Taking Chances: A Donnelley Brother's Novel

by Carbonneau, Alannah

  “This Ranch is located in the Alberta Rockies. Your flight leaves in two days. You will remain at the Ranch until December fifteenth when you will come home for Christmas.” I didn’t speak. I just stared at my father in horror as he continued speaking. “There are plenty of activities within the Ranch you will be able to participate in. They have horse back riding, rock climbing, and white water rafting and...”

  “Dad.” My voice trembled and he stopped talking. I dropped my face into my hands as I spoke tensely. “I’m twenty years old. You can’t just ship me off to live in the wilderness!”

  “Hadley.” There was an utter desperation in his voice that begged for my eyes to lift to meet his. And when I did, my heart stopped. No matter the fact that I wanted to shake him silly, I couldn’t do anything more than watch him. He looked old. His blue eyes were dim, almost gray and the lines I used to see as laugh lines looked more like stress lines.

  I had never seen my strong, happy father, look so desperate. I’d never seen him look so broken. I’d never known his spirit to appear so limp and tired and frightened. Worry fringed his expression as he begged me with his eyes to understand.

  He began speaking again. “I know you’re angry and I know you’re hurting, Hadley.” Tears misted in his eyes and I wanted to fall to my knees and beg for the strength I’d always known my father to possess to come back to him, but I couldn’t move. “Your stay for the next six months has already been paid for. You’ll have your own cabin and I’ll provide you with the money you’ll need for food and supplies and activities. Please, Hadley, I need for you to experience life differently than...” Michael’s name lodged in his throat and my heart seized in pain. “I need you to know something other than the city and the people living in the city. It’s only six months. In six months you’ll know an entirely different way of life.”

  He was starting to ramble and I couldn’t take it any longer, so I said. “Okay.”

  His eyes connected with mine. “Okay?”

  “I’ll go.” I whispered, hating the sadness I felt climbing up my throat. “I’ll go, Dad.”

  In two days, I’d be on a plane to God only knows where.

  Chapter 2

  My flight had landed and true to his word, my father had arranged everything. And I mean, everything. There was a man from a BMW dealership in Calgary who’d met me at the airport with my brand new BMW X5. It was silver and pretty. I liked it - mainly because it was the exact vehicle I had driven at home in Toronto, and it was a little piece of familiarity in a place where there was none.

  The man had assured me that the GPS had been programed with the Ranch’s address and all I had to do was follow the directions. All the while, he had placed my suitcases into the back of the car for me. Now, that was service. Not only had they delivered my new car to the airport, but they’d also programmed my GPS and loaded my suitcases into the hatch. I wondered how pretty a penny my father had paid for this kind of service. Knowing Dad, he’d made it a condition of his buying the car.

  Now, I was on the road. I’d been on the road for what felt like hours and I wondered how much longer I would have to drive over the gravel road I’d found myself on after turning at the sign that read ‘The Donnelley’s - Wild Land Tours’.

  In all honesty, I was confused and frustrated and even a little angry. My brother had died and as though my life hadn’t changed enough, my father had shipped me to Alberta - and even worse - to the wilderness. I had lived my entire life in the city. I knew Toronto like I knew the back of my hand. In the busy streets and exhaust filled air, I was comfortable. I knew people in Toronto. I didn’t know Alberta, and I certainly had never spent more than a day of fun in the wilderness. How in the world was I going to spend the next six months here? Who would I talk to? Would I even make friends? Surely no one stayed at this Wild Land Ranch for as long as my father had booked me to stay.

  Maybe that was his objective all along. Maybe he wanted to make it impossible for me to make friends - because that way there would be no one around to offer me drugs. Who the hell knew?

  The longer I drove, the more angry I became. My Dad obviously didn’t trust me and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t find it in myself to be angry with Mike for everything he’d changed when he died.

