joy stared at the floor and twisted her ring around her finger.

“You know, I’m going to ask you to look at me. I’m an adult, and I’m here because I care about you. I’ve got things to say. I deserve your respect.”

Joy couldn’t believe Aunt Sue would talk to her like that. Did the new guy approve? She stole a quick glance at Mark. He nodded then dropped his head, his lips moving.

Joy sighed. Great. He was praying, and the rest of them were all against her. She glanced up at Aunt Sue.

“I only have a couple of things to say to you.” Sue took a deep breath. “You’re like a daughter to me. The day you were born was one of the brightest days of my life. I saw family when I looked into the eyes of my brother’s baby. Honestly, Joy, it was the most precious moment of my life up until that time.” Sue took a shuddering breath. “Six months later, my little Beatrice was born.”

Good thing Bea wasn’t here to notice her mom’s tone of voice.

“From the moment of her birth, it was clear that Beatrice would face many challenges. And those first months, when I had this baby at home who looked different and I first heard the words
Down syndrome
, when I tried to imagine how our lives would be long-term … and then as I faced doing it all by myself when the pressure became too much for her father, and he bolted … I would look at you, Joy. I would feel so grateful that my daughter would have you in her life. I prayed you would be her best friend, her role model.”

Joy scuffed her toe into the carpet. Bea sure did look up to her. Always had.

Sue took a deep breath. “The other thing I felt was jealous. I was jealous for my daughter because she wouldn’t have the life you would. And I was envious of my brother because he had a healthy baby who would grow up to do amazing things, and my daughter wouldn’t. At least as I saw it then in my limited understanding.” Sue shrugged. “That jealousy consumed me for a long time until I truly learned to give it over to God. It wasn’t all that difficult once I realized I had to turn it over to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He’d already nailed those feelings to the cross.”

Mom sobbed openly into a handkerchief, and Dad swallowed hard.

Mom rushed across the room, got down on her knees in front of Joy, and grasped both of her hands. “My beautiful daughter, I won’t let this happen to you. The Word of God promises that if we teach you and raise you in the ways of God, it will stick with you in the end. That a good work was started in you, and God will be faithful to complete it. I’m calling on those promises right now. I’m not letting darkness overtake you.”

Joy looked into her mom’s eyes. If only it were that easy. She couldn’t just wish to un-know what she knew and un-see what she’d seen.

Mark stood up. “Who else? Kelsey, did you want to say something?”

Kelsey’s cheeks turned bright pink. “I don’t know. I’m really just here for support. I want Joy back. That’s all.”

“Ms. Gianetti. How about you?”

All eyes turned to Joy’s counselor. Mary Alice looked haggard, like she’d been run over. “I don’t have a lot to say. I’m just sorry. Joy, Peg, Alan, I’m sorry I didn’t catch this sooner.”

“Okay. Then I’ll take the floor now.” Mark paced, his hand on his chin, finger tapping his lip. He looked into Joy’s eyes. “You are involved in the occult. Satanism. Demonic powers.”

Joy cringed. It wasn’t like that. Silas had been growling for a while. He was on his feet now, his teeth bared.

“I know you don’t see it. But I would like the opportunity to teach you about demonic activity, paranormal experiences, and Satanism … and how it’s worked in your life. Problem is, that will take time. I would like to walk you through the hard steps of shedding your deep personal connection with the occult, but that takes time as well.”

Mark paced to the window then spun around. “Most importantly, I’d like the privilege of walking you through the steps of turning your heart back to Jesus …”

Silas barked and pawed the carpet. Foam dripped from his mouth.

“But that will take time.”

What was he getting at? “I’m not sure I understand.” How about moving this thing along?

“As I mentioned, I’m from Diamond Estates. It’s a home for girls in Colorado, set in a beautiful piece of property, right in the mountains.”

“Ah.” It all made sense now. “You want me to go there.” Joy crossed her arms. The cute old guy could say his piece, but he was absolutely insane if he thought Joy would be traveling with him to Colorado to live. It so wasn’t happening.

“Girls come to Diamond Estates from all over. They live there and go through intense training, counseling, guidance, and everything else designed to turn you back to the Lord. They can go to school right there on the premises. I want to invite you to come.”

“Do I even have a say in this?”

“Yes, you definitely do. Actually, we won’t accept girls at Diamond Estates who don’t want to be there. The work is too hard—it has to be something you want.”

“Well,”—Joy stood up—“in that case, I think you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m finally coming to peace with myself. I’m finally in a place where I feel like I can move on and where I feel like I have purpose and hope and meaning. I’m not trading that for fairy tales.”

H
ey Bea. Want to hang out with me today? Let’s go hike at Ash Hollow, maybe down to the canyon. Want to?” Hopefully Joy could repair all the weirdness that happened between her and Bea leading up to Intervention Day. And she had to do something to make up for not going to church with her parents that morning. They hadn’t been happy. But they hadn’t fought her either. Had they given up?

“Yes!”

Joy pulled the phone away from her ear and laughed.

“I want to so bad.”

“Great. Grab all your stuff. Make sure you have your gloves and everything—it’s cold out there. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.” Thankfully, the weather report called for a dry, relatively mild afternoon. Just what they needed.

Joy hung up the phone and raced through the house to collect what she needed. She grabbed her coat from the closet and dug her warmest gloves out from under her bed. Leaving her bedroom, she snatched an empty backpack off her doorknob and stuffed everything into it.

She made a quick dash to the kitchen where she filled a pot of water and turned the gas heat on high. While the water heated for the hot chocolate, she dug a thermos out of the back of the pantry, never mind the smiley face stickers that dotted its surface except for where she’d tried to scrape them off, leaving a gummy residue. She scooped chocolate powder into the bottom then added the almost-boiling water. After she screwed on the lid, she shook it to blend the contents. Easy enough.

