Rider's Kiss

Chapter One

After Victoria reached the bridge and jogged to the other side of the small suburb of Summit Glen, Ohio, she stopped and leaned against the railing. Great gasps of crisp morning air filled her lungs as she battled to control her heart rate after completing half of her four-mile run. A couple of other early morning joggers sped past, and Victoria couldn’t help comparing herself to the two women. They both had perfect hourglass figures. Formfitting clothes showed off their spectacular muscle tone to perfection. They were in complete contrast to her bulkier build and baggy sweats. Would she ever have a figure like that? Fat chance. She shook her head and closed her eyes. Besides, wasn’t her mom always telling her to be happy with the gifts God gave her?

As the sun started to rise over the horizon, more and more people filled the streets. Summer was right around the corner, and the small town she called home seemed to be bustling with people coming out of hibernation from the unusually cold winter. Summit Green had always been Victoria’s home. Unlike so many of her old schoolmates, Victoria had never had an overriding need to leave in favor of a bigger city and better opportunities. She liked small-town life. Nothing could ever compare to the peaceful solitude she found here.

But it hadn’t always been so peaceful. The sad memories invaded her mind as if it were yesterday, and with them came the same awful sinking sensation as the scene played out for the thousandth time.

Her mother, Anna Kiss, had always longed for a daughter of her own to love. She used to tell Victoria that when the doctor had announced she was pregnant with a girl, after so many years of trying to conceive a child, it’d been the happiest day of her life. Her mom had wanted someone to share laughs and feminine secrets with, the way only a mother and daughter could. And she was more than thrilled when her prayers were finally answered.

Victoria had been spirited as a young girl, causing all sorts of mischief that would bring stern looks from her dad and lectures from her mom. Her antics would bring about long talks about what was expected of a proper young lady. But nothing had prepared her for the awful turn her life would take. Even now, Victoria feared she would never forget the haunted look in her dad’s eyes as he delivered the terrible news that her mother had lost the battle with breast cancer.

Victoria watched the water slowly drifting in the shallow river below as she attempted to breathe away the sadness. More years than she cared to count had come and gone since that fateful day. Still, no matter how much time passed, she still couldn’t stave off the cold loneliness that crept through her body. Her mom’s sunny kitchen sprang into her mind. She could still remember the helplessness she felt as her mom received the news of the cancer for the first time. Tears had streamed down her mom’s cheeks. Her mom so rarely cried, and the moment would be etched in Victoria’s memory always.

“Mom, I am perfectly capable of doing some yard work. Being a woman doesn’t make me helpless.”

Her mom laughed. “Oh, so you’re a woman now?” When Victoria only stood rigid with her nose in the air, Anna went on to explain, “You’re all of eleven years old, Victoria Lynn. And I never said you were helpless.”

Victoria scrunched her brows in confusion. “Then why can’t I mow the lawn? Dad said it was okay with him.”

“Well, your father should have talked to me before he made that decision. It’s too dangerous. That mower is on its last leg, and I don’t want you getting hurt. Heck, just last week your father nearly ran over his own foot with that crazy thing!”

Victoria hung her head and sighed. There would be no budging her mom on this point. “Are you ever going to admit that I’m growing up?”

Anna dropped her knife on the butcher block and set the apples she’d been cutting aside. She moved around the counter and wrapped Victoria in a familiar, warm embrace. “You are my only child, sweetheart, and I love you with all my heart. But I can’t help it if I’m a little overprotective. Is it so terrible?”

Victoria smiled, knowing she could never stay mad at her mom. “I love you too.”

“God saw fit to give me the most beautiful little girl ever, and I aim to raise her right.”

Victoria thought of her messy ponytail and the gray shirt she wore that was two sizes too big, and stiffened. “You’re my mom, so you have to say things like that.”

“Nonsense.” Her mom sniffed as if insulted. “I’ve never lied to you a day in my life.”

She didn’t know how to respond to her mom’s compliments. She never quite knew what to say actually. Victoria had a mirror, and beautiful wasn’t what she saw when she looked into it. Heather Clemmens, with her long blonde hair and blue eyes, was beautiful. She was the most popular girl in her sixth-grade class. Even the teachers smiled extra wide whenever Heather was around. Victoria cringed. Heather thought she was really something just because the boys drooled all over themselves whenever she was near. It was gross, really. Still, Victoria did wonder what it’d be like not to have mousy brown hair and dull hazel eyes.

Her mom pulled back a few inches and said, “Victoria, look at me.” She did as her mom asked and saw understanding in her kind brown eyes. “I realize that you will never be the frilly-dresses-and-flowers type—and heaven knows I wouldn’t know what to do with you if you were. Still, you must see that beauty comes in all forms. Someday, you’ll understand just how perfect God made you, just the way you are.”

Victoria heard the worry in her mom’s voice, and she hated it. Victoria smiled. “You win. I’ll stay away from the lawn mower.”

When her mother smiled contentedly at her, Victoria felt it was essential to announce one other thing. “But I’m not dressing like Heather Clemmens. She looks dumb with those stupid skirts she wears, not to mention those tight jeans.”

Anna burst out laughing. “I should hope you never dress like that either. Heather’s mom should get that girl in check. Those jeans she wears are way too tight for such a young age.” She patted Victoria’s cheek and walked back around the counter. “How about you grab the sugar and a bowl so we can get this apple pie in the oven. At this rate, it’ll be midnight before it’s ready.”

Victoria and Anna went to work on the apples, laughing over the day’s events. But as the hours wore on, Victoria noticed her mom frowning. She had that look on her face whenever something was wrong and they just hadn’t found out what yet. Her mom had a way of knowing things sometimes. Her mom once told her that it was God’s way of preparing her for something bad. She was looking like that now as Victoria started to dump the heaping bowl of cut fruit into the sugar-and-cinnamon mixture.

“Mom, is something wrong?”

Anna looked up, a frown marring her brow. “I’m not sure.”

Victoria reached out and grasped her mom’s hand. It was ice cold, not warm like usual. Her eyes were distant and blank. “Want me to get Dad?” Just as the words left her mouth, the phone rang.

Her mom’s face turned ashen. She strode across the room and picked it up off the table. Victoria heard the words “doctor” and “mammogram”. At eleven years old, Victoria didn’t understand what it meant, but she could see it wasn’t good news. Everything changed after that.

Victoria shoved the dark memory out of her mind and pushed away from the railing. It wouldn’t serve any purpose to think of things she had no power to change. Instead, she concentrated on finishing her four-mile run. Even though it was Sunday, she had a long list of things to do, and she wouldn’t get them done by sulking.