  A week ago, I’d known where my life was going to go. I would be given my inheritance at twenty-one - the same time Michael had been given his - and I would purchase a small building that I could put some equipment in. I would own my very own gym, that one day, I would make into a worldwide franchise. Yes, I dreamed big - but at least I had a dream. I had a destination. I’d wanted for something. That was good. I’d always thought people who knew where they were going didn’t often get lost so tragically, but although Mike didn’t know what he wanted to be necessarily, he’d known who he wanted to be. Dead from an overdose on MDMA wasn’t it.

  Now, I didn’t even know what my next five minutes would entail. If I was judging by the last two and a half hours, I’d guess driving, but I still didn’t know.

  The road curved and I felt tears prick my eyes as I slowed the pace of my car to movement that resembled more of a crawl than actual movement.

  I’d made it.

  The Donnelley’s Wild Land Tours site was actually quite beautiful. In the afternoon glow of the late May sun, the wooden cabins and communal hall glimmered almost gold. Gravel roads wound through bright, manicured green grass, and it seemed that nearly every bend in the road, corner, and cabin doorstep was decorated with massive, heavy looking rustic barrels of new flowers and vines. I knew that in only a matter of time, they would be spilling over the sides. The mountains practically surrounded this little retreat where old and new thrived to exist together. I couldn’t help the squeezing of my heart, as I thought about my brother, and how he would have loved this place.

  Unlike me, Michael was always for the extreme sports. I’d never done anything much outside of a gym - it was where I was comfortable - working the machinery and knowing which weight machine worked which muscle.

  I was fit, but I wasn’t overly so. I didn’t have bulging muscles that made my body more masculine than feminine, but I also didn’t strive for that. If I was anything, I was a runner. But I liked to eat - a lot - so my joy of running did more for balancing my body than working it into muscled mass.

  Parking my car in front of the main house with the little sign-in office attached, I pulled my visor down to peek into the mirror. I was checking my deep blue eyes for the residue of tears. Unlike Mom and Mike, I had Dad’s eyes. They were a deep dark blue framed in thick, long, (luckily) dark lashes. I had tan skin that had a natural glow about it I loved and long, wavy, honey blond hair that reached down to the small of my waist.

  As I studied myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but think of Mike. We’d looked alike - well, as much as a brother and sister can look alike. We’d both had high cheekbones, although mine were slightly more rounded. My lips were fuller than Mike’s had been and apart from my eyes, my lips were my Mom’s favorite feature. She always said I had Jolie lips. I had to be the voice of reason and claim, three-quarter Jolie lips. Where my brother and I had differed was in our height - somehow, I drew the short stick when picking genes, because unlike the rest of my family who was five-foot-seven or taller, I was only five-foot-three. But I was portioned just right with a tiny waist that added a hell of a nice appearance to my curves. I had an ass to turn heads (thanks to my running) and a chest I was proud of.

  It was safe to say that I liked my body. I’d never been insecure about it - never. And I liked to empower other women to love their bodies the same way. Work with what you’ve got - and work it good.

  Taking in a deep breath for courage I didn’t feel, I slapped the visor back into place and pushed open my door. I wasn’t exactly dressed for a stay at a Ranch, in my dark skinny jeans, black leather boots, white tank, and cropped black leather jacket. I knew this when a man stepped out from the sign-in shop and stiffened, a frown framing hi
s gorgeous face. I knew it wasn’t a perma-frown because he had been quite handsome when I’d first caught sight of him exiting the shop. Now, he just looked mean and I refrained from shivering, rather working to straighten my spine. His eyes flickered to my car, and a deeper sense of displeasure appeared in his face as he glared back at me once again.

  “Can I help you?” He asked loudly, gruffly, and I had to tense to keep from flinching.

  This man works here? “If you work here, I’m sure you can help me.”

  He raised a brow before crossing thick - intimidatingly thick - arms over his chest. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m here to check in.”

  His eyes did a quick once over on my body before he scowled in serious distaste. “A woman by the name of Gracie didn’t encourage you to come here, did she?”

  “No.” I pinned displeased eyes on the jack-ass of an interrogator. “Are you going to show me where to sign in, or should I figure that out for myself? Either way works for me, bud.”

