Chapter 36
A/N Gone too soon
Ok I am giving you all fair warning this next chapter has a lot of heartache for Suzanne and Benjamin.
It was not very often that Joe and Ellen got away during the day to spend some time with just the two of them. Ellen had packed a picnic lunch and they were going to take a wagon ride around the farm. Ellen hasn't seen some of the changes that had occurred lately and Joe wanted to share them with her.
They enjoyed a wonderful stress free lunch by the lake. They were sitting on a blanket just enjoying the day.
"I am glad I was able to get away with you today. We don't do this often enough. With the farm being so busy and the grandkids we are busier now than we were when our kids were younger," Joe said to her.
Ellen laughed, "Yes it seems we are going 100 miles an hour all the time. It was good to see Eric, Evelyn and the kids this weekend. Since they moved to Kentucky, I miss them."
"It was good to see them and Joshua is getting to be an excellent horseman. He takes after Eric and looks like him so much as his age. I am happy with Billy taking over when Eric left, I just miss Eric," Joe told her with sadness in his voice.
"I know it was tough on you when they moved, but it has been good for them. They both needed to get out of their parents' shadows and make a name for themselves," Ellen said.
"True, I just wished they could have done it in Virginia and not 6 hours away," Joe said looking off into the distance.
"We better clean up and get back," Ellen said, rising to pack everything away.
"Yes, it looks like a storm is moving in. We don't want to get caught in one of the crazy late spring Virginia downpours," Joe told her as he looked at the horizon.
They had just loaded into the wagon, when a bolt of lightning came from out of nowhere. It spooked the horse and he bolted forward. Joe was desperately trying to pull back on the reins and calm the horse. The horse was not slowing down and was heading straight for the cliffs on the other side of the lake.
Joe calmed the horse and just as he turned him another bolt of lightning struck and flipped the wagon over. Both of them were trapped under the buggy.
Ellen awoke slowly and tried to move, but realized a piece of wood had pierced her chest. Joe was laying beside her with a massive head wound. He was not moving. She raised her hand to him and felt for a pulse. She didn't find one. She took his hand in hers and raised it to her lips and placed a soft kiss on it as she too was taken away.
Suzanne was staring out at the storm through the front windows. She hoped Benjamin and the kids got home soon. She didn't like them being out in the storm. The roads from town sometimes flood easily and would make it difficult to drive. She was glad he had driven the new truck they just got, it would be better in the weather than his sports car.
She was turning away from the windows when the phone rang. "Hello, this is Suzanne."
"Suzanne, it is Billy. Your parents went out for a buggy ride several hours ago and have not returned. Now with the storm I am starting to worry. Did they take shelter at your place to wait out the storm?" he asked.
Suzanne's heart rose up in her throat. She herself had been caught once in a freak storm and she knew how terrified she had been. "No, I haven't seen them. Saddle some horses and when Benjamin gets home, I will drive to the barn. The storm seems to be letting up, we can go look for them," she said as tears were streaming down her face.
She ran upstairs to change into some riding clothes. Benjamin and the kids arrived as she was rushing down the stairs. He was looking questionly at her as she sat on the last step to pull her boots on.
"Mom and Dad went on a buggy ride and haven't come back yet. Billy and I and some of the hands are going to look for them," she told him as she was buttoning her rain jacket.
"Sweetheart, the weather is terrible out there. Are you sure you should be out in this. The boys can go out and look," he asked her with a concerned look on his face. He knew she was very good on a horse, but didn't want to risk her getting hurt.
She assured him she would be fine and leaned up and gave him a gave her a hug and walked her to the door.
Suzanne drove up to the barn and ran in to meet the guys. They were soon all saddled up and riding out of the barn. They had decided to break up into 3 three groups to cover more ground. The storms had blown out, but it was still really wet and the wind had blown limbs all over the place.
Suzanne was in the south pasture with one of the barn hands when her radio went off. Billy and one of the hands had located the wagon. They turned and a break neck speed rode as fast as possible to his location.
Suzanne jumped off of Blaze and was running towards the wagon, when Billy grabbed her around the waist holding her back. "You don't want to go over there. I am so sorry, they are both gone."
Suzanne sank down to the ground putting her head in her hands and screamed in pain. The thought that both of her parents were dead was too much for her to handle and she crumbled to the ground as her world went blank.
Billy had radioed the sheriff and told him what happened. He asked him to send a deputy to get Benjamin and have a neighbor stay with the kids.
Benjamin bolted out of the stable as fast as he could on horseback to get to the wreck site and Suzanne. Losing both her parents was going to wreck her.
By the time he had arrived, there was lots of activity around the site. He jumped off his horse, running around trying to find her. He finally located her sitting in the back seat of a patrol vehicle. He ran up to her and pulled her out of the truck into his arms.
