Chloe's Secret Read online

  Table of Contents

  CHLOE’S SECRET

  Acknowledgements

  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

  CHLOE’S SECRET

  SHELLEY K. WALL

  SOUL MATE PUBLISHING

  New York

  CHLOE’S SECRET

  Copyright©2013

  SHELLEY K. WALL

  Cover Design by Rae Monet, Inc.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the priority written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Published in the United States of America by

  Soul Mate Publishing

  P.O. Box 24

  Macedon, New York, 14502

  ISBN-13: 978-1-61935-310-7

  www.SoulMatePublishing.com

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  To my readers

  Thanks so much for taking an interest in Chloe’s story. This one has particular fondness since it is set in and near Kansas City.

  I grew up just outside of KC in a small town named Peculiar—yep, that explains it all, right? While the story is fictional, one particular event actually did happen.

  Why did I choose that event? I really don’t know. Perhaps because as a farmer’s daughter, livestock and pets were an integral part of our lives and it seemed fitting to pay tribute. Perhaps just because I could.

  Lastly, a writer is only successful if readers love her work and continue to read what is written. I hope you enjoy this and will still be there for the next.

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to Soul Mate Publishing (Stella and Debby) for taking an interest in this book and seeing it through to publication … and for being just plain nice.

  Chapter 1

  Sometimes the smallest of things can make the biggest impact on your life. I don’t know what possessed me to step into a carriage on that cool November day but I don’t regret it. Well, maybe once or twice, but only because I wish I’d done so earlier.

  I remembered being furious. At everyone and everything. My work, my lack of personal time, family, hell—my entire life just ticked me off and I needed a break. It was a blustering Kansas City day with gray skies, wind, the whole bit. My worst kind of day. That carriage with that old woman sitting at the helm talking to her massive horse seemed a quick way to get it, even if it was only for a short while.

  So, on a spur of escapism, I stepped onto the rickety carriage sideboard and plopped into the seat.

  “Looks like we’ve got us a customer. Chloe will be so happy.” The woman turned and smiled. She had a soft face with smooth wrinkles and gray eyes and it gave me a little warmth.

  “Hi. Is this okay? Do you have someone else?” I asked, not sure if there was a protocol to follow. I passed the carriages daily on the streets but had never taken the time to try one. It seemed a little cheesy. I had been born and raised outside this city and the touristy stuff seemed—well, touristy.

  “No, no one else. We were waiting for you, dear. Ready for your ride?”

  “Yes, thanks so much. I’m Tess, by the way. So, that’s Chloe?” I watched as we pulled past another carriage with a somewhat younger lady who nodded to my driver. The woman didn’t acknowledge me, but nodded.

  “I met Chloe the same day I met my Robert,” she said. “Well, I’d met him before but never really paid attention. It’s a funny story—or at least it is now. Who would have ever thought I’d get involved in a love triangle at the age of fifteen? Can you imagine that? It was the day after she’d kicked Greyson Tuggs in the head and put him in the hospital. She was in trouble and I was to escort her to town so the judge could decide what to do with her.”

  “Chloe was a friend of yours then?” I found it a little odd that the woman so easily dove into personal stories. I, myself, wasn’t comfortable telling my history up front.

  “Oh, yes, she had been with us since I was twelve and I loved that girl. As much as I loved my Robert but don’t tell him that. She was a meddler, though. Always sticking her nose in people’s business. That’s how we got so close, I guess. It takes a meddler to recognize one.”

  The woman turned and winked. “You work over there?” She pointed at the building.

  “Yeah. For now.”

  She raised a brow. “That doesn’t sound too good.”

  “My boss isn’t very happy with me at the moment.”

  “Well, he’ll get over it. Men have a way of flying off sometimes. They eventually come to their senses and realize they aren’t as big a deal as they think they are. It’s good you came out here to give him space though. I always did that with my Robert too. As much as I loved the man, he damned sure needed a lot of space.”

  “Oh, no—it’s not like that. We’re not—I’m not—involved with him.”

  “No?” She peered at my face. “Hmmm, well that’s good. You deserve better than someone you have to run away from to get peace. We all do.”

  To change the subject I asked again. “So, you were saying about Chloe?”

  “Oh, she was a hero in these parts, you know. But that was a lot later and you don’t have time for that story. All water under the bridge now anyway.” The woman slowed the carriage and turned after some people who crossed the street. “She couldn’t hear, see. And I think that’s what made her want to stick her nose in everybody’s business. She never heard a word so teaching her anything was a lost cause. Or at least, that’s what my dad said at first. Then after a while, he saw what she was all about. In fact, that day was the beginning of it. She saved me. Her and Robert.”

