Chasing Dreams Read online

  Table Of Contents

  Other Books by A. L. Brooks

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  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

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  Other Books from Ylva Publishing

  About A. L. Brooks

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  www.ylva-publishing.com

  Other Books by A. L. Brooks

  The Club Revisited

  A Heart to Trust

  Dare to Love

  Never Too Late for Heroes

  The Long Shot

  Write Your Own Script

  One Way or Another

  Up on the Roof

  Miles Apart

  Dark Horse

  The Club

  Acknowledgments

  As always, big thanks to everyone at the Ylva team – publisher, editors, proofreaders, cover designers, and anyone else who had a hand in making my twelfth book a reality.

  To my beta readers—Erin, Katja, Mari, and Amy—fantastic feedback and help once more! Special thanks to Mari for being ready and willing at short notice to do a drop-everything-I-need-this-by-next-week read of the second draft. I’ve never asked anyone for that before, and you stepped up without hesitation—cheers, my friend!

  Special thanks to Sandra Gerth for her fantastic support and advice, for this book and always. I think I owe you TWO ice creams now…

  And finally, to all those readers and fans who continue to lift me up with all their touching and supportive comments on social media, emails, my blog, etc. There are times when doing this writing thing seems so hard. Then I get tagged in a tweet by someone raving about this great book they just read, and suddenly all of my worries and my imposter syndrome fade into the background. Telling an author you appreciate them really does work wonders! Thank you all.

  Dedication

  To my future wife, Tanja, for making my dreams come true.

  Chapter 1

  “I’ll need the Anderson paperwork on my desk no later than noon.” Claire scrolled through her list of missed calls. “And someone needs to run blocking on Dean Mackay. That man seems to think I am his personal advisor.”

  “On it!” Harrison’s voice was higher pitched than usual.

  Claire glanced over at him and scowled at the fear in his eyes. This one wasn’t going to last the full term.

  She stopped walking; the two people who had been close on her heels, Desiree, her chief of staff of many years, and Harrison, the intern, only just prevented themselves from slamming into her.

  Harrison blinked at her, his hazel eyes paler than usual. A tic repeatedly lifted the left corner of his mouth.

  “Well?” Claire stared at him.

  “Oh! Yes! Anderson paperwork.” He spun on his heel and jogged back down the corridor.

  Claire turned to Desiree. “When is his review?”

  Desiree held her gaze for a moment, her dark brown eyes revealing nothing, then swiped across her tablet’s screen. “Thursday at ten.”

  “Get me some time with HR on Wednesday.” She didn’t have to explain why; Desiree had worked with her for long enough to know her mind. Why can’t they all be like Desiree? Efficient, calm, able to anticipate what Claire wanted and when. Yes, maybe Claire pushed the interns hard, but that was what they were here for, wasn’t it?

  “Shannon called, wondering if you were free tonight?” Desiree tapped her long fingernail against the tablet’s screen. “You have a gap at eight before the A5A Corporation call at nine thirty.”

  Claire’s mood instantly mellowed. Mm, time with Shannon. Her mind threw her an image of Shannon’s naked body laid out before her, Shannon begging her for more. Oh yes, it had been too long. “Sure, sounds good. Book a room at the Marriott, tell her to meet me there, but make sure she knows I only have about an hour. I’ll take the A5A call from there once she’s gone. Then have a car collect me from there at ten thirty to take me home.” Without waiting for a response, she strode into her office and shut the door.

  She had barely made it to her desk before her phone rang.

  “Claire!” Helen Porter’s voice boomed down the line. “How the heck are you?”

  Wincing, Claire eased the phone away from her ear a little. While Helen’s enthusiasm for her job was admirable, Claire wished she would learn how to tone it down. “Very well. Busy, as always—what do you have?”

  “I found it.”

  It took a long moment for Helen’s words to sink in. “Are you certain?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Where?” Claire tapped a steady rhythm on the desk with her pen.

  “Eagle Cove, south of Crater Lake.”

  The small town of Eagle Cove was some way down the list of places she had been considering. However, she also knew Helen wouldn’t send her something that didn’t fit most of her other criteria. “Can you—”

  “I’m emailing it over right now.” Helen’s voice was almost a purr.

  Claire opened the email as soon as it arrived and quickly scanned the documents and pictures Helen had attached. “It needs some work.” Even as she said the words, she knew she didn’t care. The images before her made her heart race with excitement.

  Helen snorted. “And then some. But you budgeted for that. And, sure, it’s not in as big a town as you hoped, but honestly, Claire, I think this is as good as it’s going to get.”

  Claire rubbed a thumb over her chin, playing with the small mole there. It was a habit she had picked up years ago, and it always inexplicably calmed her. “Who do I need to contact?”

  “Guy named Doug Brennan. I’ll connect you today, if you like.”

  “Do it. And Helen?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Good work.”

  Helen laughed, then hung up.

  Claire swiveled in her chair and looked at the gray June New York City sky outside her window. If all went well, soon she would be swapping this view for something considerably nicer. The thought thrilled her.

