Chapter one
The alarm buzzed loudly in Andi’s ears,
closing her eyes tighter she wished for one more hour in bed. A drink with
friends, turned from a late night into an early morning, and little sleep was
not her best friend. In fact, it made her down right tetchy. Her fingers felt
for the button to stop the infernal noise, until she prised her eyes open,
dragged the covers back and headed for the shower.
Warm water washed away the remnants of
sleep, but all too soon, she was back in her bedroom getting ready for work.
Pulling back the curtains, she couldn’t help staring at the view. It was something
she could never tire of. The bay window of her rented, two storey wooden home
in Sausalito, took in the Golden Gate Bridge. At this time in the
morning, fog rolled over the magnificent structure of engineering, but it
wouldn’t stay long once the sun had made an appearance. Glancing at her watch,
a word or two slipped out as she grabbed her suit jacket, and headed for the
door.
It might have been a great view of
the city, but it did have its disadvantages. Picking up the pace, her heels
clicked on the concrete surface. She knew her feet would remind her later that
running in those shoes was a bad idea. But right now, she had no choice; she
couldn’t be late for work... again. Making it with seconds to spare she smiled
at the man who closed the gate behind her. After years, she was no longer self conscious,
but knew her smile would crease the jagged scar that ran down her cheek.
Stood
on the deck, she did her best to make something from the mass of dark curls
flowing over her shoulders. Swearing under her breath, she gave it up as a lost
cause, and pulled out a hair band. As she prepared herself for the day ahead, her
thoughts turned the night. She hadn’t seen Dan in almost a week; his shifts at
the hospital making it impossible. Tonight he’d promised to be all hers. There
was a possibility that this would mean curling up next to her and falling
asleep. His residency was taking its toll on their relationship. No, there was
more than just that, there were other factors at play. Maybe getting passed the
next two years, would make it a little easier. Sometimes, she thought they were
still together, because he was too exhausted to go looking elsewhere. It wasn’t
as though they had much in common. She had started college, but when her mum
became ill and died, she had no choice but to find work, anything to pay the
bills. Dan on the other hand had family money. She had to admire his conviction
to be a doctor when he so easily could have become a spoilt rich kid. The loud
speaker announced that they were arriving in San Francisco Bay. “Damn
it.” She was going to be late.
Head down, avoiding eye contact, Andi
tried to make her way to her desk unnoticed. Waiting for her was the
supervisor, a wicked grin on her face. “That’s three times in two weeks.”
“I’ll make the five minutes up at lunch,”
she retorted, holding her tongue, wanting to say what she could do with her
job. Time keeping may not have been her best quality, but she knew she was good
at her job. Everything they asked of her she did, maybe it was time to look for
something else. Without any further delay, the computer flicked to life, she
logged on, and took the first call.
Two hours in, and her cell vibrated on the
desk. In need of some intelligent conversation, and with no one around that
would notice, or care, she answered the call. The voice on the other end
stopped her heart, if only for a moment. It was a voice from a lifetime ago,
someone that would never contact her unless something was seriously wrong. “What’s
wrong? Is dad okay?” A cold chill ran down her spine, sweat gathered in her
palms, as she began to shove her things into her bag.
“Nothing he’s fine.” The smooth voice of
Jake Corrigan responded.
“Then why the call, just tell me what you
want?” Her tone was harsher than intended, worry turning to anger. Whether he
admitted it or not, he would never call unless something was wrong. If he
didn’t speak soon, she’d cut him off.
To allay her fears, he quickly told her
about a car accident. “The car turned over with a few of the men travelling up
to the East boundary.”
“What? You just said dad was fine.”
“He is a lot better than some.”
Already turning off the computer, and
getting to my feet, I added. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Seth has a few cuts and bruises and a
broken leg.”
ba
As
she waited for the plane to take her to Cheyenne, she ran through the last
twenty four hours. It merged a little, from the initial phone call to packing a
few things, but she couldn’t forget the voice on the other end. How long had
she tried to forget him, and that place? One little call and her thoughts
betrayed her. It tried to drag her back to another time, one that she was too
scared to revisit.
Her father
had worked at the Lazy Lakes ranch for most of his life. It had been her whole
world, until seven years ago. She hadn’t been back since. Jake gave her some
more details. Four men were in the truck, all of them were out of action for a
while, and one was in critical condition. With everything going on, there was
no one to keep an eye on her dad, so she threw a few things in her holdall and
caught a flight early the next morning.
“Miss, would you like a soda or juice?”
The attendant had sneaked up on her while she was lost in thought.
“Orange juice please,” she responded.
It wasn’t a long flight; still, it gave
her too much time to think. When she lived there, she thought nothing would top
the rolling hills and open plains of Wyoming. The ranch providing a fantastic
place to grow up, but all that changed when she hit fifteen.
Shaking her head, she put the image out of her
mind. It had taken a long time to put it away, though never forgotten, she had
got on with her life. Something else crept forward, or rather someone, Jake,
and as she closed her eyes his smoky green ones came into view. His long lashes
brushing his skin, as he looked down at her. A smile eased its way onto her
lips, remembering how she followed him around like a puppy, accepting any
attention he would throw her way.
She’d grown, changed into a woman. How
much would he have changed? Would he acknowledge her existence, or was it
simply a courtesy call? After all he would be busy taking on the extra work.
Nevertheless, an ache started behind her temple. She had to remember that she
was there for her dad. If she was lucky, she could avoid Jake, and the whole
Corrigan family drama that seem to settle around them like a dark cloud. Plugging
in her headphones, she turned up the volume, drowning out any more thoughts.
