THE HALO LEGACY SERIES

Beth Boulanger's parents, Howard and Natalie, didn't have their beloved daughter until later in life. Beth has been a cherished only child who was sheltered to adulthood.


EXCERPT from LIVING THE LEGACY (copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel)

Beth hitched her borrowed backpack containing one change of clothing higher on her shoulder as she entered her parents' house. One of her next tasks would be buying new clothes, since hers were destroyed in the explosions that reduced her house in Halo to scrap wood. 

The return to her parents' home wasn't triggered by pleasant circumstances, yet Beth felt the same welcome that always surrounded her in this storybook house. A pleasant cottage with two bedrooms upstairs and two down. Throughout her growing up years, Beth's parents had shared one of the upstairs bedrooms, while Beth occupied the other one. The downstairs rooms had been used for occasional guests and hobbies.

However, today Natalie Boulanger called out to Beth from downstairs. "We're here, darling. In the sitting room."

Beth walked toward the back of the house, and her mother met her partway with a hug. "I was so worried when I heard about the explosions. Thank heavens you're safe. Go say hello to your father while I get iced tea for us."

Howard Boulanger slowly rose from a recliner when Beth entered the room. What had once been a space for her mother's recipe books and decorating supplies had recently been remodeled with wide double doors leading onto a deck overlooking their back yard.

"Hi, Daddy." As she hugged her father, Beth noticed his shoulders weren't as broad and straight as when he used to give her piggyback rides, and his thinning hair barely covered the shiny dome of his head. When had her father become old?

"Where's that man of yours?" her father demanded. "Time was a gentleman would ask permission before courting a young lady."

"You're a hundred years behind the times, Howard." Beth's mother entered the room carrying a tray with three glasses of iced tea and a variety of homemade cookies.

"Would have been nice to meet the man before the wedding," her father muttered as he sat back down in his chair.

"The wedding isn't until the end of June, Daddy." Beth handed her father a cookie before taking one and a glass of iced tea for herself. 

"Now, what else have you decided about the wedding?" Natalie asked.

As Beth and her mother talked, her father dozed off in his chair. Beth didn't realize how long he had slept until her mother commented she needed to get supper started. 

With a concerned look toward her father, Beth followed Natalie into the kitchen. "Has Daddy been feeling alright?"

Her mother's smile seemed a bit forced. "Of course. Just a bit tired lately."

However, over the next few days, Beth noticed other things that indicated her father was aging. He had little energy and didn't seem interested in anything but sitting in his recliner and watching television. At this time when she should be happiest, Beth often felt a tug at her heart when she watched her father.