BREAKTHROUGH (Love's Not Easy Series Book 2) (6 page)

“I am so glad you called.  I found out that Mr. Myers is a Neahovian native.  He was in the army that fought against the Radicals.”

“Really? So, he must have been an ally for mom and Gran.”

“He is older than your mom, but not as old as your Gran.  But, I have no doubt he was on the special team that worked with the Americans.  His file is classified.”

“That’s ok.  I don’t think we will get much from him.  Whatever Gran has asked of him, that is what he is going to do.  I found out something last night too.”

“Really?  What?”

“RGA proposed to my mom on December 24
th
, 1987 at some park with initials HVP.  They set a wedding date for May 4
th
, 1988.”

“Aimee, are you ok?”

“Yeah.  I read it after we ended our chat.  Opal and Charles were with me we had a nice talk about love.”

“So, you are starting to be ok with her and RGA.”

“Yeah. I can tell she really loved him at that time.”

“Another breakthrough?”

“What makes you say that?”

“You now realize that sometimes we think we are in love before we actually know what love is.”

“Wrong.  I am learning it is possible to be in love more than once.”

“Ok.  I will agree with that.”

“I’m sorry, I need to go.  I have a meeting with the lawyers in twenty minutes.”

“Ok.  I will call you later if I find out anything more.  Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

LJ called a few minutes later.  She talked to him a few minutes while she prepared her round table for the meeting with lawyers.  He knew she was working at her Gran’s company, but not to what extent.

The lawyer meeting didn’t take long.  She had still been in touch with them over the last few years. So, all they had to do was discuss how they represent the office.

Since she finished early in the office, she went back to the plantation.  She wanted to visit the orchards today.  She sent a text to Charles, changed into her jean bib overall shorts, a hat and gloves, and worked the orchards alongside him, just like she did as a child.

In the evening after dinner, she sat at the table and went over design ideas for the house with Charles and Opal.  The roofers started next week; they were doing the metal roof in evergreen moss.  Aimee agreed to update every room in the house except for Gran’s room, Grans office, and her mom’s room, she wasn’t ready for that.

Then, she sprung her surprise on Charles and Opal.  She was extending their living area so they could have more privacy when someone else was at the plantation. Opal showed her the idea she came up with for the kitchen and laundry areas.  Aimee loved them.  Gran would love the updates they were doing to the home.

Chapter Six

The day of the presentation before a conference room of Vice Presidents had arrived.  Aimee practiced her speech twice at home the night before.  Everyone loved the idea.  Now, if she can get the room of Gran’s employees to agree.

Aimee sat up for the power point presentation and Mr. Montgomery was the first to enter the room.  He told Aimee that he was excited to see how her brain worked.  She thanked him.  Then, she went to hand out the outline of the presentation to the others as they came in.

She let Tammy and Tina talk first.  They discussed how they are still marketing Lilliend Rose Corporation on the same platform they used seven years ago.  They showed some examples of what the competitors are doing.  Then, they introduced Aimee.

Aimee showed her proposal for creating the website and using other aspects of the social media world for marketing; plus, she showed the ads that James and Piper made.  She discussed how, by using social media, they could promote the plantation’s events, share recipes, or even sell their products.

She even talked about how they could use the social media to reach out to new companies to use their fruits and vegetables.

The Vice Presidents loved her ideas.  The first thing was to hire a web designer.  One of the member’s grandson was a designer, so they agreed to bring him in next week to meet Aimee, Tammy, and Tina.  Tammy and Tina discussed having the marketing team to team up with the advertisement department and together they would start updating Lilliend Rose Corporation.

Aimee spent the rest of her day in her office.  She was given the password for her Gran’s computer.  She needed to talk about creating their own IT team as well.  She looked over the employee files in her Gran’s computer. She then burned them on a disc, so she could put them on a computer she had purchased just for Lilliend Rose Corporation.

Then, she looked through some other files.  She found some photos of the Orchid Bay Orchards. They were taken in 1994.  Aimee copied them on a disc as well as a few other files she had on her computer of Neahovia.

