She’s Like The Wind Read online

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  About the Author

  Also by Carrie Elks

  Acknowledgments

  She’s Like The Wind

  Carrie Elks

  She’s Like The Wind by Carrie Elks

  Copyright © 2019 Carrie Elks

  All rights reserved

  090519

  Edited by Rose David

  Proofread by Proofreading by Mich

  Cover Designed by Najla Qamber Designs (www. najlaqamberdesigns. com)

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are fictitious products of the author’s imagination.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  1

  “I’m Nate Crawford. I believe you have my daughter here.”

  “What’s her name?” the cop asked, looking up from where he was sitting behind the desk. There was a full wall of glass between him and Nate, and in front of it, resting on the shelf, were clear plastic holders full of information leaflets.

  Suffering from Domestic Abuse? We Can Help.

  Information for Victims of Crime.

  Seattle PD Strategic Plan – Have Your Say

  Nate lifted his gaze from the counter and met the cop’s stare. “Her name’s Riley. She’s sixteen years old.”

  “Riley Crawford?”

  “That’s right.” Nate nodded.

  “Okay, take a seat. Somebody will be with you soon.”

  He followed the cop’s directions to the bank of chairs at the far end of the room. They were empty save for an old man who was muttering to himself, and a young woman who was shouting into her cellphone. Neither of them paid him any attention, thank god. Maybe it was normal for a guy wearing full evening dress to walk into the Seattle Police Department to pick up his daughter.

  Sighing, Nate pulled out his cellphone. Four missed calls – all from Stephanie. He wasn’t inclined to listen to them right now. He pretty much knew what they were going to say.

  Where the hell was he?

  “Hanging around in a police station on a Friday night,” he muttered to himself. “Where else?”

  “Mr. Crawford?” the desk sergeant called out. “Your daughter’s on her way out. We just need you to sign a few forms.”

  Nate stood and pushed his phone back into his pocket, pulling at the sleeves of his dinner jacket until they covered his white dress shirt. At the desk, the sergeant pushed the pieces of paper toward him and asked him to sign and date each one.

  “Is she being charged?” Nate asked, catching the sergeant’s eye.

  “Not this time. But she’s gotten lucky. Really lucky. This is the second time we’ve brought her in. Let’s not make the third time a charm.”

  Nate nodded and said nothing. Because what was there to say? He wanted to get her home and pour himself a glass of whiskey – large – and try to block this all out of his mind.

  That’s your problem, the little voice in his head reminded him. You seem to be able to deal with every problem in the world except your daughter.

  Strange how it sounded exactly like the family counselor they’d been seeing since Riley had come to live with him in Seattle. Even his own inner voice was criticizing him.

  Yeah, well it could join the line. Right now Riley and Stephanie were fighting for first place.

  He scrawled his name across the white paper with a tattered pen that was fixed to the desk with a piece of string, presumably to stop somebody from pocketing it. Just as he pushed the signed documents back through the narrow gap between the desk and the glass he heard the doors opening next to him.

  Riley was standing in the doorway wearing the grey and pink checkered skirt and white blouse mandated by her very-expensive private school. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her blue eyes – so like his – widened when she saw her father.

  “I’m sorry…” she muttered, chewing the corner of her lip.

  “Save it for later.” His voice was as short as his temper. He glanced at the desk sergeant. “Are we done here?”

  “Yep.” The sergeant didn’t lift his gaze from his computer screen.

  Nate rolled his head to try to loosen the tight muscles in his neck, but it didn’t help one bit. He was too tense, too angry, too hyped up to relax them.

  Maybe that whiskey would help.

  Sighing, he inclined his head at his daughter, then at the station doors. “Let’s go.”

  For once she didn’t argue, as she followed him quietly, the hard soles of her shoes tapping against the tiled floor. As the electric doors opened and Nate stepped onto the sidewalk he glanced at his watch.

  Eight forty-five p.m. Was it really that early? Damn, it was turning out to be a long night.

  * * *

  Nate pressed the button for the gate, idling the engine of his Lexus as he waited for the mechanism to whirr them open. Riley hadn’t said a word on the journey home. Hadn’t even leaned in to change the radio to something she preferred as she usually did. Instead she was staring out of the windshield, her eyes still as wide as dinner plates, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

  When the gates opened he pulled into the driveway, glancing up at the imposing lake house he’d bought three years earlier. It was huge, modern, and backed onto Lake Union, and for two and a half of those three years it had suited him perfectly.

