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  Gold Hill

  Denver Cereal, Volume Seven

  Also by

  Claudia Hall Christian

  THE DENVER CEREAL SERIAL FICTION:

  The Denver Cereal

  Celia’s Puppies

  Cascade

  Cimarron

  Black Forest

  Fairplay

  Gold Hill

  ALEX THE FEY THRILLER SERIES:

  The Fey

  Learning to Stand

  Who I am

  Lean on Me

  Gold Hill (2/2013)

  THE QUEEN OF COOL

  The Queen of Cool

  Seth and Ava Mysteries

  Tax Assassin

  Gold Hill

  Denver Cereal, Volume Seven

  Claudia Hall Christian

  Cook Street Publishing

  Denver, CO

  Originally published at DenverCereal.com :

  January 2012 – September, 2012

  copyright © Claudia Hall Christian

  Licensed under the Creative Commons License:

  Attribution–NonCommercial–Share Alike 3.0

  Smashwords Edition Licensing Notes:

  Thank you for purchasing this ebook and welcome to Denver Cereal! You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by Claudia Hall Christian.Thank you for your support

  ISBN (13 digits) 978-1-938057-09-0 (digital)

  Library of Congress: 2013900613 (print)

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  First edition © January, 2013

  Cook Street Publishing

  PO Box 18217

  Denver, CO 80218

  For Love.

  The Denver Cereal

  In the Denver Cereal, we meet Jillian Roper when she pulls on her thigh high leather boots and crashes her abusive ex-husband Trevor’s engagement party. At the party, she meets her dream man, Jacob Marlowe. Jill and Jacob begin a crash course through grave injury and illness, to find love. Along the way, we meet Jacob’s movie star sister, Valerie, and learn of her struggles to have her own dreams and share a life with her husband Mike. Jill’s best friends, Sandy, Heather, and Tanesha, begin new courses in their life that take them to confront their greatest fears and deepest longings.

  Celia’s Puppies, Denver Cereal, Volume 2

  Jacob and Valerie’s mother, Celia, had a habit of helping lost people, called Celia’s Puppies. In this second Volume of the Denver Cereal, Celia’s puppies come to the forefront. We meet Jacob’s noble step-sister Honey, we learn more about Jacob’s ‘cousin’ Blane, and, via Oprah Winfrey, Valerie learns of Mike’s terrifying time away from her. Trevor and his fiancé attempt to kidnap Jill’s daughter Katy and her best friend Paddie at a holiday party. The fiancé all but kills Honey. She is saved by her childhood sweetheart MJ and they reorient their lives and love. Jill and Jacob dance around getting married and, in the very end, they marry in a beautiful ceremony in the Castle Chapel.

  Cascade, Denver Cereal, Volume 3

  Peace comes to Denver Cereal, but demons from the past refuse to stay in the past. We learn of Sandy’s horrific childhood and her boyfriend Aden responds with violence. His violent act ends with Sandy getting shot by her pedophile father and Aden lands in jail. Jill, her mother, and father tell the story that was never to be told and her family begins to heal. With the help of Heather, now his wife, Blane confronts his past loves and battles Hepatitis C. Beloved Delphie must confront a demon from her past. When he arrives to kill her and everyone else, he meets what he could never expect. Delphie’s family battles for her. In the end, Delphie survives a life threatening stroke.

  Continued on next page.

  Cimarron, Denver Cereal, Volume 4

  In Cimarron, the characters of Denver Cereal grapple with the consequences of their actions to restart their lives. Aden heals and continues his jail sentence. Delphie has to come to terms with almost dying to start her life again. Valerie launches herself as a movie actress while Mike’s painting career flourishes. Jill and Jacob face their first true relationship challenge. Sandy holds everything together only to become gravely ill herself. Her child, Rachel, is born 2 months early. They fight their way through the problems to come together as a family. And just in time! Six pairs of human remains under the Castle Chapel draw everyone into a dark murder mystery.

