The Keeneston Roses

The Keeneston Roses

Kathleen Brooks

Copyright Page

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

An original
work of Kathleen Brooks.

The Keeneston Roses
copyright @ 2015 by Kathleen Brooks

Dedication

This book is for my readers. I appreciate every email, every post, and every tweet I receive. I’ve been lucky enough to meet some of you in person and have had a blast hanging out online at Kathleen’s Blossom Café on Facebook. This book wouldn’t be here without you and your love of Keeneston. Now, grab a glass of the Rose Sisters’ Iced Tea and enjoy!

PROLOGUE

Keeneston, Kentucky, a very long time ago . . .

“Stop touching me!”

“Mom! Tell her to stop touching me, too!”

“Touch. Touch. Touch,” Violet Fae said as she used her finger to poke her sisters, Lily Rae and Daisy Mae.

“Girls! Stop it this instant, or I am turning this car around and busting your chops,” Donald Rose yelled into the backseat of the Ford Woodie station wagon.

“She started it,” Lily Rae whined and smacked the hat off of Violet’s head.

Their father groaned and tightened his hands on the large steering wheel as he drove down Main Street in the quaint, small town of Keeneston, Kentucky. “Three girls. I fought a war for this country, and what do I get? Three girls.”

“There, there, dear,” Iris Rose said peacefully. She somehow tuned out the squabbling coming from the back seat. “You always said you wanted three children. God just granted you that wish before you left for Germany.”

“Sure, I wanted three kids, just not all at once!” their father complained as he drove past the bank with the large columns carved from stone and the pale yellow, gray, deep red, and dusky blue buildings that lined the street.

“Touch. Touch. Touch,” Violet Fae said in a snotty tone, continuing to poke her sisters.

Lily pulled the white gloves from her hands and slapped them across Violet’s face.

“Mooooooom, Lily hit me!” Violet wailed as Daisy snickered.

Iris turned in her seat and narrowed her eyes. The girls gasped and bit their lips in unison. “If I hear one more word from any of you, y’all won’t be allowed to listen to
The Adventures of Thin Man
on the radio for a month. Now, we have a wedding to attend, and I don’t want to hear another peep from you. Lily, put your gloves on. Daisy, wipe that smirk off your face. Violet, straighten your hat. Donald, tighten your tie,” her mother ordered like a drill sergeant as they pulled into the church parking lot.

An answering chorus of “Yes, ma’am” broke out.

Donald tightened his tie and hurried to open the door for his wife.

“Peep.”

“Mom! Daisy said peep!” Violet yelled gleefully.

“Tattletale,” Lily hissed.

“That’s one week of no
Thin Man
. Do you want to push it?” Iris asked with a serene smile on her face and watched the three girls shake their heads. “You all are sisters. Someday you'll only have each other in this world. Remember that as you torture each other instead of being good sisters and loving one another.”

Their father opened the passenger door and held out his hand for their mother.

Lily turned to her sisters and stuck out her tongue.

Daisy pinched Lily.

Violet put her thumbs to her ears and wiggled them while making a face.

The back door opened, and Lily turned to smile innocently at her parents. The parking lot of Saint Francis Church was full. The daughter of the wealthiest man in Keeneston was getting married. The Shillings had moved to Keeneston with their brood of four kids right after World War II. They bought the bank and the house next door. They made both the house and bank larger. And like most families after the war, they had another child, Frank. Frank was also ten, and he thought girls had cooties.

Lily passed him as they walked into the church and stuck her tongue out at him. He stuck his out in return. Boys. Ick.

“Lily and Frank, sitting in a tree,” Daisy whispered before Lily whipped around and pinched her side. “Ow! I’m telling Mom.”

“You’re such a tattletale,” Lily said again as she rolled her eyes.

“But I’m your sister, and you have to love me. Mom said so.” Daisy smirked.

CHAPTER ONE

Keeneston, Kentucky, some years later . . .

Lily Rae Rose pinned her long golden hair into a perfect, high ponytail. She fluffed her fringed bangs and tied off the ponytail with a colorful scarf that matched her yellow cardigan and skirt. She buttoned up her white shirt and tucked it into the tiny waist of the flared, calf-length skirt. There. She looked perfect for the first day of her senior year of high school.

Her door was thrown open as Daisy rushed in wearing nothing but a bra and a pink skirt. “I can’t find my black sweater. The one that makes me look less like a boy and more like Violet.”

“I found it!” Violet rushed in, holding the sweater. “I found it in my closet. I guess I borrowed it and forgot.”

Violet’s hair was cut to look like Grace Kelly's while Daisy had opted for a pixie cut. Needless to say, their father yelled a lot on haircut day.

“I want to look perfect,” Daisy said as she slid the short-sleeved sweater on. “You know how badly I want to join the Belles, and with us all cheerleading and the fact that Jimmy is totally into me, I think I have a shot.”

