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Chapter One
“Is it always this hot in Texas?” Siobhan’s friend and former college roommate, Bridget, waved her hand in front of her face. As if that was actually going to help.
Her gaze fixed ahead, Siobhan didn’t bother to look up. “You’ve heard the expression, fry an egg on the sidewalk?”
Squinting at the sunlight, Bridget nodded.
“Texas invented it.”
“I think next time I visit, I’ll pick a cooler month.”
Her camera centered on a baby bird pecking at the dirt under a scraggly shrub, Siobhan snapped the shot before facing her friend. “Probably October. As long as rain doesn’t bother you.”
“I think I’d rather be soggy than melting.”
Siobhan chuckled. Her friend did have a point.
“Remind me again, why we’re traipsing out here in this horrid heat?”
“State Fair.” Texas has some of the most undervalued national parks in the country. If she wanted her photographic career to flourish at a level suitable to the Baron name, she needed some recognition. A friend of her sister’s who owned an art gallery suggested that winning a ribbon or two at the Texas State Fair would fit the bill. Animal and nature photos dominated the history of award-winning photography, and the Texas parks had both in abundance.
Bridget unscrewed the cap on her warm water bottle and guzzled what was left inside. “You’ve got twenty, thirty minutes tops to get your prize photograph and then we’re heading back to the hotel for a water refill.” Bridget’s mouth tipped up in the closest thing to a smile Siobhan had seen all day. “And a dip in the pool to cool off sounds pretty good too.”
Once again, her friend had a good point. The heat was a tad oppressive this time of year. “Deal.”
Now a true grin spread across Bridget’s face.
Ten minutes later, Siobhan lowered her gaze along the precipice to one side and spotted the perfect shot. “There.”
Bridget’s gaze danced left and right, then up and around. “There where?”
Leaning against a boulder, her arm outstretched, Siobhan pointed at the lone pink bloom thriving amongst the rocky side. “Right there. That flower.”
When Bridget’s gaze reached the end of Siobhan’s finger and settled on the flower, a deep frown formed between her brows. “Doesn’t look like much of a shot to me.”
“Oh, it will be.” In her mind, Siobhan could see it now. She just had to get, “Closer.”
“What?” Bridget inched forward, glanced at the drop only a few feet away, and eased back. “There has to be another… hey, be careful.”
Standing at the very edge of the hillside, Siobhan tipped her head and her camera but there was no way she could get the angle she wanted. Blowing out a deep breath, she looked up. Even she didn’t have the nerve to climb along the rocky edge to get closer. Maybe if she had the right equipment, but not barehanded. And then she spotted it. A lone tree up above.
“I don’t like that look.” Her hand shading her eyes, Bridget lifted her gaze upward. “Whatever you’re thinking, this is a bad…hey. Where are you going?”
Anxious to get her shot while the sunlight was behind her, Siobhan took off up the narrow path at a fast clip. “The tree.”
“Tree?” Bridget followed, her attention on the rocky path. “Are you sure you Barons aren’t part mountain goat? Slow down.”
“I don’t have much time.”
“You have your whole life ahead of you. That is unless we fall off this cliff. Slow down.”
“There.” The lone tree stood strong and tall, if a little lifeless.
“What do you want with a dead tree?” Bridget inched left, avoiding the edge of the rocky path. There was no missing the moment her gaze shifted from the drop to her right, then back to Siobhan. A gasp could have been heard clear across the ravine. “Get off that tree!”
Already halfway up the trunk, Siobhan was convinced the roots were firmly planted and even if there was little life left in the tree, all she needed was to reach that first limb and she’d be able to shimmy across for her shot.
“Siobhan Pegeen Baron, get down here right this minute!” Stomping her foot hard on the ground, Bridget dropped her fisted hands on her hips. “You’re going to get yourself killed for a stupid photograph.”