  The man straightened once again, but this time, his lip quirked. “Aren’t you a little mouthpiece?”

  I tipped my head back an inch, wishing, not for the first time, that I was as tall as everyone else in my family. Height really did a lot when you were trying to be intimidating. “Am I?”

  The man shook his head. “From the city?”

  I shrugged. “It matter?”

  “For your survival out here, probably.”

  “Who says I’m looking for a place to survive?” I asked without thinking before the words were out of my mouth. I snapped my mouth closed as his eyes, already so dark, darkened.

  “You looking for a place not to survive?”

  “I’m looking for a place to sign in.” I said flatly. “I didn’t pay to spend six months here to be interrogated by you.” Actually, I didn’t pay at all - but he didn’t need to know that.

  “Six months?” He practically sputtered and again, he looked me up and down before taking another glance at my car. “You might get a rock to your windshield driving on these roads for six months.”

  I raised a brow of my own. “Uh huh. I probably will.” I leaned in to whisper. “But guess what?”

  He leaned in slightly and growled. “What?”

  “I’d probably get a rock to my windshield driving on city roads just the same.”

  The man leaned away as though appraising me. “Alright little lady, I get it. You can handle yourself out here.” The man pointed to the little shop I’d deemed as the place to sign in and said, “You sign in there. My fiancée Reese is working the desk right now. She’ll give you a key and directions to your cabin. I’m sure a strong woman like you can find your way without help, unless that mouth of yours is all talk?”

  “Do you try to keep all your customers so happy?” I asked sweetly with only a bite of sarcasm in the undercurrents, but I knew he heard it, because he grinned.

  “Nope.” He tipped his chin as he walked past me calling. “Only a select few like you, do I take any interest in.”

  “Uh huh.” I muttered.

  He added over his shoulder, winking. “I don’t know how you came to be here, but I know it wasn’t happenstance. You’re going to change things - and by way of your attitude, I think you’re the perfect woman for the job.”

  I didn’t know what he meant by that, but he was walking away, so I decided that our spitting of nails was over - until next time. Shaking my head, I grinned as I took the steps of the now confirmed check-in shop. My heeled boots clapped against the wooden stairs, and for the first time in my life, I wished I hadn’t worn heels. They really had no place here, but I didn’t torture myself with things I couldn’t change as I pulled open the door and stepped through. The scent of apple and cinnamon hit me hard and my eyes zeroed in on a mug of steaming water - that had four, nope, five bags of tea sitting in the cup.

  Holy, in the name of excess - my thought was cut off by a woman’s voice.

  “I know it smells in here - but he won’t let me drink coffee and I just needed something strong and this tea is great!”

  My eyes flickered from the overly excessive mug of tea to a little brunette woman who was sitting behind the desk in a comfortable chair. I could see she was sitting with her legs crossed, and her socked feet were shoeless. It wasn’t only the lack of shoes that struck me as odd, but it was the fact that the socks she wore were a bright blue and fluffy! I felt as though I were looking at the cookie monsters feet, rather than a woman’s - and even more importantly, a woman working the desk of the Wild Land Ranch I was supposed to be staying at for the next six months!

  I mean, the people here were weird! The man outside had been less than accommodating and even less welcoming. I was willing to bet that this blue socked, apple cinnamon tea drinker - or hoarder - was his fiancée. Did I say weird? Seriously, was it something in the water?

  “I’m Reese, it’s nice to meet you?” Her words dropped off in a question for my identity.

  Yep! She was the interrogators fiancée. Great, the people here really were nutty.

  “I’m here to check in.” I said before giving her my name and smiling forcedly. I really did not want to be here. “Hadley Grades.”

  “Oh great!” She beamed excitedly. “You’re the one here for six months! Oh, that is soooo awesome!”

  Whoa, so her fiancé was a total ass and she was friendly as a kindergarten teacher. Again, weird!

  “Yeah.” I flashed another smile, although I was sure this one let her know how uncomfortable I was. “That’s me.”

