| Copyright © 2009,
Mary
Eason Reviews For A NIGHT TO REMEMBER by Mary Eason 4 Books! “Mary Eason, with incredible description, subtle actions, and poignant love scenes, creates a world for the hero and heroine that excludes the secondary characters for the most part. The reader gets to vicariously experience the emotional upheavals that run the gamut. Also, description of some settings is so real one can feel the cold and wet of the Colorado winter storm and the warmth of Kyle’s picturesque home. A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is a story to remember—a story of a true love that endures. Good!” Camellia, Long & Short Reviews Sample Chapter For A NIGHT
TO REMEMBER by Mary Eason
Emma Dupre had been walking for hours but she wasn’t unaware of it. Any more than she was aware of just how far she’d come in those long hours since Nickie’s funeral. Or that the wet snow had soaked right through her clothing, chilling her skin, the cold sinking through to the bone. She wasn’t aware that her feet ached from keeping up this fast, furious pace she’d been walking. Emma was oblivious to lost hours and to the tears she’d been crying. Nothing at all registered through the numbness. Nothing. Every little thing had stopped meaning anything the moment Nickie drew his last painful breath. At that moment he was gone, along with everything that mattered in life. Dead. Nickie was the only family she had to cling to in more years than Emma could even remember. Best friends since that day eighteen years ago when he’d run his bike into her front yard and they’d become instant buddies. Dead. Nickie had been there with her from that moment, on through all the important moments that followed in life. They’d shared life and death together and as always Nickie was there to lean on. Until now. Just a year ago, they’d been happy, carefree students—until the terrible day that their world spun out of control and they were forced to stop looking beyond the next twenty-four hours. That had been the day Nickie was diagnosed with leukemia. On a whim, they’d packed up and moved hundreds of miles, to the small town of Expect, Colorado. Two crazy kids who didn’t have a clue about life—only it was running short and every moment counted. Time was precious and Emma would do anything to make what was left happy for Nickie. There was no hope, but there was the chance to fill his fleeting life with as much happiness as possible. To fulfill Nickie’s one lifelong wish. He’d had this same crazy ambition since childhood—of seeing the Rocky Mountains. This one last wish she would give him if it cost her everything. Three days ago, it had. Nickie died in her arms in the rented little cabin they shared together for just one precious month. Emma couldn’t ever remember feeling so utterly and completely alone, not even at her parents’ funeral. There’d always been Nickie. Until now. Today, having to say goodbye to the one person who was more than a friend had been harder than Emma could have imagined. It was a tragic end. One that Nickie didn’t deserve. Just Emma and the minister officiating in the run-down cemetery on the outskirts of Expect. How heartbreaking. There’d been no friends, no family. Just a minister who seemed at a loss to know how to begin to help her come to grips with Nickie’s death. December in Colorado. It was cold and bitter beyond belief. By now, early into the month, in this part of the Rockies the snow accumulation came rapidly and unceasingly. Most of the smaller roads leading through the mountain passes were closed until spring. And the men who plowed and worked to keep the remaining roads open and passable as long as possible were extremely busy. The snow that had begun falling unendingly for days now blanketed the mountains and the passes completely. With close to an additional three feet, there were no signs the accumulation would slow down. According to the weathermen and the locals, this winter season had all the makings of being a record-breaking year for both temperature decline and snowfall. While good for the economy and the winter sports season, it wasn’t so good for anyone unfamiliar with the treacherous shift in weather. Here, on this snow-driven deserted back road, Emma didn’t have a clue where she was or where it was she’d intended on going. When she left the cemetery, hours earlier, in spite of the baffled protests of the minister, Emma had simply wanted to put the events of the past week behind her. Now, a coldness gripped at her heart that had nothing at all to do with the snow. Now it was dark. Pitch-dark, with no stars, no moon, no light at all from any nearby houses, and at once Emma felt the completeness of being truly alone settle in around her. She felt as cold and dead inside as the bleak Colorado landscape surrounding her. The sound of a car coming up the steep mountain roadway far too fast for the hazardous winter road conditions forced her at last to see her surroundings for what they were. She was in the middle of nowhere. An open road that could barely be called two lanes and there was absolutely no place that she could go to escape the advancing vehicle except for the snow-filled ditch. Emma saw her shadow loom in front of her and turned as the piercing beams from the headlights of an SUV hit her, momentarily blinding her and mesmerizing her as though she were a deer caught helpless. She closed her eyes against the blinding brightness and heard the driver slam on the brakes hard. The massive SUV skidded across the slippery road, almost landing in the ditch. Somehow the driver managed to keep from hitting her while keeping the vehicle on the road. Emma stood perfectly still, staring into the lights—too shaken to move. For the first