  Black Forest, Denver Cereal, Volume 5

  The Denver Cereal takes off into the wild, action packed pursuit of the child killer, Saint Jude. Danger lurks and evil’s host threatens to destroy the lives of those we live. Friends are murdered and even with Jacob and Delphie’s abilities, Saint Jude continues to rampage against the children of the city and even tries to steal Rachel. When all hope is lost, the bond between the women and children triumph over the serial killer and the evil that drives him.

  Fairplay, Denver Cereal, Volume 7

  Why is life so unfair? Charlie’s question permeates the Denver Cereal as his mother rejects her children to embrace her greed; Seth’s greatest love falls to her death; Jill must fight to protect her own children while her in-laws attempt to take Katy; Blane’s health deteriorates; and a true love, broken by betrayal, reignites for Tanesha. Through their individual losses, the friends and family embrace the wealth and power available within their circle. In the end, Charlie’s pursuit of life’s fairness carries the Denver Cereal back into the grace and bounty of present life.

  Confused? Download the Denver Cereal, Volume 1 from Smashwords, iTunes, Amazon or from our store at: CookStreetStore.com. You’ll find all Denver Cereal books in every electronic format and paperback at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and your local independent bookseller.

  Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Eight

  interview

  One day later

  Monday morning — 7:37 A.M. MDT

  “We are not having this conversation,” Sandy slammed the back door of their SUV.

  “But . . . ” Noelle scooted in from the other side to sit next to Rachel’s car seat.

  “We want to know,” Sissy moved to sit next to Charlie in the far back. “Why won’t you talk about dinner?”

  “Because she’s pissed off,” Nash slammed the door and sat next to Noelle.

  “Don’t say that word, Nash,” Sandy said.

  “Which one?” Nash asked. “Because?”

  Sandy gave him a dark look in the rearview mirror.

  “Two dollars in the jar,” Noelle whispered.

  “Seat belts?” Sandy turned around to check.

  The kids held up their seat belts to show they were fastened. Nash took the money out of his pocket and tossed it toward the front seat. Shaking her head at him, Sandy started the SUV and pulled out of the Castle driveway.

  “I hate this car,” Sandy said under her breath.

  “Is that why you’re mad?” Nash asked.

  “I’m mad because . . . ” Sandy turned right on Seventeenth Avenue. Nash had the earliest stop and was their first drop off at the Park Hill School. “. . . oh never mind.”

  “She’s mad because Addy’s dad is an asshole,” Charlie gave Nash two dollar bills and Nash threw them in the front seat. “He brought up stuff.”

  “Stuff?” Noelle turned around to look at him.

  “He interrogated me about my past,” Sandy said. “He said Charlie couldn’t see Addy unless I answered a few of his questions. He only asked so he could get his . . . rocks off.”

  Stopped a
t the light at Josephine, Sandy dug in her purse and added a dollar to growing pile of money.

  “What did Daddy do?” Noelle asked.

  “Your Dad . . . ” Sandy continued through the light. “Sissy, you sure you don’t want me to drop you here at East?”

  “No, I want to go with everyone to drop off,” Sissy said. “I’ve never done it before and . . . ”

  “Just wanted to check.” Sandy drove past East High School.

  “Aden completely lost it,” Charlie said.

  “Really?” Noelle’s eyes were big. “I’ve only seen him do that at Nuala.”

  “That asshole started . . . ”

  “Mom!” Noelle said.

  “You keep track, honey,” Sandy said.

  “Okay,” Noelle said.

  “Your Dad was mad and stopped him from asking questions about me. You know how he can be. He just said, ‘That’s enough.’ Then, the asshole started ripping into his own daughter calling her a whore and a slut,” Sandy said. “Your Dad lost it. It wasn’t just me.”

  “Seven dollars,” Noelle said.

  “Whore and slut too,” Sissy said.

