Never Look Back

By Mona Ingram

  

Falling in love was the easy part…

A few sun-filled days. A whirlwind romance that could never last. Now, all that's in the past, and Maya has moved on. She's successful, intelligent, independent—but the man who gave her so much so long ago still tugs at the edges of her memories. Little does Maya know, her mischievous friend Faith might just have a plan to get the two lovers back together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mona Ingram
• Release date: Mar 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781927745038

Mona Ingram

Mona Ingram loves to make up stories and is the author of more than four dozen romances. Most mornings she can be found at her computer, trying to keep up with the characters in her current work, many of whom invariably want to go off in a completely different direction than she planned. But that’s the joy of writing. An avid bird watcher, Mona is particularly happy when she can combine bird watching with travel.

Book preview

THE WOMEN OF INDEPENDENCE

BOOK THREE

Never Look Back

by

Mona Ingram

Cover Design

Elizabeth Mackey Graphic Design

Copyright © 2013 Mona Ingram

All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locations is entirely coincidental.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Epilogue

Chapter One

MAYA STEPPED BACK TO admire her just-completed window display. Cole had delivered another shipment of hand-made wooden toys this morning and the lovingly finished yellow pine gleamed in the pale November sunlight that streamed through the window.

The hobby horse was next, and she moved it into a small, carpeted alcove. Children always wanted to try out Cole’s hobby horses, and if their parents agreed, she allowed it. She’d managed to hide her disappointment when she saw that he’d made only one, but she knew she was lucky to get that. After all, the toys were only a sideline for him; he could sell them out of his own shop as quickly as they were finished. The fact that Cole’s wife Allison worked for her in the adjoining coffee shop probably had something to do with the fact that he’d offered her exclusive rights to his precious creations.

She flicked on the small spot in the alcove and for a moment the bright button eyes of the hobby horse seemed to look at her. What did those eyes see? A woman in her mid-thirties... okay... thirty-six. Short and slender, with long, black hair and slightly Asian features, thanks to her mother. When she was younger, people had commented on her beauty, but she didn’t put much store in that. Fiercely independent, she refused to trade on her looks. Hard work and a determination to succeed were qualities that didn’t grow old... didn’t get wrinkles... didn’t get grey hair.

Her gaze drifted out and over the town square. Had it really been eight years since she moved here to Independence and bought this property? Before she arrived, a shoe store with a shoe repair shop next door had been located at her present location. As with so many small businesses, they’d been forced to close by changing trends, not to mention the big box stores in the nearby town. Maya had bought both properties, and opened up the wall in between, creating Maya’s; an upscale tea and coffee shop on one side, and a gift shop on the other. Sales during the summer months were brisk with the tourists flooding into the Okanagan Valley, so she’d worked hard to attract the locals as well, in an effort to keep her staff employed over the winter months.

A small group of teenagers walked by outside. One of them slowed to examine the new display and then looked up, a broad smile on her face. Katie had always been fascinated by Cole’s wooden toys, and Maya recalled their first meeting all those years ago with startling clarity.

Katie had come into the store and lovingly examined the toys, asking Maya if she’d ever met the man who made them. My Auntie Allison loves him, she’d said, with all the confidence of a nine year old. I can tell by the way she says his name.

Maya smiled at the memory as the teenager waved goodbye and ran to catch up with her friends. Seven years had passed since that first meeting. Seven years in which Maya had become a fixture in Independence, and had been welcomed into the circle of friends made up by Allison and Danielle and Lindsey, Katie’s mother. She was happy here; her businesses were thriving and she was content.

At least that’s what she told herself. Sometimes an entire day would go by when she didn’t think about the man who still owned her heart; the man she’d met for a few dazzling, sun-filled days all those years ago. The man she’d never forgotten.

Chapter Two

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO – Las Vegas

Maya stepped off the plane into a world she could scarcely have imagined. Slot machines clamored urgently for her attention; flashing lights defied her to look away, and shoals of people moved up and down the strip like constantly moving fish.

