by Ginger Ring
“Are you sure?” The officer pushed his cowboy hat back and placed his hands on his hips. “Lost, huh?”
Rose began walking back up the trail to her car. “Yes. I was heading to Harvest but I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Do you know where that town is?” It was important to keep talking. Talking about anything but what just happened.
“Sure that’s in my jurisdiction. It’s right up the road a few miles. You can’t miss it.” He walked by her side until they reached the car. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale. I’d be glad to drive you there and have one of the other deputies come back for your car.”
“No. Thank you for your help though.” Her mind bewildered with everything that had just happened. She smiled, unlocked the car, got in, and fastened the seat belt. After starting the car, Seth knocked on the glass. Opening the window, a gust of dry wind and dirt grazed her face.
“Are you visiting anyone? I know just about everyone in the area. I’d be happy to give you directions or you could just follow me back to town.”
“No. I’ll be okay. Thanks again.”
“Well, take this.” He reached in his front pocket and handed her a card. “It’s my name and number. You know, just in case.” She tossed the card on the seat without reading it. She had to go before she broke down.
“Thanks again officer, I do appreciate your help.” Rose rolled the window back up. She didn’t want to be rude but all Rose wanted was to be alone and cry. The guy was a dead ringer for Peterson and being around him was just making it harder. Putting the car in reverse, she spun out onto the road, and drove off. The tears started to fall. It was so real. Her body still hummed for his, burned for his.
After only a couple of miles, Rose pulled over to the side of the road. The tears fell so hard she couldn’t see the road. She sniffed and rummaged in her purse for some tissue. The officer’s card fell on the floor. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she focused on the business card. Officer Seth Peterson. What the…?
A siren made her jump about a foot off her seat. A squad car was parked right behind hers. None of this day had made any sense. Her eyes darted to the side mirror. All she needed now was a ticket. For what, she didn’t know. The officer got out of the car. It was him. The same officer that had found her only a moment ago.
Seth watched the car drive away. Watched her drive away. Sweat dotted his forehead. How could he have lived a lifetime in the past few minutes but he had? The locket she dropped felt hot and heavy in his palm.
The reason for stopping there every day finally made sense. He just hadn’t realized it until she was gone. The man that had planted the flowers so many years ago wasn’t some stranger from the past that had spiraled out of control because of his loss. That person was him. He wanted her to see it and return to him. It just took over a hundred years for that to happen.
Seth ran to the squad car and hit the lights. She wasn’t getting away this time. Rose hadn’t gone far. Did she know it was him? Would she think he was nuts? Was she waiting for him? He had to be careful. What if he scared her off and she thought he was the crazy person this time?
He parked behind her car and hit the siren once. She was watching him in the mirror. Getting out of the car, he tucked the sunglasses in his pocket. “Could you get out of the car please?” he instructed her.
Rose got out slowly. His heart lurched. She had been crying. “Rose?”
“Is it you?” she asked before stepping closer.
“Am I who?” Did she remember him or even want to remember him?
“I saw your card. You have the same name as someone I once knew.” She reached out a hand before it fell to her side. “It’s crazy. It was a long time ago. It isn’t even possible.”
“It may not be as crazy as what I just experienced.” He leaned up against the side of her car. “I’ve been stopping at that site every day since I got here. I never knew why until today.”
“Really?” Rose leaned against the car also and gazed into the distance, lightheaded from all that had happened.
“As soon as I saw you I had this feeling that we’d met somewhere before. I just had no idea that it was about a hundred years ago.”
Rose spun to face him. It was him.
“Crazy huh? It was like everything flashed before me in about a minute.” He kept talking. Afraid she would leave if he stopped and questioned anything. “I remember it all. The first time we met. You were riding into town with me on a horse named Kadoka. The time we spent at the cabin. The time we bathed in the river. The time I gave you this,” he handed her the locket, “and lost you forever.”
She clutched the locket to her chest and a tear streamed down her face.
“I was a crazy man. I searched everywhere even though I knew you had left my time never to return. I ran into an Oglala Medicine man. He told me to leave something behind. Something that would show you the way back and we would find each other again.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders and searched her eyes. “I know it is crazy but...?”