  There was another car parked in the driveway, and Nate bit down a groan when he saw it. He didn’t have to look to know that Stephanie was sitting in the driver’s seat of the sleek silver Mercedes. The car was vibrating – from the engine, he hoped, rather than Stephanie’s anger. He pulled up his own car and switched the engine off, closing his eyes for a moment to try to get some kind of control. What was it he’d said about a long night?

  Right now it felt more like a long year.

  “Go inside and go straight to bed,” Nate told Riley as they climbed out of the car. “We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

  She opened her mouth to reply then clearly thought better of it, pressing her lips shut and stomping up the driveway. From the corner of his eye Nate saw Stephanie open her car door and step out, just as Riley opened the front door and escaped inside the house.

  He took a deep breath and walked over to where Stephanie was standing, her arms folded across her chest in exactly the way Riley’s had been earlier.

  “That’s a nice dress,” he said, glancing at the silver floor-length gown Stephanie was wearing.

  “It cost me five hundred dollars. Plus another two hundred for my hair and make-up, not to mention t
he gala tickets. So far I figure I’m out almost a thousand thanks to you.”

  He noticed her nostrils flaring. That wasn’t good at all.

  “I’ll pay you back.”

  “That’s not the point.” She shook her head. “The point is you made me a promise and you reneged. You made me look like an idiot in front of all my friends. Do you know how long I was sitting in my apartment waiting for you to pick me up? In the end I had to take a cab.”

  “It was an emergency. As you can see, I was ready to come and pick you up.” He glanced down at his evening clothes. “Then I got a phone call.”

  “So your phone was working then?” Stephanie said acidly. “I was beginning to wonder.”

  A breeze blew in from the lake, ruffling Nate’s hair and making Stephanie shiver. “You want to come inside?” he asked her. “It’s getting cold out here.”

  “It depends.”

  “On what?” Nate frowned.

  “On whether we’re going to have a decent discussion about this or if you’re going to put me off again.”

  Nate’s jaw tightened. “Let’s just go inside and get warm.”

  Five minutes later he was carrying two mugs of coffee into the living room. So much for that whiskey. Stephanie was sitting on the corner of his pale cream leather sofa, her legs angled to the side. She was staring out of the huge picture windows that looked out onto the lake. The dark water was dappled with the colored lights of Seattle as they reflected on the surface. He could see greens and reds, blues and pinks, all dancing in the water. Above them towered the Seattle skyline, silhouetted against the dark blue sky. For a moment Nate let the sight soothe him, before he brought his attention back to Stephanie.

  She was glaring up at him, her eyes narrowed. He offered her the coffee but she shook her head, so he put it on the large square table in front of her.

  “I really am sorry about tonight,” he said, sitting down opposite her.

  She looked as tightly wound as he felt. “It’s not just tonight though, is it? How many times have you stood me up or changed your plans at the last minute since she came to stay?” Even her voice was stretched thin. “Things were great between us until then.”

  “When you’re talking about my daughter I’d prefer you use her name.” Nate’s voice was quiet, but he couldn’t hide the anger in it. “And you know what she’s been through. What do you expect me to do? Ignore her because we had a prior engagement?”

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I expect.” Stephanie’s eyes flashed. “We’ve been going out for two years, Nate. We were talking about moving in together before…” she trailed off. “Before Riley came to stay. And now you’re treating me like crap.”

  “I’m sorry.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. Especially without making things worse.

  “That’s not good enough.” Stephanie shook her head. “Do you know how many offers I’ve turned down since I’ve been with you? How many guys have begged me to go out on dates with them? I’m a prize, and you’re losing me. If you want to keep me I need to see change.”

  Nate took a sip of his coffee, surveying her over the rim of his cup. “What you see is what you get, Stephanie. You always knew I had a child.”

  “So you’re not going to change?”

  He gave a humorless laugh. “What exactly do you expect me to change?”

  “You could send Riley to live with your sister. You said they always got along well.”

  Nate’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously? You think I should send my troubled, grieving daughter away because she’s an inconvenience to you?”

  “I’m just pointing out that this isn’t working. Not for any of us. And it was working just fine before she came. Logic dictates that the problem lies with her.”

  “You are serious. You’re asking me to choose between you and my daughter.”

  “I’m asking you to honor your commitments.” She pressed her lips together in a firm line.

  “I am honoring my commitments. I became a father long before I met you. That’s the only commitment I’ll never break.”

  “So that’s it? You’re not even going to fight for me?”

