“Excuses, my dear. One thing does not preclude the other.”
“I have tried.” She said defensively. “Didn’t I sign up for that dating site you suggested? I’ve even gone on a handful of first dates.”
“And?”
“I have felt no chemistry with the guys.”
“Why? What’s wrong with them?”
“Nothing’s wrong with them, mom. But there was no spark. They were simply strangers, and I didn’t feel like getting to know any of them better. It was... awkward.”
“I think the problem is you are afraid to open up, darling. You know, just because you had one disappointment doesn’t mean you can’t find love again.”
Trust her mom to cut to the heart of her insecurities. It’s not as if she didn’t want to find love again. To have a man hold her, kiss her... it had been so long since she had felt desired. But she didn’t know how to date. She had married too young, to her first boyfriend. She had never had to seek love. It had been easy, and she thought her life would be a happily ever after. Ha! Look at how that had ended.
After years of working together with her ex-husband, building their company, they had split both personally and professionally. He had kept their construction company, and she had established her own architecture and design firm.
Her determination to make it a success by herself was the only thing that gave her purpose nowadays. It kept away the fear that her time was running out and she would never find love, have a family... no. Don’t dwell on that.
If all went well on this trip, she was about to achieve professional success. After a few minor jobs and a year of trials, she had finally landed her first big client. Mrs. Hartfield was a rich and eccentric lady who wanted to build an Elizabethan Style manor house in Naples, on the west coast of Florida.
The project was ideal. Olivia had always loved historical architecture. She had done meticulous research, created the plans, and after some back and forth, had won the bid against two other firms. An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime. It could make or break her business. She had to be her best.
There was still much to do, and it would be weeks before construction began, but her client had found out about an estate auction taking place in England. It was to be held at an authentic Elizabethan manor that had been owned by an English lord. A Duke, no less. Now the house and its contents were being auctioned to a few select buyers, and her client was one of the invited few.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Hartfield couldn’t make it, so she had sent Olivia as her representative, declaring there was no one else she trusted to make the purchasing decisions. Which brought Olivia to her present predicament of being lost on a rural road somewhere in England.
Her mom’s voice brought her out of her thoughts.
“Livvy, are you still there?”
“I’m here, Mom. Listen, I gotta let you go. Need to focus on the directions. I promise I’ll text you as soon as I arrive, okay?”
“Okay, sweetie. Please do that. Love ya.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Olivia hung up, relieved to be done with the conversation. Now, back to the matter at hand. Where was she?
She turned her attention to the phone and rolled her eyes. According to the GPS, she was now apparently driving cross-country. Ridiculous. She was obviously on the road!
That’s it. She needed to use a different navigation app. Her thumb swiped through her phone. Where was this other app —
Without warning, her seatbelt locked as she was thrown toward the steering wheel. Panic washed through her like an icy wave. Oh, God! Had she hit something?
She couldn't see anything except the road in front of her, but it felt as if the car had hit a wall of water. Something fluid but thick. The car was still moving and stepping on the brake didn't seem to slow the momentum. What was going on?
A blinding light rushed toward her. It was something big. A train? A truck? She frantically turned the steering wheel to avoid it, but she was no longer in control of the car. Some unknown force dragged her forward. A scream of pure terror escaped her throat, but she didn’t hear it. She couldn’t hear anything. In the next second, the light enveloped her, and she knew no more, as darkness swallowed her consciousness.
***
AWARENESS RETURNEDslowly. She opened her eyes. It was pitch dark. What had happened? How long had she been unconscious? Was she badly hurt? The questions swirled through her head in a jumbled chaos. Her head throbbed with the worst headache she had ever had, but her limbs seemed to work, and she didn’t feel pain from any other injuries.
She still sat in the car. She still wore her seatbelt. The airbags hadn’t deployed, so hopefully the accident hadn’t been too serious. Her phone glowed beside her, still on, but the GPS directions had gone blank. She grabbed her phone to call 911. Was that the emergency number in the UK?
It didn’t matter.
The phone had no signal.
