Read Hacienda Moon (The Path Seekers) Online
Authors: KaSonndra Leigh
Hacienda Moon (The Path Seekers)
Hacienda Moon
Path Seekers
#1
© 2012 by KaSonndra Leigh
Published by the TriGate Group
Edited by PWL Editing Services
Amazon Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold, copied, or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you
’
re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events are products of the author
’
s imagination. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
http://trigategroup.wordpress.com/adultbooks
Cover Art © 2012 by Fantasia Frog Designs
ASIN:
B008QAY0BQ
Sometimes the Darkest Soul Can Have the Brightest Heart of All
…
Love
,
obsession
,
and betrayal
,
the most powerful human emotions
,
are spun together in this gothic novel. Hacienda Moon is a seductive tale of one woman
’
s journey to confront the demons of her past and find the courage to face her future. It is a mesmerizing novel that explores the deepest depths of human nature.
This novel is loosely based on the true story of a warship called the Fortuna that attacked the region now known as Brunswick County
,
North Carolina
,
on September 4
,
1748.
For Grandma...as always. We love and miss you.
Part I
When deep down in the core of your being
,
you believe that your soul mate exists
,
there is no limit to the ways
he or she can enter your life…
…
Arielle Ford
Dear Diary,
I dream of a man from long ago.
He has eyes filled with warmth, dark jewels that penetrate my soul when I glance into them. As I drift along this cycle of pain, this fight that I call life, I think of him. And when I close my eyes each night, I imagine his face. He touches me, holds me, loves everything about me. I realize this is only my imagination; but it’s something that I believe has crossed the boundaries of another
era
to reach me.
Sometimes we lay together on a mattress inside a small cabin with one room. I realize these are stolen slices of time. It doesn’t matter. His love fills me with desire.
At dawn I sneak away and leave him sleeping soundly. Doing so causes me pain. And the dream ends.
Why do I yearn for him?
How can I obsess over a stranger?
My phantom lover is only an image inside of a dream. But his touch seems so real that I wake up and feel lost after I realize he’s gone.
I lift my body up, get dressed, and head out to work. The trials of this life get harder to face every day. I
have
lost
the two greatest
parts of my heart, and the will to live sometimes escapes me. But no matter how much I hurt, I find the courage to think of his face. In my darkest hour, I uncover the will to carry on. Just because life tossed me into the wheel of chaos and took everything I ever held close to my heart, doesn’t mean it will destroy all of me.
Grief, loss, and pain, I have this to say to all three of you: “I take back the key I gave to you; the one
that
you used to lock away my heart inside your dark chambers.”
My life still belongs to me. I understand what you didn’t want me to see. You didn’t want me to believe. But I’m going to do my best.
I must try.
Somehow I will survive.
And in the end
, I wait
.
Bolivia, North Carolina
J
uly
…Two Years Later
Crowds,
noise,
loudspeakers,
coffee
smells:
the essence of
Raleigh-Durham’s
airport.
There
wasn’t
much
difference
between
New
York’s
JFK
and
North
Carolina’s
RDU.
The
hustle
was always the same in these places.
An
airport
usually turned out to be
just
another
way
of
transporting
someone
from
one
life-changing
situation
to
the
next.
And
Tandie’s
journey
was
about
to
begin
again
in
a
small
town
located
about
twenty
minutes
outside of the place
where
she
grew
up.
Waiting
at
the
conveyor
carousel,
she
picked
up
her
two
bags
and
headed
toward
the
rental-car
section.
With
her
head
pounding
from
jet
lag,
Tandie
took
the
keys
from
the
woman
behind
the
counter
and
mentally
reviewed
her
driving
route.
Turning,
she
collided
with
a
set
of
broad
shoulders.
Her
handbag
fell
to
the
floor,
scattering
the
contents.
Ready
to
offer
a
chunk
of
her
tired
mind,
she
opened
her
mouth
to
complain,
but
stopped
right
away.
Her
victim
was
a
man.
This
wasn’t
just
any
man,
though.
He
stood just under six-feet-tall,
and
had
gorgeous
dark
hair
flopping
over
a
ridiculously
handsome
face.
Dressed
in
a
dark-blue
shirt
and
gray
cargo
pants,
the
man
knelt
down
right
away
to
help
pick
up
her
things.
“I’m
sorry,
ma’am,”
he
said,
collecting
Tandie’s
items,
which
included
tampons
and
panty liners
of
all
things
to
drop.
Their
eyes
met and locked on one another.
His
hazel-green
ones
took
in
her
features
with
one
glance.
Her
stomach
flipped
, a
nd something
hitched in
her
chest
, teasing
her
with
a
vague
memory.
That
muscular
frame
made
him
seem
as
if
he
could
crush
Tandie’s
dainty
little
bag
with
one
good
squeeze.
His
strong
facial
features,
full
lips,
and
dark
olive
skin
made
him
look
Hispanic.
Wow.
Right away she averted her eyes. How long had it been since she noticed another man this way?
Repeat after me: you are no longer married. It is okay to eyeball someone every now and then. Do not feel guilty for being a red-blooded woman.
Tandie
concentrated
on
returning
her
things
to
the
bag.
If
she
were
quick,
then
maybe
he
wouldn’t
see
her
embarrassing
stuff.
Too
late.
He’d
already
picked
up
her
little
green
Always
bag
and
placed
it
back
in
the
satchel
without
even
flinching.
“Here you go, hun. You dropped these,” a woman said as she handed Tandie a handful of tampons. She stood and used her body to block the man’s view while she thanked the woman.
“Don’t worry, I’d drop my lady goodies too if I thought it would get his attention,” the woman whispered just before she released her hold on the tampons and walked away.
Tandie’s body heated. There wouldn’t be a need for tanning now. She was certain her embarrassment warmed up her skin to the point where it matched the woman’s dark suit.
“I’m
such
an
ox,”
he
said in a deep voice.
“You’re
not
the
clumsy
one.
I
should
really
watch
where
I’m
going,”
Tandie
said,
turning back to him and
still
too
self-conscious
to
look
at
his
face.
She
was
aware
of
him
staring
at
her,
even
though
she
couldn’t
figure
out
why
he
was
doing
it.
Her
face
flushed.
Even her naturally tanned skin must’ve turned crimson.