He didn't know how he was going to console her or take some of her pain away. He saw her heartbroken look. She was not even acknowledging his presence. She had a far away look on her face and her eyes were fixed on the overturned buggy. He walked her away from the site. They were about to remove the bodies and he wanted to make sure she didn't see that.
He sat down and pulled her into his lap. Once they were on the ground, her tears started. She buried her head into his chest and cried with abandon. He was rubbing her back trying to soothe her. He could not even imagine the pain she was going through. "I got you Sweetheart, let it out."
The sheriff approached them once the bodies were removed and placed in on the stretchers. "Suzanne, do you want to see them?" he asked.
She nodded her head and Benjamin helped her to her feet. She was barely able to hold herself upright so he held onto her tightly as they made the slow painful walk over to them.
"Sweetheart, you don't have to do this. You can wait and see them later," he begged her.
She shook her head at him and reached for the stark white sheet that covered the first body. It was her Dad she saw as she pulled it back. Tears were still streaming down her face as she bent down and placed a kiss on his cheek. She walked over and pulled back the sheet on the other body. She saw the piece of wood protruding from her Mom's chest and her legs gave out. Benjamin scooped her into his arms and walked her over to one of the vehicles.
She looked up at him and with a trembling voice told him, "We need to call Eric."
"I will take care of it, let's get you back to the house. We also will have to tell two children that will be devastated," Ben said with tears streaming down his face. He loved Joe and Ellen and their passing was going to be hard for him too. They were like a second set of parents.
They arrived back at the house and the Barnes' had driven out to watch the kids and support Suzanne and Benjamin.
Benjamin helped Suzanne in the house and up the stairs to their bedroom. He took off her clothes and helped her into some pj's. She was zoned out and not really coherent with what was going on. He pulled back the covers and guided her into the bed. He covered her up and placed a light kiss on her temple.
She never looked at him or it seemed blinked. She was completely checked out. He was going to leave her alone for a while and see if she would rest or at least get some peace.
He came down the stairs and met Frank and Sam. "The sheriff called and told us what happened. We came as fast as we could. How is she?" Sam asked, tilting her head towards upstairs.
"She is pretty out of it right now. Don't think it has really hit her yet. I put her to bed. Maybe if her mind and body rest she will be better. It is going to be a rough go. I still have to tell the kids and they are going to be heartbroken. I have to call Eric and tell him too," he said as he rubbed his hands down his face.
Frank placed a caring hand on his shoulder and Sam squeezed his hand, both letting him know they were there for him.
"Where are the kids?" he asked, looking around for them.
"They are in the barn with the horses. They were getting restless and starting to ask some questions as to why we were here and where Mom and Dad were. We thought the horses and the barn would distract them," Frank said. "Do you want me to go get them?"
"No not yet, I need to call Eric first. Can you look after them for a while longer?" Benjamin asked.
They shook their heads yes as they watched him walk towards his home office.
Benjamin shut the door and walked over to his desk. He sat down heavily in his chair and took a deep breath. He needed to try and hold it together to get through the call with Eric.
"Adams' farms," Evelyn said cheeriful as she answered the phone.
"Hey Evelyn, how are things in Kentucky?" he asked, trying to keep the sadness from his voice.
"They are great. We got two new thoroughbreds this morning and Eric is out with them getting them situated. How are things in Virginia? Suzanne and the kids are good?" she asked.
"That is sorta why I am calling. Do you think you can get Eric to come to the phone? I have something to tell you both?" he asked.
"Well it might be a little bit, but since he added the small office in the barn, there is a phone in it. I will just go to him and you can call back in about 10 minutes. Will that work?" she asked.
"Sure, or just call the house when you have him," he told her.
Benjamin hung up and leaned back into his chair. The day was wearing on him and the hardest parts were not even addressed yet. He walked over and poured a scotch and downed it in one gulp. He poured another and walked back over to the desk. He looked over and spotted a photo on a shelf. It was of Suzanne and her parents taken on their wedding day. As he looked at it, silent tears started streaming down his face. She had such a huge smile on her face and was so happy. He dreaded how the next few days, weeks and months were going to be for her. Her parents were a huge part of her life and losing them was going to be hard on her.
The phone on the desk rang bringing him out of his thoughts. "Benjamin Adams," he answered.
"Ben, it's Eric. How are things brother?" he asked.
"Eric, I am afraid I have some really bad news for you. Your parents were killed in a wagon accident today. A freak storm blew in and they were caught in it. I am so sorry," he said, trying to keep as calm as he could.
Eric sat down wearily in the chair behind his desk. His face turned pale and he dropped the phone receiver. He immediately brought his hands up and covered his face. Evelyn saw the stricken look on his face and retrieved the phone and started asking Benjamin questions.