  Nate closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He could feel the beginnings of a headache, slowly throbbing its way up to maximum. “It’s been a hell of a day, Stephanie,” he said, his voice tight. “And tomorrow’s probably going to be even worse. I’m just asking you to give me some space to sort things out.”

  “Space?” Her voice rose up an octave. “What kind of space? Are you breaking up with me?”

  He slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath in. His immediate reaction was to tell her no, of course he wasn’t breaking up with her. She was looking at him expectantly, waiting for that exact response.

  But for some reason he couldn’t give it.

  Though the living room was a large expanse of open space – exactly the way he liked it – right now he felt as though all the walls were closing in on him. His mind was a whirl of Riley’s latest problems and Stephanie’s demands, not to mention everything that was going on with his business. There were complications everywhere and with each day that passed they seemed to be getting worse.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  Stephanie’s mouth dropped open. Out of the two of them, he wasn’t sure who was more surprised by his response. But then a sense of relief washed over him – a feeling he hadn’t experienced in the longest of times. When he’d mentioned space he’d been thinking of a few days, a week at the most. But right now, Stephanie’s suggestion sounded like the only viable option. He’d spent months trying to please everybody and in the end nobody was happy.

  Nate caught her eye; trying to ignore the hurt he could see sparkling there. This situation was doing none of them any good – and it was time they all faced it. Yes, he was a bastard, and yes she was going to hate him, but right now he had to concentrate on his daughter, not his girlfriend.

  “I’m sorry, Stephanie,” he said, his voice low but full of certainty. “I think it’s time we agreed to bring our relationship to an end.”

  * * *

  Ally Sutton’s mouth fell open as she stared at her phone. Slowly, she brought her gaze up to where her two friends, Ember and Brooke, were staring at her with equally gaping mouths.

  “He’s sold the café?” Ember asked. “Seriously?”

  “I can’t believe you just hung up on him,” Brooke said, reaching for Ally’s hand and squeezing it tightly. “Good for you, honey.”

  Ally blinked, though there were no tears in her eyes. Just disappointment that only got worse when she saw on the phone screen that her father was trying to call her again. She quickly rejected the call and set her phone back down on the table.

  “You’re not going to answer?” Ember asked.

  Ally shook her head. “If I talk to him I’m going to end up saying something I shouldn’t.” She sighed, dropping her head into her hands as the screen went dark.

  “Maybe it’s for the best,” Brooke agreed. “I wouldn’t have anything nice to say to him, either. Hopefully he’ll get the message and give you some space.”

  Just as Brooke finished speaking, the screen lit up for a third time.

  Ember pulled Ally’s phone toward her and keyed in the code. They all knew each other’s codes by heart; they had since they were at school. Her friends had her back. They always did. She trusted them with her life and her phone.

  It began to buzz again. “It’s still your dad,” Ember told her.

  “Don’t answer it,” Ally said quickly. “Not yet.”

  “I’m not. I’m just going to put him on block. His calls won’t register and his voicemails will go to a separate folder. That way you can listen to them when you’re ready, rather than when you’re angry.” Ember ran her fingers across the screen and looked up. “There. Give yourself a few days. That way you might still have a relationship at the end of it.” She passed Ally ba
ck the phone.

  Ally took it from her, sliding it into her purse. Even without the threat of her dad constantly lighting it up, she still didn’t want to look at it.

  She didn’t want to think about anything at all.

  She glanced around the café that she’d known for her whole life. Her throat tightened as she took in the blue cushioned seats and the scratched metal tables. How many times had she sat at them with a coloring book and her favorite strawberry milkshake as a kid? Then, as she grew older the coloring book was replaced by her cellphone, and the milkshake by a coffee.

  She’d pretty much grown up in this place. And now she was the manager, which meant not only was her childhood being sold off to the highest bidder, but her job was too.

  “I guess I should polish up my résumé,” she said, giving her best friends a grim smile. Some of her blonde hair had escaped the topknot she’d tied it in, and she tucked the stray strands behind her ear.

  “You’re losing your job too?” Brooke’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh honey…”

  “He didn’t exactly say that,” Ally admitted. “But I’m not sure I want to work here once it’s sold.”

  “What will you do?” Ember asked. She’d always been the sensible one. A kindergarten teacher at the local school, she was an expert at making plans.

  “I don’t know. Who would want to employ a twenty-seven-year old woman who’s never done anything but manage her father’s café?” Ally asked. “I’m not like you, I don’t have a college degree. All I know how to do is serve breakfast.”