Crazy, huh? Her friend Sandy gave her a brief hug as she stepped down from the hotel shuttle. They’d worked together in Chicago until Sandy had decided to move on, and it had taken a year living on her own for Maya to admit that she wasn’t really happy in the windy city. Chicago had served its purpose; she’d learned to be independent there. But the city was too big, the winters too cold, and the tips were less than half of what a hard working cocktail waitress could make almost anywhere on the Las Vegas strip.

Come and work at Fantasy Island, Sandy urged. They’re always looking for staff they can rely on.

And so she’d arrived in Las Vegas at the age of twenty-two with a specific goal in mind. She planned to work as many hours as possible, and double her savings in two years. Maya knew all too well that it was easy for a single girl with a limited education to drift through life until she found a man to support her, in or out of marriage. Determined not to fall into that trap, she’d set what she believed were attainable goals, and the move to Las Vegas fitted in perfectly with her plans.

Fantasy Island was one of the newer hotels on the strip, having been opened two years previously. Famous for its high-roller poker tournaments, it attracted not only the top players in the world, but also drew in the ordinary gambler who thought that by staying there, some of the glamour would rub off on them. Maya didn’t have the heart to tell them it didn’t work that way; they wouldn’t have believed her in any case.

Sandy had been right. Maya gained a reputation for being reliable and worked long hours in the various bars located in the hotel. The tips were excellent, and unlike Sandy, she banked most of them. Her ultimate goals weren’t set in stone; she only knew that one day she would leave and buy a home of her own in a small town somewhere. For now, watching her bank account grow was reward enough.

SANDY SLAMMED HER TRAY down on the counter beside Maya. The new bartender hadn’t quite hit his rhythm yet, and Maya was trying to be patient with him, but her customers were getting antsy and she welcomed the diversion.

What’s the matter? she asked, as Sandy seethed beside her.

Her friend rolled her eyes. I’ve got an octopus in my section. She punched in her order. What’s with these guys anyway? They’d never treat a waitress at home like that. They seem to lose whatever brains they have the moment they get here.

Maya turned and scanned the almost-full lounge. Have you mentioned it to Alexei?

Sandy shrugged. A lot of good that will do. He never takes his eyes off you. No offense, but that’s the way it is.

Yeah. I know what you mean. Ever since that guy got fresh with me last week... Maya’s voice trailed off as she picked up her order.

No, it’s more than that, Sandy insisted. He’s really into you, Maya. It’s almost creepy the way he watches your every move.

I never should have agreed to have coffee with him after my shift last week.

What? You went out with him? She glanced around, then lowered her voice. Be careful around him, okay?

Maya garnished her drinks and picked up her tray. I will. Thanks, Sandy.

She put a smile on her face and went back on the floor. Due to their shifts, she and Sandy rarely saw each other at the condo they shared. She made a mental note to ask her roommate for more info on Alexei the next time they had time off together.

Her instincts had been to refuse when he asked her for coffee last week. Somehow he’d managed to make her feel beholden to him after he diffused the situation with the over-zealous customer. She shouldn’t have to go out with him – even if it was only coffee – just for doing his job. Men had a way of doing that... she of all people should have recognized the signs.

MAYA’S FATHER HAD DIED when she was ten, the victim of a commuter plane crash. She’d watched as her mother, a beautiful woman of mixed Japanese and Filipino descent, withdrew into herself, unable to function without a man by her side. And then, two years later, her mother had met and married Andy, an outgoing sales rep for an electronics company. Secure once more, her mother bloomed, and for a few years Maya had lived in a happy household.

It was shortly after her sixteenth birthday, in the summer, when Maya noticed a change in her stepfather. He was drinking more that summer, and spent a lot of time sitting on the front porch while she and her friends sat cross-legged under the massive maple tree in the front yard, gossiping about boys.

He seized her by the arm one day as she ran lightly up the front steps. What are you and your friends talking about out there? His voice was slurred, and she noticed several empty beer bottles on the floor beside his chair.

She shrugged and tried to pull away. Nothing.

You talk about sex, don’t you? He leered at her and grabbed his crotch. Well, have a look at this. You want to, you know you do.

She tried to hide her horror at his words. Bile rose in her throat and she tugged at her arm, trying to free herself.

Let me go. She let her arm go slack, catching him by surprise. Wrenching free, she slammed into the house and went into the kitchen, where her mother was finishing making supper.