  “Nine dollars,” Noelle said.

  “Officially, I was quoting but let’s make it an even ten,” Sandy pulled up to the light at Colorado Boulevard and put ten dollar bill on the pile.

  “What did you do, Charlie?” Sissy asked.

  “I would have been p . . . really mad,” Nash said.

  “What could I do? I met Addy on the streets a bunch of years ago. Her dad had kicked her out. He’s the reason she’s . . . ” Charlie glanced from Noelle to Sissy. “. . . advanced for her age. He thinks it’s my fault. But Sandy’s right. Shi-dai lost his shit after he started saying stuff about Addy.”

  “What did he do?” Noelle asked. “You said the s-word too.”

  “We’re almost there, Charlie,” Sandy said. “Talk fast.”

  “Shi-dai told him that his family wouldn’t be bullied,” Charlie passed two dollars forward. “Me too. As family.”

  “Duh.” Nash shook his head at Charlie.

  “Nash!” Sandy said.

  He passed forward another dollar bill.

  “Aden’s going to call our social worker today to see if there’s anything we can do for Addy.”

  “Ok, Nash, there’s Teddy,” Sandy said. “Good luck today. Call me if you need anything. Love you!”

  Teddy was standing near the front of the school waiting for Nash. Nash got out and Noelle followed him.

  “Sissy can you get her back in the car?” Sandy asked.

  “Noelle!” Sissy yelled.

  “There goes my ear drum,” Sandy said.

  Noelle got back in the car and they continued on to the Marlowe school.

  “What happens now?” Noelle asked.

  “I can’t go out with her anymore,” Charlie said.

  “You’re not going to sneak around?” Sissy asked. “That’s what you guys used to do.”

  “I don’t think I can get away with it,” Charlie said. “I don’t drive and they live in Westminster and . . . ”

  He shrugged.

  “You promised you wouldn’t sneak around,” Sandy said.

  “See, I promised I wouldn’t sneak around. That’s what I meant to say,” Charlie nodded to Sissy. “When do I get my driver’s permit?”

  Noelle squealed a laughed. They pulled into a spot in the Marlowe School parking lot. Sandy was about to get out when Anjelika opened the back door.

  “Good morning,” Jill’s mother said. “I can take beautiful Rachel. I know you’re in a hurry.”

  “I hate to . . . ” Sandy started.

  Rachel cooed “hello” to Anjelika.

  “She’ll be fine,” Anjelika said. “Wish Tanesha good luck. I’m very excited for her.”

  “Bye Mom,” Noelle leaned over to kiss Sandy and was out of the car. Sandy waited until they were across the lot before heading out onto Eighteenth Avenue back toward the Castle.

  “What’s going on with Tanesha?” Charlie asked.

  “The girls and I are taking her to her medical school orientation,” Sandy said. “That’s why I’m driving this boat. It fits her bicycle.”

  “Fun,” Sissy clapped.

  “She’s pretty excited and pretty scared,” Sandy said. “But mostly, we want to hear how her interview went yesterday.”

  “Diane Sawyer,” Charlie said.

  “How did it go?” Sissy asked.

  “That’s what I’m going to find out,” Sandy said. “Okay, Sis. You have your meds for the nurse? Your notes? You know where you’re supposed to go?”

  “I’m all set,” Sissy said. “Jake took me through the school again last night so I’d know where my classes are and stuff. Lucky he has those keys.”

  “Yes, keys,” Sandy said. “You’ll remember not to tell anyone about his . . . keys, right?”

  “I won’t tell,” Sissy said. “And I won’t be lost. Love you.”

  Sissy leaned over the seat to hug Sandy. She hugged Charlie.

  “Good luck!” Sandy said.

  “I have my phone,” Sissy said. “I’ll call if anything happens and I’ll see Charlie at four o’clock for basketball tryouts.”

  Sandy and Charlie waved as Sissy walked into the entrance of East High.

