Burning Memories
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
They drove the rest of the way in silence. Something was really troubling her. He’d seen it in the way she’d been acting and her response to his question confirmed it. He had heard her parents talking about it too. None of them had been able to figure out what it was. She’s such a proud young lady, and things rarely get her down, or at least she was always too proud to show it. Jason’s concern grew even stronger as he watched Andrea’s face turn pale white as they passed a blue metallic van. She stared at the van as they drove by it. "Andrea, what’s the matter? You’re as white as a ghost?" he asked with much concern. Andrea mumbled under her breath "Help, please help me." Finally she said out loud "Why nothing" as they pulled up in front of the Flower Shop. She jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut before Jason could say another word. He had heard only one little "help" and he didn’t understand. What in the world could possibly trouble her to the point that she’d need help from him, but be too afraid to ask him for it. His heart went out to her. He loved Andrea very much and hoped that someday she would be his wife. After all, she had just turned twenty-two. He was thirty. That wasn’t too much of an age difference. Age didn’t matter anyway. What mattered was if you loved each other. Love . . . that was the problem. He knew she loved him, but only like a big brother. Would she ever be able to love him as a wife loves a husband? Someday, somehow he would see to it that she did. He continued watching her walk into the shop. He wanted to run after her and protect her from whatever it was she was so afraid of, but he knew he couldn’t do that. After waiting and watching for a while, he turned the car around and left. In the back of his mind he kept thinking of the blue metallic van. Why had she reacted so when she saw it? Who was in that van and what did it have to do with her? Andrea entered the Flower Shop and in looking around realized that everything was all right. Alex was nowhere in sight so he hadn’t seen her as they drove past him. Her mother waved to her from behind the counter. "It’s a good thing you finally got here. I need to fill all of these orders," she said as she held up a stack of papers. "We’ve had a steady stream of customers this morning so I haven’t been able to work on any of them. I’ll need you to manage the floor while I work in the back." "Okay" Andrea said. She was positive it had been Alex Longred in that van. No one else drove a van that color. She hadn’t talked much at college about her mother running a Flower Shop so she doubted he’d know to look for her here. But she knew it wouldn’t take him long to figure out where she lived. All he had to do was ask around town where the Higgins family lived and he’d be directed to it. Hopefully, he’d stop by her house and when he finds out I’m not there he’ll go away, but probably not. Mostly likely he’d ask where she was. If Marabel answered the door she wouldn’t tell him but if one of her brothers answered the door they’d tell him. If Marabel didn’t tell him he’d just come back over and over again until she was at home. She didn’t dare tell her family about him. They’d ask too many questions and he just might go through with his threat to harm her family. Customers were flocking into the shop. This helped take her mind off Alex. She couldn’t’ believe how many people kept coming in. She was so busy she hadn’t noticed a group of her old high school girl friends come in. Finally Sue said "Hey Andrea aren’t you going to say hi to us?" Andrea looked up. A big smile broke across her face as she saw her best friend from high school, Sue, standing there with three of her other girl friends Mary, Paige and Linda. "Hello you guys," she said as she came out from behind the counter and gave each of them a big hug. "It’s so great to see you." "You too" Linda said. "How long have you been home?" Paige asked. "A week and a half," she answered. "So what have you been doing? Why didn’t you let us know you were home?" Sue asked. "I’ve been busy with family things," Andrea responded. "Too busy for a quick phone call?" Sue asked smiling. "You know how it is" Andrea replied. "Yeah I do" Sue said. "The last time I talked with you about college, you were worried about some problems with a guy named . . . Alex I think. How’d everything turn out?" Sue asked. Andrea quickly said "Don’t bring him up here. I don’t want mom to know anything about him. He’s still somewhat of a problem but I’m dealing with it." "He sounded pretty spooky to me. You know this state has a stalker law. Don’t be afraid to use it" Sue said. "It hasn’t gone that far," Andrea said. "Well I’ve got to get back to work. There are customers lining up." "Okay" Linda said. "We’ll give you a call later and maybe we can get together this weekend." "Okay. I’ll see" Andrea stated as the girls left the shop. The day was going by so fast. Andrea was kept busy and didn’t have time to think about Alex.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
All the ingredients of a romantic mystery, set in the grandeur of America’s "North Coast." Andrea, the daughter of a wealthy cherry orchard owner falls in love with Jason, a manager on her family’s orchard. Unbeknownst to them, both have feelings for each other but have never acted upon them. Away at college, Andrea unwillingly gets involved with an unsavory character, Alex, a gang leader. Alex becomes obsessed with Andrea and makes several attempts to get her attention. She refuses his advances, prompting Alex to threaten her and her family. Summer break arrives and Andrea thinks she is rid of Alex, but he follows her. Forcing Andrea to go out with him, Alex drugs Andrea. Andrea manages to get away from Alex. The next time she’s not so lucky as Alex kidnaps her and holds her prisoner. While being held prisoner Andrea begins having haunting flashbacks of a house fire, a couple screaming with flames all around them, and a little boy holding a match. Jason learns what has happened to Andrea and vows to rescue her. Is Jason too late to rescue Andrea? Does Jason become another of Alex’s victims? Does Andrea succumb to the frightening and overwhelming flashbacks?
About the Author
Paula is the author of many technical manuals she wrote during her career. But Paula’s dream had always been to write a novel. Outside of her career Paula spent her time raising two wonderful daughters. Now that her daughters have gotten older she has had the time to devote to fulfilling that dream. Paula has always been an avid reader. She believes this has provided her with the insight of what components are necessary to hold a reader’s attention and keep them intrigued until the very last page. Over the past few years Paula has taken steps to write her first novel. Paula’s wish is that you derive as much pleasure reading this novel as she did writing it.