Chapter One
No one would ever accuse Ashleigh Thomas of being spontaneous. At least not anyone who knew her well.
If there was something that needed to be done, she planned. Usually weeks in advance and in frustratingly thorough detail. Follow that up with final preparations and then finally, once there was enough forethought and design, she just might make a decision.
Overkill?
Good God yes.
Which could only mean this was one of those times when Ashleigh was setting herself up for potential disaster.
Her house was packed up, her things already loaded into the moving truck, a handful of capable men having spent the morning doing backbreaking work as they filled the enormous metal container with everything that was near and dear to her heart. This was it. One final goodbye to her beloved two bedroom house before she was on her way.
Back to her roots.
Back to the place she had called home for most of her life.
Granted, she had taken her own sweet time getting to this point, but nonetheless, she could no longer procrastinate. Getting back to the hustle and bustle of Dallas was the next step. Leaving behind the slow, easy going life she had built on the bank of Lake Whitney, just outside of Hillsboro, was not going to be easy yet it was inevitable.
Relocating her life wasn’t the difficult part. As a writer, she could easily pick up her office – also known as her laptop – and go just about anywhere. That was one of the many perks of her job.
Since she had grown quite fond of her current office space – her back porch which overlooked the rippling waters of Lake Whitney – she had worked hard to convince herself this move was for the best. Being able to wander out of her house in her pajamas, watching the random vacationer as they attempted some sort of water sport, had become one of the highlights of her day.
Somewhere in between all of the fresh air, sun and people watching, Ashleigh actually managed to write. Thirteen books in total between her two personas and she wasn’t doing all that bad actually. The children’s books were enough to pay the bills, as well as a convenient story to sell her grandfather. Not that he completely believed she was making a living at it.
Since he was partly right, Ashleigh never bothered to argue with him.
Her bills might be covered from her various tales of farm animals, fairy princesses and the like, but her savings was being built from the other genre she moonlighted in.
Smiling to herself, Ashleigh turned from the back windows that overlooked the serene view of the lake and went to get the last of her things.
The movers had already headed out, on their way to Dallas, so she wasn’t going to put any more thought into whether her stuff would make the journey in one piece. The only thing left was to get her laptop and her purse and say one last goodbye to life as she knew it.
“Goodbye, little house. I’m sure going to miss you.” Ashleigh said to the empty room, nothing but bare walls and carpet, as she put the key in the door for the last time. In a week, the new owners would be moving in, taking over and filling the small house with their own memories.
With her personal effects in tow, Ashleigh ventured down the front steps and across the small walkway to her Chevy Tahoe sitting in the driveway. Feeling a little melancholy, she looked up at the sun, letting the bright Texas sun warm her.
The late January morning wasn’t as cool as the weatherman predicted – Texas weather didn’t usually go with the norm – but the wind off the lake was a little brisk. Thankfully she’d remembered her jacket just in case.
Those were the sort of things she planned for.
Not the sort of abrupt change which resulted in her going back home to Dallas.
Shrugging her shoulders, figuring she had already set out on the path, might as well be in it for the long haul, Ashleigh climbed into her SUV. With a flick of her wrist, the Tahoe roared to life, the interior of the truck filled with a country song.
How appropriate.
Turning the radio up, she tried to drown out her thoughts.
Within minutes, she was on the two lane highway heading for the main interstate where she would be on her way.
Though leaving the comfortable life she had gotten used to made her nervous, there were some positives that she would be looking forward to.
Being close to her family one of them. Although only a forty five minute drive on a good day, her family was still far enough that she didn’t get to visit as often as she’d like. Having lived a solitary life for so long, she was actually looking forward to being close to those she loved.
She had talked to her brother Dylan just that morning. He was essentially doing the same thing she was, packing up and getting ready to head out. With her niece, Stacey, having been accepted at the University of Texas at Dallas, Dylan had reluctantly let her move at the beginning of the semester. According to him, he was worried about her – though Ashleigh figured that was a convenient excuse – and now, he was moving back to the big city to be closer to his daughter.