  “Are you ready for your first day?” Sandy asked.

  “I’m all set,” Charlie said. “I have my own office room. Aden and Jake set it up for me on the first floor at the Castle. My computer and my books are there waiting for me. Delphie’s going to check in on me. Don’t worry Sandy. I can do this.”

  Sandy stopped the big SUV in front of the Castle to drop him off.

  “Anjelika will be here after work to check my stuff and sign me up for basketball,” Charlie said. “Love you.”

  Charlie closed the door and waved through the window. Sandy smiled at him. She waited only a moment before Jill pulled up with Tanesha and Heather. Tanesha stuck her bicycle in the back of the SUV as the women got in.

  “How was drop off?” Jill asked.

  “Crazy,” Sandy said.

  “What’s this stack of money?” Tanesha picked up the dollar bills from the passenger seat.

  “Swear jar,” Sandy said.

  “From one conversation?” Tanesha asked.

  “At this rate, we can buy ski passes.”

  “At this rate, you’ll have enough money to fly to the Alps,” Tanesha laughed.

  Laughing, Sandy started the journey toward Tanesha’s new life.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Monday morning — 10:37 A.M. EDT

  New York City

  “Which clip do you want to use?” the editor for Primetime turned to look at their host.

  “Let’s watch them both,” she said.

  “This was my favorite,” the editor said. “I like how she’s not intimidated by you and how she ends it with talking about relating.”

  He leaned over, pressed a button, and Tanesha’s image came on the screen.

  “Um, what was the question?” Tanesha looked up from her tea cup and into the camera.

  “You’re a smart, independent, attractive woman,” the host said. “Why would you stay in this abusive relationship?”

  “In the first place,” Tanesha set her tea cup down. The camera closed in until it framed her face. “Jeraine isn’t abusive. At least not to me. I think if you talked to all of his women, you’d find he’s funny, smart, and great to be around. We have great conversations and laugh a lot.”

  “Don’t you think . . . ”

  “But I agree with you that this addiction is abusive to both of us,” Tanesha said. “And for his part in it? The drinking and drugging to bring out his addiction? I have been injured by his choices. There were a few times in my life when I thought I’d never be able to take another breath because of something he did or didn’t do. He has hurt me. His addiction has hurt me even worse.”

  “So why . . . ?”

  “I’m gettin
g there,” Tanesha smiled. “Just like he did, I’ve made my choices along the way. Sometimes, I’ve waited for him. Sometimes, we’ve spent weeks together in absolute bliss. And there’ve been years when I haven’t thought of him at all.”

  “You haven’t waited around for him.”

  “I have,” Tanesha said. “But not always. I made choices for my life as it made sense to me at that place and time.”

  “I guess the money . . . ”

  “I don’t have access to his money,” Tanesha said. “I didn’t even know we were still married until he was in rehab last time. I mean, he says I have access to his money but . . . That’s what I mean by choice. I chose to live free of his money. And it’s not like I’ve been knitting my chastity belt while he’s out hot dogging it. I’ve lived every day. I’ve loved, gone to college, had relationships, worked jobs, dated, and . . . Today, my choice is to see where this goes.”

  “She gave me one last chance,” Jeraine’s voice came from the side. The camera zoomed out to show him standing by her chair. “At rehab this last time. I asked and she said she would try it one more time. But we both know this is our last round.”

  “I guess the biggest thing for me,” Tanesha glanced at him and then back at the camera. “I didn’t sign on for a pleasure cruise or something out of a teen romance novel. I signed up for a relationship – the good, the bad, the highs, the lows, the hard times and the joyful times. We relate. That’s what’s interesting to me.

  “I mean people throw away relationships now because of stupid stuff like his Mom wasn’t nice to me or he doesn’t work as much as I do or I make more money or whatever. Toss him away. That kind of throw away relationship keeps people from the actual juice of love – the relating.”