Echoes of Love©

Free Online Short Love Story

Written by American Author Sky Taylor

Katy tensed as she braced for the landing of the small biplane that had so smoothly transported her on the last leg of her long journey - from Dublin, Ireland to the Texas hill country.

As her feet touched American soil, a sense of apprehension surrounded her like a newly woven cocoon. She wasn’t a young woman anymore and only desperation had sent her here to begin a new life.

It was the first time that she had traveled outside the rolling meadows and cool valleys of her beloved Ireland and her insecurities heightened as she was enveloped in the intense heat.

Now that she had disembarked from the plane, she was able to view the land in a more objectionable way as it was no longer shielded by the white puffy clouds.

The kelly-green eyes kneaded slowly over the area, absorbing what she could while the other passengers remained congregated around the plane in hopes of securing their luggage. They were a noisy lot and she tried her best to block out the commotion while she continued to study her surroundings.

What had appeared to be sandcastles of brown earth clothed in various shades of green were actually majestic hills and towering evergreens clustered sparingly around otherwise barren ground.

Tears shot to her eyes. The three graves which she had attended to for perhaps the last time in her life had resided on a hill. But the area had been much greener - holding no barren spots. The sparse land looked almost as empty as her heart felt.

Then again, it really would not have mattered where she would have journeyed as nothing could duplicate the world from which she had come.

Texas. A vast contrast to what the brochures had proclaimed, Katy silently mocked.

Pinching her beautiful face which had turned a bright shade of red beneath the blinding sun, she scrolled her attention back to the passengers. The hot pavement only intensified the heat. Hades would be jealous, she silently tacked onto her scrambling thoughts.

"Please wait over there, ma’am," a man directed, his voice gruff as he shoved two cases into her fragile hands. He was dressed in a neatly tailored uniform and she remembered him from the plane ride when she had checked in her small stash of luggage in Austin before the plane headed for Burma.

She followed his curt nod which led her to a large oak in the distance where a group of cars were clumped together. Obviously there to collect some of the passengers, she assumed.  

Katy hesitated, her lips trembling a notch as she was frightened of this foreign land.  

"Sir, I cannot see my ride from there-"  

"You’re in the way here," he clipped out, seeming anxious to be rid of her. "Now just go and stand over there - and I’m sure your ride will spot you."  

Kath opened her mouth to speak but seeing the disinterested look on the man’s bland face, she clamped it shut and headed for the tree, the two cases in her hands.  

A sense of anger mounted her insecurities, Katy disappointed over the inconsideration of the ranch. Someone should have been here - waiting to help her with her luggage. A bit rude to keep someone waiting in such intense heat.  

What had she gotten herself into? Perhaps she had jumped from the frying pan into the fire.  

And as she continued to walk to the tree, the cases grew heavier and she mumbled under her breath, mocking the brochure again, "Texas! An abundance of boots, hats, guns and fun."  

The only thing that she could see an abundance of were tumbleweeds, gently spiraling across the hills in the distance guided by the hot wind - which felt like an open oven door.  

An hour later, she was the last passenger remaining. There was a small building in the distance. Perhaps it held a phone?  

When she would have tried her luck, the kelly-green eyes connected with a white jeep as it sped along at an ungodly speed, closing the distance between them like a bolt of lightning.  

An enormous whirlwind of dust circled behind the vehicle and suddenly it jetted into a vacant slot beside the tree, the driver slamming on the brakes and leaving a trail of rubber in the process - a miracle in itself as the make-shift airport appeared to be equipped with the only section of pavement for miles on end.  

She was suddenly filled with a mix of emotions. Relief on one hand - as she was certain this was her ticket to the ranch - granted, over an hour late. On the other hand, the driver drove like a banshee.  

He was a young man - around twenty, with a cap of sun-bleached hair that rose just above his white pearl-buttoned shirt. He was tanned like fine leather and his white teeth flashed as he extended a large hand in greeting after he popped out of the jeep to join her.  

Katy’s small hand was instantly swallowed - which did nothing to ease her qualm reservations.  

"Ms. Evers?" he plied, his voice deep and heavily laced with a Texas accent.  

To her, he was a foreigner. To him, she was.  

She nodded and delivered a weak smile, the gesture failing to reach the lovely kelly-green eyes.  

The trip had been long and exhausting and she felt more in the mood for a cool bath and a home-cooked meal rather than a pretentious meeting with a stranger right now.  

"I’m Eric Brooks," the handsome male informed. "Pleased to meet you, ma’am."  

His voice appeared sincere and she felt a pinhead of guilt surge through her.  

Eric tilted back the Stetson and surveyed her in open admiration as Katy managed to place a tight smile on her soft, quivering mouth. She only prayed that she didn’t look as nervous as she felt.  

As he pitched her cases into the rear of the jeep, he continued in a deep voice, "You didn’t arrive a day too soon ma’am. With the monthly auction transpiring day after tomorrow, we’ll need every inch of you."  

He propelled the steel-blue eyes down her slim shape, then after a thoughtful pause he steered her into the passenger seat with a muscular arm.  

"I’ll put the top up, Ms. Evers. You look a little sun-beaten," he decided, tending to the task as she relaxed against the seat. It felt good to sit down again.  

Before she had time to fully gather her senses, Eric had manned the vehicle, twisted the key and set the jeep spiraling at top speed down the dusty road, their backs silhouetted by a thick wall of dust.  

"I can’t believe the agency located you so fast, ma’am," Eric informed in a rush, barely managing to miss the two-foot rut in the dirt trail.  

Katy had ridden in safer roller coasters!  

Amid her sudden bout of coughing, he rolled up his window and motioned for her to do the same.  

"Hope you’ll last longer than the others," he eased out as she continued to recover. Then, "We’ll hit pavement again in a couple more miles. Airport’s a bit out of the way."  

Then he tossed her a curious expression before his eyes reclaimed the road. At least she thought it had been curious. The dust appeared to be thickening.  

"The one named Dorothy lasted only thirty minutes," Eric shared, turning and gazing at her again, his brow tensing.  

He kicked-up the air-conditioner and a delightful blast hit Katy in the face and she was certain that she had been transported to heaven.  

After a few minutes of the delicious cooling she was beginning to feel more like herself.  

"Sorry for the delay in collecting you, Ms. Evers," Eric eased out, Katy deciding that the young man was devilishly handsome.   

If not for his wild driving….  

He motioned to the back and told her, "Grab a soda from the cooler. I don’t want you overheating on me."  

continue

 

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