California Schemin' - Kate George [0]
Kat Duncan says:
Bella Bree MacGowan is every timid woman's alter ego. She not only laughs in the face of danger, but smacks danger upside the head to get its attention when necessary.
Allison Hine says:
California Schemin' got me hooked after a few pages, and I couldn't stop reading until I got to the last page.
California Schemin’
by
Kate George
Smashwords Edition
Kate George
http://kategeorge.com/
Copyright © 2011 by Kate George
ISBN 978-0-9827952-4-8
Published in the United States of America
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedication
To Sara and Buffy, my catalysts for change.
To you I owe much love. Thanks for having my back.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Lisa, Doris, and TNT for your invaluable edits and suggestions. Thanks also to Marly and Ryan for titles, names and always being willing to play! Couldn’t do it without you folks. Well, maybe I could do it, but it wouldn’t be nearly as good.
My apologies to the citizens of the foothill communities north of Sacramento for changing the character and landmarks of your towns to suit my needs.
Chapter One
She was falling, plummeting toward the river. Her skirt billowed, then wrapped around her as she tumbled. I watched her through the viewfinder, an unnaturally pink anomaly in sharp focus against the grey background of the bridge. I'd never be able to look at that color again without feeling the horror of seeing a woman plunging from the Foresthill Bridge. Half my brain followed her descent with my camera while the other half was in a blind, screaming panic.
"No!" I tossed the camera into my camp chair and sprinted upriver.
The riverbank was rocky, stone ledge mixed with large rocks, boulders and pebble beaches. My heart pounded as I slipped and teetered, skidding over the smooth surfaces, tripping over loose stones. I scanned the river as I ran, watching for a splash of pink. Twice I stopped myself from falling by steadying myself on rocks, and my hands were stinging. I sucked air and held the stitch that developed in my side as I made my way up stream. The fall appeared horrific. Could she have survived? Please, let her be alive.
I was forcing down panic when I saw her floating toward me on the current. She was face down in the water, the pink skirt dark and clinging to her legs. I waded waist deep into the water and grabbed the back of her shirt as she floated by, towing her out of the rapids into a calm shallows at the shore. I needed to get her face out of the water, but I knew I wasn’t strong enough to lift her. Blood mingled with the blonde hair feathering around her head in the slow water. A fresh adrenaline rush flooded my brain, and I began to panic. I had to get her air and stop the bleeding.
Reaching across her body, I grabbed the shoulder of her sleeveless blouse. I was able to pull her body part way out of the water but the fabric slipped from my grasp, and she was face down again. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Use two hands, Bree, I told myself, you can do it if you use two hands. Then it hit me that I might have better luck if tried to roll her from underneath. I slid my hand under her, feeling for her arm. I caught what felt like her elbow and tugged. She floated into me. I pushed up on her near shoulder as I used her arm to pull her underside up. The movement of her shoulder started her rotating, and she flipped.
I saw I needn’t have bothered. A hole in her temple oozed blood into her hair. Drowning had been the least of her problems, and the best I could hope for now was to get her