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No Ordinary Child
By Darlene Graham Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2003 Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.
All right reserved. ISBN: 0373711263
Chapter One
Beneath the dark, glassy surface of the still water, Sam Solomon imagined he could see his future, waiting.
He had studied the old photographs and maps long and hard and knew well the intricacies of the rock formations and antiquated stone structures of the old ghost town that had been put to rest under the lake. He could picture every twist and turn, every trailing meander of the rough stone pathways. The way they veered up and down, their many steps. He was familiar with the dimensions of the old concrete retaining walls. He knew the shape of the arched stone bridge, the semicircular pattern of the seats in the tiny amphitheater. All of it vanished under tons of water when the Greer Dam was erected in 1939, a temple to the god of electricity. But the resulting lake had ultimately grown too large, gobbling up stray fingers of property. And in the process, the tiny town of Moonlight Grove, an abandoned hamlet in a narrow valley, had been covered by the flooding water.
Back then, nobody cared.
But now Sam Solomon cared. He could hardly wait to see what actually remained of the stone ruins. Most of the structures in Moonlight Grove had been built of native sandstone and would withstand the test of time. The water, however, was a more treacherous foe. Sam could not be sure of what he would find.
Soon enough, this shallow branch of Broken Arrow Lake would be drained. Soon enough, the restoration Sam had long envisioned would begin.
Restore. Reclaim. Resurrect. Excitement coursed through his veins at the very words. Sam Solomon loved fixing things - big things - in a permanent way. Maybe that was because in his life, there had been so many things that he could not fix, so many things he could not reclaim, could not resurrect. Maybe that was the whole reason he'd become an architect in the first place. To create something that could not be torn away in one cruel instant, by one cruel twist of fate, one tiny aberration of nature.
He squinted out over the lake, determined not to relive the tragedies of his past now, when his dream was coming true at last. His overachieving family of doctors and lawyers had always made Sam feel he had to prove himself every step of the way. But this project wasn't about them. Moonlight Grove was about him. Sam, the one who restored, resurrected.
"An architect?" his old man had chided in disbelief when Sam announced his plans to return to college after marrying and becoming a father, too young, too recklessly.
"What you need to do is get your law degree and go to work for the firm, like your brother David. You need security, liquidity. You have responsibilities, Sam. You have Meggie to think about now. And I shouldn't have to remind you that Meggie is no ordinary child. Her needs are only going to become greater as she grows."
Why had his father felt compelled to talk like that? No one needed to remind Sam that his Meggie wasn't like other children. He had thought about that fact every single day of his life since the day she was born.
Sam closed his eyes, momentarily shutting out the lake and the sunset, remembering how his father had always made him doubt himself. An architect. The way his father had acted one would have thought Sam had chosen to become a park-bench bum. And when Sam had focused his energies on historic restoration instead of high-rise office construction his dad had mocked him all the more.
But now he had finally amassed the financial backing and the restoration experience to make his dream a reality. He opened his eyes again. Too bad his father had passed on before he could see Sam's vision become a reality.
He braced his legs wide on the rock ledge where he stood, his stance bespeaking the boldness of his plans. He ran his fingers through his hair and raised his eyes to the blazing Oklahoma sun that seemed to touch the edge of the water. For Sam it wasn't hard to see Moonlight Grove as the beautiful resort that would rise from this setting a year from now. Always, during any project, Sam kept his eye on his final vision.
The surface of the water, a black satin sheet moments before, was now lit with the torched hues of the fiery evening sky.
Sam drew and released a satisfied breath. Verandas on the main hotel would face southwest, affording guests this stunning view at eventide.
Sam's schedule as controlling partner in Solomon Architectural Masterpieces did not allow many moments like this, and, predictably, his cell phone bleated, interrupting his daydreaming.
He scowled at the little black intruder clipped to his belt, expecting to see his partner Josh's cell number - or the number from the office. But no, it was a California area code, which instantly raised a ripple of unease in him. He didn't recognize the number, but this had to be Andrea - he didn't know anyone in California except his ex-wife and her parents. Normally, Andrea left her cold, businesslike messages on his home answering machine. Why would Andrea be calling on his cell phone? Unless ... something had happened to Meggie. He unclipped the phone and snapped it open.
"Andrea?"
"Yes. Hi, Sam."
"Uh, hi." His tentative greeting echoed the tone of his ex-wife's. She sounded strange.
"I hope I'm not interrupting something important." Her politeness only increased the feeling of dread building in Sam's chest.
"It's okay. What's up?"
"Sorry to disturb you at work. Your secretary gave me your cell number. I hope that's okay."
"I said it's okay." Sam didn't mean to sound abrupt, but he wanted Andrea to just get to the point. Prior to their divorce three years ago, they had been married for eight intense years, and - dammit - he could tell when something was wrong. "What is it?"
"Meggie's fine, Sam. You need to know that first."
Sam released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Meggie's fine. Okay. Maybe something had happened to Lorna or Bud. Andrea's parents were nice folks, and he wished them well. "That's good. So what's the matter, Andrea?"
"I ... I have a kind of an emergency."
"Okay. You need my help?" His anxiety level dropped a notch. Maybe she only needed money. This wasn't the first time he had given Andrea a little help beyond her alimony and Meggie's child support. He didn't mind. He found that sending them extra money actually lowered his guilt quotient.
"Yes. Yes, as a matter of fact I do need your help. I need to have Meggie live in Tulsa with you for a ... for a little while. At least, I hope it's only for a little while."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from No Ordinary Child by Darlene Graham Copyright © 2003 by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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