At lunch time, she went home to take a nap. The past week had drained her emotionally and right now she needed to rest, relax, and read her Bible.  She decided before she could have a peaceful nap, she should read her Bible first.  She opened her Bible to Psalms Chapter 56.  She was drawn to verses 3-4.

Psalms Chapter 56-3.  What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.  4. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

Aimee realized that she had not been putting her trust in God the way she truly should.  She was relying on the trust of the people around her.  She had been placing trust in the wrong place.  She needed to trust God more.  She had prayed for guidance, but had she actually listened to Him?  He will show her the right people to have in her life.  She decided to pray about her trust before she took a nice long afternoon nap.

A tap at the door woke Aimee.  She looked at her clock as she yelled come in.  She had been asleep for three hours.  Opal came in with a worried look on her face.  “Are you ok?”

“Yes, I guess I was more tired than I realized.”

“You have been going nonstop since you got here.  I was wondering when it would catch up with you.”

“Yeah, I think I am going to slow down.  Enjoy the two weeks I have left of summer vacation.”

“That sounds great.  Charles and I are going out to eat dinner.  Do you want to join us?”

“No, you two go have a date night.  I will fix me something here.”

“Ok, we will see you later.”

Aimee decided to go for a swim.  Then, she made herself a large summer salad.  She put in one of her mother’s favorite movies and spent the evening relaxing.  Then, she went to bed early.

The rest of that week and the week that followed, Aimee spent the morning hours at the office.  Then, she came back to the plantation to relax in the afternoon. She loved relaxing and floating in the pool.  She and Opal shopped and picked out all the appliances for the kitchen, new furniture, new flooring, and paint schemes for the house.

The night before she left, Opal and Aimee took Megan and Brad out for the dinner.  Charles stated he needed to work in the orchard, but in truth, he was setting up the surprise.

Opal suggested that Megan show Aimee the nursery after it was painted.  When they arrived to Brad and Megan’s they went straight to the nursery, when Megan opened the door. Charles was standing with a surprise sign.  Aimee and Opal had bought all the baby furniture that Megan wanted.

Brad and Megan tried to tell Aimee it was too much, but Aimee insisted that it was not.  She wanted to help them.  Brad had been so helpful to her these past few weeks and Megan had let Aimee occupy way too much of Brad’s time, so Aimee wanted to return the favor.

After they left Brad’s house, Aimee packed up the stuff she wanted to send to Neahovia.  The delivery truck was scheduled to be there at nine in the morning to pick them up to take to the airport.  She had cleaned out her closets in Savannah and divided the contents between the church she attended while in Savannah and with Wise Chapel.

She decided to text Lexi that night before she went to bed.  Lexi was going to meet her at the airport when she arrived in Neahovia.  She was so excited to be going back to Neahovia.  Being here the last few weeks with Opal and her family was nice, but Aimee felt, in her heart, Neahovia was the place for her.

The next morning after the delivery guys left with the packages going to Neahovia, Opal was ready to drive Aimee to the airport.  Her plane didn’t leave until two and she had a few stops to make.

The first was to the bank.  She wanted to check in with Mrs. Moon and assure that everything was in order for payment to the workers on the house.  She had an extra key made for Opal to the security box.  She took Opal to the box and replaced the Will and other papers back in the box.  She made copies of what she needed.

The next stop was at Lilliend Rose Corporation office building.  Mr. Montgomery led her to the conference room.  All the VP’s were present.  They gave Aimee a going away present.  They gave her a new genuine leather laptop bag.  She loved it so much she exchanged the stuff in her old bag into the new case.

The plane took off on time from Savannah; then, there was a forty five minute delay in Charlotte.  She would fly to Boston, where she had a three hour layover.  Once she was in Boston, she took a seat in the first class lounge and was reading in her mom’s diary when Claire, the lady she meet on the flight back to the United States, came and sat beside her.

Aimee was unsure what it was about Claire, but she felt she could tell her anything.  They took a seat at one of the dining tables and ate their New York strip sirloin meal and dessert. She asked Claire about her sister, who was in stable condition now, after a rough few weeks.  She told Aimee about her sister’s health and the things she did while in Canada.  Time flew by when Aimee was talking with Claire; they were calling for boarding before she knew it.