  “Oh.” Her smile fell a little. “I suppose I’ll get you your key. Logan, my fiancé is just outside - he never wanders very far from me while I’m here - he will get you settled into your cabin.”

  “Yeah, I met him.” I said dryly. “He’s a real gem that one!”

  She cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. Then her eyes dragged over me in much the same way her fiancés had. I shifted uncertainly and wondered fleetingly if this crazy Wild Land Tour place housed a bunch of psychotic people. And my Dad was afraid I’d try drugs in the city. Ha!

  “Was he an ass?” She didn’t let me answer as she huffed. “It’s obvious you’re from the city. Pay Logan no mind he’ll warm up to you eventually. He always does.” She waved it off, but I had a feeling she was going to chew into the man later. Damn, I almost felt bad for the sucker. “When I first met Logan, the man made me question what I was doing here.”

  “He has that effect on people.” I replied smartly, again, before I’d thought the words through.

  Thankfully, Reese laughed. It was a real and full laugh and I felt the defenses I desperately wanted to remain in place weaken in their stand. Oh, I didn’t want to like it here. I wanted to get these six months done and over with so I could return to the live I’d always planned on living.

  “You’re funny!” She laughed again. “I like you.”

  “Hmm.” I didn’t know what to say to that. As I said, I didn’t want to like her. “Can I um, get my key? I had a long trip and I’m pretty tired.”

  “Oh crap!” She palmed her forehead. “I swear, pregnancy brain is killing me.”

  “You’re pregnant?” I felt my brows rise as my eyes dropped to her belly. Her sweater was a bit baggy, so I couldn’t see a belly, but the woman was tiny.

  “Yeah, almost four months.” She smiled softly as she rubbed her belly, flattening the sweater over what I could see was a perfectly round stomach. “I’m so excited!”

  This time, my smile was real and when I spoke, my voice croaked. “Congratulations.”

  Reese’s honey colored eyes settled on me and her smile waned. “Thank you, Hadley. A year ago, in May, I was a ruin. Finally, because of this Ranch, I’m in a good place.”

  I don’t know what possessed me to ask her, but before I could stop myself, I’d spoken. That seemed to be happening a lot lately - my mouth running before my brain had a chance to play catch-up. “Why were you a ruin?”

>   “Two days from now, on May twentieth, two years ago, my first husband passed away in an accident on his way to work.” Her eyes misted, but she smiled through her emotion. “I contacted the Ranch last year in May, desperate to find somewhere to heal my broken heart. I felt so impossibly hopeless...” her eyes pleaded with me to understand - little did she know, I did. Michael had passed away on May ninth. That was nine days ago. Nine days ago, when my brother stole my sandwich, was the last time I would ever see him.

  My eyes misted and my throat felt tight. Reese noticed and something that resembled familiarity flashed in her eyes and her fingers pressed against her lips.

  “Oh!” she gasped. “Oh, Hadley...”

  I shook my head, mainly because I couldn’t speak.

  Reese continued. “I’ve been here since August last year. As uncomfortable as you must be right now, please know that the people here are friendly. I won’t ask you any questions, because I know how painful they can be - but I want you to know I’m here for anything you need. All you have to do is call.” She slid a card with her number on it over the counter and with shaking fingers I pushed it into my pocket.

  “Thanks.” I whispered and I meant it.

  Chapter 3

  After Reese had given me my key, I’d made my way through the winding roads lined in tall trees to the cabin I’d seen on the map she’d also given to me. After debating on whether she wanted to place me beside the river or the horse stables, I’d spoken up and asked that she place me next to the water. It was apparent that there was a choice between the two and I’d always been a lover of water. Never in my life had I ridden a horse and I didn’t know if the stables would smell bad. It was a no brainer choice - water was best.

  Reese had assured me that I had the cabin that was closest to the river and also most private - which I appreciated. Apparently, my cabin was the one they tried not to rent if they didn’t have too as it was closest to one of the Donnelley brother’s house. I had no idea where the house was, but I assumed if I took a walk down the road that passed by my cabin, deeper into the woods, I would find this house.