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CHAPTER 24
Ana
I toss a stick across the yard and Casper bounds after it gleefully. He hasn't quite mastered the art of returning the stick, but it's a start. He wanders over to where Ryan is hammering away at the frame for the greenhouse, stick clamped firmly between the puppy's teeth. Ryan looks up from his work and reaches for the stick, engaging in a game of tug-of-war that ends with Ryan gently scolding the puppy for not relinquishing the item as requested. Casper looks appropriately shamed until Ryan throws the stick for him and he races out across the yard again. Ryan wipes his brow with his sleeve and looks over at me.
"Want to take a break from that?" he asks, indicating the task I've been working on: tilling the soil for our new garden."Do I ever," I reply, happily throwing down the shovel. The soil around the cabin is rocky. Preparing the earth for the garden is proving more diRelated chapters
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 25
Ryan"How about here?" Ana asks, spreading her arms out wide and twirling. The stuffed backpack causes her to lose her balance and nearly spin out of control. She giggles and her cheeks look a little pink. I can't tell if she's embarrassed or just warm.I look around, inspecting the meadow she's picked for our impromptu summer solstice camping trip. Her Midsummer's Eve party, as she's been calling it since she talked me into this trip yesterday. Casper frolics around her feet, his white fur quickly becoming brown in the dirt and mud. Ana smiles up at the sun shining down on us from high in the sky. For a moment, I just watch her bathe her face in sunlight, her smile shining as radiantly as the sun. She looks back at me expectantly."This is fine," I say quickly, walking past her to unpack the tent.She sighs happily behind me. "Isn't this weather so great?" she asks."It's
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 26
AnaI pull the last stubborn weed out of the tomato patch and toss it on the heap for Ryan's compost pile."I have another offering to the compost gods," I call to him.Casper scrambles to his feet at the sound of my voice and watches me warily from the other side of the electric fence. Ryan installed the fence soon after the little garden was planted to keep critters out. Casper found himself included in the list of animals repelled by the sharp sting of the current running through the fence only a few hours later. I'd like to say Casper learned his lesson, but it wasn't until two more zaps that he finally developed a respect for the barrier.Ryan emerges from the shed and wordlessly gathers up the biomatter I've set aside for him. He spares me a slight glare for my teasing comment. I laugh at his annoyance, which I'm pretty certain is mostly a farce. He ducks his head, but I catch what might be a small quirk at the co
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 27
Ryan"What do you mean, today's your birthday?"Ana's hands are on her hips in a display of annoyance.I blink twice and cock my head slightly to the side."I mean, exactly twenty-seven years ago, I was born," I say, not sure what she's getting at."Ryan," she says in exasperation, her voice taking on a sing-song quality with a bit of a whine. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She reaches out and pushes my left shoulder gently in a playful gesture.For the briefest moment, she reminds me so much of Saph that I tense. Saph used to do that, to whine and say "Ryyyaaaan" any time she wasn't getting what she wanted."I could have made you a birthday cake," she says, sounding regretful. "A chocolate one. With this amazing icing my mom used to make that was borderline fudge. Fudge, Ryan! Fudge!"Her words suggest annoyance, but her demeanor says otherwise. Her face is spl
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 28
AnaSomething wakes me up early in the morning. I squint at the dim light filtering in through the curtains and look at the clock on the bedside. It's just before 4 am. Why am I awake?Casper is awake too, looking at me like I just kicked him."I don't know, pupito , it wasn't me," I tell him. He doesn't look convinced.Casper's ears prick and I look up as an odd sound breaks the early morning quiet. I frown and climb out of bed, moving quietly toward the doorway. As I open the door, I hear the sound again, something between a moan and a cry of pain. It's coming from the couch.What if Ryan's having another night terror? Dread fills my stomach. As I rush over to his side, his cries become more frequent and more distressed. I gasp when I reach him. Ryan is clawing at the right side of his face with both hands, his cries of pain bordering on scr
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 29
Ryan"It's the seventh?"I look up to see Ana staring at me with wide eyes. I'm listening to the weather radio broadcast and the monotone robotic voice just announced the current date and time."Yes?" I say, wondering why that's so hard to believe.Any semblance of light, joy, or happiness drains from Ana's face. Her expression reminds me of her demeanor when I first met her - a darkness inside her soul that threatened to drag her down into despair at any moment."What is it?" I ask.Ana hugs her arms against herself. "It's Julie's birthday." Her expression becomes tight with anger."Oh," I say, not knowing how else to respond. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."Ana doesn't say anything else. Wordlessly, she stalks over to the gun cabinet, pulls out her rifle, handgun, and ammo for both. Without looking at me, she heads outside.After a f
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 30
(November 17, one year ago)"I just landed and I'm going to pick up my bag now. I'm in Terminal 3."The bright-eyed, widely-smiling college student walked quickly down the concourse in the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Her complexion suggested that she spent considerable time outdoors, but the parka she held over one arm stated otherwise. As she finished her call and shoved her cell phone into the back pocket of her jeans, she flipped her hair to the other side of her head and ran a hand through the hair at her crown. Dark curls cascaded over one shoulder and across her back. She'd flown over two thousand miles that afternoon and her hair definitely showed it.When a car pulled up by the Terminal 3 exit doors, she was greeted enthusiastically by a middle-aged man wearing a Hawaiian shirt, cut-off jeans, and flip flops."What, no socks to complete the outfit?" she asked jokingly.Her father grinned at he
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 31
Ana POVA strange noise sounds in the kitchen. We both turn and stare at the satellite phone sitting on the kitchen counter. It's ringing. I've never heard the ringtone before. No one's ever called it. Ryan doesn't move, so I stand and pick it up. The number isn't one I recognize, though something seems vaguely familiar about it.I turn to look at Ryan, who hasn't moved an inch."It's for you," I say, holding it out to him.He hesitates before coming over to me, taking the phone, and answering it.I can't hear distinct words in the feminine voice on the other end, but clearly it's something or someone significant. Ryan's eyes flash with a burst of anger I've never seen in him before. The knuckles of his hand gripping the phone begin to turn white."Why are you calling me?" he says in a low, tight voice. He turns away from me, his shoulders
Risks Of Loving You CHAPTER 32
Six men trudged through the deserted streets of an abandoned Afghani village. A hot, dry desert wind blew intermittently, occasionally catching a tassel or an untucked corner of someone's shemagh and battering it about.This was just a routine reconnaissance mission. The bombed-out, deserted village had previously been occupied by the Taliban until an intense conflict had driven civilians from their homes and eventually left the town largely uninhabitable. No activity had been sighted here for months, but this small unit of soldiers had been deployed to examine the ghost town more thoroughly."Well, would you look at that, boys," said one of the soldiers who sported a cocky grin. "A whole lotta nothin'. Looks like the Chairborne Rangers have sent us on a fool's errand yet again.""Just because intelligence hasn't reported any activity out here, that doesn't mean there's nothing to find. Stay alert, Thompson.""Look around! There's NOTHING here."The soldier
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