Page 1 of Riding Rough

Chapter One

Amber

I sit outside the train depot melting in the heavy heat of midday. It’s not usually this hot up in the mountains. This summer has been brutal. Heavy rain and unrelenting sun. The farmers love it and the crops are bigger than they’ve ever been. I guess we should be thankful.

That’s a theme I’m working on—learning to be grateful for the little things. For so long, I’ve wasted time wanting ‘stuff.’But I tell you what… I was wrong. No amount of stuff can ever make a person happy. I know Jed and I have all the toys anyone could want. A big house, a pool, a three-car garage, and an RV. Hell, we have a three-sixty landscape view of snowcapped mountains and a glacial lake. Even still, none of that made the pain go away. For that, I’d need his time and affection, both of which he isn’t interested in giving. And when I ask, life gets a lot more complicated.

I wipe away a bead of sweat and study two black birds on the edge of the train platform. They’re balancing a yellow stripe of paint and pecking at a few crumbs. Sometimes, I wish life could be so simple. You fly wherever you want, you’re not beholden to anyone, and when you get tired of pecking crumbs at the train station, you head on over to the bar and see what they have to offer.

My stomach growls as I watch their story unfold. I’m starving. It’s been twenty-four hours since I’ve eaten, but I only have a hundred dollars. Well, ninety-five since I just bought a train ticket. Maybe I should get on the ground and peck with the birds.

Ninety-five dollars to my name.I laugh to myself at the stupidity of my life. One bad decision after another. I’m pretty sure I’m the epitome of whonotto become. Someone should put me on a poster for their children to see. It would look good right here next to this bench. At least then, my life will have value. Parents can point at me and say,“Look at her, kids. That’s what you don’t want to be.”Though a little dramatic, it’s true. I’ve had twenty-four years to make one good decision, and like a dummy, I followed money every single time.

Muffled music plays over the loudspeaker and wind whistles through the walkway, carrying the scent of freshly popped popcorn and warm sugar. I should buy a drink and maybe a small popcorn.How expensive can that be?

I stand slowly, holding tight to the wall behind me. My head is spinning in circles. I knew I could go a day without food, but I should’ve been more careful about water, especially in this heat. I stare down at the rolling case I packed and rethink my choice of things‘I had to have.’I should’ve picked bottles of water and granola bars. I didn’t need a curling iron or a bunch of clothes. I can’t picture a use for either of those things at this point. What difference does it make what I look like if I’m starving to death?

Steadying myself against the handrail near the tracks, I wobble toward the popcorn stand like a lightweight on St. Patrick’s Day. There’s no one around, so I’m not feeling too embarrassed by my display. Even if there was, I’m not sure I’d care. Right now, my brain is hyper fixated on a buttery box of popcorn and ice-cold water.

Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I stumble to the counter, my mouth already watering. There’s a young girl behind the stand. She’s blonde and pretty, with bluish eyes. I’d guess she’s eighteen, maybe nineteen. Either way, I’m envious. She still has her entire life laid out in front of her. I’m still young enough that I should probably feel the same way, but I know it’s going to take years to dig out of this rut I’ve burrowed into.Years might be an understatement.

“What can I get for you?” The girl’s voice is wrapped in empathy, and I sense that she feels guilty for me. That’s another one I’m not used to. Empathy is an emotion I’m usually doling out, not taking in.

“A small popcorn and a water, please. As cold as you have.” According to the sign on the wall, that’s going to cost seven dollars and eighty-six cents.Almost eight dollars for popcorn and water!I nearly burst. I realize they have you over a barrel here at the station, but still… they have to be making like ninety percent profit on my order. I fish for the money in my pocket, panicking when nothing meets my hand.

No! It has to be there.

I glance up at the girl, sweating more profusely now. “I know I have the money. Just one second. I’m sorry.”

She scratches at her face and averts her gaze as I turn my pockets inside out and dump the contents of my purse out on the counter. I had the money twenty minutes ago at the ticket booth.It has to be here!

My heart pounds and my brain sputters over what could’ve happened. As I paw through the junk I tossed out on the counter, the heavy drum of my heart keeps drowning out my thoughts and a wave of darkness spots my vision until the ground beneath me disappears.

The girl at the counter screams, but she too sounds like she’s underwater.

“Don’t worry, ma’am,” she says. Her voice gets closer. “I found your cell phone. I’m calling your first speed dial.”

I try to holler, speak, cry, beg her not to call the man who’s number one on my phone, but nothing comes out of my mouth. My brain is fighting with itself like I’m trapped in dream paralysis. Maybe that’s what this is, a dream. Maybe I’ll wake up in a cozy little cabin with a big, inked man wrapped around me, keeping me safe.

I will my body to respond to the girl one last time, but all I hear before the darkness is the sound of Jed asking where I am.

He’s not the inked protector I was thinking about.

Chapter Two

Kane

“Kane?” My gut knows who the man on the phone is without another word.

“What do you want, Jed? Where’s Amber?”

“She’s resting. I saw your number in her phone and I thought I’d call to see why the hell that is.”

A vein in my neck pulses. The sound of her name on his lips makes me fucking sick. It always has. “Where’s Amber? Why does she need rest at three in the afternoon?”

He laughs like a sadistic clown from some shit show no one would ever attend. “I’m asking the questions, Kane. Believe it or not, not everyone is your henchman. Now tell me why myfiancéhas your phone number in her phone.”

“I’ve known her forever. You know that, Jed, but it sounds like you’re accusing me of something.”