Excerpt from Vows of Love coming soon....
A Spirited Heart
August 1984
The clouds
were approaching on the
horizon. Mark was willing to wait. Even if the clouds rolled in and discharged
a torrent of rain. No amount of rain was going to stop him. As the gray clouds
gathered, a menacing wind swept through his hair. He ran his hand through his
unruly hair, he meant to look his best – not that the weather was helping
him in his cause. He looked in the distance to see if someone was approaching.
“Where was she, had she decided to come meet him here or not?” His
nerves were driving him crazy. But he would wait, he had to see her.
He had dismounted his horse and tied
it to a Spruce tree near the cabin. And then he proceeded to walk to the porch
where he anxiously scanned his surroundings. He knew a strong storm was
approaching. Would she make it all the way to the cabin before the storm hit?
Their plan had been a precarious one. She would meet him at his cabin some five
miles away from his ranch house – Ranch Luzerne. There she would hide out
until he could figure out the next move. But what would that next move be? How
the hell was he going to survive one night with her? Probably the fires of
Hades would consume him from the inside out. He wasn’t going to touch
her. He considered just leaving her on her own at the cabin but with this storm
he couldn’t do it. And it was the perfect excuse to stay near her. Just being
in the same room with her would have made him happy and now he knew he would be
spending the night in the cabin with her. He would keep his distance. She would
have the bed and he would sleep on the floor, it would work- somehow.
Izobelle was making her way to the
cabin. Her heart was hammering in her ears. She couldn’t believe that she
had pulled it off! Just strolled right out of the ranch, with the thunder storm
approaching no one had noticed she was leaving. She and Mark had made a very
simple plan. They hadn’t planned on a storm but it turned out to be the
perfect cover. Thinking back meeting Mark was the best thing that could have
happened to her.
Two months earlier she had been at a
cattle sale with her father Russell Montgomery. As usual she was guarded by
her father’s cow hands. They all knew to stay away from her and to keep
everyone else away as well. But there he was, among all the raucous of the
market. His brown hair glistening in the afternoon sun, his skin as if kissed
by the warmest caramel light made him look like an angel in a mirage.
Watching him was like watching the
calm right before the storm. Resting his hand on the picket fence that held
the livestock she could see his muscular hand and forearm showing from his
rolled up sleeve. It was obvious he was a man who worked hard; the shirt and
pants he wore made his body look like a living representation of those Greek
gods she had only read about in history books. Pure chiseled marble come to
life. She had never seen a man like him. The man was in deep conversation
with one of the men in charge of the market. Her Greek god must have been at
least as tall as her father who was six feet two inches, from what Izobelle
could see. She deduced this because he towered over the other man. They must
have been negotiating a price for the cattle, which was all the men did at the
market. Whatever the outcome of the conversation was it must have been
favorable for the golden Adonis.
He flashed the stocky man a smile of
triumph. What a smile it was. Two perfect rows of white teeth framed by the
most sensual lips she had ever seen on a man. And in that moment he must have
felt her stare because for some reason the stranger looked right at her. They
were only fifteen feet away. But in that instant it was like all seized to
exist. Her breath caught in her throat. His eyes fixed on her face searching
for some sort of recognition. She could see the question in his eyes
“who is she?” She managed to smile and he smiled back, her heart
skipped a beat. “Who in the world was that?” she said under her
breath. Before she could get her answer she was yanked back to reality. Her
father was dragging her by the arm to his Bronco.
“What is wrong with you? I was
asking you a question.” demanded Russell Montgomery.
“Sorry dad, I was just looking
at the cattle. They are really magnificent. Were you able to purchase what you
came for?” Izobelle replied nervously.
Russell looked as his daughter, at his
trophy, at his prize. Surely to have such a beautiful daughter was a reward.
Izzy sat quietly; she knew what to say and what not to say to keep her father
at bay. Russell had a mean temper. Last summer he had a man beaten so badly
he almost lost an eye just because he looked at her and gave her a compliment.
Izzy always knew her father was tough but never vicious. When she wanted to go
to town with her friends he rarely let her go. She was only allowed to go if
accompanied by her older brother Charles or by one of the men he trusted.
During high school and college she was always guarded, it was as if she was
untouchable. As a result, no guy would even dare date her. They knew they
would first have to go through Russell before they could even hold her hand.
It was crazy but it was the way things were.