  * * *

  Ruby, heartily singing along to the classic “Stop! In The Name of Love,” saw the flash of gray shooting across the cream-colored gravel of the track in front of her just in time. She hit the brakes, bringing her truck to a sliding halt at an angle across the track. “What the—?”

  She exited the truck and looked to her left. Huddled against a large clump of grass on the side of the track was Misty, Mr. Pinkett’s cat. She stared in disbelief—the animal was about two miles from home. “How in the hell did you get all the way out here?”

  Misty, a beautiful combination of smoky gray fur with pale pink patches on its forehead and paws, blinked up at her, its tail bushy and swishing.

  “Come on now, honey. It’s me, Ruby.” She took a cautious couple of steps closer. When the cat didn’t move, she tried a couple more. Then she crouched and held out her hand. She rubbed her thumb ag
ainst her forefinger as if some tasty tidbit lurked between her digits. “Come on, sweetie. Come here.”

  After a few moments where Ruby held her breath, Misty wound herself sinuously around the clump of grass toward her. Then the cat stopped a couple feet away from Ruby, her ears pricked and turning like radar dishes.

  Ruby heard it too, the low hum of a vehicle approaching. “Shit.” Who knew in which direction the cat would sprint if the vehicle scared her? Only one thing for it: Ruby judged the distance, the terrain, and her angle of attack and pounced.

  Her breasts hit the hard dirt of the track just as she took hold of the scruff of Misty’s neck. Her breath left her in a whoosh at the impact, but she grinned; Misty wasn’t going anywhere now.

  Before she could wriggle upright again, the vehicle pulled up in front of her truck. Ruby glanced up to see a rental sedan—she’d recognize one anywhere—and a beautiful woman gazing down at her from the driving seat.

  The driver had blonde hair that was stylishly cut, just reaching her collar and feathered across her forehead in a way Ruby was sure was meant to look messy all the time. Her skin was porcelain white, and she had a straight nose, high cheekbones, and full, pink lips. Her cool, blue-gray eyes stared at Ruby. “Are you all right?”

  Ruby chuckled, knowing darn well how things must look. “Actually, yes. Just rescuing Misty here, who’s a long way from home.”

  The woman nodded, but the frown that creased her forehead told Ruby she didn’t understand at all what was going on. “Right. Well, do you think you can move your truck? I’m in a hurry.”

  It wasn’t snooty, as such, but it wasn’t super nice either. Another out-of-towner who had probably got lost on the back roads and was scared they would never see civilization again.

  “Sure.” Ruby wouldn’t argue with the woman—what was the point, given she was highly unlikely to see her again? Instead she used the energy born of irritation at the woman’s manner to push herself to her knees, one hand still tight around Misty’s scruff. “Give me a moment to secure this one, then I’ll be out of your way.”

  “Good.” The woman was well-spoken, her accent East Coast, Ruby would guess.

  Ruby threw one last glance at the woman, noting the starched shirt collar, and the expensive-looking watch on her wrist. Then she focused her attention on the cat squirming in her arms. “Come on, you.” She scratched the top of Misty’s head, and it seemed to calm the animal some.

  She walked to the back of the truck, where she was pretty sure she’d left…yes, an empty cardboard box from the last egg deliveries she’d made. Perfect. She placed the box on the passenger seat, then reached for her hoodie, draped over the back of the seat. She lined the box with the garment, then tucked Misty inside. The cat seemed instantly taken with her new accommodations and settled down into a classic cat curl.

  Ruby caught the woman’s eye. “All done. Have a nice day.”

  The woman gave her a brief nod, then turned her attention to her steering wheel.

  Sighing, Ruby clambered back up into the truck, started the engine, and pulled away from the woman’s car. “You’re welcome,” she muttered as the woman didn’t even acknowledge her when their vehicles passed. She looked quickly at Misty in the box beside her. “Thanks for that. Now I need to turn around and get you home.”

  It was annoying but not the end of the world. Sure, it would have been great to see the old Pruitt place once more on her day off. She loved nothing more than driving up there in her truck, parking at the gate, and dreaming while she gazed at the old run-down property. But she could do that on any day off. After all, the place had been empty for ten years now. It wasn’t like it was going anywhere soon.

  Smiling, she used the next turnoff to slowly turn the truck around back in the direction of Eagle Cove and headed for Mr. Pinkett’s place. He was a grump, everybody knew. But she hoped the sight of his returned cat, whom he might already be missing, would bring some cheer to his day. Maybe she’d stay a while with him, have a cup of coffee out on his beautiful porch. She knew he didn’t do that so much since his wife had passed a couple years ago. It might be something nice she could offer, give the old man a lift.

  With that thought, she increased her speed and headed along the road back into town, a sleeping cat snug in a box beside her.

  * * *

  “So what are you going to do this fine Friday night?” Ned placed the last of the eggs into the tray and folded over the lid.