Rose sobbed and hugged him tightly. She was trembling. Her blue eyes looked up and her voice was shaky. “Is it really you Peterson?”
Seth laughed. “I don’t really understand it or how it happened but I believe I am. I remember every detail. The whimpering sound you made when I kissed you in the river, the ticklish spot on your hip, and the pink rose tattoo on your lower back. I can’t wrap my brain around it but I know these things.”
She blushed and hugged him again. “So what do we do now, where do we go from here? We’re strangers yet, we aren’t.” Her eyes asked so many questions.
“I have no answers. I only know one thing. I told you I would find you and I did. I’m never letting you go again.” He kissed her. Her lips were soft and yielding. Drinking him in and giving just as much in return.
Next Spring
Butterflies fluttered in Rose’s stomach as she exited the car. They’d returned to the pink rose landmark, this time riding together in Seth’s squad car. Rose clutched his hand tightly. There was no way she would let go. They stopped asking why and only caring about the here and now. As they wandered around the flowers, she couldn’t stop glowing. The whole experience was mind-blowing. How many people got the chance to live two lifetimes?
After finally getting settled in town and in her job they dated all through the winter. They’d had a lot of catching up to do but his first kiss had brought her up to date. It was as if they had just picked up where they left off. Standing in front of the landmark Seth reached in his pocket and she held her breath. This hadn’t gone well the last time they stood in front of this spot. This time it was a ring he held in his hand and not the locket that hung around her neck.
“I can’t wait to begin our next lifetime together. Will you marry me?”
Tears welled up in her eyes and she nodded yes. Seth kissed her again. The sweetness of the kiss touched her heart. Just a few short months ago, she was scared and lost in another time. After more words of love and promises for the future, she finally stopped to read what was written there.
She’d always wanted to read the plaque on the stump but had been too afraid until now. Seth held her hand tightly in his. Rose took a deep breath and focused on the plaque.
The words on the sign were simple, ‘You may be lost but I will find you.’ She turned and smiled at the handsome man by her side. As crazy as their journey may have been, they’d found each other again.
Acknowledgments
The Pink Rose of the Prairie was inspired by my love of history and the desire to experience it firsthand. The breathtaking scenery of the South Dakota Badlands is the background for the story. If you haven’t seen it, you need to.
Other books by Ginger Ring
Genoa Mafia Series
Madison’s Mobster
Crossing Roman
Escaping Ryan
Taken to the Cleaner (Craving Loyalty Anthology)
Destroying Dominic
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Love is a Dangerous Thing Series
The Gangster’s Kiss
The Gangster’s Woman
The Gangster’s Hand
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Red Roses, Black Orchids
Getting Down to Business
Getting Busy for Christmas
About the Author
Ginger Ring is an eclectic, Midwestern girl with a weakness for cheese, dark chocolate, and the Green Bay Packers. She loves reading, traveling, watching great movies, and has a quirky sense of humor. Publishing a book has been a lifelong dream of hers and she is excited to share her romantic stories with you. Her heroines are classy, sassy and in search of love and adventure. When Ginger isn’t tracking down old gangster haunts or stopping at historical landmarks, you can find her on the backwaters of the Mississippi River fishing with her husband.
Contact Ginger!
www.gingerring.com
Hell Yeah!
This book is a part of
Sable Hunter’s HELL YEAH! World
Sable Hunter is a New York Times, USA Today bestselling author of over 60 books in 9 series. She writes sexy contemporary stories full of emotion and suspense. Her focus is cowboys and Louisiana, some with a hint of the supernatural. She aims to write a story that will make you laugh, cry and swoon.
Sable resides in Austin, Texas with her two dogs. Passionate about all animals, she has been known to charm creatures from a one ton bull to a family of raccoons. Sable can be found haunting cemeteries and battlefields
This is her world of magic, alpha heroes, sexy cowboys and hot, steamy to-die-for sex.
Step into the shoes of her heroines and escape to places where right prevails, love conquers all and holding out for a hero is not an impossible dream.
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