On a dark moonless summer night, with only occasional bolts of heat lightning to relieve the blackness, Toni stretched her stiff legs as best as she could while driving the rented moving van. All her worldly possessions were stuffed behind her as she drove the long five hour trip. She turned left onto a gravel road, almost there now, almost to her new home in the country and to her new life in nearby New Orleans .
Off in the distance, an orange, yellow, and red glow flickered on the horizon. A fire! Oh no! Toni pulled into the long winding driveway as flames leaped, dancing in the wind, while devouring the old weathered wood barn. She jumped from the van and ran toward the blaze. That barn was supposed to be an animal shelter and headquarters for her new job. Toni felt like she was watching a funeral pyre for her new life. What kind of sign was this for her new beginning?
The fire, hot as the hinges of hell, singed her blonde hair as she ran into the choking cloud of billowing black smoke. She collided into what felt like a brick wall and her knees buckled.
"Whoa, little lady." Large gentle hands clasped her shoulders to stop her from falling upon impact, and then guided her back out of the heat.
Toni's heart caught at the sound of the deep, rich baritone voice. His hazel eyes locked onto her blue ones then widened with surprise. Or was it appreciation? Perhaps the scorching heat was roasting her thinking processes? Something soft squirmed against her chest before she realized his brawny arms were filled with whimpering ferrets. He was rescuing the baby animals! Although glistening with sweat and smudged with charcoal, too sooty to distinguish his features, he seemed like a knight in not-quite shimmering armor. "Who are you?" Toni whispered.
"I'm Kelly." Kelly remembered his manners at the same time as the wiggling weights in arms. "Here." He thrust the bundle of panicky ferrets into her arms before brushing a stray lock of blonde hair from her lovely heart-shaped face. He took a giant step back, away from the temptation of her feminine and athletic form. Kelly wondered why no one warned him that she was such a beauty. "You must be Toni, the new vet," he tossed back over his shoulder as he again ran toward the barn to save more animal shelter strays.
Toni settled the newborn ferrets on the grass, well away from the blazing barn, as fire engines roared into the driveway. Firemen hollered out directions to each other, working in harmony with hoses to blast water into flames. Kelly hauled out the baby ferret's mother, handing it and three more strays to Toni, before dashing back for another rescue.
Professionals that they were, the firemen had the inferno down to a smolder in no time. One of the fire fighters led Toni to a large neighboring ranch house at the end of the lane and told her the owner said for her take care of the rescued animals there.
Although she kept her hands busy by washing the smoky scent from the ferrets, her mind zoomed from one worry to another with the speed of a NASCAR race. What would she do now? What about her job at the animal shelter? Now that the barn burned, where would she live if not in the loft? Did universe have something personal against her, for her fresh start to begin with disaster? Wasn't it all but a flashing neon sign advertising that she'd made a wrong decision to move here?
Oh no. Would her new veterinarian partner want to rebuild the animal shelter? She'd never spoken with him directly, but had been interviewed by the relocating vet who was to hire a replacement partner. What did the future hold for her?
Toni sighed deeply. Only two hours ago she was giddy with glee, full of positive attitude, and excited at the potential for the new direction she was taking with her life.
Despite the animal shelter in ashes down the lane, again and again, she wondered just WHO precisely was Kelly? Where had he come from and would she see him again? He wasn't what she would call handsome, covered head to toe in grime, but there was something about him -- something she liked. Something she hadn't felt for a very long time. Something that happened instantly when their gaze met. Well, Toni conceded, their head-on collision could have knocked her senses out of whack. She'd simply misread their physical impact. Nah. It wasn't chemistry.