time since she’s begun her walk, she actually sensed the cold seep into her consciousness. Her body shook from the effects of the icy surrounds, from the surging fear she’d so suddenly experienced as the vehicle bore down on her. Despite the abject misery blanketing her heart, Emma realized she didn’t want to die alone tonight, on this road. She’d thought life was over after Nickie—but raw instinct told her she was wrong. Emma hadn’t heard the vehicle’s door open—but she couldn’t help but hear the string of expletives the driver used as he came round the front of the vehicle, momentarily blocking the headlight glare from her eyes. She couldn’t make him out at all—he was nothing more than a shadowy figure attached to a voice filled with anger. He stopped just a few feet away from her. “Do you have any idea how close to being killed you just came, lady? What do you think you’re doing anyway, walking out here in the middle of nowhere all alone and dressed in nothing but dark clothing at this time of the night? You could have been flattened just now! I almost didn’t see you. Do you have any idea how many crazy people there are out there just waiting for the opportunity that a woman alone would provide? You could have been killed!” The exasperated tirade of words ended and he stood silently before her, obviously waiting for her to say something—anything. But for the life of her Emma couldn’t think of one thing to say to him. She shielded her eyes against the headlights, unable to move, unable to respond in any way to his fury. “Are you okay?” he asked at her silence. “Are you hurt? Were you in an accident—is that why you’re out here? I didn’t see any car along the road...” He stepped closer, his gaze sliding over her, trying to determine if she were injured in some way. Emma knew there was no way he could miss the way her body trembled with reaction to how close to death she’d come. With a frustrated sigh, he ordered. “Get in the truck.” Impossibly, his voice sounded even sharper than before. “You’re shivering your head off. Get in the truck. We can talk in there just as well and you can get warm.” Emma took an abrupt step backwards, immediately rejecting the idea of being in close proximity with him. But when she opened her mouth to refuse, she discovered she was trembling so much she couldn’t speak, couldn’t assert herself. The events of the last few days, combined with the sudden threat to her life, had rendered her mute. The man’s impersonal fingers circled her arm and pulled her toward the passenger seat of the SUV. His vice-like grasp left her no room to refuse. He opened the passenger door and waited, clearly expecting her to climb up into the vehicle, but it was as if she’d become a bumbling idiot. Emma couldn’t seem to move. With an impatient exclamation, he picked her up and lifted her gently into the cab. Emma had little doubt that physical or emotional weakness had no place in this man’s life—and he wasn’t the type to tolerate it easily in others. Renewed tears filled her eyes, spilling down her cheeks as she tried to wipe them away with fingers numb from the cold. She turned away from the driver, searching the blackness of the Colorado night. The door opened and the man climbed inside, then turned the heater up as high as it would go. A gust of warm dry air stung Emma’s damp face, taking her breath away. The man sat silently beside her as she again tried to stop the tears from falling. She didn’t want to cry in front of him; somehow, the thought of a stranger watching her at her most vulnerable moment was just too painful to think about. “Look at me.” There was a gentling in his voice that had no place in her perception of him. When she refused, uncompromising fingers grasped her chin, turning her to face him. At the sight of her tears, his fingers relaxed against her skin but didn’t let her go. The tears that she had been trying desperately to hide from him had shocked him. His sharp blue eyes went slowly over every detail of her face, and she knew he hadn’t missed the red puffy eyes that spoke in depth of her grief. Her body still trembled from some inner chill that the growing heat of the vehicle’s interior could never overcome. He was staring at her. Emma pulled away, daunted by the pity and compassion she witnessed in what previously she’d thought were the coldest blue eyes she’d ever seen. The man’s unabashed concern for her made Emma feel truly pathetic. Emma turned away, finding her voice at last. “I’m sorry.” The words sounded more like hoarse denial than apology, and she stopped. What am I apologizing to this man for? She tried to concentrate. “I’m sorry...” The same tired words came out again, yet Emma couldn’t bring her scattered thoughts into focus enough to add more to the sentence. She couldn’t. Her voice trailed off. She shook her head. The pitiful words still hung in the silence growing between them. It seemed like an eternity before he spoke again, but his anger was gone. “What’s wrong with you? Who hurt you like this?” He was trying to understand what had happened to her to bring such hopelessness to her eyes. Then, probably realizing she didn’t intend to answer his questions, he pushed on. “Is that how you came to be out here, miles from any house or town? Were you in an accident? If you’re hurt, then tell me so that I can get you help.” Emma’s numbed mind digested his words, trying to make sense of what he was asking. When he spoke again, his frustration was clear in his tone. “Do you have any idea where you are? You’ve been walking on a private road for the better part of a mile now, at least.” The hot, steady stream of air from the vehicle’s heater began to warm her skin through her damp clothing, but still she