Lily curled her lip in a sneer. “A Keeneston Belle? Don’t you want to do something more with your life than just hook the catch of the class and settle down to manage him?” The Keeneston Belles were technically a philanthropic group, but really their main goal was to snag the best of the bachelors Keeneston had to offer.

“What else is there to do in Keeneston?” Daisy grinned. “Besides, Mom is a Keeneston Lady. It’s tradition.”

Lily shook her head. Once a Belle got married, she moved into the Ladies’ group, which literally ran the town. The husbands just never seemed to realize it.

“I want to go to Europe,” Violet whispered.

“Europe!” The other sisters gasped.

“Don’t tell Mom and Dad, but I want to go to cooking school and become a chef. Now, I just need to find a way to look into these schools.”

“You’ll figure it out, Vi,” Lily said with a smile. “Although I don’t know what I will do with you all the way in Europe. No Rose has left Keeneston except to fight for our country.”

“Our sister the tradition breaker,” Daisy teased.

“Well, don’t tell anyone. Triple sister secret,” Violet said seriously as she held out her pinky. The Rose sisters all joined in and shook pinkies.

“Girls! It’s time for you to leave,” their mother shouted up the stairs of the old Victorian that had been in their family for generations.

Lily grabbed her books and purse and ran down the stairs, followed by her sisters. She flew out the front door, jumped from the porch steps, raced past the rose bushes, and smashed into a solid mass of tight white T-shirt and rolled jeans.

“
Umph
!”

“Lily, are you okay?” she heard Daisy call from the porch.

Lily wobbled and would have fallen on her bottom if strong hands hadn’t encircled her waist and pulled her tight against a warm body. “I’m fine,” Lily called back as she looked up into the molten-brown eyes of her neighbor, Frank Shilling.

“That you are.” He smirked and Lily felt her heart tumble out of her chest and smash onto the ground at his feet.

For once in her life, Lily Rae Rose was speechless. The boy she’d had a crush on for the past three years of high school was now holding her in his arms. She saw the shine of the grease of his James Dean hair and smelled the leather from his black jacket.

“Thank you.” She blushed and didn’t bother removing her hands from his chest. She sent him a flirty smile and a wink. When Lily Rae wanted something, she went after it. And she had wanted Frank Shilling for years—except he had been going steady with Peggy Sue Jerwsky. But if the rumors Lily heard from her friend John Wolfe were true, Frank and Peggy Sue were kaput.

“So, are you going my way?” Frank asked with a wink.

“Well, considering there is only one school in Keeneston, I think it’s a pretty good bet I am.”

“Can I carry your books for you?”

Lily Rae heard her sisters taking the steps to their porch at the speed of a snail to give her time to talk to Frank. When she handed Frank her books, she could practically feel them squealing their excitement. They had known how much Lily had wanted to go steady with the cute boy next door.

“How was your summer?” Frank asked. They walked down the sidewalk with her sisters, keeping a safe distance behind them to give them privacy.

“It was good, even if I had a job.”

“What did you do?”

“I helped with events at the country club. There were a lot of sweet sixteen parties,” Lily said with a bit of a nervous laugh. “What about you? Your mom said something to my mom about you not being here all summer.”

“That’s right. I spent the summer in the Hamptons with my grandparents. Sun, surf, and sand for me. That and stuffy debutantes.”

“I’m sure they were hurling themselves at you. It must have been dangerous. Thank goodness you weren’t hurt,” Lily teased.

The sound of a large engine revving drew their attention. A big, black convertible with flames painted on the sides cruised to a stop next to them.

“Frankie, what are you doing? Get in,” Rex, the wannabe greaser, said as he pounded the side of the door with his palm. Three tough girls in satin jackets sat in the back of the car smirking, and Lily felt like sticking her tongue out at them . . . a habit she had given up a couple years ago. Well, at least when her mother was around.

Frank turned his back on the car and handed Lily her books. “I’m sorry I can’t finish walking you to school. I sort of promised Rex I’d go with him.”

Lily tried her best to smile but knew it fell short. “It’s okay. Have a good first day at school.”

Frank shuffled his feet.

“Come on. I’m getting old here,” Rex called out.

“Just cool your heels,” Frank shot back. “Are you going to the Back to School Sock Hop on Friday?”

“I hadn’t decided yet,” Lily said slyly. “It depends on if someone asks.”

Frank’s face lit up as he took the hint. “Would you go with me?”

“I’d love to,” Lily responded as calmly as she could.

“Great! I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Lily felt her sisters hurrying forward as she watched Frank jump the door and slide into the leather seats of Rex’s convertible. As Rex drove off, Frank shot her one last grin. She had a date with Frank Shilling.

“Oh my goodness, you have a date with Frank Shilling!” Her sisters giggled as they linked arms and walked the rest of the way to school.

“Psst, Lily,” Donna Odell whispered as the home economics teacher droned on about the proper way to clean a sewing machine. “Frank gave this to me to pass to you.”

