A Trueheart for Allie: Lotus Season, #3

By Gillian Mayne

For years Allie's work as an archaeologist has been her life. Through relentless determination she hopes to achieve her goal of running her own dig site. The last thing she ever wanted was to be stuck on a farm in Colorado... like her parents. But when her mother is hurt in an accident, Allie must put her aspirations aside and return home. Fearing she will lose an upcoming promotion to her colleague, Allie has one foot out the door from the moment she arrives. Little does she know, fate has other plans.

 

Luke knew one day he would inherit the family farm, and when that time came he fulfilled his obligations by walking away from the business he worked hard to build. After taking the time to implement his own techniques, and get things running smoothly, he's ready to find someone special to share it with. As luck would have it, his high school crush just sauntered back into his life.

 

Can Luke convince Allie that home is where the heart is?

Or will she fall back into her habit of choosing ambition over family?

 

A Trueheart for Allie is a contemporary romance that will instantly draw you into the third book of the Lotus Season series. If you like characters that spring to life and heart-warming journeys, then you'll love this uplifting story from author Gillian Mayne.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gillian Mayne
• Release date: Feb 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9780473564803

Gillian Mayne

Gillian is a Romance author who lives on the East coast in New Zealand. She writes contemporary stories with real-life issues and romantic themes woven together, in small-town settings in the USA. You will find more at www.gillianmayne.com

Book preview

1

Outback

Allie shaded her eyes from the blazing sun as it pierced the ozone layer and scorched the earth at the Northern Territory dig site. The ground was baked to a reddish brown in the Australian outback, and she spent a lot of time covering her skin to ensure she didn’t turn that color as well. Gifted with glossy auburn hair and pale skin, she’d turn into a horde of freckles without the use of sunscreen and long-sleeved tops. A skilled archaeologist, Allie had worked in Australia for almost two years, using her experience in the ancient Fremont culture at a new dig site near Madjedbebe, north of Darwin. The stacked russet rock formations with their slanted facade and flat tops rose high above the scraggy green bush. Allie found them eerily similar to those in Colorado near her home, where other early settlers had lived.

C’mon, Red. I’ll race you back to the grub house, Brent teased.

Allie flipped her middle finger at him. She’d taken that offer when she was new on-site and still naïve to his ways. Back then, she was confident she could win; he’d beaten her, running like a gazelle chased by a lion. Brent was an experienced colleague who knew his stuff, and he was very charming when he wanted something. To Allie, he was her biggest rival at the camp, in a race far more important to her than sport.

She brushed off each of her tools and placed them in her toolbox, then started the short trek back to base camp.

The clay-colored tent compound came into sight when she walked over the rise; the team had been at the Southern Cross section since 4:00 a.m. On-site, everybody pitched in to dig during the cool hours before dawn; it was when the noise of the cicadas lowered to a hum, but the bite of mosquitos trebled, and they continued until the sun got too hot to carry on.

The smoky smell of fried food wafted over to greet her. Her belly emitted a strangled gurgle; she’d only had an oat bar so far and lots of coffee. A full antipodean cooked breakfast awaited their arrival. It lacked her mom’s biscuits or sweet pancakes, but she’d gotten to like it. Considering how much physical energy she used in her job, she should be model thin, but she wasn’t. She enjoyed food too much. And she liked the curves that filled out her jeans and pushed out her tank tops.

Morning, Nancee. Any chance of waffles today? she asked.

The aboriginal cook chuckled and presented a toothless grin. About as much chance as rain, Red.

Allie smiled back. She was thankful for the food and the cheeky, gifted indigenous healer that Nancee was. There were no hospitals in the outback, and the closest doctor was over three hundred miles away. With Nancee around, they didn’t need either; she treated everything from sunburns to broken bones. She lived in a nearby village with her family and came in to cook for the camp each day. When her husband had gone on a walkabout in the mid-’90s, she sought out work to feed her children, and from then on she was the breadwinner for her family. Allie admired her immensely.

With her plate piled high, she weaved her way around the tables to where her boss sat. Brent was already there beside him eating breakfast.

Morning, Sid.

Morning, Allie.

She pulled out the camp chair and sat, then took her Akubra off and placed it on the table. The wide-brim fawn-colored hat shaded her head and neck during the day; it reminded her of the cowboy hats worn at home in Colorado.

Home. Vast green fields filled with crops, jagged slate mountains topped with snow, dirt not unlike the outback in the east. It, too, was a land full of buried archaeological treasure—a place she hadn’t been back to since she’d arrived in the South Pacific.

How was it this morning?

Hot, dusty, fascinating.

Sid nodded. Same as yesterday then.

Yep. She flicked her plait over her shoulder and started to eat.

You had a phone call this morning, Allie. I took a message. Come over to the office, and you can use the phone.

Allie looked at him, eyebrows raised. Okay. Male or female?

Male. I wrote down the number for you.

Could be an old boyfriend, Red? Brent pitched in.

She flicked her wrist at him. Buzz off! You know you’re as relentless as the flies out here, mate.

