Kathryn Delroy was in her element. All those years of fishing with her dad and
brothers had given her the background to be here. She wore a grin a mile wide as she
watched the salmon leap through the water in their quest for a bed for their eggs. It
was late June and right in the middle of spawning season. The air was crisp and the
sun warm like a hot towel after a massage. She laughed at herself for comparing a
trip to the spa to this more rustic experience. All the men in her group were taking
wagers on who would get the biggest catch and deciding who would net, de-hook, and
clean Kathryn’s catch. She ignored them. Let ’em laugh. First rule of Team Building,
never underestimate the power of your team members. Isn’t that what they said in the
conference? That was right before the guys all spent half an hour deciding where to go
to happy hour. Ha, these guys hadn’t got a clue.
Kathryn stood with her hands on her hips. The river rushed past, lapping white water
waves at the shore near her feet. It kind of reminded her of her life, always in a
hurry. She tilted her head up and closed her eyes briefly to bask in the sun’s warmth.
She was up for this challenge, more so than these guys knew. After all, she was sans
one over-controlling fiancé and it was her time to take life by the horns. Yeah. Time
to be her own person.
The lower Kenai waters churned so heavily that sometimes the water took on a pink hue
from the multitudes of fish steaming by like soldiers on a crusade. Kathryn hadn’t
been salmon fishing before but she was more than ready to try.
“Where the hell is Tito?” James Wallace asked. James was a manager from their San
Diego office and looked every bit the native Californian with his long straggly hair
pulled back in a super-short ponytail and wire-rimmed glasses, obviously worn only to
make a statement. He was wearing all the right outdoor gear and carrying a backpack
over one shoulder. His look wasn’t favored by the executives though, and he’d been
given more than one “talk” about professional appearance, which he politely ignored.
Apparently, his view was that California had their own rules, and he preferred to
follow them. Since his office remained profitable and sales steadily stayed at the top
of the list for their divisions, Kathryn assumed he was given latitude with his
appearance. For now. She marveled at how different he’d become since he moved.
“Tito?” asked Zak, one of the manager trainees from L.A. “That’s the new guy, right?
“Yeah, that’s me,” said a voice behind them. And that’s when Kathryn saw little Thomas
Ryan, all grown up into a big boy coming down the bank, also with a backpack over his
shoulder. “Hey Kathryn.” Thomas grinned. “I heard you were going to be here.”
Kathryn’s mouth dropped open as the man approached. “Thomas? Thomas Ryan?” Could it
really be the skinny guy that graduated with her brother and had been at her house
most of his junior and senior year?
Shelley K. Wall was born near Kansas City, the middle daughter of three. She is a
graduate of Oklahoma State University with additional post graduate work there and at
the University of Wyoming extension in Casper. She also holds a length career in
Information Technology.
Shelley enjoys writing characters that deal with drama in a humorous way, situations
that are believable even if intense, heroes and heroines that aren’t perfect, and
villains that may have an inkling of redemption hidden away.
Website | Blog | Twitter
Kathryn Delroy thinks the management training session she’s been asked to attend
will be a dream come true. The excitement hits a new level when an old family friend,
Thomas Ryan, shows up as well.
When the training ends, their passion for each other finds them stranded in a cabin in
the Alaskan mountains - a cabin that belongs to a wanted fugitive. When they discover
documents that identify illegal activities, they panic and report what they’ve found
to the FBI.
Kathryn and Thomas end up on a dash for their lives, protected by federal agents. The
man believed to be chasing them is contracted to manipulate political and financial
agendas through physical violence - and death.
Cross-country travels and high-stakes mountain adventures are only part of the trials
they face as they attempt to build a relationship and stay alive.
This is a new release of a previously published edition.
No comments posted.