Escape Into Romance - Dare Imagination
Whiskey Creek Press
Category:
Science Fiction
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
Pages: 113
ISBN-13: 9781603133388
Alone in her family’s 100 year old ranch house, Christina anticipates a Blue Christmas but not the crash of an alien craft in her pasture. Concerned for the occupant, she bravely risks her life to rescue the pilot, taking the unconscious alien back to her home. When the alien, Trintous, awakes their mutual attraction is overwhelming. In the...
Alone in her family’s 100 year old ranch house, Christina anticipates a Blue Christmas but not the crash of an alien craft in her pasture. Concerned for the occupant, she bravely risks her life to rescue the pilot, taking the unconscious alien back to her home. When the alien, Trintous, awakes their mutual attraction is overwhelming. In the week that follows Trintous repairs his ship, when he isn’t in bed with his Earth love, and Christina prepares to sell her “pet” breeder stock.
Each protects the other against imminent threats. He protects her from her inheritance-grubbing stepfamily and she protects him from government agents searching for a crashed alien.
Trintous intends to take Christina when he returns home to the stars, much to her disbelief, and he also plans a unique surprise for her.
Excerpt
“Get out of my house! I will not tell you again, I will call the sheriff and have you arrested for trespassing,” Christine exclaimed. Her unusual amber-gold eyes blazed as she took an aggressive step toward Donzo, her vain stepbrother. Not that he was an unattractive man, but the way he behaved made her stomach turn. He was arrogant! Attractive in that overgroomed, I know I look great, manner. “You have no right to be on my land or in this house until after the second of January as the terms of my father’s will state. Now go! Leave me in peace to spend my last holiday in my family’s home.”
“You know, Christine, you don’t have to spend it alone.” Donzo turned on his suave manners and took a step closer, “Why don’t you come into Casper and spend the holidays with your stepmother and me? You know there’s plenty of room.”
“No, thank you, Donzo. I would much rather spend it here in my house for as long as it is mine.” Her voice was as cold as the outside air.
Christine had been subjected to being alone with her stepbrother possibly a dozen times in her life and that was a dozen too many. Donzo always put Christine in compromising situations to evade his advances. A repulsive and perverted individual who fancied himself a ladies’ man, he seemed to think he could claim family privilege.
His mother had, in some way, managed to charm Christine’s normally highly reasonable and clear-minded father into marriage, and thereby saddled her with a stepbrother. Before her father and his mother had married, Donzo had made indecent and sordid advances toward her. Christine had explained this to her father but he had shrugged it off and married the woman anyway. In the following few years, his health declined rapidly and her shrewd stepmother's control became more grasping.
At some point, he included the clause in his will about her loss of the ranch if she should fail to make it workable the first year. Her father knew the cattle business. He knew it would take five years to make the ranch show a profit after being dormant in the ten years since her mother’s death, but he had given her an out. He left her a tidy sum in his will and she had the right to buy the ranch outright before it could be turned over to her stepmother. Her father was unaware of his wife’s lavish tastes squandering so much money before his death it left the estate nearly bankrupt. Little was left after the creditors had been satisfied, only the ranch. Christine was well educated but she put her career on hold to try to make a go of the family ranch, putting all her savings into the venture and she failed.
Two weeks after Christmas Donzo and his mother would begin to turn the ranch into a ski resort. Christine was thankful they could not tear down the house, the will didn’t allow that. The fact they were planning to use it for a ski lodge was bad enough. But for some reason Donzo, her stepmother’s son by a previous marriage and a year older than she, seemed to find her attractive and thought he could claim family privilege with her. Christine quickly set him straight about his opinion but he didn’t seem to get the message.
“Chris.” He took yet another step closer to her in his suave, aggressive Latino manner. Christine stood her ground. “I do have strong feelings toward you.” He brushed a lock of dark, copper hair from her face. “We could make this a much closer family if you just give me a chance. You don’t have to lose the ranch.”
“Don, we’ve been through this before, I don’t see you like that. Now,” she took a deep breath and he moved closer, unable to take the rejection, “get out!” Instead of leaving he grabbed her and attempted to kiss her, his vise-like arms held her arms penned at her sides.
Christine was a strong woman, one who had ridden horses all her life and worked with cattle. Don was an executive who sat behind a desk and was accustomed to his secretary who hung on his every wish. Christine hooked her booted foot behind his leg and pulled. Don lost his balance and went tumbling, releasing her as he tried to stop his fall. She looked down at him. “Leave!” She punctuated her last warning with her western booted foot to his backside.
Donzo got up. “This isn’t over, Chris,” he promised with an evil scowl.
“My name is Christine and it is. I don’t want to see you on my ranch until the second of January. On that day I will turn it over to you.” Christine held the door open for him. “After that I won’t have to ever see you or your mother again. You’ll have what you want.”
Donzo stalked out to his car, his face dark with rage. He didn’t watch his step, slipped on a patch of ice and landed on his backside. After struggling to right himself, further muddying his expensive suit, he finally managed to get into his powerful Mercedes. Tires spun on the snow-covered black ice before he drove away in anger.
Christine knew she’d have words with him again. The look on his face was priceless and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “Merry Christmas,” she called out to the snow-covered landscape and closed the door behind her.
Shaken and cold, but most of all alone, Christine poured herself a stiff shot of Vodka and drank it straight. Coughing at the strong drink, her eyes watered, and she shivered involuntarily. Usually she drank a glass of wine and only once in a while, but after Donzo’s visit she felt the need of something stronger. She poured another but mixed this one with orange juice.
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