She happened to be seated beside Claire for the six hour and forty-five minute flight to London.  Once they had put their luggage in the overhead compartments, they settled in their seats and listened to the flight attendant go over instructions.

Aimee sat in the extremely comfortable chair.  Claire waited for the attendant to finish talking before she asked Aimee about her summer vacation.  Aimee told her about what transpired at her dad’s. Claire was astonished as she listened to Aimee’s details about Lilliend Rose.

“Aimee, you are such a smart nineteen year old lady.  I am proud you made the choice to finish your education.  As a business woman I feel you can never learn too much.”

“I feel the same way.  I have had several breakthroughs the past few weeks.  One is that I want to do this for me and I want to glorify God as I do.  The other is, I still feel it is important to find out about my mom’s past.  It is because I want to put the puzzle of my life together, not about who I am because their past is not who I am.”

“Well, I think you have done a lot of growing over the past few weeks.”

“I feel I have learned so much about myself this summer.”

“That is how we find ourselves. We learn from the lessons God provides us.”

“I am learning that.  I still want to know as much as I can about my mom.  I feel I am more prepared to accept the things I learn.”

“Really, why is that?”

“I learned that my mom was engaged to RGA.  It shocked me at first, but Mrs. Opal told me about how she was in love before Charles.  It made me see that it was possible that my mom could love both my dad and this RGA fellow.”

“Wow, what a breakthrough for you, as well.”

“Yes, it was.”

The flight attendant came by and offered them a snack, so they accepted and talked some more over tea and scones.  Then, they decided to lay back in the luxury chairs and take a nap.

When Aimee woke, it was two hours later.  She requested a cup of coffee and read her mom’s diary until Claire woke.  Then, they ordered breakfast and Claire asked her about LJ and Aiden.  Aimee told her about her date with LJ.  She told her she talked to Aiden, but she did not know the status of his relationship with Ava.

Claire listened to Aimee tell about her summer vacation talks with both boys before she spoke.  “Aimee, I want to share some Bible verses with you.  I want you to remember these verses whenever you are with any gentlemen who may have a romantic interest in you.

The first is
Proverbs:  4: 23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life
.  All types of sin begin in the heart.  For that reason alone, Aimee, be careful when it comes to dating.  The wrong guy may take advantage of a weak moment.”

Aimee studied on that verse for a moment.  “I never really thought about that.”

“The next is
1 Corinthians:  15: 33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
I think you know this, but a lot of guys will say the things they think you want to hear.  Be careful and listen to what God wants you to do.”

Aimee grinned at Claire.  “You are so sweet to worry about me.  I do know that guys will say or do anything to get a girl to do what they want.  I just never put a verse with it before.”

“The last verse I am going to share with you, is one that pertains to everything you do.  Dating is definitely on the top of the list for this verse.”
Luke 17: 1 "One day Jesus said to his disciples, There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!"
  Temptation is everywhere, but I feel, for a young Christian like yourself, that dating is more complex.  You know in your mind the right things.  But, the devil will tempt you twice as hard.  Don’t let your emotions override your faith.”

“Dating as a Christian is so hard.  I am constantly afraid that I am going to do something that the guy will misunderstand.  I feel like I always have my guard up when I am out on a date.”

“Aimee, when you find that guy that is right for you, you shouldn’t have to put a guard up because he should honor you and the word of God.”

“You’re right. It is finding that guy that is the hard part.”

“I agree, it is hard trying to find a good man.  It was just as hard when I was young as well.  But, if you keep your faith that God has someone out there for you, and pray for that person when the time is right, God will bring him to you.  At that moment, you will know for certain that waiting for him was the right thing to do.”

“Thanks, Claire.  I love talking to you.”

“Thank you sweetie.  Let me give you my cell phone number.  I never know when I am going to travel, so this is the easiest way to get in touch with me.”

“That sounds great and I will give you mine. If you ever need to talk, I am here for you.”

The attendant announced that they would be shortly landing.  One last stop before Aimee was back home in Neahovia.