Crossroad To Love (Fab Five Series)
CROSSROAD
TO LOVE
By
Anna
Kristell
Crossroad to Love
ISBN-13
-
978-1-61258-057-9
ISBN-10- 1-61258-057-2
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Copyright © 2012 Anna Kristell
Cover art by Bret Poinier
This book is a work of fiction. Any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, any events or locales is
purely coincidental. The names, characters, places and incidents are products
of the writer’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission from
the publisher LazyDay, with the exception of quotes used in reviews and
critical articles.
There have been so many people who encouraged me along the
way to finish this story. I’d like to thank you all for your support and
encouragement in this crazy venture.
To my husband, Neal, who kept telling me to put my vivid
imagination to use, and whenever I got discouraged, would not let me quit.
To Staci and Dustin and your friends, who kept telling me
how awesome this whole thing was.
To my mother and my sister-in-law, who told me I could do
this if I tried.
To my neighbor, who read the first few chapters of the first
draft, looked at me and said, “You’ve got to finish this.”
To the co-workers who listened to my ideas, at times thought
I was crazy, and when it all fell into place, threw a surprise party for me to
celebrate my becoming a published author.
And of course, to my own Fab Five girls, although there were
nine of us, who grew up together and have remained close throughout the years.
This one’s for you, Mary Ellen, Mary Lou, Ann, Donna, Lynn, Brenda, Linda, and
Betty.
And of course, I want to thank the
staff at Lazy Day, Staci Taylor, and my editors, who answered every one of my
endless questions. Bret, I can’t thank you enough for creating the gorgeous
cover. You’ve all been great.
It had begun to rain. A slow, gentle drizzle, just enough to
annoy the man behind the wheel. “When are you planning to tell him?” the man
asked quietly, looking at the beautiful, blonde woman seated contentedly in the
passenger seat of his new deep sea mica, state of the art Lexus LS. The
automobile was decked out with every luxury imaginable. He had special-ordered
it with every option available and had insisted they drive to Chicago for the
weekend seminar, rather than fly from Indianapolis. He wanted to try it out on
the open road. She had reluctantly agreed, preferring a short flight to the
long drive, but knowing his excitement about the new car, she had finally given
in.
“I’ll tell him tonight when we get in.” The woman sighed as
she nervously removed the dazzling, three-carat, oval-cut, diamond and sapphire
ring from the third finger on her left hand, placing it carefully into a black
velvet box. She dropped the box into her handbag and replaced the ring with a
small, plain gold wedding band. “Then we can finally, really begin our life
together.”
The rain was coming down harder now, in sheets, making
visibility difficult.
“Well, it’s about time. I’ve waited a long time for you to
get to this point, my sweet.”
He made the fatal mistake of leaning over to kiss her,
taking his eyes off the road for only a moment. In that split second, the world
came to an end for the lovers in the blue Lexus.
And just before the deafening sound of crunching metal and
breaking glass penetrated the silence of the night, the little girl in the back
seat of another car said, “Daddy, my Girl Scout leader said I’ll have my badge
by our next meeting.”
“That’s wonderful…"
Katy Barron stood beside the large, four-poster bed in the
upstairs bedroom of her charming, two-story Victorian home in Chicago,
fastening the latch on her old, burgundy tapestry luggage. Thinking that she
should have bought new luggage for the trip, she struggled until finally she
was certain the latch was secure.
There, that’s done
, she thought as she
smiled in anticipation of the week ahead, a week of fun and relaxation,
catching up with her three oldest and dearest friends.
The phone on the antique oak night table next to the bed
rang shrilly. She sat on the edge of the bed and hurriedly picked up the
receiver.
“Hello, this is Katy.” She absent mindedly fingered a loose
thread on the floral comforter and looked around her beautifully decorated,
china blue and buttercup bedroom. She never grew tired of the serenity of this
room. The tranquility had been a godsend all these years, her own private haven
in which she could hide from the world and indulge her sorrow.
“Hi, it’s Lizzie. Are you packed and ready to go?” the voice
on the other end of the line asked cheerily.
“I just finished not seconds ago.” Katy laughed as she
asked, “How about you?” She reached for the antique Blue Willow cup on the
nightstand and took a sip of her coffee, quickly setting it back. It had grown
cold during her packing.