Benjamin relayed the same information to her he had just told Eric. Tears and sobs were now coming from all of them.
"I am going to let you two go to handle this on your end. I still have to tell the kids and I need to go check on Suzanne. Please let me know if you need anything. I guess you will be coming here in the next day or two?" he stated.
Evelyn affirmed his statement and hung up. Eric had composed himself enough to wrap his arms around his wife. They held each other and cried. They also would need to tell their kids and make arrangements to travel to Virginia.
Benjamin called his parents to tell them and his Dad said that he would make arrangements to have his plane available to Eric and his family to fly home. They would come in the day before the funeral unless they were needed before.
He hung up and dropped his head to the back of his chair. He sat there for a few minutes. He needed to go check on Suzanne and then on the kids.
He climbed the stairs to their bedroom and found her staring at him sitting up on the side of the bed. She wasn't really looking at him just staring past him. He sat down and put his arm around her shoulders pulling her into his body. She finally seemed to snap out of her trance and placed her arms around him and turned into his body. The tension in her body relaxed and her tears started falling. He pulled her onto his lap and held her as tears and sadness racked her. He ran a soothing hand up and down her back trying to help her. Nothing seemed to be helping. He resigned himself that he was just going to have to let her cry it out. He tightened his hold on her and kissed her on top of her head.
It took a while, but her tears finally slowed and she pulled back from him. Her eyes were puffy, red and her face had tear tracks running down it. He reached over and got some tissues to wipe her tears and her face.
"Sweetheart, how are you doing? I know that is a stupid question, but I want you to know I am here for you," he told her as he placed a gentle soft kiss on her lips.
"I am so sad and heartbroken. They can't really be gone. It is all like it is a bad dream I can't wake up from," she told him as she held back more tears.
"You don't have to be strong, I know it is probably the worst thing in the world. Your whole world has been rocked and no one expects you to be strong. I called Eric and Evelyn and told them. I talked to my Dad and he is making his plane available to them to fly in whenever they are ready. He and Mom will fly in the day before the funeral when it is set up, unless we need them before that," he told her.
"That is really nice of your Dad. How did Eric take it? I am sorry you had to tell him. I just couldn't do it. I am not sure how well I will be able to hold up to tell the kids," she said.
He pulled her back into his embrace. "I can tell them if it will be too hard on you. Frank and Sam are here and they are distracting them for now. Why don't you crawl back in bed and rest and I will take care of telling them. Billy went to the house to greet anyone that showed up there. We can go over in a while if you want to," he said as he laid her down on their bed.
He covered her up and placed a kiss on her forehead. He sat with her a while to make sure she actually fell asleep. He rose and went out the room and closed the door quietly. He stopped right outside the door and gathered himself. He could hear the kids down in the living room and he had to get himself under control before he told them so he was strong enough for them.
As Benjamin entered the room, Lizzie looked up and saw the pained look on his face and immediately walked over to him. "Daddy, what is wrong? Mr. Barnes said "Mom was in bed, is she sick?"
Frank and Sam gathered up their things and Isabelle and pointed towards the door. Benjamin mouthed a silent Thank You.
"Lizzie, Will, let's sit down. I have something to tell you. Granny and Paw Paw went to live with Jesus today. They had a wagon accident and they are gone," he told them with tears in his eyes.
Lizzie immediately launched herself into her Daddy's arms and started crying. Will was younger so he didn't really understand what his Daddy had said, but seeing his sister so upset he started crying too.
Benjamin held both his kids as they cried and expressed their grief. He had leaned back on the couch and was holding them with tears also running down his face.
Will was all cried out and told his Daddy he was going to his room. Lizzie was still sobbing and was not showing signs of letting up. He turned when he heard a noise and saw Suzanne coming down the stairs.
She walked over to the couch and took Lizzie from him. He stood up and decided to let his two girls have some grieving time just the two of them. He was going to go and check on Will.
Two days later, Suzanne, Benjamin, Eric and Evelyn made all the funeral, viewing arrangements and picked out caskets for Ellen and Joe. Suzanne and Eric were leaning on each other to get through the horrible task. Joe had taken care of some of the arrangements ahead of time, but the task was still daunting for them.
Friday evening would be the viewing and Saturday the funeral. They would be laid to rest in the family cemetery on the farm, beside her parents and his.
Saying goodbye to your parents when they still had so much life to live was not something Suzanne or Eric was handling very well. Benjamin took over handling and taking care of as much as he could.
Saturday, Joe and Ellen Adams were laid to rest under the old oak trees as clouds floated by on a sunny summer day. Suzanne and Eric laid white roses on their caskets as they were lowered into their final resting place.
Suzanne and Eric would grieve in their own way and it would not be an easy journey for either of them.