What else? Oh. Can’t forget the cookies. Bea lived for Chips Ahoy! If she got tired or whiny on the hike, Joy could dangle them in front of her face like a carrot.

Okay. Winter gear, check. Hot cocoa, check. Cookies, check. Cell phone, check. Come to think of it, she’d better leave a note so someone knew where they were headed in case the cell service went out or something. She scribbled on a sticky note,
Hiking with Bea at Ash Hollow
, and stuck it to the fridge on her way out the door.

She got behind the wheel and backed the car out of the driveway. Now, she’d better hurry or Bea would unravel. No doubt she’d been watching the time since Joy’s call, leaving her mother to scramble for her necessities. Not that Sue minded. She probably jumped at the chance of an afternoon to herself. Hmm. Joy probably regained another friend with this outing. Killed two birds with one stone. Nice.

Pulling her Bug into her cousin’s driveway, Joy honked twice.

Bea waved from the window beside the front door where her face left a smoky shroud in the steamed glass. She threw open the door and ran out to the car. “Is it time to go, Joy?”

“Yep. Hop in.” Did Aunt Sue know Bea was leaving? She’d better make sure. Joy turned toward the porch, but Sue was standing in the doorway.

“You girls be careful and have fun.” She waved.

“I’ll have her back in a couple of hours,” Joy said from beside the car. “See ya.”

Sue’s eyebrows furrowed as she waved good-bye.

Not more than a minute later, Beatrice stared at the dashboard clock as the car pointed out of the residential area. “How long will we drive until we get there?”

Joy pointed to the digital display and smiled. Beatrice loved answers. Hmm, she was kind of like Joy in that regard. “Okay, you see the clock? It says 10:12. When it says 10:52, we’ll be there. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.” Beatrice got serious. There would be no talking now that she had a job to do. Distractions wouldn’t be welcomed.

The minutes passed without conversation until Joy turned into the clearing by Ash Hollow’s visitor’s center where they’d leave the car. “We’re here.”

Beatrice held up one finger. “Just a minute.” She stared at the clock as it changed from 10:51 to 10:52. “Okay. I’m ready.”

They walked to the edge of the trail that would lead them down to the canyon.

“How long are we going to walk?” Beatrice practically panted with eagerness, already worried the hike would end too soon.

“I’m not sure. I figure we’ll walk out an hour, find a place to rest, and have a snack. Then we’ll come back. It’ll take us an hour to get back, so that’ll probably be two hours of walking.”

“Okay, two hours.” Bea looked at her digital watch. She tapped it to make sure it was working.

Joy smiled. Bea would keep careful track of the time to make sure they walked for exactly one hour before turning around. No more, no less, or she’d hear about it from Bea.

“What kind of snack? Oh, I know! Chips Ahoy!”

“Maybe. We’ll see.” Joy patted her pocket and smiled.

They plodded on. The snow crunched beneath their feet and tickled their eyelashes. The weatherman had said no snow for a few days, which showed how much he knew.

Beatrice pointed up at the top of the trees and scowled. “Don’t you drop that snow on me.”

Who knew? Maybe the trees did talk to her. Joy would believe anything these days.

Other than the time updates from Bea every five minutes, the two barely spoke as they huffed along the path, steam puffing from their mouths with every breath.

Joy shivered as the cold wind clawed through her zipper and attacked her bones. Only forty-two minutes passed, but the weather had begun to change. Should they turn around and head back? Bea would be so disappointed. How bad could it get? It wasn’t even supposed to snow at all. Joy pulled out her cell phone and shielded it from the falling snow. Any chance of coverage out there? Nope. Not a single bar.

“Hey, can we build a snowman?” Beatrice dropped to her knees and used her mittens to gather armfuls of crunchy snow. She looked up at Joy, cheeks red with chafing and nose running. She grinned. “Come on, Joy, help me.”

How could she say no? “Okay, I’ll help, but we’ve got to move pretty quickly because the snow is really coming down.”

“But we still have eighteen—no, seventeen minutes. So we’ll be fine.”

If only the weather could tell time. “Okay. But let’s hurry.”

Beatrice was all about her job of gathering snow for the big ball on the bottom. She gave no indication that she’d even heard. Okay, the faster they got that snowman built, the better off they’d be.

Joy began to pack on the snow to build out the bottom snowball. Then they rolled it across the snowy ground, gathering more.

Now for the snowman’s body.

Beatrice gathered the snow and formed a sphere and then rolled it across the tracks made by the bigger ball until it grew large enough to mount on top of the bigger one.

Joy glanced up into the branches now heavy with snow. Maybe they should abandon the snowman building and get back to the car.

Beatrice picked up two rocks. “Look at these perfect eyes.” She unwound the long scarf from her neck. “Do you think Mom would get mad if I left this here for our snowman?”

“Hmm. How about we put it on him and take a picture then take it back with us? You don’t want to get cold on your way back to the car, do you?”

“Oh. That’s true. I don’t want to be cold.” Beatrice searched the ground. “I’d better find some sticks for his arms.”

Joy rolled the head then plopped it on top of the snowman. She stuck in two branches for arms.

Beatrice chewed on her tongue as she concentrated, making sure the rocks she’d found lined up perfectly straight and the eyes were exactly where she wanted them. She set the mouth into a big grin, added the eyes, then wound the scarf and tied a knot in front. She took a giant step back and tapped on her lower lip while she surveyed her work. Finally satisfied, Bea gave her creation one big nod.