couldn’t overcome the trembling that went much deeper than physical cold. But at least her mind was starting to come back to life. She finally understood what he’d been asking and knew that she had to answer him before he did something drastic—like calling the police. “No.” She shook her head carefully, the words forming slowly through the chattering of her teeth. “No, I’m not hurt. I’m fine, really. I’m sorry that I gave you such a shock. I hope that your car’s okay.” His exasperated exclamation forced her to turn to him, brushing fingers over the last of her tears. “Damn the car. There’s nothing wrong with the car. I want to know what you’re doing out here alone on one of the worst nights of the year? Do you know that just about every road around is closing even as we speak? The storm’s shutting everything down at least until morning!” Emma didn’t know what she could say in return. She was hollow and aching inside. He was watching her closely, expecting an answer. She couldn’t give him one. “You could have died out here—don’t you understand that? I just got through before the pass was completely shut down. A few more hours and there wouldn’t be anyone along these roads again until the snow plows in the morning and you’d be dead by the time they found you. So, I’m asking you once again—what are you doing out here?” Emma looked at him without saying a word, listening as the truth in his words slowly sank in. He was right. Whatever had possessed her to exorcise her demons today in such a dangerous manner? She could easily be dead or worse... “I’m sorry…” “Stop saying that, and answer the damn question!” He jerked her closer, shaking her. She was inches away from his furious blue eyes—his anger shocking her into silence. All she could do was look at him. “Stop apologizing and just answer me. I’m sure whoever’s waiting for you at home must be out of their mind with worry by now. Do you realize that it’s almost midnight? Is there someone that you need to call, your parents...” Emma’s body froze as she reacted to his words, reminding her again that the only person who cared about her at all was gone. Dead. She didn’t want to share that pain with this man. It hurt too deeply—it had become a part of her now and she didn’t want to give any of it to anyone else. “My parents are dead, and there’s no one...no one else anymore.” “I’m sorry, but you hardly seem old enough to be living on your own. You can’t be more than sixteen. Is there someone you’ve run away from? Foster parents, another relative? You need to tell me.” Emma couldn’t stop the hysterical laughter from bubbling up inside “I’m twenty-one years old—there’s no one else. I live alone. There’s no one to care or be concerned if I don’t return.” The expression in his eyes shifted from doubtful to speculative. He didn’t believe anything she’d told him. “Well, I can’t leave you here and there’s no way any vehicle is going to make it back down that mountain tonight. So what do you suggest I do with you?” He still held her arms. He was far too close for comfort. His penetrating gaze was searching every inch of her face, making her all the more aware of just how dreadfully pathetic she must look. She was soaked to the bone, her short blond curls beneath the drooping black hat were sticking to her face, the black trouser suit and wool coat she’d worn to Nickie’s funeral were wet and cold, and they clung to her skin, no doubt damaged beyond repair. “I’ll be fine. Just let me go. I can walk back the same way I came. I need to go home.” Emma stopped talking, surprised by what she’d just given away, unaware that all the hurt inside of her was displayed right there in her eyes. She couldn’t go home. She had no home to go to. The small rental cabin she and Nickie had shared was a temporary arrangement and certainly not home. She had no home. No place remotely left to call home. “You’re not serious? We’re almost five miles from Expect and not much closer to the nearest house. I’m not leaving you out here to die. I told you before, this is a private road. Actually, it’s my private drive. I live just up this way a little further. I’m taking you home with me. I’ll decide what to do with you in the morning.” He spoke the words mostly to himself. He released her and set the vehicle in motion. The SUV crawled along the snow-and-ice-encrusted road as blinding snow fell harder than ever, making it almost impossible to see anything more than a few feet in front of the vehicle’s headlights. Emma sat beside the man, who gave her only the occasional questioning glance, not speaking at all. Apparently he didn’t want to talk to her any more. Her mind was becoming fuzzy—the
overwhelming exhaustion that came from the weeks of keeping emotions
inside, taking one day, one moment at a time, of coming to terms with
Nickie’s slow death, began to take its toll, coursing through
her body. The endless hours of walking had left her drained of all physical
strength—but far more horrible was the effect of the despair of
losing Nickie. She’d been carrying that millstone for a week.
She wasn’t aware of the sob escaping through her dulled senses, or that the man sitting mere inches away from her turned from concentrating on the road ahead to watch her, feeling the sadness inside of her. Emma closed her eyes tight. She didn’t want to think about anything, she certainly didn’t want to have to talk to the man beside her. She only wanted to shut down the horribly tragic memories of losing her best friend. Wishing only for the peace that nothing short of oblivion would bring. And slowly she became less aware of her surroundings—of the man close to her. Of the snow of the cold Colorado night. Of the cold barren waste that had once been her heart. |