  That really had my interest. The woman had been in love with two? Yet, she married one and still loved the other?

  “Saved you how?”

  We clip-clopped along the pavement and the wind flipped at the blanket in her lap then tossed it angrily away. She patted it down and reached under her seat. “Here. Take another blanket sweetie, it’s a little cold for this time of year and you’ll need it when we make the turn. The wind really picks up then.”

  I took the blanket and wrapped it quickly around me, nestling in. I could smell the hay on it and the bristle of horsehair. “How did Chloe save you, ma’am?”

  The woman snickered. “Ma’am. Never thought I’d hear that again. Y
ou must be from the south, honey. Obviously you were raised with manners.”

  “Sort of. My parents would have my hide if I didn’t show respect.”

  “Respect. Ha. So many people these days have no idea what respect means. They want it, they expect you to give it to them and get mad when you don’t.” The woman glared at a couple of hoodlums leaning against a brick wall. She nodded toward them. “Like those boys there. They complain about not getting any respect and they’d just as soon shoot someone for it. No one forces someone to respect them. You get respect when you give it. Chloe knew that, didn’t she, Love?”

  The horse turned its head and eyed the woman briefly before clopping on. Hmmm, I thought. She’s obviously a bit on the senile side. Poor thing. Still, even for the crisp air, it was a beautiful day and I had an incredible need to clear my head. “You were saying that Chloe saved you once?”

  “Oh, yeah, that was when she kicked old Greyson Tuggs into la-la land. I was scared stiff that day. I’d never had anyone touch me like that and I didn’t know what to do. You ever felt that way, honey? Like you’re sure that something really horrible bad is going to happen. You see it coming and you can recognize it in some way, but you don’t know what to do. You know there are some things that you can’t do because, well, this person is important. Right? He’s a pillar of the community. Or at least that’s what I’d been told for years.”

  “Wait.” I was confused. “Greyson Tuggs was a grown man? I thought he was a kid.”

  “Well, technically there were two Greyson Tuggs. Junior and Senior. Senior was the pillar and it was a good descriptor because he was stiff as a board. And hell bent on his kid becoming the next Mayor just like he’d been. Still, he had a speck of decency when it came right down to it. No, Junior was the one that Chloe saved me from. I have always wondered what would have happened if she and Robert hadn’t showed up when they did.”

  “She and Robert? So, she was with Robert then? Not you?”

  The woman laughed. “Oh, no she was Robert’s girl all along. He had spent hours with her before me. But after that day, she and I were inseparable. Robert liked it at first, but I could tell sometimes it annoyed him. He was good about it though. Never complained. Not once.”

  Strange relationship, I thought, but I wanted to hear more. The carriage made the turn and I stared at the backside of the huge pulling horse that plodded down the road as if we weren’t even attached. We were like a feather to the beast, or a light breeze. In fact, every once in a while, it would look back at us or perk an ear. It almost seemed to be listening.

  “She saved you that day,” I urged.

  “Yep. See, Robert had sent me a note in English class and asked me to meet him near the stables outside of town. He worked there after school, cleaning up, training the horses, and loading things for people. I was only fifteen and my parents would never have let him come by the house. I was afraid they’d find out if I met him, but I went anyway. He was pretty handsome and I wasn’t much for following orders back then.”

  A car gunned its engine and pulled around us, the driver honked once in frustration. The horse jerked slightly and pulled the carriage a bit. The old woman calmed it with her soothing voice and it settled back to a slow plod.

  “I don’t understand why people get in such a hurry. Look, that idiot’s stuck at the light now. What good did it do him to rush past us and spook the horse? None. He saved nothing. And does he feel better for being such an ass? Sorry, sweetie. Of course not.”

  If this old woman didn’t hurry up, I would reach the end of my ride and still not know what the heck Chloe did to save her. Suddenly, it became important. I needed to know.

  “So Chloe and Robert showed up to meet you.” I wanted to reach in and pull the story from her tongue. So much for manners and respect.

  “Yes, but late. Greyson Tuggs, the junior one, arrived first. I never really knew why he was there. I always wondered if he’d followed me. Anyway, when I went to the stables, Robert wasn’t there yet. Chloe was though. She was standing there next to Junior, looking all smart and regal. She was a big girl. So beautiful. She had these big brown doe eyes that could just melt a soul.”

  We made the final turn that would take us back to her post and end my journey, and I still didn’t know how this big, doe-eyed Chloe had saved the old woman. Whatever it was, it had to have been magnificent. She had alluded to the fact that Chloe kicked Junior in the head. But how? And why? And how could a girl, even a big one, put a teenage boy in the hospital? Usually by that age, even a boy is as strong as an adult. Often, more so.

