October of 1939
"Our next line of boys are ready at the starting line," the man with the bullhorn announced so the crowd would hear. "They are Harvey Lane, Rodney Anderson, Travis Henson, Landon Marston, and Johnny Marston." He looked at the list again and looked at an official. "Marston?," he asked the official. "Marston's grandkids?"
"Yeah, that's right," the official said. "They're the grandsons of John Marston, the one and only."
"Wow," the announcer said.
The race started. The carts rolled downhill as people cheered. Jack and Irene were at the finish line, hoping no big deal would be made about them or their boys or who they all were.
"The winner is Harvey, followed by Landon, followed by Rodney," the man announced as the boys all crossed the line.
"Was that fun?," Jack asked his boys, who were both smiling very large.
"Yeah," Landon smiled. "Can we do that every year now?"
"We'll talk about it," Jack replied. "But I think it's a good idea."
At home, everyone got supper and then went to bed. They were tired from a long day. Everyone slept soundly.
Eighteen-year-old Angela walked along the sidewalk in the very busy mid-day afternoon in Blackwater. Unlike her tomboy mother, she wore the latest women's fashions most of the times.
Angela, who loved to read, walked into a bookstore and started to look around. She picked up a book. As she read the title, a child bumped into her and caused the book to slip from her hands. As she was about to pick up the book, a hand picked it up and handed it to her.
"Here you are, ma'am," the young man said as Angela accepted the book.
"Thank you," Angela said.
"My name is Oliver Reede," the man said.
"Angela Marston," Angela replied.
"Marston?," Oliver asked. "As in Jack Marston?"
"My father," Angela replied, her smile fading. Sometimes, it was hard having such a famous family.
"I read your mother's book about Landon Ricketts," Oliver said.
"My father is almost finished with his book," Angela said. "About his own father. My parents wanted people to know the truth. But, it's hard for me. I love my parents very much. I just wish they were not so famous."
"It's OK," Oliver said. "I liked you as soon as I saw you walk in, before you told me you name."
Angela was cautious. Yes, she wanted a family in her future. But, she knew that some people would use her to get close to her parents. She hoped this man was not doing that. She really thought he seemed nice and he was so handsome. He wore his brown hair short, had green eyes, and was average height. He told her he was nineteen.
Over the next several weeks, Angela and Oliver spent a lot of time together. Jack was cautiously optimistic. He wanted his daughter to be safe and happy and to have a good man in her life. Irene felt the same way that Jack did. She thought Oliver seemed nice, but too anxious to get close to Angela. This worried both parents. Why was he so anxious?
Angela was so happy. She had found the man of her dreams and her life was going where she wanted. She was saving money to make her move to Florida when she was twenty and go to law school. She had a small trust fund, which had been financed by her parents former bounty-hunting careers.
Angela found that Kassidy was following her around a lot now. She was becoming a slight pest.
"I need my own bedroom," Angela begged her parents one day. "I'm not a kid anymore."
"And where will that be?," Irene asked. "The attic?"
"What about when Lisa moves back into the city?," Angela asked.
"She's not leaving anytime soon," Irene replied. "We still need her help when we're traveling."
"Can't you guys get normal jobs like everyone else?," Angela asked, almost complaining.
"We don't have the skills, Angela," Irene replied. "We've told you that before. You'll just have to make do, Angela."
"I can't have any privacy with Oliver because of Kassidy," Angela complained.
"We don't want you to have privacy with Oliver at this time," Irene said. "You've only just met him. We don't know enough about him. And I want all doors to stay open when he visits."
Angela sighed angrily. "You don't trust me," she snapped.
"It's Oliver we don't trust until we know him better," Irene said.
Angela was not happy.
Monday morning, the children all set out for school.
Irene found Lisa on the porch of the guest-house and told her to take the school day off. She knew her cousin needed the break. So did herself and Jack.
Jack had never had a "real" break from anything. He and Irene drove out to the ferry and took it to the island of Peaceful Valley, which was a known vacation spot. It had casinos, hotels, parks, and many more things that attracted tourists by the hundreds. It was a great getaway.
Jack and Irene joined a game of Liar's Dice, which Irene was very good at.
At school, Angela stared out the window and daydreamed. She hated school, but wanted to make something of herself. She wanted to go farther than what her mother and most other women had gone. She wanted to show that women could do anything men could do. She was going to be an awesome attorney.
As soon as school let out for the older students, Angela hurried home. She found that she was alone and it thrilled her. She immediately picked up the telephone and called Oliver.
"Come on over," Angela said. "My parents are gone. Now is the time, if we wanna be alone finally."
"Be there in ten minutes," Oliver said.
As promised, Oliver arrived quickly. Angela hugged him and invited him into the house.
"Finally," Angela said to herself. "I can be with my man without Mom and Dad hovering over us."
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