Till The End Of Time (Secrets of Savannah Book 1) Read online

  “Sweet!” Hunter mumbled to himself as he managed to save the ham from ruin. He raised himself from the ground and continued to make his getaway, his eyes focused on the woods in the distance. Too late he heard the sound of a large twig snapping underneath his weight as he crept alongside the Renault’s home.

  “Who’s there?” a deep voice boomed out of the darkness.

  Hunter’s heart beat a wild rhythm inside him as his body froze. Who was there? He had been certain that the entire Renault household would have been in attendance at the Harvest Fest, one of Savannah’s biggest fund raisers and celebrations. When he had arrived at the Renault’s home it was swathed in darkness, as if no one was home. Outrun him! A voice inside his head urged him as he made a wild dash towards the barn. Hunter figured that he had a pretty good shot at getting away since he was the fastest boy in the seventh grade.

  “Stop or I’ll shoot,” the same voice called out as he dashed towards safety.

  Hunter stopped in his tracks as he heard the cocking of a rifle. Dear God, he was only twelve years old. Way too young to die, he thought miserably. Without warning, Hunter found himself being bathed in a circle of light. He held his arm up to shade his eyes from the blinding glare.

  “What you got there, boy?” As the man’s face and physique came into focus, Hunter realized with a sinking heart that it was Jack Renault himself who had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. Renault was a large and imposing man, one who wielded power in this town the way ancient warriors once wielded swords.

  Hunter held out the ham with shaky fingers as feelings of shame and dread washed over him in unrelenting waves. He knew that if Mama caught wind of this escapade he was due for a serious punishment. Although it was a rare thing for Mama to bring out the switch, he knew for certain that stealing a ham would bring it out for sure.

  “Thought you’d steal yourself a ham, huh? Courtesy of the Renault family, is that right?” Jack Renault’s dark features were etched in anger, his bushy eyebrows furrowed in a frown.

  “N-No, I wasn’t stealing it. I was just…,” Hunter’s voice faltered when he couldn’t think of any reasonable explanation for his actions. He began to gnaw on his lower lip as thoughts of the county jail danced in his head.

  “Well, let’s just call Sheriff Sawyer and see what he makes of it all,” Renault said in a brisk tone.

  The sound of softly running footsteps momentarily distracted Hunter from his predicament as a small figure stepped out of the shadows. A young girl, no more than ten, ran towards Jack Renault’s side and began insistently tugging on his shirtsleeves.

  Despite the fact that she had a few pounds of baby fat lingering on her face and small figure, there was no doubt that this girl was a rare beauty. With skin the color of roasted chestnuts, a long mane of curly black hair and hazel eyes that were as round as saucers, this young girl was destined to break hearts all over Virginia. Hunter immediately recognized her as Olivia Renault, Savannah’s reigning princess.

  “Daddy, please don’t call the police. He’s just a boy,” Olivia said in a pleading tone.

  “I ain’t a boy. I’m a man,” Hunter said with a defiant tilt of his head.

  “A man, huh? You can’t be no more than thirteen, son. Am I right?” Jack asked.

  “I won’t be thirteen until next May, sir,” Hunter explained.

  “What’s your name, boy? Who are your people?” Jack demanded in a harsh tone.

  “His name is Hunter, papa. Hunter Rawlings,” Olivia said as she shyly looked over at Hunter.

  A look of shock passed over Jack Renault’s face upon hearing Olivia’s words. All of the fire went out of him, and his face and eyes softened. “Rawlings? Are you Mae’s boy?”

  “Yes, sir,” he mumbled, not wanting to associate himself with his Mama in such dishonorable circumstances. Mae Rawlings was an honest, God fearing woman who had never stolen a thing in her life. Hunter hated dragging Mama down into the mud with him.

  Jack Renault looked thoughtful as he ran his fingers along his grizzled chin and studied the boy in front of him. “Run along home now, Hunter. And take the ham with you. No sense making a mountain out of a molehill.”

  “Thank you, Daddy,” whispered Olivia as she gently squeezed her father’s hand.

  “Don’t hesitate to come calling if you or your family ever needs anything, Hunter. There are always plenty of hams to be had around here,” Jack said with an easy smile.

  Charity! That’s what Jack Renault was talking about. Nothing more than charity for the poor Rawlings family! Hunter felt his face flush with a mixture of embarrassment and anger as the Renault’s looked at him with barely disguised pity.

  It was a look that he'd gotten used to in Savannah, particularly in the weeks and months following his Daddy’s passing. Pity! Shame! Disgrace!

  “I don’t need no stinking ham,” Hunter said defiantly as he flung the ham to the ground.

  Olivia’s pretty pink mouth hung open in shock as she watched the ham soar into the air, landing in the dirt with a solid plunk.

  Jack Renault shook his head at Hunter. “Pride goeth before a fall, young man. Go on and git home before you worry your Mama,” Renault instructed as he took his daughter’s hand and walked away from Hunter towards his elegant, stately home.

  Although Hunter’s pride had forced him to fling the ham into the dirt, his love for his family caused him to salvage the meat as soon as he was certain that the Renault’s were inside the house. Although the young man wasn’t above picking up the soiled ham, he surely didn’t want the Renault’s to see him looking like a beggar.

  “Someday I’m going to have as many hams as I please,” Hunter screamed into the darkness. “And someday I’m going own this town, lock, stock and barrel.”

  ***

  He smirked at the memory of who he used to be – the hungry, rebellious, pint-sized know it all who'd raged at the world and stolen a ham to sustain his family. In some ways he was still that little kid on the inside – hungry, hard-headed and determined to rule the world. Although he hadn't made good on his promise to own Savannah, he'd recently taken major steps to make an indelible mark, a move that would cause shock waves to reverberate through town. And when it was all said and done, the gnawing hole in his gut would be filled up by the culmination of a childhood dream. One day soon, he vowed, his journey would come full circle.

  “Rascal, come back here! You’re soaking wet!” The soft, honeyed voice floated to him from across the yard, immediately causing a handful of goose bumps to pop up on his arms. Hunter’s gut tightened painfully as the familiar voice caressed his senses. Olivia! Hunter turned towards the sound of her voice, a rush of joy enveloping him as he watched the one that got away walk right back into his life.