Destroyed dreams, p.1
Destroyed Dreams, page 1
Copyright Notice and Disclaimer
Destroyed Dreams
By Jessica Gray
Copyright © 2013 Jessica Gray
Kindle Edition
This book is copyrighted and protected by copyright laws.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission from the author.
All characters, names, and places in this book exist only within the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or locations is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzzzzzEeee.
Rolling over in the bed, Melissa Taylor raised her hand up to her forehead and pushed her tangled hair up and off her face.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
“What in the world?“ groused Melissa. Sitting up a little farther in the bed, she glanced over at the side table, locating the alarm clock. “6:30 in the frickin’ morning – someone had better be dying or they’re dead.“
The noise stopped momentarily. She listened for a few seconds, and then released a huge sigh and had just scooted back down in bed, when...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzEeeeeeeee. ZzzzzEeeeeeeeeeee.
Rushing from the bed, Melissa ran through the bedroom door, frantically looking around for the source of the sound. She had to make it stop.
Looking back and forth through the wall of windows, which occupied most of the ground floor, she finally saw the perpetrator of her disrupted sleep. UGH! It was wearing jeans that had seen better days, a worn flannel shirt, and was holding some sort of electric tool. The offending item appeared to be a drill and was responsible for the awful noise, which had awakened her.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzzzzzEeeeeeee. ZzzzzzzzzzzzzEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Rushing to the front door, she ran out onto the deck of her uncle’s cabin and began shouting at the offending man with the power tool.
“STOP! STOP!“ she shouted. Incredulously, the man didn’t even lift his head, but just kept doing whatever he was doing. Looking around, she located the electrical outlet with a large orange extension cord plugged into it.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Quickly moving in that direction, she grabbed the cord and yanked it from the socket.
Zzzzzz..........
Melissa smiled smugly as she watched the man slowly stand up and look at the tool in his hands. He turned it different directions, and even tried unplugging the cord several times. When it didn’t turn back on, he reached behind him and gave the extension cord a tug. Not prepared for a slack cord, he wasn’t prepared for the cord to give, and lost his balance, going down to one knee with a curse.
Melissa started edging her way back towards the door of the house as the man quickly picked himself up off the deck, setting the drill down in the process and turned towards the outlet.
She was just about to reach the relative safety of the doorway, when he caught her movement out of the corner of his eye and whipped around, pinning her in place.
As she watched, the man took in her appearance from the top of her head, to the sole of her feet. His perusal caused an unfamiliar heat to travel through her body, but she was used to men’s stares and gave as good as she got.
She took in the tousled hair, the several days’ growth of beard, the aviator sunglasses and the strong chin. Moving her eyes downward, she saw that the worn flannel shirt covered an impressive chest, and where his shirt sleeves were rolled up his arms, she could see a sprinkling of golden hair covering very tan arms. His hips were trim and his jeans fitted him like a glove; everywhere.
As her eyes reached below his hips, he shifted his weight, making her aware of her stare. Quickly raising her eyes, she watched as he removed his sunglasses and a smirk took over his very kissable lips.
A smirk? Who was he smirking at? He had some nerve. Opening her mouth to tell him off and get him off her uncle’s porch, he only smiled at her and shook his head before gesturing back to her.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but get...,“ Melissa paused as his grin grew even bigger. Not sure, what he was finding so amusing, she placed her hands on her hips; her very naked hips.
Glancing down she realized why the strange man was openly grinning at her. She was completely naked, and to make matters worse, Melissa had always had a bad habit of talking with her hands. The obnoxious man had gotten a good glimpse of her everything.
Quickly covering her chest with one arm and shielding her crotch with the other, she took refuge behind one of the deck chairs. She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks and chest, and her breathing had become quick and shallow, but this was still her uncle’s cabin and this man had to leave. NOW!!
The man’s smirk returned at her attempt to cover her body. He grinned even more when he realized that she wasn’t aware that he was getting a perfect view of her backside thanks to the reflection from all of the windows. He let his eyes travel up and down the woman who was simply gorgeous - in a prickly cactus sort of way. She looked like one of those “look, but don’t touch” types. Crossing his arms over his chest, he decided to wait her out and see what would happen next.
Melissa couldn’t believe this arrogant man had seen her naked. And now, he just stood there, as if he was waiting on her to invite him in to tea.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Pack your stuff up and leave these premises immediately.“ She so wanted to stomp her foot at him, but having become aware of her shoeless feet, she had also become aware of the weathered wood on the deck. A splinter would just make the morning all the better!