“Haven’t even started, but I should have plenty of time
tonight. Rex is working late at the agency again and the twins are hardly ever
here anymore,” Lizzie replied wistfully.
Katy detected the sadness in her friend’s voice. She knew
things had been hard for Lizzie lately. She had always been the picture perfect
wife and mother, but her family suddenly seemed to have outgrown her, putting
her at a loss as to how to spend her days.
Much like me
, Katy thought
sorrowfully.
“Have you spoken to Mari or Angie?” she asked her friend,
keeping her voice light. She was determined not to be a killjoy on this
vacation.
“Not since last week. Marianne was going to check with the
hotel and make sure everything was perfect for the arrival of the ‘Fab Four,’
and Angie was snowed under with work as usual. She had a lot to get done before
she could leave the Quad Cities.”
“Ever our career gal,” Katy giggled as she thought of their
friend and her constant deadlines.
“You got that right,” Lizzie said. “So, sweetie, how are you
doing today? I know it’s the tenth anniversary of the accident. Are you holding
up okay?” Lizzie gingerly addressed the subject on both women’s minds that day.
“As well as can be expected, I guess. Every year it gets a
little easier. Bree would be twenty now. It doesn’t seem possible, does it?” To
Katy, Bree would always be a sweet, precocious, ten-year-old little girl. Her
precious daughter, lost to her forever.
“No, but then Cara and Colt are twenty-two and that’s crazy
too. Have you heard from Alex?” Lizzie inquired about Katy’s son.
“He called between classes this morning.” Katy spoke proudly
of her only son, who had been her saving grace all these years. He had taken on
the role of man of the family at the tender age of eight and had given her a
reason to live. Now he was pursuing his own dreams with his mother’s reluctant
blessing. She knew it was time, but it had been difficult to let him go.
“I couldn’t let the day pass without calling.”
“And I appreciate that more than you know, Liz. This trip
couldn’t have come at a better time for me.”
“Or for me, that’s why I cooked it up. I really needed to
get away and put some things in perspective. Like what I’m going to do with the
rest of my life.” Katy’s friend replied jovially.
“I hear you. Now that Alex has gone off to college, I need
to start living for myself again. Bill would want that for me.”
And he would
,
she thought, thinking of the husband she had lost ten years ago today. Katy’s
mind drifted to the gentle way he always caressed her cheek just before they
made love. She remembered him holding her close as she fell asleep in the bed
they had shared, the bed that was now cold and empty.
“Yes, honey, he would. Well, I’d better get off here and
think about packing. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. You have the gate number
where we’re meeting in St. Louis?” Liz asked, bringing Katy back to reality.
“I have it. See you tomorrow.”
“Toodles, can’t wait to see you.”
“Bye, Lizzie.” Katy placed the receiver back in its cradle
and sighed as she thought about the conversation she’d just had with Lizzie.
I’ll
have to find some time to talk with her alone next week
, she thought as she
headed to the sunny kitchen on the main floor of the house to find something in
the cupboard for her lonely dinner.
****
Ryan O’Grady sat down to read the evening paper with a fresh
cup of coffee. He glanced at the date, set the paper down, and closed his eyes.
Ten years. Where had the time gone?
Because of
you, Marnie, no woman
will ever break my heart again
.
But even knowing what I do, I would
have
never wished you dead
. A flood of memories came rushing back, his mind a
whirl of emotions. He remembered the night of the accident and the days, weeks,
and months of numbness that had followed.
If it had not been for his younger brother, Shane, asking
him to relocate to Dallas and go into business with him, he might never have
survived. Now ten years later, the upscale, downtown restaurant was thriving,
so much so that they were planning an expansion and also planning to open a
chain of restaurants across the country. Life was good for Ryan, Shane, and his
wife Chloe. But Ryan had stuck to his guns about women. Plenty of women had
tried and failed to melt his cold heart. Some had made it to his bed, but he
never stayed with one woman for long, thus earning the reputation as a playboy
in the metroplex social circles of Dallas. He had even been dubbed as Dallas’s
most eligible bachelor, and he intended to stay that way, a bachelor.