Set the table, would you Maya?

She studied her mother while she got out the dishes, and recognized a sad truth. Her mother was a perfect Stepford Wife, from her immaculately-coiffed hair to her frilly white apron. She didn’t know how to live any other way, and she would never believe Maya if she told her what had just happened.

Andy brushed against her as he made his way to the table. The deliberate action was all Maya needed to make up her mind. After supper, she knew he’d sit down in his chair in front of the television and fall asleep. Beyond that... when he woke up and staggered up the stairs... her heart pounded, knowing what would happen.

She helped her mother with the dishes and then gave her a hug as she left to play mah-jong. I love you, Mom, she’d said, fighting back tears.

I know, Maya. Her mother’s dark eyes softened. You’re a good girl.

Maya took very little time to pack, and then crept into her parents’ bedroom. Her stepfather always left his wallet on top of the dresser when he came home. She found a little over three hundred dollars, and took it all, before also taking her mother’s grocery money from the drawer in the kitchen. She had closed her bedroom door, hoping they might think she was asleep; she needed as much time as possible to make her getaway.

SHE STOOD FOR A MOMENT inside the bus station, considering what she was about to do. There was time to turn back, but she’d heard enough stories to know what she faced if she went back home. The Boston bus station was large and impersonal. She didn’t worry about anyone knowing her, so had ample time to study the departures board. A bus was departing for Chicago in twenty minutes, and she made her decision.

Her first few days in Chicago had been frightening, but then she’d met Sandy. Two years older, she’d been there for six months, and helped Maya get settled and start a new life.

EXCUSE ME, MISS. COULD I get a drink?

Maya looked around, startled. She’d been daydreaming, not something she usually did. She took the customer’s order and automatically checked on the rest of the patrons in her section. Had it really been eight years since she ran away from home? She punched in her order and stood with one foot on the rail, staring into the mirror behind the bar. Since she’d arrived in Las Vegas, she’d worked almost non-stop for two years. Sandy and Cheyenne had invited her to join them for a short holiday in Santa Monica. Maybe she should take her up on the offer. She’d talk to Sandy again tonight, for sure.

She sensed Alexei behind her before she saw him in the mirror.

Hello, Maya. He leaned against the bar and regarded her with one raised eyebrow. Having a good shift? His smile didn’t reach his eyes.

It’s been good so far.

I was thinking we could go for a drink when your shift is over. She hated that he could check on her like that, but his position as Assistant to the Chief of Security gave him access to all her records. She suppressed a shudder.

Thanks, Alexei, but I don’t think so.

His eyes turned even colder, if that was possible. Just one drink. What can hurt? She’d noticed that his English slipped when he was angry.

Sorry, but I can’t. She took her drinks tray and turned from him.

We see about that, he said, his voice low, his tone menacing.

Her hand trembled as she delivered the drinks, but when she turned back, he’d gone. Much more of this, and she’d have to quit and find another job. In spite of its outward appearance, Las Vegas was a small town, and she knew that with very little effort, Alexei could ruin her chances of getting hired at the other casinos.

HE WAS WAITING OUTSIDE the staff entrance when she got off shift.

Thought I’d give you a ride home. His English was back to normal. Surely you don’t mind that?

She made a snap decision not to anger him by refusing. He liked the power inherent in his job, and she didn’t think he’d do anything to jeopardize it.

Okay, thanks. But right home. I live out at The Lakes.

I know where you live. A frisson of apprehension crept down her spine but she managed to keep smiling.

He pulled up in front of her condo and turned to her, his face barely visible in the subdued light. I understand that you don’t want to get involved with anyone from work, but we can be discreet.

Did he really think that was her objection? How could she make him see that she wasn’t interested?

I haven’t been completely honest with you, Alexei. You see, I’m going with someone already. She gave him what she hoped was a shy smile. We keep it quiet.

He shifted, and the streetlight caused his eyes to glitter. You’re lying, he said flatly. I’ve been watching you, and you don’t have anyone else. Why do you lie?

She considered trying to brazen it out, but common sense prevailed.

She thought quickly. You’re right, I lied. She forced herself to look squarely into his eyes. "Because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. The truth is, I don’t want to go out with you or anyone else