TRUST ME - Chapter One

Sandra

was

a

dreamer. She

always

had

been. Her

mother

used

to

say

her

head was in

the

clouds,

and

if

she

wasn’t

careful,

she

would

fall

to

earth

with

a

very

unpleasant

jolt,

and

sometimes

she

thought

her

mother

might

be

right.

She loved reading

romance

novels

and

fell

in

love

with

the rogue handsome

hero,

fantasizing

that

she

was

the damsel in distress.

She

watched

movies

and

found

herself

reliving

the

love

scenes over, and over again, making herself the heroine. She would dream of faraway lands, where great lovers and erotic passion were her staples of life.

What

Sandra

Dennis

really

wanted

was

an

adventure,

something

to

make

her

humdrum

life

seem

less

boring.

The

sun

from

the

French

Riviera

was

warm

and

luxurious

as

she

basked

under

its

heat

in

her plush lounge

chair. The thrill of traveling abroad was a fantasy that embraced her, for most of her twenty-six years. Shortly after graduating college, she found that fantasy taking on a life of its own. She

spent

the

past

two

years

saving

for

this

vacation,

scrimping

and

pinching

every

spare

dime

she

earned. She

even

moved

back

home,

living

in

her

childhood

bedroom

at

her

grandparents’

house

in

order

to

save

money.

Even

with

all

the

saving,

no

unnecessary

shopping,

no

extravagant

movies

or

dinners

on

the

town,

she

still

wouldn’t

have

enough

money

to

make

her

trip

for

another

year. That was

until

two

months

ago when she

received

a

card

in

the

mail,

a

contest

entry

for

a

two-week

trip

to

the

French

Riviera.

It

sounded

a

little

too

coincidental

for

her

liking,

so

she

threw

it

away. Little did she know her sister

found

the

card

in

the

recycling, when she came over for supper one night, and

filled

it

out

for

her. Lo and behold,

she

won.

No

gimmicks,

no

gym

to

join,

no

real

estate

investor

or

life

insurance

agent

to

listen

to. Pure

and

simple,

enter

and

win. She

had

never

won

anything

in

her

life,

outside

of

high

school

track

meets. She could still feel the excitement tickling her stomach as she thought back on her luck.

Only

two

days

into

her

fourteen-day

trip,

and

she was already

relaxed.

Life

at

this

exact

moment

was

good,

not

a

care

in

the

world

to

disturb

her

tranquility.

She

had

a

tall

glass

of

iced tea sitting

on

the

small

table

next

to

her,

the

iPod

playing

a

variety

of

tunes

in

her

ears,

and

her

Kindle

Fire

hiding

in

the

shade

under

the

chair.

She

didn’t

have

to

remind

anyone

to

be

quiet,

no

children’s

stories

to

read, and

no

school

programs

to

arrange.

She

was

on

her

own,

the feeling of freedom

abundant,

while

she

lay

stretched

out

beneath

the

midday

sun.

Sandra felt like

a

chicken

baking

on

a

rotisserie,

turning

every

fifteen

minutes

to

avoid

sunburn,

but

it

would

be

worth

it

if

it

meant

not

spending

the

rest

of

her

trip

nursing

a

blistering

body

in

her

hotel

room.

Fortunately,

she

had

taken

her

sister’s

advice

and

prepared

her

skin

for

the

trip,

by

taking

advantage

of

the

tanning

booth

at

the

local

hair

salon.

A

month

of

visits,

every

other

day

for

thirty

minutes

at

a

time,

and

her

skin

had

turned

a

nice

brown

so

she

wouldn’t

stand

out

too

horribly

on

the

Mediterranean

beach.

Sandra

knew

she

looked

good;

she

had

worked

very hard the

past

two

years getting her body in shape for the trip of a lifetime. She

lost

fifteen

pounds

and

dropped

three

dress

sizes. In celebration

of

her

new

lifestyle,

she

rewarded

herself

with

a

trip

to

Wichita

to

buy

a

new

wardrobe,

including

the

deep

purple

bikini she now wore.

Not

too

shabby

for

a

girl

from

a

small

Kansas

town.