  “Maybe have an ice cream at the diner to start with. Hang out some with whoever’s there. Then head to the bar to see Katie.” Ruby turned from the sink. “Unless you want me here?”

  Ned gave her his trademark grin, one side of his mouth arching up so high he almost winked. “I’m fine, don’t you worry. It’ll be good for you to head into town. You’ve been too busy lately.”

  “I know.” She sighed. The last two weeks had run her ragged. What with her regular job at the library, then the unscheduled stop at Mr. Pinkett’s on her day off the week before, as well as rescuing the abandoned sack of puppies she’d found wriggling by the side of the Klamath road only the other day, she didn’t know whether she was coming or going. A Friday night hanging out with her friends was just what she needed.

  “I can finish that.” Ned gestured to the jars she was washing. “And I can check on the animals. Go on, get into town.”

  She pulled her hands from the soapy water and dried them on the towel he passed to her. “Thanks.” She leaned forward and kissed his stubbled cheek. “You’re the best, Grandpa.”

  He scowled at her. “You know I hate it when you call me that.”

  “Yes.” She smirked. “I do.”

  Main Street was busy as she slowly drove along it. Warm air brushed across her arm where it was propped on the open window; for June the temperature was high, and couples of all ages were taking a stroll. The diner was packed, and the town’s Italian restaurant, Mario’s, looked just as busy. Up ahead, she could see a line of vehicles parked in front of Katie’s bar.

  The town’s only stoplight flicked to red, and she slowed to a halt. A group of people waited to cross from her left, but her attention was drawn to one woman who stood apart from them, near the edge of the sidewalk where Ruby’s truck idled, her head turned away as she looked up Main Street.

  “Well, hello, gorgeous,” Ruby murmured.

  The woman was blonde, tall, maybe five ten, with a slender build and long legs. She was dressed smartly—tailored black slacks and a pale green blouse, a black sweater draped over her shoulders. The whole look screamed sophistication, money—and out-of-towner.

  Ruby forced her gaze away. Nope, not going there. Since getting her heart broken by Melody, Ruby had sworn off relationships, not wanting to risk her feelings yet again. After a few months of loneliness, the offer to spend the night with a tourist with whom she’d gotten chatting at Katie’s had seemed the ideal solution to her problem. Easy, no-strings intimacy and no drama afterward. It had soon become a fairly regular habit, hooking up with a tourist for one night of fun. But while the sex was usually good, or at least a way to find some relief, each time it left her a little emptier.

  She’d stopped the hookups back in February, realizing the brief sexual thrill they gave her only made her feel lonelier when she left her temporary partner’s hotel room a couple hours later. If she was going to get intimate again with someone, it would only be when she was ready to make something more of it. Which seemed a long way off given how she still hurt from what had transpired with Melody.

  “Excuse me?” The voice was strong, confident, and a little husky.

  Ruby snapped out of her musings and looked to her left.

  The woman she’d been admiring had stepped nearer to the truck and looked at Ruby through the open window. Up close like this, Ruby realized she knew her—it was the woman from the previous week who’d come across Ruby lying i
n the dirt with an escaped cat in her hands. Oh, great.

  The woman smiled at Ruby, exposing perfectly straight, bright white teeth.

  Ruby tore her gaze away from the woman’s sensuous mouth. “Yes?”

  “I would guess you’re local, so I was wondering if you can tell me the best place to eat around here?”

  Wow, she has the most incredible eyes. Ruby sank into the woman’s gaze.

  “Did you hear me?”

  Ruby jumped. Oh, crap, she’d drifted off. How embarrassing. “Um, sure. Yes. Sorry.” Come on, focus!

  The woman grinned.

  Ruby’s face heated further. “Okay, you’ve got four options, but they’re all usually busy on a Friday night. The diner across the road does your regular burgers, pies, stuff like that. Mario’s, back behind us, is Italian. Katie’s, up there a ways, is mainly a bar, but you can grab a great basket of wings. Farther up the road is La Casa, which does a mix of Mexican, Spanish, and traditional American.”

  The woman nodded. “Which do you recommend?”

  “I’ve always liked Mario’s myself.”

  “Great. Thanks.” The woman tapped one hand on the door frame, then turned on her heel and left.

  “You’re welcome.” Ruby watched her go, noticing how deliciously the woman’s ass moved as she strode along, her head held high, her shoulders squared.

  Down, girl. She eased off the brake and at the next corner turned off Main Street to find somewhere to park.

  * * *

  Ruby pushed open the library door the next morning with a skip in her step. Her Friday night out had been just what she needed, and she was all fired up for another day in her beloved library. Saturdays were always busy, which she adored.

  Something furry wrapped itself around her legs as she closed the door, and she gazed with fondness at Ninja as he peered up at her with his big green eyes.

  “Hey, buddy!” She leaned down to rub the top of the tabby’s head. “Where have you been hiding the last couple days? You had us worried.”

  The cat purred at her attentions, pushing his head into her hand, twisting so that her fingers would rub over his ears.