Silver Sparks by Starr Ambrose

Author:Starr Ambrose
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Romance, General, Suspense, Contemporary, Fiction
ISBN: 9781451623635
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2011-11-29T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Eleven

Maggie laid it out neatly in a phone call to Cal the next morning. “You need a safe place to stash Amber where she can’t hit on older guys or turn vigilante and go after Rafe.”

“Right. Also for that other important reason.”

Privacy. She felt her whole body grow warm. “Yes, well. I know of a place that will work.”

“You know she’ll sneak off and do what she wants as soon as no one’s looking.”

“She won’t be able to do that.”

“You got her a cell at the county jail?”

Maggie gave a short laugh. “She might think so, but I promise she’ll have plenty of room to roam, things to do, and people who treat her well. In fact, they’d love to have her.”

“I’m sold. What is this wondrous place?”

“The People’s Free Earth Commune. We’d better take your truck, the road gets pretty rough.”

Amber held a tight grip on the handle above the passenger door as the truck jolted over another rock. “Are you sure people live up here?”

“I used to live up here.” Maggie braced herself against Cal’s leg for the fourth time to keep from bumping against Amber on her other side, and wondered from his smug look if he was hitting all the rough spots on purpose. “There are probably ten or twelve people living permanently at the commune. Most of them have been there since it started almost forty years ago.”

“They’re crazy,” Amber decided. “There’s nothing up here but trees and rocks.”

“But look at the view!” Cal exclaimed. “It’s fantastic.”

Amber snorted her disgust. “You live in Ok-la-ho-ma,” she reminded him. “Probably anything looks better.” Squinting at a rocky bluff, she asked, “Are those ugly dogs?”

“Goats. They belong to the commune.” Maggie nodded at the curve ahead. “The house is right around that bend.”

They all watched as a large log-and-stone house came into view. Several smaller buildings and a fenced corral lay behind it.

Cal gave a low whistle. “Nicer than I expected.”

“The commune’s done pretty well over the years.” As three dogs ran toward them, barking, she reached across and leaned on the horn, giving one long blast of noise that echoed off the distant peaks. “They’re probably working, but they’ll be here in a minute. Let’s wait outside.”

He stepped out and took her hand to help her out, looking around as he did. “I’m surprised they have a phone all the way out here.”

“Cell phones. There are towers all over the mountains. They’re hippies, not Amish farmers. They like technology.”

They were petting the dogs when a woman rounded the corner of the house at a fast trot. She grinned when she spotted them, and sped up, long hair flying behind her.

Amber took in the calf-length flowered dress, denim vest, and sandals. “Whoa. Retro.”

Maggie braced herself, but was still staggered by the encompassing hug that nearly lifted her off her feet, along with the enthusiastic greeting, “Baby!”

“Hi, Mom.”

She stood still while her mother framed her face between callused palms, beamed at her daughter, and kissed her cheek. “You look wonderful, Maggie! Introduce me to your friends.

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