Hoisington

was

in

the

middle

of

Kansas,

at

the

junction

of

Kansas

Highway

4

and

US

Highway

281

and

sat

directly

on

the

National

Wetlands

and

Wildlife

Scenic

Byway.

This

very

small

town

of

about

three

thousand

residents

had been

home

to

her

family

since

the

late

1800s.

The

town

was

very

proud

of

its

heritage,

and

the

fact

that

their

outdoor

attractions

had

helped

to

develop

eco-tourism

to

the

entire

region

wasn’t

anything

to

sneeze

at.

It

was

at

the

top

of

the

Cheyenne

Bottoms,

a

wetland

of

international

significance

and

home

to

many

endangered

species

of

wildlife.

Okay,

all

that

said

basically

meant

she

was

a

very,

very

small-town girl,

with

bigger

than

life

dreams and

right

now

as

she

soaked up the

warm

sun

of

the

French

Riviera

all

she

could

think

was,

we’re

not

in

Kansas

anymore.

Sandra

lay

with

her

eyes

closed,

even

though

she

wore

a

dark

pair

of

Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Her

iPod

finished

the

playlist

she

was

listening

to,

which

was

being

used

as

a

timer

to

remind

her

to

take

a

break

from

the

beach.

She

really

didn’t

want

to

leave

the

warmth

right

now,

but

she

knew

it

was

important

to

move

out

of

the

sun

for

a

while. Besides,

she

had

signed

up

for

a

scuba

diving

lesson

for

two

o'clock

and

she

had

to

get

ready.

She

reached

over

to

her

iPod

and

switched

it

off

before

removing

the

ear

buds, stretching

her arms above her head like a lazy house cat before

refastening

the

back

of

her

bikini

top,

and

rolling over.

The scent of the sea washed over her, and she sighed, feeling more comfortable than she ever had before. Sandra honestly thought she could stay like this forever. Lazy, relaxed and bathed in the rich luxury of the French resort. She stretched again and opened her eyes, catching sight of the man

watching

from

the

seat

next

to

her. Her heart skipped a beat and all she could do was stare. He was handsome, very handsome, and she felt the sting of a blush coloring her cheeks.

He

was

tanned,

though

a

little

lighter

than

she

was,

his

dark

hair

falling

over

his

brow,

and

his

eyes

hidden

behind

a

pair

of

black sunglasses.

He

smiled

at

her

as

she

openly stared at him. She

could

feel

the color in her face darken several hues as a strange tingle gripped her lower abdomen. He had his

left

leg

stretched

out

on

the

long

chair,

his

right

leg

bent

slightly,

both

were

covered

with

dark

hair

to

match

that of

his

chest

and

arms. Not

so

much

on

his

chest,

just

enough

to

make

him

look

primal

and

rugged.

For several moments all she could do was stare, her heart beat a strange rhythm beneath her bikini, until she realized what she was doing and pulled herself under control. He

must

have

arrived

somewhere

between

Michael

Jackson

and

Abba,

since

she

knew

the chair was vacant

when

she

turned

over

to

her

stomach,

after

Taylor

Swift

and

before

Donna

Summer

fifteen

minutes

ago.

Sandra sat up on the lounge chair, swinging her long slender legs over the side of the cushioned seat as she struggled to regain her composure. She tried not to look as idiotic as she knew she did, eager to escape before she made a bigger fool of herself.

She

must

look

a

fright, she thought as she caught a glimpse of her shadow beside her chair. Her hair was held securely to the top of her head by a clip, a few wisps trailing down the side of her face and back of her neck. She saw the image of herself through her mind’s eye, and felt she looked like an old scullery maid she once read about.

“Hello,”

he

said

in

a

tone

husky

with

amusement.

“Um,

hi…hello,”

she

answered.

Nice,

Sandra,

she

scolded

herself.

If

that

didn’t

make

her

sound

like

an

uneducated

country

hick,

she

didn’t

know

what

would.

“I’m

Creighton

Ashford,”

he

said

in

a

deep

British

accent.

“Hope

you

don’t

mind

if

I

sit

here.”

She

chanced

a

closer

look

at

him

as

he

reclined

in

the

lounge

chair,

thankful

she

was

still

wearing

her

Ray-Ban’s. Damn, he was handsome.