Lily looked around the room. When her teacher’s head was turned, she grabbed the note from Donna.

Milkshakes at the drive-in after school?

“He said for you to tell me yes or no, and I’ll pass it along to him since our lockers are next to each other.”

Lily smiled as she folded the note and stuck it in her pocket. “Yes.”

“Miss Rose, is there something you’d like to share with the class?”

Lily smiled. “There’s a lot I’d like to share with the class, Mrs. Romstine.” The class snickered. Mrs. Romstine did not look amused, so Lily smiled sweetly and answered, “But most importantly how wrong I have been in the cleaning of my sewing machine. Thank goodness you have shown us the correct way to do it.”

Mrs. Romstine didn’t look convinced, but the bell rang, and her attempts at discipline were overshadowed as the kids rushed from the room. Their first day of senior year was complete, and she had a date with the dreamy Frank Shilling.

“Lily, what did Donna want?” Daisy asked. Her sisters rushed to either side of her and linked arms as they walked to their lockers.

“I have a date with Frank. We’re going to the drive-in for milkshakes.”

Daisy and Violet shared smiles before placing their books in their lockers and grabbing the ones they needed for homework.

“Do you want us to go with you?” Daisy asked.

“That might be good. Then Mom and Dad can’t throw a fit. You know how they hate us having any independence.”

Violet rolled her eyes. “That’s because you don’t think you need their permission to do anything.”

“So speaks the sister who wants to go to Europe,” Lily quipped.

“Do you always have to be right?”

“Well, I am the oldest.” Lily smiled to Violet.

“By six minutes. Give it a rest already,” Violet laughed.

The girls headed out of school, waving to their friends and sharing the gossip of their first day back at school.

“I still can’t believe Jimmy started dating Peggy Sue. That girl just waits to steal the boys we like,” Daisy complained. “My chance at becoming a Belle is decreasing by the second.”

“Peggy Sue is a Belle. Do you really want to join them? I know they say they are all about community service, but it’s a long-standing tradition in Keeneston that their unspoken mission is to ensnare every eligible bachelor in town. Are you really that man crazy?”

“I don’t plan on staying a virgin forever, so why not join them?” Daisy winked as they giggled. “Look, there’s Frank. We’ll go sit at another table. I need to think of a new plan for the sock hop this Friday. I had been planning to go with Jimmy.”

“We’ll think of someone new, don’t worry,” Violet told her sister before turning to Lily. “We can’t stay too long. You know if we’re not home by dinner, Dad starts asking too many questions.”

Lily sent a thankful smile to her sisters and headed to the table where Frank sat with a chocolate shake and two straws. The collar to his leather jacket was popped up, framing his chiseled face. He looked dark and dangerous and that sent tingles rushing through her body. What could she say—sweet, innocent Lily Rae Rose had a thing for bad boys.

“Hi, Frank.” Lily stopped at a table under the metal roof of the drive-in. Cars were parked on three sides of the small rectangular court. Her sisters sat in a matching area on the other side of the small kitchen that stood in the middle of the drive-in.

“I’m glad you were able to make it. I didn’t think you would say yes.” Frank smiled and the tingles rushing through Lily turned to sparks.

“And why wouldn’t I say yes?” Lily asked flirtatiously, then leaned down and placed her mouth slowly around the straw.

Frank swallowed hard. “I don’t have the best reputation, and you’re one of the perfect Roses whose beauty cannot be rivaled, whose manners are pristine, and whose innocence is as fresh as a new bloom.”

Lily laughed. Her parents had let her and her sisters yell, squabble, and possibly shoot each other with BB guns at home. But when they were in public, they were perfection. Her parents were prominent citizens. Heck, her family had been one of the Keeneston founding families and insisted on remaining pillars of the small community—a community so small there were no stoplights and only three streets. But the people of Keeneston were proud of their town, so their parents had made sure their three girls lived up to their reputations.

“I’m not so innocent, but don’t tell anyone.”

“Oh, I bet you’ve dipped your toe into the pond of sin, but I doubt you’ve taken the plunge,” Frank said with a quick glance down her body.

Lily felt herself fluster. She was a flirt, but she’d never actually done anything about it. She’d received stolen kisses behind the gym or under the bleachers. But no one had ever dared look at one of the precious Rose sisters with desire.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if you’re the one to teach me how to swim.” Lily was rewarded with a grin that curled her toes inside her penny loafers.

“Lily,” Daisy called as she rushed over. “Mom just drove by on her way home. If we’re not home, she’ll start to ask questions, and you know you don’t want to answer them.”

Lily felt her stomach plummet. Her mother hated the Shillings, especially Frank. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

Frank stood and handed Lily her books. “I look forward to it, my bloom.”

Daisy rolled her eyes and tugged Lily’s arm, but Lily felt her heart kick into overdrive. He called her his bloom. He must like her!