Robert Cooper looked at the irate beauty and could see the effort it was taking her to maintain her self-control. He just couldn’t resist stoking the fire and slowly shook his head at her. He didn’t say anything; he just smiled and shook his head at her demands.
Melissa’s mouth dropped open when he began to shake his head at her. She had just given him a direct order to leave the premises and he looked like he was getting ready to laugh at her. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, she tried again, “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but my uncle owns this cabin and I want you to leave. I won’t tell him you were here, doing whatever you were doing, but if you don’t leave immediately, I’m going to call the authorities and have you arrested for trespassing.“ Not able to hold back this time, Melissa stamped her foot, only to cringe when she felt a small piece of wood pierce her tender arch. Great!
When the man just continued to grin at her, she quickly whirled around and hobbled into the cabin. Grabbing the first piece of cloth she could find, an old rain jacket hanging on the coat rack, she quickly donned it while shutting and locking the door.
After ascertaining that she was safe for the moment, she grabbed the cordless phone and quickly dialed 911.
“911, please state the nature of your emergency.“
“There’s a strange man doing some sort of work on my uncle’s cabin. He’s not supposed to be here and he won’t leave.“
“Ma’am, could you please give me your address and name? “
“My name’s Melissa Taylor, and I don’t know the exact address. It’s a cabin up the road from the town a little ways. Green metal roof and wrap-around porch.“ Melissa couldn’t believe she had forgotten the address, of all the stupid things to do...“There’s a lake not far from here if that helps?“
“Ma’am, are you by any chance Charlie Taylor’s niece? “
“Yes! Yes, I am. Could you please send the police or somebody to make this man leave?“
Melissa had wrapped her arms around herself as she watched the man outside return to his task.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzz. Zzzzzz.
Turning her back on the sight, she continued, “He’s at it again.“
“Who’s at what again?“
“The strange man on the porch! Haven’t you been listening?! He’s using some sort of drill out there. I told him to stop, but he’s at it again!“ Melissa took another deep, slow breath. She was sounding hysterical even to her own ears. How must the person on the other end of the phone be interpreting her anxiety?
“Ma’am, Sheriff Brown is right here and would like to talk to you. Okay?“
Melissa felt a sense of relief to hear that an officer of the law was already aware of her predicament. “Sure, that’s fine. Please put him on.“
“Miss Taylor? Or is it Missus?“
“Miss Taylor is fine. Officer, there’s this strange man on my uncle’s porch. He woke me up with these loud drilling noises and...“
“Miss Taylor, calm down please. The man’s name is Robert Cooper, and believe it or not, it’s common for handymen around these parts to get started early in the morning.“
“I don’t really care what’s common, or what his name is for that matter, I just want him gone. I want to press trespassing charges. Now, come arrest him!“
“Well, Ma’am there might be a slight problem with your request.“
“Look here, I’m an attorney, and I know my rights. This man is trespassing and I want him arrested.“ Melissa couldn’t believe the sheriff was actually arguing with her over doing his sworn duty. She would have to inform her uncle that someone else should be elected town sheriff when his term expired. The man was evidently lazy.
“Ma’am? Do you own the cabin? I was under the impression your Uncle Charlie was the property owner?“
“What’s that got to do with anything? I want this Robert person gone. Now!“
“Ma’am, according to a conversation I had with your uncle a few days ago, he hired Robert to do some repairs on the deck and cabin. He has every right to be there. I’m not going to waste my time arresting a man for doing what he was hired to do.“
“My uncle didn’t say anything about work being done on the cabin.“ Why hadn’t her uncle warned her there would be some stranger lurking around the cabin while she was staying her?
“You’ll just have to take that up with your uncle, Miss. Now, if that was everything, I’ll welcome you to town and bid you a good day.“ Not hearing a response, the sheriff disconnected the call.
Melissa heard the phone disconnect, and looked at it for a moment. The man had a right to be here. No way was this going to work. She would need to call her uncle and get things straightened out. Glancing at the clock as she began to dial her uncle’s number, she saw that it was only 6:55 a.m.; too early to wake him up. She would call him as soon as it reached 8 o’clock and then she would be able to start relaxing.
Chapter 2
The lights suddenly came on for Melissa; this local sheriff was going to do nothing at her request because she didn’t actually own the cabin. Her uncle had insisted she spend the last few weeks of her sabbatical up here, relaxing and recuperating. Knowing her uncle, he probably didn’t even remember that the handyman was going to be working on the cabin during her stay.
