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ATTIC TREASURES
by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Tammy Shuttlesworth, Janet Spaeth and
Pamela Kaye Tracy
Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 1593102739 Copyright (c) 2004 Grandma's Doll by Wanda E.
Brunstetter , Fishing for Love by Tammy Shuttlesworth, This
Prairie by Janet Spaeth, Seeking the Lost by Pamela Kaye Tracy
FROM THE BOOK JACKET:
Long-forgotten family treasures are brought to the center of four
romances as Lydia Dunmore prepares to sell her old home in the
Wyoming countryside and invites her four granddaughters to choose
something to keep from the dusty
attic.
What will each woman learn from the past that may shape the future
of the way they treasure faith...and love?
CHAPTER ONE
Sheila Nickels shivered as a blast of chilly March air pushed
against her body. She slipped the tarnished key into the lock and
opened the door. This was Grandma's house--the place throughout her
childhood where Sheila had come for holidays, special occasions, and
everything in between. She'd felt warmth, love, and joy whenever she
visited this Victorian home on the north side of Casper, Wyoming.
Sheila stepped into the dark entryway and felt for the light switch
on the wall closest to the door. "At least the electricity hasn't
been turned off yet," she murmured.
An eerie sense of aloneness settled over her as she moved to the
living room. Everything looked so strange. Much of Grandma's
furniture was missing, and the pieces left had been draped with
white sheets, including the upright piano Sheila and her cousins
used to plunk on. Several cardboard boxes sat in one corner of the
room, waiting to be hauled away. It was a dreary sight.
A sigh stuck in Sheila's throat, and she swallowed it down. She'd
just come from visiting her grandmother at Mountain Springs
Retirement Center on the other side of town. Grandma's one-bedroom
apartment looked like a fishbowl compared to this grand home where
Grandma and Grandpa Dunmore had lived for over fifty years. Grandpa
passed away two years ago, but Grandma had continued to stay here
until she finally decided taking care of the house was too much for
her. She'd moved to the retirement center a few weeks ago.
Grandma's old house didn't look the same without the clutter of her
antique furniture. It didn't sound the same without Grandma's
cheerful voice calling from the kitchen, "Girls, come have some
chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk."
Sheila slipped off her coat and draped it across the arm of an
overstuffed chair. She then placed her purse on the oak end table
and turned toward the stairs. She was here at her grandmother's
request and needed to follow through with what she'd set out to do.
As a feeling of nostalgia washed over her, Sheila climbed the steps
leading to the second floor. Another flight of stairs took her to
the attic, filled with so many wonderful treasures. A chain dangled
from the light fixture overhead, and Sheila gave it a yank.
"Kimber, Lauren, Jessica, and I used to play here," she whispered
into the dusty, unfinished room. She lowered herself to the lid of
an antique trunk and closed her eyes, allowing the memories of days
gone by to wash over her.
***
"Look at me, Sheila. Aren't I beautiful?"
Sheila giggled as her cousin Lauren pranced in front of her wearing
a pair of black patent leather heels that were much too big for her
seven-year-old feet. Wrapped in a multicolored crocheted shawl with
a crazy-looking green hat on her head, Lauren continued to swagger
back and forth.
"You can play dress-up if you want to, but I'm gonna get the Bye-Lo
baby and take her for a ride." Sheila scrambled over to the wicker
carriage, where the bisque-headed doll was nestled beneath a tiny
patchwork quilt. Grandma had told her she'd made the covering many
years ago when she was a little girl.
Of all the treasures in her grandmother's attic, the Bye-Lo baby was
Sheila's favorite. She could play with it for hours while her three
girl cousins found other things to do.
Sheila leaned over and scooped the precious doll into her arms.
"Bye-Lo, I wish you could be mine forever."
***
Sheila's eyes snapped open as she returned to the present. Since
Grandma had already moved, her house would soon be put up for sale.
She'd called Sheila at her home in Fresno, California, and invited
her to choose something from the attic that was special to her.
Sheila knew right away what that "something" would be--the Bye-Lo
baby doll. Some might think it was silly, but when she was a child,
Sheila had prayed she could own the doll someday, and her prayers
were finally being answered. Now all she had to do was find her
treasure.
Sheila scanned the perimeter of the attic. An old dresser sat near
the trunk, and an intricately designed wooden container was a few
feet away. Her gaze came to rest on the small wicker doll carriage,
which Bye-Lo used to lie in. It was empty.
"How odd. The doll always sat in that baby carriage." She stood and
lifted the lid of the trunk. "Maybe it's in here." Near the bottom
she found several pieces of clothing that had belonged to the doll.
There was even a photograph of young Sheila holding her favorite
attic treasure. The dolls she had owned as a child hadn't been
nearly as special as Bye-Lo. The church her father had pastored then
was small and didn't pay much. Sheila had learned early in life to
accept secondhand items and be grateful, but she'd always wished for
more.
She grabbed the picture and placed it in the pocket of her blue
jeans, then slammed the trunk lid. "That doll has to be in this
house someplace, and I'm not leaving until I find it!"
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