About the Book The timeless theme of good and evil is explored in the latest spellbinding story from author Dolores Allen. It centers around a family that learns hard lessons about forgiveness and redemption. Fighting demons we all have, some succeed and some fail. Not even members of the cloth are perfect; in fact some are the biggest sinners of them all. Salvation is always at hand for the main characters, but in the shadows it is difficult to find the light. Dolores Allen weaves a tale that will touch, astound and resonate with you. Why do good people do horrible things? Where do you turn if you feel God has forsaken you? Deeply moving and rich, this is a story about what lies in the souls of families brought together in troubled times, redemption and love. ***** Forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness! Collectively, the world is looking anew at this much aspired to virtue. "Broken Promises-Next Generation" shows us time and again, through many tragedies that it always, always works. Not that it is easy, but with patience and love, it overcomes every single obstacle that you may have previously thought impossible. Most times, where you land, could almost be described as miraculous. Sally Dubel, author and creator of Loving Things Journal

Broken Promises - Next Generation

By DOLORES ALLEN

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Dolores Allen
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4490-2178-8

Chapter One

Joey sat quietly, gazing at the gilded-framed picture propped up on the left corner of his desk. A mother and father he had yearned for had become a reality, even though it did not happen until Millie and Jacob had reached their senior years. The ornate memory maker displayed an elderly couple smiling at their love child. Joey smiled back at the picture with misty eyes.

He drifted into a daydream of bliss, remembering the day his mother, Millie, and biological father, Jacob, reunited. It had taken many years before it came about. He was grateful for his life with his wife Denise, even though they had begun in a more uneven way. They were good together right from the beginning. Joey had never entertained the thought of abandoning his precious Denise, but somewhere in the back of his mind, there was always a nagging feeling that it might come to an abrupt end one day. "Why can't I feel completely at peace?" he wondered. Little did he know, there might be a basis for his premonition.

Joey was a striking man with deep blue eyes that seemed to look right through to your very soul. His broad shoulders and narrow hips gave him a look of strength. His mother said he was like a young pony. His gait was smooth and he had remained youthful into adulthood. Of course, Millie could not help but notice how much he looked like Jacob. Jacob was her first love and Millie was devastated when he ran out on her before Joey was born.

That day, so long ago, when Millie informed Jacob she was with child, he promised to marry her. He assured her everything would be just fine. She believed every word.

When the knock came at her door early one morning, it shattered all her hopes and dreams, and her life was changed in a very profound way. The neighbor stood on the veranda with a sad look on his face saying he had a message from Jacob's aunt. He began, "Alice said you should know that Jacob will not be stopping to say good-bye. He will not be back, so you are to go ahead and make your own plans."

That was the last Millie heard from Jacob, until years later when Joey was grown, and hired a private detective to search for his father.

Jacob heard about the birth, but he never knew if the child he fathered was a boy or a girl. He was young, and as always, meekly complied with what his mean-spirited aunt told him to do, thus leading him into a lifetime of loneliness.

Joey's mother, on the other hand, lived a good spiritual life while Jacob wandered into darkness and sin most of his life. He made one mistake after another and nearly died from alcoholic abuse. He never recovered until well past middle age. Joey was thankful his mother forgave his father and gave him another chance. Yes, it was good to have both parents looking at him from the photo.

Joey's thoughts drifted to his lovely wife, Denise. She was striking in looks. Her long lean body complemented Joey. Her walk was self-assured. She learned early to sit up straight and look people directly in the eye when she spoke. The intensity in her voice when conversing made even the least important conversation seem interesting. When Joey and Denise entered a room, all eyes were on them.

A pastor and his wife raised Denise, and they loved her as though she were their own. Her biological parents could not keep her when she was born, due to some unexpected circumstances. They wanted her and she was created from love, but it was a decision they made for their daughter's own benefit. That was what they honestly believed at the time.

Denise never entertained the thought of finding her real parents, or so she said.

When Denise grew up, she joined the Navy, and that was where she met Joey. They were working in the same department at naval headquarters. The two became solid friends. It took a long time before they became emotionally involved. It was only after Millie and Jacob reunited that Joey began to think of marriage and family. Denise had thought little about marriage before she met Joey, but he was different from most men she knew. She began having thoughts of what it would be like to be married to Joey and have a family.

When they did marry, Millie was happy for Joey. She liked Denise, even though she felt she was not as open as she should be. She had not even told Joey she was adopted for a long time. Joey was as open and honest with her as he was with everyone. Millie and Jacob had talked about her silence when the subject of her past came up, but they decided she was just shy.

His daydream, remembering what his mother had gone through over many years, ended abruptly when an oversized officer entered his office giving him an urgent message to go home immediately.

"What's going on?" he asked the stern looking, elegantly uniformed gentleman.

"I don't know. This just came over the wire. It says personal and looks private. I think it may have come from the FBI, although it does not say that."

Joey quickly cleared his large mahogany desk and with one last look around his tidy antique filled office, he left the building. A driver was waiting outside as though he already knew it was urgent business. The neatly dressed man quickly opened the door and smiled at Joey, but there was a concerned look. Joey picked up on his demeanor right away. "Oh, maybe I am just imagining it," he said under his breath.

"I hope there is nothing seriously wrong at home. Perhaps it is my mother, maybe she is ill." He spoke softly to the driver.

Joey leaned back, closed his eyes, and sat quietly, whispering a silent prayer. The street was lined with tall elm trees. The branches hung proudly and neatly, framing the roadside. The whispering sound of rustling leaves from the breeze seemed calming on most days, but today it was an eerie sound. Now it seemed as though the branches were beckoning, seemingly saying, "Hurry home!" The serenity of past days seemed to be vanishing. The neighborhood drive was usually relaxing to Joey, as he made his way slowly down the pavement after a stressful day.

Joey noticed the driver seemed to be driving a bit faster than he should at this time of day while the children were making their way home from school.

"No, it can't be my mother or someone would have phoned me." He breathed a sigh of relief.

Joey and Denise married a few months after his mother and Jacob were married. He felt secure now that the family had finally been put in place, and all was right with the world.

When the couple finally decided to have a family, it was a big decision as they had a slight fear their children might be affected with the same mental disorder that afflicted his nephew, Norman, the son of Joey's half-brother, William.

Norman was a bad seed from the beginning. William and his wife Nancy had to institutionalize the boy when he was young. He remained there for a several years, until one day, with the help of a fellow inmate, he broke out. He beat a guard so badly, that the man died. He even turned on his fellow escapee and killed him during the flight. It was a brutal attack. This became one of the most tragic events that could happen to the family, but it led to the reuniting of his mother and father, after so many years. His mother, Millie, always said, "out of every tragedy, we learn and if we apply that knowledge and make use of it, then it was not in vain."

When Jacob left Millie, he married a girl by the name of Fran. They had a son and daughter. William was born...