Melissa worked for a high-powered family law group, and two months previously had made a slight error in dealing with a client. Well, she considered it slight. However, the law partners and the judge where the episode had occurred had been less than pleased with her complete meltdown during the final proceedings of a particularly nasty divorce case.
She had become so fed up with the antics of her client and the greediness the woman had shown towards her husband, she had lost it, right there in the courtroom. She had begun yelling and lecturing the woman on what a poor excuse for a woman and wife she was, had accused her of manipulating the court and being a money-grabber. She had been on such a roll, that she had completely ignored the orders from the judge to cease her tirade and retake her seat.
The judge’s response had been to have the bailiff physically remove her from the courtroom and place her under arrest for contempt. After spending a less than comfortable night in jail, the senior partners had sent her secretary to bail her out. They had requested that she immediately meet with them in the office.
She had been instructed to take a several months sabbatical, with pay of course, and see if she could find a new perspective for dealing with her cases. They allowed her to excuse her behavior away based upon an extremely heavy caseload, and many high dollar clients at that. The stress had become too much for her, as she never quit working. It was not unusual for Melissa to put in 70 hours a week at the office, plus time spent in the actual courtroom.
She had been offered, no...ordered was more like it, to get her stuff together before returning. She only had a few weeks left before she was to meet with the senior partner to discuss her return. Unfortunately, she had not found any peace or been able to relax at her apartment. When her uncle had offered her the use of his cabin, she had reluctantly agreed, knowing that if she didn’t relax soon, she wouldn’t have a chance of convincing the senior partner she was ready to come back to work. That meant she more than likely would no longer have a job.
Glancing out the wall of windows again, she saw that Mr. Cooper continued to work with his power tool on the deck. Turning to hang up the phone, she stepped wrong and was reminded of the splinter, which was even now lodged in the arch of her foot. Gingerly navigating her way back to the bedroom, she sat down on the corner of the bed to assess the damage. She carefully removed the splinter and then regretted not having grabbed some tissues or a cloth before doing so. Immediately upon removing the splinter from her flesh, a small drop of blood formed and continued to grow. Not wanting to stain the carpets with drops of blood, Melissa hopped into the adjoining bathroom and held a damp washcloth to the area for a minute.
With the bleeding under control, she glanced up only to take notice of her reflection in the bathroom mirror. No wonder Mr. Cooper had smirked at her. She could have been the poster child for a bed-head campaign with her hair sticking straight up in places and plastered to her skull in others. She had been so exhausted upon her arrival the night before, she had gone to bed without bothering to remove her makeup and this morning was sporting two eyes surrounded by black smudges. Her lipstick had not survived the night either, it was mostly off, and smeared across one of her cheeks.
Deciding to use the next hour to her advantage, she turned the water on in the Jacuzzi tub and added some bath salts. She couldn’t contact her uncle for almost an hour, so she would treat herself to a soak in the large bathtub and collect her thoughts for the day to come. One way or another, Mr. Cooper had to leave.
Pulling her hair up into a haphazard ponytail, she let the rain jacket fall to the floor as she stepped into the water. Sinking down into the warm water, she let out a sigh and rolled her shoulders. Leaning back against the side of the tub, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander.
******
Robert Cooper was a man who had many regrets. As he continued to replace loose boards on the deck and tighten those still usable, he thought about the gorgeous woman who had just been screaming at him. She was something else; stacked up top and curvy in all the right places. He wasn’t sure about her facial features as they had been obscured by the remnants of yesterday’s makeup, but he would bet they were perfect. Her hair needed a little help as well, but the deep auburn color was beautiful next to her alabaster colored skin. She probably looked rather nicely cleaned up.
He whistled as he continued working. He had seen her on the phone talking very animatedly to someone; either the cops or Charlie Taylor. It didn’t really matter to him; both of them would support his having been at the cabin to work.
He could have been in some big city like New York, Chicago, or even Los Angeles. He had been offered the premier internship spot with a growing architectural firm right out of college. His girlfriend at the time had wanted to travel before they tied themselves down to full-time jobs. Against his family and friends advice, he had let her talk him into taking a year off after college. It had been the worst decision of his life. Not only did he lose his chance at his dream career, but his girlfriend had stolen him blind after cheating on him with every Tom, Dick and Harry in the county. He had been blind to her shenanigans until it had been too late. Never again was his motto! Women were great for a quick hook-up, but relationships were for those poor suckers who didn’t know any better.