Her index finger tapped out a beat on the top of the fork she held. Only three people in her world knew that she was here, and they were all family. It could only be her dad, which meant trouble. He never called, just jumped on the phone after her mom had finished chatting during their regular catch-up.

I’ll come over after brunch, Sid.

Allie took her dishes over to the serving table and scraped the remnants off her plate into a scrap bowl. She placed her knife and fork into the hot, soapy wash bucket that Nancee used for cutlery. Water was precious, so around camp it was used as efficiently as possible.

Do you need a hand, Nancee?

Grab a drying towel, girl.

She didn’t want to help, but good manners instilled in her since birth tugged at her conscience. Why was it that the women always worked in the kitchen, and the men always worked in the yard?

She picked up a washed plate and wiped it hurriedly with a towel, then spun around. Her eyes narrowed while she watched Brent and Sid walking toward the site office.

Huh!

Nancee looked at her and cackled.

Been that way since forever, Red. You should know that. The men hunt, and the women nourish.

Yeah, well it doesn’t have to be. Look at me; I shift as much dirt on this site as anybody else. I can shoot and ride better than most of the men here, Nancee.

Sure. But can they have a baby and feed it with their boobs? Nope. When that happens, you won’t care about all that other stuff. Nourishing and protecting your child is an instinct as old as time, girl.

Allie went still. She peered at Nancee, who carried on washing up, humming a mystical tune while she worked.

Pulling her hat on, Allie headed to the office. She was even more unsettled now, and her breakfast started to sour in her stomach. The older woman’s theory on life picked at an ancient wound, buried deep in a place she didn’t want to look.

Nancee might be wise, but there’s no way she could see into someone else’s soul. Or could she?

It must be the phone call that brought up old memories, not the cook’s rambling.

The office door was shut. The only building around with air conditioning, it was also the electronic hub and thankfully where they had all their meetings.

She knocked first as a courtesy, then entered.

Brent looked up and gave her a fiendish half smile.

She jerked her thumb at the door. I want to talk with Sid, alone.

Brent pushed off the chair and stood up. Sure thing, Red. Whatever you say, he mocked, then left.

Allie sat in the seat he vacated.

Good riddance.

Sid picked up a piece of paper. Here’s the number. It was your dad. I didn’t want to say too much earlier. Nobody else’s business.

Allie took the note.

I can leave if you want some privacy?

Unsure what was coming, she nodded. Thanks, it might be a good idea.

Take as long as you need. I’m gasping for a smoke anyway. I thought Brent had me cornered in here, man he can talk.

Allie looked across and grinned, pleased that Sid got annoyed with her colleague too. He was pushy and in her face constantly about what he knew and how good he was on his last dig. She didn’t trust him, and she didn’t like his style, preferring a teammate that got in and delivered without bragging about it.

She picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number—a number she asked her mom to write on her hand the first day of school, in case she got lost and couldn’t find her way home.

Allie checked the time. It was 6:11 p.m. in Colorado; her parents would be sitting down to eat soon. She could see her mom bustling around in the kitchen, the table all laid for dinner, pots giving off steam on the cooktop, and something would smell delicious. It was a comforting vision of home, but it also represented a life she never wanted for herself.

Hell-o.

Hi, Dad, it’s me.

Sweetheart, it’s good to hear your voice. How’s life in the Pacific?

About the same. So, what’s up?

Well, I’d like to say I called for a chat, but it ain’t so. Your mom fell off a ladder clearing out the gutter.

Allie tensed. Is she okay? Where is she?

She’s in the hospital with a broken ankle and waiting to have surgery on her wrist, which took the impact of her fall.

Oh, Dad, that’s terrible!

Yeah it’s not the best, but she’s okay, and that’s all that matters.

Can I call her there?

She has her phone, but it’s collected by the nurses at 8:00 p.m., so you need to call her before then.

Allie nodded and checked her watch again—she still had plenty of time.

Are you okay, Dad?

I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. It’s your mom that’s not okay. She’s gonna need looking after. Sophie arrives tomorrow, but she can only stay for two weeks. I hate to ask Allie, but I need you to come home.

He can’t be serious?

Allie rubbed her brow; she could feel a headache build behind her right eye.

Juggling the pressure of her job was something she enjoyed, but a family calamity that pulled her away, that would tip her stress over the edge.

Dad, I’m not sure it’s going to be possible. We’re at a very delicate stage in the dig, and I’m needed here. You know how important my work is.

She heard his sigh over the phone line. Allie, I do, but I need your help. I can’t step away from the farm right now ’cause my leading hand left. Yes, I could hire someone, but there’s personal care involved, and I don’t want a stranger to bathe my wife when I have two daughters who can help her. So, I hope you understand how important this is.

Allie’s head dropped, resigned. That was his polite way of saying, Get your butt home.

Let me talk with Sid and find out how long I can take off. I’ll call you back later tonight, okay?

Thanks, honey, I knew you’d come through.

She hung up the phone; her thoughts spiraled out of control. Why now? The throbbing in her head intensified.

Five days earlier, Sid had agreed she could try out in the newly