Starlight's Curse
Welcome to
Tuesday Blog Share. Today, we’re concentrating on couples torn apart by tragedy
reuniting perhaps forever in a quest for answers.
Romance is a
fickle thing. Often, those falling in love deny their feelings. They want to
think they’re good friends. Yet, for some, the pull is so strong they can’t
deny the romance blooming between them. So is the case for Jayme and Brad, as
young adults who have an exciting night that produces a lovely daughter—a child
who is the best of both of them. Unfortunately, years later, as a teenager,
Tawni allegedly commits suicide, tearing Jayme and Brad apart. They reunite
from a desire to discover the truth behind their child’s death.
The discovery of three teenage girls found hanging from an ancient elm
tree, alleged suicides, on the grounds of abandoned Starlight Mansion by a
teenage boy sets him on a mission to find the truth. Nearly forty years later,
now the sheriff, Big Jake finds himself drawn into the investigation of a
mysterious “suicide” and the disappearance of another teenager.
Jayme Barclay sees her fifteen-year-old daughter swinging on a rope from
a tree at the mansion the county commissioner is turning into a resort. Brad
Patterson loses a piece of himself when he answers the 911 call to get to Starlight
on a snowy December night.
A year later, the mystery surrounding Tawni's alleged suicide still
haunts both Jayme and Brad. Big Jake has been shackled in this investigation,
much like another sheriff so many years ago.
Reluctant teens hold back information, until Jayme returns to the
hometown she abandoned, to find the truth. Brad hates that he had to intrude on
her grief, but also believes this is his chance to redeem himself for not
protecting the daughter of the woman he loves. Big Jake suspects who the killer
is and that the person isn’t done yet, but must stand back and allow a younger
man stand up against a powerful and corrupt group of politicians.
Sleet and snow whipped around
Starlight Mansion. A young teen, a mere thirteen-years-old, scampered in and around the tree stumps, scooted around
boulders filling a former field where corn had once grown tall, and laughed as
the winter storm pelted his face and bare hands. Jake Haskins had no problem
with the bitter cold. Not one bit. Even the legends surrounding the long
abandoned, decrepit mansion didn’t bother him.
Being the normally curious boy
that he was, Jake crept up on the rear of the fabled house and tiptoed onto the
back porch. Planks creaked under his boots, held together with duct tape around
the toes. There’d been hints he’d get a new pair tomorrow, if he was good. He
figured being good meant staying away from Mama until she cooled off after
their earlier confrontation. Of course, she might not cool off much, since
their words had been those of an exasperated woman putting up with half a dozen
young children and a surly teen stuck in a house that was too small at best.
Getting angry with his life had never been something Jake did, but he was fed
up with being called a poor pig farmer whose daddy couldn’t rub two nickels
together.
About the K.C.
Sprayberry
Born and raised
in Southern California’s Los Angeles basin, K.C. Sprayberry spent years
traveling the United States and Europe while in the Air Force before settling
in northwest Georgia. A new empty nester with her husband of more than twenty
years, she spends her days figuring out new ways to torment her characters and
coming up with innovative tales from the South and beyond.
She’s a
multi-genre author who comes up with ideas from the strangest sources. Those
who know her best will tell you that nothing is safe or sacred when she is
observing real life. In fact, she considers any situation she witnesses as fair
game when plotting a new story.
Find out more about my books at these
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