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Everyone deserves one last goodbye.
As far back as Grace Carter could remember, she'd been able to communicate with the deceased. Of course, working in her family's mortuary put her in constant contact with those who had crossed over, if she didn't take steps to block them out, which she preferred to do. However, some spirits are stronger than others… Nora Campbell had nearly been ready to die, but she still had some unfinished business. From the other side, she found the woman she wanted her grandson to fall in love with, and she put her matchmaking plan in motion. Nora was insistent that Grace get a message to her grandson, TV reporter Matthew Campbell, and together they could pass on the last goodbyes of those who had passed. Only now Grace must convince Matthew she is in touch with his grandmother and not some crazy woman who spends all her time with the deceased. |
Enjoy an excerpt of The Last Goodbye-The Beginning
Details were important when it came to the life of a loved one who had passed. Grace Carter could almost hear her grandmother's voice repeat those very words as she explained the family business to her when she was a young girl.
"We give a family the last memory. Every detail has to be just right," she would say before she went into the room which Grace was not allowed in until she was much older.
Now, as she read through the file for Mrs. Nora Campbell, she thought about what her grandmother taught her.
Mrs. Nora Campbell was preceded in death by her husband George nearly ten years earlier. Grace gave thought to where she would have been when George Campbell died. The Carter family had taken care of his arrangements and prepared him for burial. In fact, it had been her father who had tended to Mr. Campbell when he'd passed.
Ten years ago she would have been studying cosmetology on the living. The thought caused her to chuckle to herself as she sat alone in one of the rooms where they would go over arrangements with the families of the deceased.
The Carter Mortuary had been in her family for nearly one hundred and fifty years. Of course she'd been teased ruthlessly as a child about spending time with dead bodies, but she knew it was an important part of life—the end of it. It wasn't all about dead bodies. There was so much more to it.
Grace read through the obituary that the family had penned for Nora, and looked over some of the items that they asked for on the paperwork. Usually there was a photo of the beloved, one that she would use to create the lasting image the family would take with them after seeing her for the last time—and it was the reason she was sitting alone in the room, her earbuds plugged into her ears with her movie soundtrack play list blaring, waiting for the grandson to arrive with the photo that was missing from Nora's file.
She loved her work and took great pride in what she did. It didn't hurt any that the deceased could talk to her, but she didn't much care for that aspect of her job. It was a gift inherited from her grandmother. If her father had it, she'd never been told, though she suspected he had some kind of gift. Grace supposed it was good that she didn't see the spirit too, but only heard them. Thus the headphones were always plugged in when she worked.
ISBN digital: 978-1-63112-232-3
ISBN print: 978-1-63112-233-0
"We give a family the last memory. Every detail has to be just right," she would say before she went into the room which Grace was not allowed in until she was much older.
Now, as she read through the file for Mrs. Nora Campbell, she thought about what her grandmother taught her.
Mrs. Nora Campbell was preceded in death by her husband George nearly ten years earlier. Grace gave thought to where she would have been when George Campbell died. The Carter family had taken care of his arrangements and prepared him for burial. In fact, it had been her father who had tended to Mr. Campbell when he'd passed.
Ten years ago she would have been studying cosmetology on the living. The thought caused her to chuckle to herself as she sat alone in one of the rooms where they would go over arrangements with the families of the deceased.
The Carter Mortuary had been in her family for nearly one hundred and fifty years. Of course she'd been teased ruthlessly as a child about spending time with dead bodies, but she knew it was an important part of life—the end of it. It wasn't all about dead bodies. There was so much more to it.
Grace read through the obituary that the family had penned for Nora, and looked over some of the items that they asked for on the paperwork. Usually there was a photo of the beloved, one that she would use to create the lasting image the family would take with them after seeing her for the last time—and it was the reason she was sitting alone in the room, her earbuds plugged into her ears with her movie soundtrack play list blaring, waiting for the grandson to arrive with the photo that was missing from Nora's file.
She loved her work and took great pride in what she did. It didn't hurt any that the deceased could talk to her, but she didn't much care for that aspect of her job. It was a gift inherited from her grandmother. If her father had it, she'd never been told, though she suspected he had some kind of gift. Grace supposed it was good that she didn't see the spirit too, but only heard them. Thus the headphones were always plugged in when she worked.
ISBN digital: 978-1-63112-232-3
ISBN print: 978-1-63112-233-0