  The woman shook her head. “Now, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve gone the whole block without telling you the history of these beautiful buildings. Did you know that the man who lived above this shop right here was a bank robber?” She pointed to dusty windows that were covered with light linen curtains.

  I peered up at an old building. Big Deal, I don’t care about the bank robber dude, tell me about your Chloe. The girl you loved, that could kick the ass of a man and save your life.

  “The police chased him all the way to the suburbs and caught him hiding in a chicken coop, covered in straw.”

  “Really?” I feigned interest.

  “Yep, and that building over there used to be a manufacturing plant for Singer sewing machines. During the war, half the town worked there. If they weren’t making the machines they were using them to make uniforms, flags, and parachutes. Quite a bustle here back then, but that was before my time of course.”

  Aargh. “But how did Chloe save you? What did she save you from?”

  The clip-clop of the horse’s shoes stopped at the curb and the woman waved at two children waiting patiently for their turn. They started to jump into the carriage before I even stepped down. I waited a minute for a response.

  “Oh, honey, that’ll just have to wait ‘til next time. You go up there and smile pretty at that boss of yours and don’t let him give you any grief, okay? You’re a nice young lady to listen so well to an old woman’s rambling.” She leaned down to just above eye level with me. “And if he starts pawing at you, just kick him hard like Chloe did to old Tuggs.”

  “Was that what he did? What she did?” I really wanted to know.

  The woman turned to her new passengers and grinned. “Everybody all tucked in?” She flipped the lines and the horse plodded away.

  I stared after her; the sign on the back of her carriage seemed to taunt me to chase her down for an ending to that story.

  The only thing Colton Scott liked about the girl he’d just left at his apartment was the fact she’d reminded him to wear a vest. As he climbed off his Harley, his arms still tingled from the chill. He unzipped it, rolled it, and tucked it into the saddlebag behind the seat. His grandmother, Mona, had chastised him for buying the bike several years ago, said it was frivolous and he needed to save money. Yet, with the hours he worked, it proved a good vacation now and then. Even if only for short drives like this one.

  He whirled and strode toward the old bat’s carriage stop. His abrupt movement put him chest to chest with a redhead that barreled into him. She focused in on his face and snarled.

  “Ow,” she hissed. “What’s wrong with you, can’t you look where you’re going? Or do you just expect everyone to get out of your big, bad, motorcycle ridin’ way?”

  She was fiery, especially for someone he could probably wrap both hands completely around. He wanted to laugh, but he hadn’t done that in a couple of years and it didn’t come natural anymore. Not to mention that it would probably make her even madder. She looked like she had a good mad already. He grabbed her by both arms to steady her, lifted, and planted her on his other side.

  “There you go. You might want to try walking through doors instead of people next time.”

  He ignored the name she called him as he walked away. When he got to the stand where Mona and Bullwhip worked from, he glanced back to see the girl’s skirt disappear through the revolving door of the buildi
ng they adjoined. He waited until Mona returned with her passengers, then approached.

  “Hey Bullwhip.” He put both hands to the bridle of the massive horse when they arrived, then rubbed a palm down his forehead and scratched. “How ya doing, big boy?”

  “He’s finally used to the roar of that silly ride of yours. He recognized it before you even turned the corner.” Mona moved toward him, a slight hitch in her walk.

  “Good, maybe the four of us can go riding some day,” Colton teased.

  “He’d trample you the minute you tried to pass him, you know.”

  “Yeah, Bullwhip never was one for competition, was he? Reminds me of someone else I know.” He winked at her.

  Mona wiped her white hair with the back of her hand. “So, how’s the new roommate? Is she growing on you yet?”

  “Nope, but I’ll manage.”

  “Of course you will. Did you see that pretty thing that just rode with me?”

  “Pretty what, Grams?” He knew where she was going. She had tried to fix him up so many times he couldn’t count them all. Still, he humored her. She meant well. She just didn’t understand that he liked his life the way it was.

  The horses were annoying but he understood it. Sort of. It was her business, though she had plenty of income and didn’t really need to continue. No one argued with Mona when she wanted something. He drew the line at matchmaking. And she thought Chloe had been a meddler. Ha.

  “The redhead. She just rode with me. She goes in and out of that building every day. No idea why she changed routines but today she took a ride. Cute little thing.”

  Yeah, he’d seen her. Up close and personal, and there was nothing cute about her. Or nice. He ran a hand over the horse’s shoulder and down to his hoof.

  “So, what did you want me to see here, Grams? Which one is he favoring?”

  “Other side and it’s only once in a while. I thought maybe it’d heal after a few days of rest so I left him and brought Goliad instead—until today. It’s been a couple weeks though, and he’s still not using it as I thought he would, but he doesn’t want to stay home.”